When you lack talent - the power of discipline
Even if people are born with talent in their pocket, they rarely possess the skill to use it from birth.
I believe that absolute talent is a myth. Most often, we’re born with neither.
Success is born in pain - in days, hundreds of days, thousands of days of practice.
The road to achieving the status of a “successful artist” (athlete, entrepreneur) runs through an endless number of failures, mistakes, and repetitions.
Repetitions. Day after day, often boring and feeling helpless on repeat.
I call this situation sculpting in concrete.
Concrete is not a grateful material, it offers little hope for achieving any satisfying result.
Yet persistence and strength make you chip away, piece by piece, day after day, with growing care - and, over time, maybe even with growing pleasure - watching as the shapeless, colorless mass of crumbling matter slowly transforms into something more defined, something that begins to please the eye.
When you sculpt in concrete, you don’t need talent. You only need discipline.
Discipline is a daily mantra
Not enthusiastic, spontaneous bursts of creative energy, but a boring, everyday routine in which you develop your “why” and “how.”
Essential habits that replace unnecessary temptations. Choices.
Sculpting in concrete when no one is watching, when there are no cheerleaders, no applause, no rewards - and the finish line seems to not exist beyond the horizon.
It’s the process that matters, not the outcome
To appreciate the value of disciplined, consistent action, you must first fall in love with the process.
If you can enjoy the uncertainty - the feeling of not knowing whether what you’re doing makes sense - then there’s a chance you’ll fall in love with the process forever.
Without loving the process, you won’t be able to sculpt your concrete.
Discipline enjoys good company
I believe that reaching a state of flow, where regular practice replaces the ego’s craving for applause, happens best in certain company.
If you want to be a long-distance player, forget the romantic image of an artist with a mind clouded by psychedelics.
Proper nourishment, good food, sleep hygiene, and regular movement - these are the foundations not only of a healthy life but of a healthy approach to creation, if you don’t want to destroy your work at its roots.
Appreciate motivation, but value discipline
Motivation comes and goes. On bad days, it will vanish - and only discipline will save you from breaking the process.
Motivation appears when the sun shines, discipline puts your shoes by the door when it’s pouring rain.
Discipline remains your superpower when the only thing you have is lack of power.
To surrender to discipline, you must understand that the process of sculpting in concrete is an endless game.
Remember - the wind has a direction, but no destination.
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