Creating a masterpiece

Finished off Small Giants by Bo Burlingham this week. (Summary goes live on Wednesday). Brilliant book.

There’s a lot of talk within it’s pages about business owners who “create their masterpiece”. You hear the expression or advise tossed around from time to time – “create your masterpiece.” I had one mentor years ago who suggested every morning I wake up and say “today will be my masterpiece.” Nice thought. But I want to use this opportunity to unpack the sentiment at bit. Make it tangible.

So, what’s a masterpiece?

In my opinion, a masterpiece should be:

• A point of pride.
• An entity. A thing you created (physical, digital or experiential – doesn’t matter) that people were /are able to experience.
• Defined by a beginning and an end.

I think this last one is the one that makes a “masterpiece” manageable, for me. Knowing that creating a masterpiece has an end point is huge – it makes it a little less daunting to begin. When you’re overwhelmed by a particularly monumental task or project, I encourage you to break off the smallest meaningful piece. Focus on doing that well. Make that your masterpiece. You can create a new masterpiece tomorrow.