The David

Michelangelo’s David stands over 17 feet tall. It's carved from a single block of marble, perfectly poised in the moment before facing Goliath. It’s housed at the Galleria dell’Accademia in Florence, Italy. David is considered one of the greatest masterpieces of the Renaissance. Michelangelo said when asked how he created it:

“I just took away everything that wasn’t David.”

He believed the figure was already in the marble. His job was to reveal it.

We’re all standing in front of a block of marble (this life we’ve been given) with all its noise and options and unfinished edges. And like Michelangelo, we’ve got to chip away at everything that’s not us, to uncover the very best version of who we were meant to become.

Here’s the twist: we are both the art and the artist. We’re Michelangelo and David.

So how do you sculpt yourself into a masterpiece?

From the Outside: Clear the Clutter

First, you have to create space. Quiet the noise. Make room to breathe and think and hear your own soul speak. I once heard Elon Musk say that people would be shocked at how much time he spends just thinking. Not doing. Thinking.

So many of us run full-speed ahead without stopping to ask: Where am I actually going?

Take that time. Slow down. Reflect. Meditate. Laugh with your people. Sit with God. Borrow a page from Michael Gerber’s E-Myth and work on your life, not just in it. This isn’t about checking off boxes. It’s about chiseling away everything that isn’t the real you.

And by writing this, I’m not proposing to be the expert. My son, John, and I had a lengthy conversation about this recently. I’ve drawn so many boxes to check and am so busy trying to check them! I feel more like a hockey player who’s been checked! And honestly, so does everyone around me. Again, this isn’t about checking off boxes; it’s about chiseling away everything that isn’t the real you.

From the Inside: Build the Beauty

At the same time, you’re sculpting from within. You’re building something worth memorializing; not for the crowds, but because you know it’s meaningful.

That doesn’t mean the You statue (necessarily) has a six-pack or a slingshot to kill mighty bears or giants (though you might. LOL). It means moving your body with purpose, feeding it things that nourish and strengthen, learning things that expand your mind. It means living with intention and goodness and a little bit of fire for what matters.

Work from the outside to cut away everything that’s not the best you. Work from the inside to become the best you.

And maybe—just maybe—someday someone will stand in line for 2.5 hours just to admire the beauty of what you’ve made; the masterpiece of a life well-lived.