I’ve never been one for New Year’s resolutions—my feeling is if you want to start something, start it now—but I do like to use the start of a new year to think of something I might like to learn. This time round I decided on calligraphy.
I have always loved words and writing, so what better way to indulge in the beauty of letters and the physical act of writing? The latter is something we don’t do much of any more—almost all the writing we do today is via a keyboard—and this is a shame because our handwriting is a kind of fingerprint; those strokes and dots and flourishes are unique to us, and if you know someone’s handwriting well enough, you’ll be able to pick it out among a sample of hundreds. It becomes part of our identity, an expression of our personality.
I also like anything that requires focus, precision and a lot of repetition to master. This is what has drawn me to things like photography and guitar; I’m even exacting when it comes to brewing coffee and making espresso—I’m intrigued by perfecting the process and recognising the subtle changes that occur when you adjust one or two variables.
Starting calligraphy wasn’t difficult at all. There are loads of online courses for all levels and variations (I chose Gothic script), and Pilot make this really affordable but good calligraphy pen that is especially perfect for beginners.
Mastering calligraphy takes years—that is part of the appeal (as it was for Steve Jobs). But the great thing is it doesn’t take long to learn how to form the letters; after that, it’s down to how much you want to practice and how good you want to get.
So, as I enter my third month of calligraphy, I thought I’d look at five things the practice has taught me, and how these lessons can be carried over into leading a business.
1. Patience is key
You can never rush with calligraphy. Each letter is a procedure of perfection involving pen pressure, letter height and length of stroke. If you’re patient with, say, the first few letters of a word or sentence but start to lose your focus towards the end, it’ll show—and you’ll have to start all over again. When starting and leading a business you don’t expect instant results. It’s all about the long game. ‘Overnight success’ takes years of patience and dedication.
2. Practice makes perfect
As with any skill, if you want to truly master calligraphy, you have to resolve to practicing it frequently, every day if possible. Recently, I was unable to do my usual practice for a few days—right now, I’m mostly just writing out the alphabet, over and over—and when I returned to it, I could already tell I was a bit rusty. The pen didn’t feel right in my fingers and some of my letters were a little wonky. Running a business well takes years of practice—in that time, you start to understand what you’re good at (and delegate for the things you’re not), learn from mistakes and just generally become a better leader.
3. Anything that’s worth doing is challenging
If something was easy, where would the satisfaction at getting good at it come from? I’ll admit the first couple of times I tried calligraphy, I worried it was too easy. But that’s because the online course I was taking starts you out on the ‘easy’ letters first! It wasn’t long until I understood why mastering calligraphy is a lifelong thing—perfecting every letter, while also getting the spacing right between them, is extremely difficult. Of course, you don’t need me to tell you that starting and running your own business is a huge challenge. Not only are you giving up the security of a paycheque, you’re also taking on the responsibility of employees. It’s a very difficult and at times stressful endeavour to undertake, but if you keep improving and do everything as well as you can, the rewards are numerous.
4. Mistakes are how you get better
When we decide to learn something new, we risk being vulnerable. It might turn out we’re no good at it. Because I love words and writing, I really want to get good at calligraphy, but I also have to accept that I’m not going to get good at it straight away, nor will I likely become the greatest calligrapher who’s ever lived. As I mentioned, for the moment, most of my daily practice involves me repeatedly writing out the alphabet. When I first started doing this, I probably only got three or four letters right. Now, after only a couple of months, I’m getting more than twice as many as that relatively correct. Obviously, making mistakes in running a business can have more severe consequences than a badly-drawn letter, but the principle remains the same—accept you don’t know everything and that you will mess up from time to time. The important thing is you learn from those mistakes and try not to make them next time round.
5. Stay present
Practicing calligraphy requires full focus. Any distractions or even unwanted movements in your wrist and body can upset the flow and ruin a word or sentence you’ve been crafting. To do it well, you have to be fully present. You need to relax your body and mind and concentrate only on the letter you’re writing. Before you know it, an hour has passed. Staying present is enormously beneficial when running a business. For though you should learn from the past, it’s no good looking back, nor does looking forward—whether with excitement or anxiety—do you any use, because nothing is certain and real except the present. Learning to remain present is also very important when spending time away from the business—it helps you separate work from family and social life, which is vital for your wellbeing.