Excerpted from J. Michael Dolan’s Blogs & Stories | The Search for Barenaked Integrity…
BRANCUSI’S VICTORY CRY (read time 1:27)
Once the great Romanian artist Constantin Brancusi finally battled his way through poverty, resistance, fear and doubt, he planted his flag atop the highest peak of riches and fame and shouted his most profound victory cry so that all artists & entrepreneurs throughout eternity could learn the great secret of how to be victorious:
“Create like a god! Command like a King! Work like a Slave!”
Create like a god: Make something from nothing and create with abandon. Get out of the way and allow “IT” to come through you: songs, books, scripts, scores, products, start-ups, designs, photography, videos, websites, television shows, movies, art, inventions, new technology, etc. Be mindful of when doubt and fear sabotage the flow of great ideas, and learn to create a “clearing” for creative inspiration to flow through you like the blood pumping in your veins!
Command like a King: With intelligence, confidence, and your own style of cockiness, forever ban pettiness and ego from your creative world and insist that all those who work at your side and participate in your projects demonstrate unwavering loyalty, honesty, commitment and integrity—or they’re out!
Work like a Slave: The biggest insult you can say about a successful person is “they were lucky.” There’s no such thing as “luck,” it’s an old worn out myth! The only reason professional artists & entrepreneurs achieve success is because they take big risks and work their ass off! They’ve learned that the only way to achieve their grand desires and impossible dreams is to remove their socks, walk across the hot coals, and DO THE WORK! And while the amateur pauses to admire his creation, the professional works to improve his…and never stops improving it!
So why do it? Because if you weren’t an artist or entrepreneur, you’d have to get a real job!
Ummm …am I the only one with a problem for #2. In a close read one can see that the beginning does not match the end. I’ve lived down the rabbit hole of creativity for decades. I personally find that only when I’m open to other ideas, patterns and persona’s am I truly able to pull Kingly ideas out of creativity.
…yeah, #3 is cool too. Mark Twain said “…why, luck is nothing more than persistence meeting opportunity. That’s kinda cool too.
Thanks for the forum, it is a good read with good advice.