“Turtle was over the line. After that, Hare kept reminding himself: "Don't brag about your pace, because Slow and Steady won the race!" "The turtle and the hare (Aesop's fables)"
I was in an introduction to the calligraphy workshop when a fellow student asked the teacher: "What do I need to become a professional calligrapher, what would it take?"
We were all with this on the edge of our seats. It was like trying to find out the secret ingredient for grandma's cookies.
To our surprise, the answer was pen and paper.
"The materials do not differ from those of a beginner of the writing artist," said the instructor.
The distinction between a beginner and a professional calligrapher is not in the tools they use, but in the professional's commitment to practice, in their pace, and in the time it took them to learn and do ,
The same applies to all professionals in their craft.
I remember a time when I was on a cruise ship and saw all these tourists with huge camera lenses and devices for their cameras. I was incredibly impressed and sometimes intimidated by their equipment when I held up my own iPhone to take a quick picture.
After a while on board you get to know each other well. I realized that despite their top tier lens, basically all cameras were set to auto.
What good is such an advanced lens if you don't know how to use it?
They had climbed from zero to one hundred without any practice, without acquired skills, only with more stylish devices.
This lesson about the professional calligrapher has always fascinated me.
When we look up to the expert, we assume that increasing material quality or accessing better resources is great. This assumption overlooks the time it would have taken them to learn something new and achieve their goal.
Instead we want to cut corners and look for the abbreviation. We want to make progress as soon as possible, perhaps because we feel left behind in life and have to hurry to get ahead, or because we think we'll be happier when we reach our goal.
Cutting corners is not a strategy that inevitably benefits us. This way, we can be more useful and accessible to others, do more, and be more productive.
Our concern for positive feedback and acceptance from others prevents us from taking the time to experience something thoroughly for ourselves simply because we enjoy it or because we are curious about it.
Just because.
Last year I worked with my sister to find new career opportunities. My current goal is to become an independent filmmaker.
Similar to the observations above, I quickly approached the calligraphy student's mindset: what would it take, what would I need to make the best films, to be a great filmmaker?
I also wanted the abbreviation. The direct way to the goal. Is there a particular camera lens that I need to have, a lighting kit, a microphone, or a skill that would make me successful?
After researching filmmaking blogs and watching online video subscriptions about filmmaking, it occurred to me that I had everything I needed to achieve my goal.
There was no shortcut to filmmaking.
It would only take some time.
Time for me to learn more about the tools I already had.
Time to pick up my camera and do interviews.
Time to write script ideas with pen and paper.
Time to make bad videos so I can make a better video next time.
Time for repeated efforts, continuous practice and finally improvement.
It's easy to get caught looking for a solution rather than taking your time. In the end, we lose energy and motivation when we look for the right tools or answers.
We do things with the intention of going fast rather than far. We fix the bottom line and rob ourselves of the fun and excitement we would have if we indulged in the trip.
Instead, I found out that I stand with the turtle and not with the rabbit. "Slow and steady [wins the race]."
Go far. Reach further. Take your time to become your best self.
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