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Self Made Man by Bobbie Carlyle

If the journey of entrepreneurship had to be captured in an image, this would be it.

This cover picture, right here, is worth more than all the 100,000 words in this book.

This process of chiseling away the granite around us.

Artist, sculptor, and creator Bobbie Carlyle says, “I was going through a particularly challenging time over 30 years ago, when I started to work on my sculpture entitled Self Made Man. As a battered wife who has experienced isolation, grief, counseling, families torn apart by divorce, death, and hardships, my art was also my own form of therapy. This was important for my growth and I hope it is for others as well.”

As an artist, Bobbie sculpted her own path into her art business, taking a home equity line of credit, and started spending long hours working on this sculpture. First, she created a rough draft or a smaller-scale model; then, she developed the larger model. The first Self Made Man at scale turned out to be almost 10 feet tall. As she put finishing touches on it, Bobbie had herself crossed over from being a battered wife to the world of being a self-made entrepreneur. She could have her long-sought-after life for herself and her seven children, all the while creating art that would speak to many others of their own struggles. Her children became her models, and she would take them on her art show trips while hauling sculptures on freeways on her 18-foot-long flatbed trailer. Her son once wrote a school class essay about his hero – his mom, Bobbie. He wrote about how she had been through immense hardships, stood up for them, and made herself successful without compromising her inner voice. “When I read this, I sat and cried,” says Bobbie. “I knew that I was okay and we were going to be alright.”

Over the past three decades, Self Made Man and others of her works have been installed in universities, public installations, and homes worldwide.

“I deliberately did not make this sculpture all smooth and shiny without rough areas. Life itself has so many rough areas. We have many challenges in life. Only if we reflect on these challenges can we search and discover ourselves. They can help us to build and grow our character. We have to be determined to succeed. Women and men who have bought the Self Made Man often share all the hardships they have been through to get to a successful point in their lives. It's an acknowledgment of the realities of life, not just the epitome of their accomplishment. And it's not about gender either. While I have created a Self Made Woman as well, this process is about our own growth. My whole life has revolved around taking care of people and my art is an extension – it cares, and hopefully brings joy, solace, and strength.”

One of the largest commissions of Self Made Man is a 14-feet-tall 1,500-pound bronze behemoth installed at the University of North Carolina, Charlotte. After the 9/11 attacks in New York, the inspiration to rebuild the spirit of America would come, in part, from this sculpture.

And so I hope that the rebuilding of your own entrepreneurial spirit comes from within, as you chisel away all that is unnecessary.

(Bobbie Caryle's works can be found at https://BobbieCarlyleSculpture.com.)