A gentleman was once visiting a temple under construction. In the temple premises, he saw a sculptor making an idol of God. Suddenly he saw, just a few meters away, another identical idol was lying
Surprised he asked the sculptor, do you need two statutes of the same idol. No said the sculptor. We need only one, but the first one got damaged at the last stage.
The gentleman examined the statue. No apparent damage was visible
Where is the damage? asked the gentleman.
There is a scratch on the nose of the idol.
Where are you going to keep the idol?
The sculptor replied that it will be installed on a pillar 20 feet high
When the idol will be 20 feet away from the eyes of the beholder, who is going to know that there is scratch on the nose? The gentleman asked
The sculptor looked at the gentleman, smiled and said, "The God knows it and I know it."
The desire to excel should be exclusive of the fact whether someone appreciates it or not Excellence is a drive from Inside not Outside.
Thursday, May 15, 2008
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4 comments:
Kia Ora Manish.
I am touched by your story of the perfectionist. It has a haunting significance for me as the son of a cabinet-maker who, likewise, had a quest for excellence. Before he died at the ripe age of 84, he made a miniature violin complete with fiddle-case and bow. I once examined this piece under a microscope and to my astonishment the inscription viewed through the f-hole is immaculate.
My father always knew where to look for the signs of perfection in a work of furniture. While admiring a chest of drawers he would remove one drawer completely and inspect the back of it where the joints held the sides and back together.
Invariably, on high quality pieces, the joints were dovetailed. The workmanship on the dovetails, while rarely visible while the chest was in normal use, reflected the true quality of the workmanship of the whole article.
Ka kite
from Middle-earth
Quite a relevant story to depict the art of excellence or a perfectionist! Reminds me of a person who was long back in the organization in the QA team - how he would keep finding "errors" in the course till he was actually done with getting each and everyone of it resolved! He won't let even a single trivial one pass by in the course!
It's only your internal drive to stretch yourself that could lead you to "excel"!
Manish,
That's exactly the point! You should have your own standards of what excelling means. You should do your best not expecting what you'll get in return. Of course, if you excel chances are some people will recognize it, but first you need to see the importance of your own actionsc.
Kia Ora Manish!
One of the misunderstandings people may have is that the perfectionist does things perfectly and takes a pride in so doing. Quite incorrect.
The perfectionist seeks perfection.
Failure to achieve this in the perfectionist's eyes (which is so often the case) makes the perfectionist discontented, while an admirer may well experience supreme satisfaction in appreciating the same work.
Ka kite
from Middle-earth
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