I am very thankful and grateful to my kind friend who has generously passed me one of his many inspiring books, “The Angel Inside” by Chris Widener. It’s about Michelangelo’s secrets for following your passion and finding the work you love.
The book is simple, easy to read yet incredibly powerful. It serves as a guide to help readers discover their potential and live their passion.
When I was a teenager one of my most cherish souvenir is a mini replica of Michelangelo’s statue of David which was given to me by my uncle who bought it from Florence, Italy.
Now that I have read “The Angel Inside” I have gain greater insights and deep appreciation to Michelangelo’s masterpiece David, as it has taught me amazing lessons in following one’s passion and I feel compel to summarize these lessons below.
The Angel Inside is about a despondent thirty-year-old American man, Tom Cook, who travels Europe for three weeks, seeking to gain perspectives and direction in his life. On his last day of his trip, a mysterious stranger takes Tom under his wing and teaches him “Michelangelo’s secrets for following your passion and the true meaning of achieving life process and striving for greatness within.
1) Finding The Angel Inside You: No matter what others may say, there is an angel inside you waiting to be set free. Every person has within them the capacity to be both king and warrior, a person of value and a person of accomplishment.
2) The Power of Following Your Passion: No matter what others think you should do or become, you must always follow your passion.
3) Being Confident In Your Strength: If you are to be successful, you must find self-confidence in the things that you do well and then pursue them.
4) Beauty Through Details: The masters, the ones who succeed tremendously and set the standard for others, are those who master the details.
Most people do average work. Some do above average work. The masters, the one who succeed tremendously and set the standard for others are those who master the details.
5) Your Hand Creates What Your Mind Conceives: The secret is: Let your mind conceive it and then let your hand create it. True accomplishment requires both
As David stands facing his Goliath, he conceives in his mind what he wants to do. He sees the giant dead at his feet and his own army saved.
6) The importance of planning and preparation: The lesson is not to move too fast. Fast enough to get where you want to be, but slow enough to do it right the first time.
7) All Accomplishment Starts With One Swift Action: “Action is the beginning of accomplishment. Without it, you have only wasted dreams and good intentions.”
8) Embracing The Stages of Chipping, Sculpting, Sanding, And Polishing: “We must go through the same progression: Chip away what doesn’t belong, sculpt our lives and give them form through people we associate with and the information we take in, allow the rough spots of our lives to be sanded away through adversity and suffering, and then, only then, are we ready to be polished and let our power and beauty show in all their glory.”
9) Being Content: Sometimes Success Takes Years: “Sometimes success takes years. It takes methodical action over time.”
10) No One Starts with The Sistine Chapel: “Live your life and do your work in the embodiment of excellent, and opportunities will flow your way. People cannot, they will not, turn an eye away from excellence.”