Once after self-discovery comes self-development. The feeling of finding yourself and knowing what you stand for is just priceless but this is only the beginning of new journey.

Your craft is that which you are passionate about, that which you have a flair for, be it a pastime or a profession. it doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to build something with your hands but it does require some form of manual and/or intellectual skills. Its your God-given gift!

So does my craft have to earn me money? heck yes! Your craft should (sooner or later) earn you so some sort of reward- money, respect, love, recognition, whatever…

Developing your craft is just as important as building your brand. You would want to be known for your craft. As you may already know, there aren’t much jobs out there these days and people have learnt to fall back to their skills for survival.

I must congratulate you, if by now you have already discovered your passion or talent and know what you stand for. You must now (and continuously) work relentlessly to build yourself to an enviable level (well, except your craft is legal, please don’t say you drew your inspiration from this article)

The one thing you must do on this path to greatness is to be disciplined. You know when in the movies, where (let’s say) a sportsman is getting ready for a final championship game and we see him get up very early, lace up his boots, jog across a long mile, by a sea, by a grassland, through a bridge. We see him go through several preparatory routines in the rain, under the moonlight, he keeps pushing and on game day, everything comes together to give him victory (if you’ve guessed that am talking about the new “creed” movie featuring Sylvester Stallone, you are not that far off)

Consistent practice and discipline is a keyword here. To be disciplined is to remember what it is you are fighting for. And yes, consistent practice and discipline in your craft inevitably means that some other things be forfeited (like sacrificing the time you would have spent with friends and family, and some other pleasurable moments)

Jim Rohn says, “there are two types of pain you will go through in life, the pain of discipline and the pain of regret…”.

The pain of discipline, no doubt, can be treacherous, especially when we have no idea when it is going to end but we keep forging ahead because we know we will have a good laugh, when at the end, all of the hard work pays off. Victory at-last!

So keep believing in yourself and in the beauty of your dreams and if you need a friend to smile to the bank with, just know that i am here for you.




Source/full article: justiceokwudike.com/2016/01/06/master-your-craft/

Created and Produced by Justice Okwudike
Styling by JT-Class men’s fashion
Photography by 34SND pictures