Less Can Be More
http://www.refresher.com/mindfulnetwork/articlelive/articles/302/1/Less-Can-Be-More/Page1.html
Jim Stovall
Jim
Stovall is the president of Narrative Television Network, as well as a
published author of many books including The Ultimate Gift. He is also a
columnist and motivational speaker. He may be reached at 5840 South Memorial Drive, Suite 312, Tulsa,
OK 74145-9082,
or by e-mail at Jim@JimStovall.com By Jim Stovall
Published on 09/29/2009
In our daily lives, you and I have the opportunity to perform any number of tasks. Many of these tasks are simple and even mundane. We can perform these tasks in a haphazard or mediocre fashion. On the other hand, we have the privilege of beginning to perform simple and unnoticed tasks with a degree of excellence. In doing so, we can begin to improve our lives and elevate our existence.
Today’s the day!
I’m hoping you will join me on an ongoing lifelong quest I have undertaken. I am committed to explore and experience people and things that are the best in the world. Whether it’s B.B. King, Eric Clapton, or Stevie Ray Vaughan playing the guitar, or Luciano Pavarotti and Plácido Domingo singing, or reading work by the greatest poets and writers of all time, it is a mind- and soul-expanding experience.
You don’t have to be a baseball fan to enjoy a dual between Albert Pujols and a great major league pitcher. Millions of people that have never held a golf club tune in regularly to watch Tiger Woods perform his magic. There is a certain simplicity that comes with greatness. Maybe those who have discovered the essence of excellence don’t feel the need to clutter their lives with superfluous bells and whistles.
Recently, I had the opportunity to re-read a new edition of Ernest Hemingway’s Moveable Feast. Hemingway had enough confidence in his craft to allow his stark and clear memories of his early days in Paris to tell the story. A lesser writer would have yielded to the temptation to become verbose and longwinded. Hemingway said, “The quality of a book is determined by the skill of the writer and the excellence of the material left out.” When you can remove all of the unnecessary clutter and noise, the purity of art can emerge.
I remember going to a Tony Bennett concert at a quaint old auditorium here in my hometown. Although the venue seats around 3,000, it was built at a time when sound amplification was not prevalent. The auditorium has obviously since been wired with a state-of-the-art sound system, but at one point in his concert, Tony Bennett laid down his microphone and stepped to the front of the stage where he did an entire number without amplification. The clarity and purity of his voice and the raw talent he possesses came through. Lesser singers would never attempt such a feat, but Tony Bennett is simply a master of his craft.
In our daily lives, you and I have the opportunity to perform any number of tasks. Many of these tasks are simple and even mundane. We can perform these tasks in a haphazard or mediocre fashion. On the other hand, we have the privilege of beginning to perform simple and unnoticed tasks with a degree of excellence. In doing so, we can begin to improve our lives and elevate our existence.
If you can begin to do the simple things with greatness, you’re on the road to becoming one of those extraordinary people who make us all aspire to be better than we are.
As you go through your day today, look for greatness in other people and things as you begin to emulate that greatness in your own life.
Today’s the day!
You don’t have to be a baseball fan to enjoy a dual between Albert Pujols and a great major league pitcher. Millions of people that have never held a golf club tune in regularly to watch Tiger Woods perform his magic. There is a certain simplicity that comes with greatness. Maybe those who have discovered the essence of excellence don’t feel the need to clutter their lives with superfluous bells and whistles.
Recently, I had the opportunity to re-read a new edition of Ernest Hemingway’s Moveable Feast. Hemingway had enough confidence in his craft to allow his stark and clear memories of his early days in Paris to tell the story. A lesser writer would have yielded to the temptation to become verbose and longwinded. Hemingway said, “The quality of a book is determined by the skill of the writer and the excellence of the material left out.” When you can remove all of the unnecessary clutter and noise, the purity of art can emerge.
I remember going to a Tony Bennett concert at a quaint old auditorium here in my hometown. Although the venue seats around 3,000, it was built at a time when sound amplification was not prevalent. The auditorium has obviously since been wired with a state-of-the-art sound system, but at one point in his concert, Tony Bennett laid down his microphone and stepped to the front of the stage where he did an entire number without amplification. The clarity and purity of his voice and the raw talent he possesses came through. Lesser singers would never attempt such a feat, but Tony Bennett is simply a master of his craft.
In our daily lives, you and I have the opportunity to perform any number of tasks. Many of these tasks are simple and even mundane. We can perform these tasks in a haphazard or mediocre fashion. On the other hand, we have the privilege of beginning to perform simple and unnoticed tasks with a degree of excellence. In doing so, we can begin to improve our lives and elevate our existence.
If you can begin to do the simple things with greatness, you’re on the road to becoming one of those extraordinary people who make us all aspire to be better than we are.
As you go through your day today, look for greatness in other people and things as you begin to emulate that greatness in your own life.
Today’s the day!