I wanted to go ahead and post this Sean Tucker video today as perhaps an encouragement to myself for one day down the road- probably sooner than later- when I am questioning my investment in creative enterprises.

But I also wanted to post it for anyone who has hobbies- for anyone who puts in time trying to learn and to do creative things that require understanding and skills and practice and abilities.

It is a video about mastery, but not merely about master of a craft.

It is as much a video about mastering yourself as well.

When it was first posted two days ago and I chanced upon it, after I watched it a first time I was left silent and reflective.

And then I wanted to tell everyone I knew about it- because what Sean talks about is not merely how to be a good artist, but at a deeper level, how to get along as a person.

Everything good takes time. Everything worthwhile requires patience.

And I appreciate that Sean started it with a slow introduction, and then his simple statement recognizing that he was forty and it was a time for stock taking.

I feel like I’ve been doing that a lot lately- or at least trying to. And it’s been a challenging season of reflection

In many respects, I feel so very far away from everything- competencies, clarity, skills, goal achievements, relationships.

I took myself here. I chose a path that I thought would pay off in certain ways in the future, and it was a wrong way. And I chose to deal with stuff less than courageously. I chose to put myself in solitary confinement.

Sean is two things in this video that I immediately saw in his words and deeply appreciated.

Sean is honest about himself.

And Sean is humble about himself.

Mastery begins with honesty and humility, because in honesty and humility, you have no issues in seeing where you really are in respect to things in your life. You can say “I did not do as well as I thought I would”, or “I recognize I have a long way to go to be decent at this”, and that recognition by the self is not a condemnation. A sober evaluation is simply an assessment, a tallying of raw data points, a contextualization of where you are against where you want to be, and consequently, a source of motivation.

Sean is honest with us, the viewers, which is commendable. But more importantly, Sean is honest with himself.

I want to be more honest with myself. I want to be kinder to myself, and sober-minded about my potentials and my current abilities, not to compare myself against others whom I recognize as remarkable and exceptional. I just want to compare myself more against myself- my progress today against my progress yesterday.

In being honest.

In being creative.

In being a good worker.

In being a good friend.

In being a good person.

Mastery requires patience, because mastery requires progress, which is best measured in honestly and humbly.

Change- growth- takes time and effort.

And patience- with the process, and with the self.

“Honesty is the first chapter of the book wisdom.”
― Thomas Jefferson