Content
20 June 2009, 00:06
Michelangelo Working inside the box
Dear Reader,
This text is from Liz Thompson
Founder Small Business CEO Magazine Association of Small Business CEOs
I foud out it is very interesting for me, why I bring it to you.
ENJOY!
It's 1502 AD...
In Florence, Italy, an enormous block of marble stood in the works department of the church of Santa Maria del Fiore.
It had once been a magnificent piece of raw stone, but an unskilled sculptor had mistakenly bored a hole through it where there should have been a figure's legs, generally mutilating it...
...So, despite the money that had been spent on it, it gathered dust in the dark halls of the church.
This was where things stood until some friends of Michelangelo decided to write to him, then living in Rome.
Michelangelo traveled to Florence, examined the stone, and came to the conclusion that he could in fact carve a figure from it, by adapting the pose to the way the rock had been mutilated.
Soderini (the mayor of Florence) argued that this was a waste of time - nobody could salvage such a disaster - but he finally agreed to let the artist work on it.
Weeks later, as Michelangelo was putting the final touches on the statue, Soderini entered the studio.
Fancying himself a bit of a connoisseur, he studied the huge work and told Michelangelo that while he thought it was magnificent, the nose, he judged, was too big.
Michelangelo realized that Soderini was standing in a place right under the giant figure and did not have the proper perspective. Without a word, he gestured for Soderini to follow him up the scaffolding.
Reaching the nose, he picked up his chisel, as well as a bit of marble dust that lay on the planks.
With Soderini just a few feet below him on the scaffolding, Michelangelo started to tap lightly with the chisel, letting the bits of dust he had gathered in his hand to fall little by little.
He actually did nothing to change the nose, but gave every appearance of working on it. After a few minutes of this charade, he stood aside. "Look at it now."
"I like it better," replied Soderini. "You've made it come alive."
(This story is from The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene.)
Imagine that. One of the world's greatest art pieces (ever!) created from mutilated rock that most deemed unworkable.
Michelangelo didn't see a mutilated rock. He saw a few existing constraints... worked within them... and created something beautiful.
We all have our own constraints: time, skills, money, etc.
The same goes for building your business and your niche - there are constraints that you simply can't control (have you identified them?).
The opportunity then is to focus on what you CAN do within the box... and then to DO them.
Sincerely,
Margarita Nomeikiene
Message address: http://gonafly.com/blog/post_1245477995.html
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