Know Your Tools

You must know your tools. Be it a tool for dueling, a tool for creating, or a tool for shaping. Tools are the things we use in our everyday activities. Miyamoto Musashi – the greatest samurai of all time – stressed this idea greatly. He learned to use his sword like it was a part of his body, and an extension of his soul.

It is important because when you fight you are not supposed to think. You are supposed to free your mind and let your body and instincts move you – being in ‘the zone’. Thinking about your weapon and its flaws and advantages is too much thought process to achieve victory in a fight. You must inherently know the limitations and advantages of your weapon, and move naturally.

Miyamoto Musashi knew his weapons so well, that he could win duels to the death using only a wooden stick. He was so skilled that he stopped killing his opponents in his older age. It’s not how deadly the weapon is, it’s how well you know your weapon.

This idea of knowing your tools can be applied to any activity.

For an artist, knowing your brush, or knowing your painting program is what you should master. A writer inherently knows the language structure, the way stories are presented, and the way ideas are written down. If you don’t master your tools you will be consumed with distracting thoughts, you will be questioning your abilities, and you won’t be getting your main idea across effectively. If you master your tools then you can let your message flow freely without interruption.

Clayton,

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The objective of an artist in today’s ever growing social networks.

Every piece of content the artist makes is like a slave to the artist.

I thought of art before as something people look at, like or dislike, and buy. My philosophy around this has changed a lot.

Art that I create has changed from something people look at, to something that will attract like minded people to my network. I see art as a sign or billboard, the bigger and more attractive, the more people it will attract. The benefit of this is being surrounded by like minded people. Your network of people will cause more inspiration for your art.

The more you think about how a piece of art or content will attract like minded people, the closer you will get to your purpose and your ‘True Style’.

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