Learn your craft. Know your craft. Honor your craft.

You decided to become a teacher, a plumber, a painter, a manager, a coach.

You honed some skills, you learned some theory. Is it enough?

The fact is, you are doing what everyone can do: you have acquired a craft. Learning your craft, really knowing it and honoring it, means continuing to develop it. That’s what the essense of a craft is about.

Diligently practice it, keep your knowledge and skills updated, research, pursue your constant improvement and growth.

And you may find that: 

• The more time you dedicate to developing your craft, the more you learn what you are capable of.
• You will develop more credibility as a skilled person/ professional.
• The more you learn, the more you can teach others.
• The more honed your craft is, the more you will stand out in your field.
• The further you go, the more you can create, because your understanding of your ability has grown.
• Your understanding of how things and processes work will improve.
• The greater the legacy you will leave behind. 

What Is Our Legacy?

Attending an event to celebrate the 20^th anniversary of a non-profit organization, I heard a speaker listing its many contributions to the community.

In our individual endeavors it’s easy to focus on our vision, on what we want to leave behind. How about working on our collective efforts with one thing in mind: what would we like to celebrate 20 years later? What would we like to have in our list of contributions? 

Legacies

The third Monday of January every year sees the celebration of the life and achievements of Martin Luther King : it is the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, an American federal holiday. 

Although I am neither an American, nor live in the US, I like to take this opportunity to reflect on his life and legacy. This year, today, the best opportunity came with an article titled: "Instead of Worshiping Dr. King, How About Working Like Him?" 

A light went on in my head. Every day, every time I check my facebook timeline I come across posts with the quotes and photos of different personalities that my contacts share. People that they admire, recognize, worship. 
How difficult is it to stop considering them as something unattainable, as the author of this article suggests? 

How achievable is it for any one of us to think of our role models, the people that we admire and inspire us, and work like them? Instead of just spreading quotes and stories from them, to actually do like them: be the changing agents and follow their legacy or create a new one. 

 

photo credit: http://www.sc.edu/eop/MLK/2010king.html