The Artisan Spirit
What does the word “artisan” mean to you?
Who do you think of when you hear that word?
The other day, I was watching a video on youtube of an amazing Taiko Drum performance.
If you’re never seem Taiko drums, they are these huge Japanese wooden drums. In the performance I saw, you have ten maybe twelve drums, some being struck by multiple people in a choreographed fashion, and everything was so perfectly coordinated, and even effortless.
I turn to my friend and say “These people probably spend a lifetime doing this to perform at this level!”
And she (who happens to be Japanese) says “Yes, that’s the Japanese culture. There’s the artisan approach to a lot of thing.”
And I think “Artisan….huh…. How much of that is still around?”
When I was in Japan, I remember visiting a family owned Sake Brewery. For generations, all they do is Sake-making. The whole family spends eight to ten hours a day involved in improving the craft of sake-making. That’s why they’re so good at it.
Do you know anyone around you with that towards their business?
10,000 Hours to Mastery
In the book Outliers: The Story of Success
One of the things he suggests is that mastery essentially requires 10,000 hours of focused practice or focused work in a specific area. Only then will you be an expert.
Now the question I have for you is, have you invested that kind of time?
Have you taken the artisan approach to become a more successful entrepreneur?
Some entrepreneurs today have one good product, or one good idea. They succeed and make a lot of money, and then they sit on that money and wait for their “next billion dollar idea”.
Is that the best of your time? Or would you rather be putting your time into becoming an even better expert in your field?
Artisan Entrepreneur does NOT mean 8-10 hour days
Let’s say I wanted to learn to play the saxophone. If I practice 10 to 12 hours a day, I will probably improve relatively quickly.
However, I also won’t have any time left for anything else, including my business.
Yes, putting in 8 hours a day, 7 days a week into anything, including music, sports, your business, will have some sort of impact.
However, when it comes to your business, are you spending all 8 hours honing your craft?
Are you setting an intention to maybe work on your marketing skills to become a better marketer?
Practicing speaking to become a better presenter? Practicing sales conversations?
It’s more important that you spend a few hours a day on honing your craft with the intention of the artisan approach.
Yes, it will take you 10 years to get to 10,000 hours at that rate, but if you’re in entrepreneurship for the long haul, isn’t it worth it? Especially if you leave plenty of time to enjoy the lifestyle you are building for yourself.
Or would you rather grind 10 hours a day and not leave yourself time to live?
