It starts out innocent.

No one notices.

Few if any even listen…except those who really know you.

And then what happens?

Attitudes change.

People start paying attention.

And then next thing you know the true…and mostly false assumptions show up… and only the people who know you…really know the truth.

This is what happens when you take the time and just “chip away” at your life.

In other words…

You take those “baby steps”…the little “day in and day out” steps that are part of the big picture which are involved in you reaching your goals.

Sometime this is referred to as “what goes on behind the scenes.”

Yet…

Most people only go by what they see on the outside…have no idea of what it takes…and then mislabel the person who reaches their goals and attributes it to something other than what it really is.

What this means for you is…

Your ability to live the type of life you’d love to live involves your ability to keep “chipping away” each day.

This leads to the question…

How much of your life is being chipped away?

1. Your statue of life- There are many people out there who say that happiness is your birthright. That’s not true because it’s whatever you love to do is what’s involved in bringing out the happiness in you.

In other words…

You have something you’d love to do…something that inspires you…something that gets you up out of bed every day “raring to go.”

Whatever that is for you, you’ll find yourself saying “I love doing this”, “I’m inspired to be doing this”, “This is what I’ve always dreamed of doing”…

This can be in any of the 7 areas of life…your spirituality, mindset development, career, finances, family, social network, and physical health.

These form what I’m calling your statue of life.

And it’s here where you’ll be “chipping away” day in and day out.

Then of course if you find yourself saying “I have to”, “I’ve got to”, “I’m supposed to” you’ll find yourself “dragging yourself” throughout the day looking to be motivated to do something you don’t love.

Therefore and obviously…

The more you’re doing what you love…the higher the probability of you “chipping away” at it.

Then comes the other part that’s involved…and often misunderstood…when it comes to “sculpting” your statue of life.

And what I’m referring to is seeking support and praise.

There’s no doubt about it that having support and praise is important.

However…

It’s also having the challenges and criticism is what’s vital in order for you to sculpt that “perfect” statue of life.

Because no matter what you do you’ll get people support and challenging you…praising and criticizing you…along with people liking and disliking you…equally.

Therefore…

When you’re doing what you love you’ll embrace both sides equally in pursuit of your goals…and you’ll stick with it instead of giving up.

2. Virtuoso in action- As you’re “chipping away” on a daily basis, you may at times have a tendency to “beat yourself up” as to why things aren’t getting done fast enough.

Along with this…

You are likely to look at what other people have accomplished and compare yourself to them…while wishing your life was just like theirs.

This leads to what I call “wanting things done yesterday.”

As a result…

This can and often does lead to desperation in the form of looking for overnight “miracles”…or looking for that big “home run.”

What happens here…you start getting emotional and do foolish things.

The virtuoso…the person who “chips away” day in and day out…the person who takes the “little big steps” each day is the one who all of a sudden seems to come out of nowhere.

This leads to what I said at the beginning…about the true and mostly false assumptions showing up…and that only the people who know you really know the truth.

And that is this…

The people who are on the outside looking in will have a high probability of seeing the person who has achieved “success” and attribute that to things like “luck”, “born into a wealthy family”, or some other false assumption.

The bottom line is…

When you’re true to who you are…while doing what you love…and embracing both sides of life equally…without comparing yourself to others, you “chip away” each day and the results that seem like they’re taking forever for others…will come to you faster than you ever imagined.

And if you should have those moments when you “beat yourself up”…we all do at some point…

When you acknowledge that what you admire in others…that you have it as well and in your own unique way…

You’ll be grateful and appreciate yourself much more.

Plus…

The “chipping away” each day will have you “in the flow” and you’ll be a virtuoso in action.

And those true assumptions…that you earned what you’ve achieved…will be appreciated by those around you.

3. The illusion of miracles- Earlier I mentioned about miracles. On the surface a miracle seems like something extraordinary. However, what appears to be a “miracle” to one person may actually be a “normal” occurrence for someone else.

Additionally and surprisingly to most people…

“Miracles” and striving for miracles can convey a feeling of desperation.

Think about it…

Take a person who knows what they’d love to do…has a mission…along with a strategic plan on how to carry out their mission…and “chips away” each day.

What happens over a certain period of time…they’ll follow through on what they set out to do…right?

Now…

Take a person who has no idea what they want to do…has no idea what their mission is…has no plan…shoots for the big “home run” and overnight results.

Here you’ll have someone that has a high probability of feeling desperate. This person will be in search of miracles.

While the first person I mentioned…

They would have created their own so called “miracle”, except they haven’t because they took the time to plan out their life and then began “chipping away” each day.

Therefore…

You have one person who isn’t desperate and doesn’t see things as being miracles.

And…

You have another person who is likely to be desperate in search of miracles.

This is why miracles are in a large sense an illusion…

Because when you acknowledge the true and divine order of the Universe…while also “chipping away” and being persistent day in and day out…while living according to what is truly most important to you…

You eliminate the need for so called “miracles” in your life.

Instead…

You’ll see life as a blessing…something to be grateful for…and something to appreciate.

And the same applies to you.

The fact that you’re reading this right now is something to be grateful for…because you’re alive.

And since you’re alive you have something of value to contribute to the world.

It may not be obvious to other people. In fact it may not even be 100% obvious to to you right now.

However…

There is something about you that’s special.

There is something about you that’s unique which allows you to be special.

And it’s this “unique specialness” that demonstrates how much you do matter in the world.