Ten Secrets to Making Your Life a Masterpiece

You are an artist. Every human is an artist because, unlike other animals, our fate is not just determined by instinct or environmental conditions. We have a unique ability to shape the content and direction of our lives. Every choice you make is like a brush stroke on the canvas of your life.

So, what do you want your life to look like? When you stand back and look at the whole composition at the end of your life, what do you hope to see? You can just let it all happen randomly, like random splashes of paint on a canvas. Or, you can make a masterpiece, a life that stands as a monument to your highest values, one that will inspire you and inspire others. Here’s how:

1. Cultivate your imagination.
   To make the life you really want to live, you must first be able to imagine it in your mind’s eye. Imagine who you would like to be, without limitations. Who would you be if you had complete self-confidence and the ability to shape your ideal life, one lived without regret?
2. Live with vision.
   Once you have an image of who you really want to be, you must create a vision in accordance with that. Decide what you want to accomplish in life and plan to take steps in that direction. To truly live with vision, however, your goal cannot be small or ordinary. What are you here to do to make the world a better place?
3. Challenge your brain.
   Your vision exists not only for the sake of humanity but for your growth. If it is something anyone can do, it is not your ultimate calling. Take on something that seems out of reach, a dilemma that you are meant to solve for humanity.
4. Trust your brain.
   Believe that you have the power to create what you want to create, even if you don’t have the solution right now. Great people have done many things that others around them said were impossible. All those solutions came from brains that kept looking for the answers.
5. Listen to your soul.
   To keep your vision and all your choices in alignment with your True Self, you must hear the voice inside yourself. Learn to differentiate between the voice of your ego, seeking fame and satisfaction for itself, and the True Self, which understands your ultimate connection to all existence.
6. Be of service to others.
   No life lived selfishly is a masterpiece, but one lived for others is always beautiful. If your vision is truly rooted in the yearnings of your True Self, then this will be the case naturally, and you will find great joy knowing that others benefit from the choices you make.
7. Know your true value.
   A True Self visionary knows that the value of a person lies in their soul, not in bank accounts and social status. Understanding your soul’s value will give you the courage to continue, no matter how difficult life gets.
8. Learn from failure.
   If you are living for the growth of your soul, failure is as much of a gift as success. Failure is a message from the universe explaining how you need to grow to get in alignment with the principles of creation.
9. Keep a flexible mind.
   Returning to the same inadequate solutions will not help you or anyone else. A truly creative mind can consider ways of being that are completely different from what has been done before.
10. Never give up.
    Any vision worth pursuing will be difficult. On your way, there will be obstacles that seem impassable. If you keep going, however, you will find that there is no obstacle too great, as long as you keep trusting yourself and your brain to find the way over.

There is no greater dream than the dream to live a purposeful life that serves humanity. This is the greatest beauty there is, and it’s a beauty that exceeds the finest painting or the most beautiful song. Living a life of the soul is a form of beauty that touches other souls, one heart at a time. Living this way, you inspire others to make a masterpiece of their lives, too. Can you imagine the beautiful world we can have if we all choose to life as an artist of this type?