Important Lessons From Abel Maxwell’s Incredible Journey to Success
In a world where everything is quantified, it’s sometimes easy to forget the real people behind the metrics we use to represent the successes and ailments of different societies. Social mobility, for example, is the ability of people to better their lives and move up, and not just an index for benchmarking and comparing countries. It’s especially important to keep telling the stories of people behind those metrics, whose journey might inspire others, just like Abel Maxwell’s is.
Abel Maxwell is a bestselling author, artist, and entrepreneur who is currently based in Toronto. He got there from Lyon, France, however, in an act of bravery that saw him switch countries without a safety net of money or social connections, without even knowing the official language. Maxwell managed to thrive, however, and now his journey stands for everyone to take away some important lessons.
It’s Necessary to Take Risks
It’s hard to say how successful Abel Maxwell would have been if he stayed in Lyon, but he surely wouldn’t have become the artist he is now. The risk he took made a lasting impact on his output, not to mention that it provided him with many more opportunities, and it was a first step toward having a career spanning Europe, North America, and Africa.
Knowing when to take risks is important in both the creative and the business side of being an artist, an author, or an entrepreneur. Innovation doesn’t happen in spaces where the status quo is put above everything else; people who want to do something new need to have the space for it. If they don’t, they have to create it, and they mustn’t let the fear of failure stop them.
Self-Improvement Is Ongoing Work
To anyone who’s had the chance to listen to him or watch him perform, it quickly becomes obvious that Abel Maxwell is a talented musician. The fact that he makes it all look easy now, however, doesn’t mean Maxwell never had issues with his performance style or capabilities. Neither does it mean that he’s stopped dealing with those issues to this day.
“I try to rehearse as much as I can to gain confidence in my performance,” he says. It doesn’t get rid of stage fright and performance anxiety, but it helps him deal with it, and that’s something he continues to do and work on for every performance.
“Today, I start preparing for shows early, I map everything out, I take the time to work on every aspect of my performance,” Abel Maxwell says. “The people who come out to see can’t leave disappointed, and it’s ongoing work to make each show better than the last one.”
Having the Heart in the Right Place Matters
People have different reasons that motivate them to aim for the stars and different reasons to keep going once they reach them. For Abel Maxwell, whose life has been quite a journey, knowing that he’s still not where he wants to be is important. “I am still pursuing success because my mission is not over yet,” says Maxwell. “Success is a ladder to climb.”
Maxwell saw his priorities shift, too. Even though success is still something to go after, Abel Maxwell is also interested in personal development and helping other people grow. “Today, I make sure that all the milestones for success I’ve been pursuing for so long don’t overshadow my fulfillment as a human being,” Abel Maxwell finishes.