The Masterpiece Within

Every morning you have two choices;

continue to sleep with your dreams,

or wake up and chase them.

INTRODUCTION: A LIVING WORK OF ART

Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.
- Pablo Picasso

Every child born into this world is a work of art. As children we learn from our surroundings. Some children have the advantage of being reminded they are special and are exposed to a positive, joyful and loving environment while others are not as fortunate. Parents do the best they can, but no matter the circumstances in which we were exposed none of us have the privilege of a picture perfect upbringing void of sadness, heartache, loneliness, discouragement, disappointment and anger. Once we leave our family home and strike out in the world to make lives of our own, most of us have no concept of how hard life can be in between the good times. Relationships, careers, monetary and life pressures start to mount rather quickly. So where do we attain the life skills to balance these pressures? Some of us seek out a friend, some a counselor, some a parent, some a minister, some find books on the subject, some resort to drug and alcohol abuse, some choose rage, and some choose to retreat inward. The Masterpiece Within was born out of the need for a comprehensive yet reader friendly life skills manual to help us through the life struggles we all encounter.

Written from combined female and male viewpoints we have filled The Masterpiece Within with stories from our own personal life experiences, both successes and failures. We have incorporated motivational anecdotes and wisdom from the lives of the famous to the not so famous. We integrate pop culture references, themes and messages from the sports, film and music worlds alongside time-tested principles and wisdom from the ancient masters. We end each major section with thought provoking questions, projects, tasks and affirmations to better comprehend, retain and apply key masterpiece tools and principles to everyday life.

Each and every one of us possesses the potential to become a living work of art during our lifetime. The responsibility lies in our own hands to unearth the masterpiece within. No one else can do the work for us. Imagine if there were a life museum and in this museum the lives of each person ever to grace the planet were on display. What an inspiration the museum would be if each of us had been given the proper life skills and consistently applied these skills allowing us to become living works of art as priceless as Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa or Michelangelo’s David. Consider for a moment the possibilities on a global scale if every man, woman and child received the following imprint throughout their lives, “You have the potential to be a living masterpiece!” What a changed world in which we all would live.