Episode 221 – How to Build Craft

Nobody trusts that the local drunk is a person of craft.

He might be, but the only thing people see when he stumbles out of the bar is that he is a drunk. He may even tell you in a sober moment about his great craft, but he is quickly dismissed.

That is having low Character.

While he may have high Craft, with low Character we don’t trust. We don’t believe that anything he produces could be that great.

Being identified with Craft eludes the person without Character.
But if you lack Competence, you fall victim to the same mechanism.

She could be the kindest, sweetest woman you’ve ever met. She could remember people’s names at parties, tell on herself if she accidentally shorts the customer five cents, or give away her position in line to the senior citizen. She is much more preferable to the low-Character person.

However, if you ask her how to balance the bookkeeping, or set up a system for marketing, or her system for connecting deeply with the customers; and she replies with a whimsical smile that says ‘I’m not sure’ without interest or care returns to the sweeping, we don’t trust she has the Competence (or skills) to help.

We don’t trust that she has the Craft necessary to help your massive dream come to pass. We can trust her with the sweeping! Certainly! Keep her on the payroll and fire the drunk! Certainly!

We just can’t trust her to add her great Craft to your goals.

Craft is where Competence and Character overlap.

You see, when we meet a person who has both Character and Competence, Trust is built quickly.

We trust that they will do what they say.
We trust that they will only say what it is they can do.
We trust that they will go above and beyond to make something extraordinary.

We trust that they will bring Craft to whatever they do, and that hopefully will be your great goals!

Want to know where to find Craft?

Look for it in the work of the next person you meet who is highly Competent with high Character. Ask them what they do. Dig until you find their Craft.

How To Build Craft

So how you build Craft is to work on these two things: Character and Competence.

To work on Competence, find a coach or trainer. Become an apprentice. Work in the field. This is the simple one. Just put in the hours to develop Competence. The better you do, the more you’ll be entrusted with more and more important work.

(We’ll talk about callings some other time.)

To work on Character is a bit trickier. But it is also sublimely simple. Find a mentor. Not a coach. Not a trainer. Find a mentor. Find someone who has ‘been there’, who has the results in life that you want, and submit yourself to their input.

Ask hard questions of them and give them permission to ask hard questions of you.

And here is the secret sauce; be embarrassingly honest. The more transparent you are with them the more they can speak into your life. If they can be bold enough to speak directly to you, and you can apply their feedback, you can begin to shape your Character.

The more honest you are, the better you become as a person. The better decisions you make. The less frightening it is to be honest!

If you can be honest and it not make ladies clutch their pearls, the more Trust is instilled in you!

Once You Build Craft

Once you build Craft, the rest of the journey is to create, create, create.

Once you have Crafted yourself, the rest of your life you are to Craft your creations. This is the Upward Craft Cycle. (The more you Craft, the better you get at Crafting, the more you Craft. And on.)

This is the same with Trust. (The more you Craft, the more people trust your Craftmanship, the more they Trust you to Craft for them, the more you Craft.)

Craft books and poetry.
Craft new, better relationships.
Craft new methods of building furniture, creative ways to display flowers at weddings, or loud new words to describe things.

Simply put: Character + Competence = CRAFT.

#sparkedlife #ignitesuccess #charactercompetencecraft #craftyourvision

https://youtu.be/H5zKqCP_SSA