The concept of 'greatness' has always been mystifying and captivating to me. What it looks like, how you can achieve it, and how there can so many paths up to the top of the same mountain.
On first glance, 'greatness' is this state reserved for only a few. Most of us instinctively assume that it is not for us.
I love to watch documentaries about the people I look up to and take inspiration from. Some of these people are categorically great, some subjectively great. In the main, my fascination is with the individual who has accomplished what they have.
Though still beautiful to see, I am less interested in the performance itself. I'm the one who would rather see a documentary that goes behind the scenes of the athlete's workout routines than the race itself.
For me the fascination lies in the 'behind the scenes'. The everyday moments between the once in a lifetime moments. The path, not the destination.
I recently started building a 'Greatness' watchlist. On this list are documentaries about people I am inspired by across music, sport and business. It is a work in progress, but the most recent addition is The Last Dance about Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls. (MJ is definitely someone who is objectively great. You can't dispute this fact. You can know nothing about it and still appreciate what the man accomplished.)
As the series went on, I marvelled at what he accomplished competitively and financially. His legacy is undeniable and timeless.
I had a sudden thought. Everything he achieved came from his Craft - that of basketball. He didn't set out be rich or famous, he set out to be the best at his Craft.
This was a real lightbulb moment for me, and here is why.
I do a lot of networking as part of my business development. I meet lots of people. In the main they are solo-preneurs and professionals in small to medium-sized organisations. I can always tell who is great at what they do, and who is not. I can tell by the way they talk about what they do. There seems to be no need to 'warm up' or get in the zone. In the zone of their chosen field is where they live. What they do is a part of who they are, an extension of their identity.
I've wondered for a while how to explain this difference in people. What sets them apart? You know they will succeed. You know they are great at what they do. It is because their business is their Craft.
This piece aims to articulate this idea of a person's Craft. From there it offers a few starting points on how to think about it more for yourself. (I haven't thought this all the way through, but my sense is that everyone has a Craft).
(As an aside, I feel like I should clarify why I use the word 'Craft'. To me it conjures images of ironsmiths and woodworkers. It gives a more physical and tangible feel to the skills we pursue to make our money and provide for out families. I also think is helps us to think about honing and perfecting and working on our skills.)
Passion, Talent, Hobby or Craft?
I see a person's Craft as different to their Passion or their Talent. I also think this it is different to a Hobby. Craft can comprise all three, but distinguishes itself from each in a couple of ways.
Passion: The Unreliable Ally
A popular piece of advice in entrepreneurship is to 'follow your passion'. The idea is that if you are passionate about what you do, then you will succeed.
This advice strikes me as misguiding. There are plenty of things I am really enjoy that I would be horrible at. (Rap is the first that springs to mind.)
The problem with passion is that it is unpredictable, fickle and erratic. To do anything meaningful takes time, effort, dedication and consistency. Passion is not consistent.
The world does not wait for us to do things when we feel like it. Passion is all about feeling like it. What happens when you get a piece of bad news, a setback or you're tired? Passion evades us. So if passion is the only thing that drives us, then we have teamed up with a very unreliable ally indeed for the long run.
Not only that, but when a passion project is the way one earns a living, it can become an obligation and a burden. This obligation kills their love for it, which is rather tragic.
Talent: The Unopened Gift
A good friend of mine talks often about 'willingness and capacity'. The willingness of a person is the extend to which she is ready to work for or at something for a result. Capacity is how talented she is at the thing she has to work at.
To achieve great things, you need to have both, and herein lies the problem with relying on Talent.
Capacity is how able you are to do something. A big component of that is talent. Talent is a gift you received. You didn't have to work for it, you were born with it. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this - good for you if you have a talent. Often though, this can present someone with a couple of mindset challenges:
they don't know how it works, and so don't know where to start to make it better, and/or
they didn't have to work for it. So when the need to work to get to the next level presents itself, they are ill-prepared for that kind of commitment
Both of these are why talented people might struggle to go the distance to which they aspire. Talent only gets you so far. Michael Jordan had talent, but he had to work relentlessly on his Craft to do what he did. What unlocked his next level of success was understanding how to be a team player. And this barrier had little to do with how talented he was.
Hobby: The Sidecar
I see Crafts and Hobbies as different. The principle difference between a Hobby and a Craft is that you can earn money from the second one. Your Craft is what makes you your living.
Hobbies are extremely important. They provide for you in other ways. Distraction, entertainment, escape, creativity - you name it. By way of example, my hobby is jiujitsu. At the time of writing, I have been unable to do it for over two months. This is affecting my energy levels, fitness and ability to manage stress.
As important as hobbies are, you don't depend on them for your livelihood. They are the sidecar to your Craft's motorcycle.
A Hobby can become a Craft. As an example, I coached for years alongside my full time job before going full time into Next Level. And perhaps a Craft can go into retirement as a Hobby? But the two are different, and we have a different relationship with each.
Craft: The Life Skill
A person's Craft is not what they do - it is who they are. They did it before they were successful at it. And they would continue to do it even if the results they achieved fell short of those they dreamt of.
A person thinks about their Craft near constantly. They sacrifice themselves for it, dedicate themselves to it, through thick and thin. They show up every day for it.
To put it in loftier terms - it is something they were born to do. It is the skill they have and have worked on, which they use to contribute to the world.
Yes, they have a talent for it. But they have built (and crucially, continue to build) upon that talent.
Talent says, "look how good I am at this".
Craft asks, "how can I be better at this?"
A person is passionate about their Craft. They love to do it. But they are also able to step back and look at what else needs to happen progress.
Someone's relationship with their Craft is not a love affair - it is a marriage. They stand by it through enjoyment and frustration.
Here is an example. Someone who is passionate about painting will paint all day and all night, until they don't want to any more.
Someone who's Craft is to paint knows that if they are to improve in it, and make a living from it, painting alone is not enough.
They must spend time working to improve their skills. They must spend an even a greater amount of their time on supplementary activities. They must deal with galleries. Market their pieces of art. Understand and work with the commercial realities of their industry.
This is why a Craft is so hard to perfect. We must balance the passion and love we have for it with the objectivity it takes to see what needs to be done to progress. Not just what we want to do.
I see all of this as a big reason why small businesses fail. People get caught up in their Passion and/or Talent. They avoid the supplementary activities that are required to build a functional business. (This is when your Craft mutates into an expensive Hobby by the way.)
What's your Craft?
My Craft is Coaching. Coaching is creating the conditions for someone to claim (or re-claim) the next level of their potential in life. I love doing it, and will do it for the rest of my life, and work to get better at it always.
What is yours? For some their Craft comes well defined - law, medicine, rugby, music. But some Crafts are better camouflaged. Perhaps your Craft is building community. Maybe it is solving complicated problems. Perhaps it is starting businesses. Perhaps it is creation.
Perhaps everyone has a Craft. Some maybe haven't found theirs yet. Some may have no interest in having one, and that's ok. Below are some questions to help you start thinking about yours, and what it could be:
What skills do you have?
What about your current job do you love?
What about your current job do you hate?
What is something you would do even if you were never paid to do it?
Name a skill that you are constantly looking to improve.
Complete this sentence: "I am all about...?"
So what now?
If the idea of Craft resonates with you, a couple of books that have helped me think about this. They are below, for your reference and further interest.
"Turning Pro" - Steven Pressfield
"The War of Art" - Steven Pressfield
"The Artist's Way" - Julia Cameron. (At the time of writing, I haven't yet finished this book. But it has already been valuable enough to me to list it without hesitation).
Oh, and you should definitely watch The Last Dance.