I was watching a Marco Pierre-White cooking video a while back and he shared something that resonated with me.
Those who use their hands to produce work are known as laborers.
Those who use both their hands and mind are respected as craftsmen.
Those few who use their hands, mind, and soul are revered as artists.
He shared this within the context of the culinary world, where the greatest chefs are artists as they have the technical ability, experience, and passion to bring diners not just sustenance, but a life-changing experience.
I did some introspection on my own circumstance.
I have to say with radical honesty, I have just started to transition from a laborer to a craftsman.
For the earlier parts of my career, I was (and I say this is no disrespect) a small cog in a machine.
It was necessary at the start, to learn the ropes.
Now, having developed some competencies, and gained some valuable experience, I start the next phase of my professional journey with a greater emphasis on the ‘mind’ aspect.
This involves being placed in a position with greater independence, responsibility, and decision-making authority.
I can no longer just ‘take the lead from someone else’. Its a prospect that I view positively.
I do feel slightly nervous, but I leverage that as a driving force to invest more effort in preparing, learning, and getting up to speed.
What intrigues me more is what will the next jump look like: from a craftsman to an artist.
I did a thought experiment: what are the qualities that I would need to have to reach there?
What will it feel like if/when I have reached that level?
What would drive me further?
My hypothesis is that at that stage, I would be driven more by curiosity, passion, interest on a topic or field that I care dearly about.
I suspect that I would have (due to innate passion/interest in said field) have accumulated a significant higher level of competency/knowledge to be able to effect tangible impact on a larger demographic.
Intrinsically, I suspect that I will no longer view this field as an adversary, or a challenge to overcome, but as an long-time friend.
We will be dancing in tandem, neither party subjugating or submitting to the other.
The expression of our work will be simple, but in a refined and elegant way.
Just like Michelangelo, the artist, brush, canvas, and painting, all become one.