Mastery Summary

BookSummaryClub Blog Mastery Summary

Many people are living an ordinary and mediocre life because they have not been able to master anything. Your brain has a tendency to gravitate towards something that you are attracted to. This starts when you are young, but most people deviate from their true calling. 

This is usually because of pressure from parents or society. So, is it really possible to become a master at anything? It is and in the book Mastery Robert Greene teaches you how you can find your way back to what you love and become a master at it. 

If you are wondering whether this book is for you, read through this Mastery summary to get just a glimpse of what Robert Greene is sharing. 

Discover Your Calling: The Life’s Task – there are always those things that will spark a deep and primal curiosity within yourself. These are the things that you can be good at. They are the things that you have been called to do. When you identify what you are good at, be true to it and love it. 

In order not to derail yourself out of your calling you need to focus on the things that you are good at. 

Ignore your weaknesses for now because as you move on to mastery, you will eliminate all the weaknesses. To discover your calling, you have to concentrate on yourself. Avoid doing things for the approval of others. Choose a career that will point you in the right direction even if that career is not your end goal. 

Submit to Reality: The Ideal Apprenticeship – you will also need to enter into apprenticeships to transform your mind and character. The goal here is not money or a degree. In your apprenticeships, you will get challenges that will help you learn. For a successful apprenticeship, Greene points out three essential things you need to do;

Deep observation – you need to be completely present to learn the unspoken rules. Do not try to impress the other people by showing them that you want to rise to the top. Be the person that learns by careful and deep observation. 

Skills acquisition – make it your business to acquire the skills at your disposal. Focus on learning one skill at a time rather than multitasking the skills. Concentrating on one skill at a time will help you to learn it well.

Experimentation – you cannot really tell what you have learned without experimentation. Experimentation will bring challenges and problems you will have to solve which helps you learn better. Put into practice every skill you have learned.

Absorb The Master’s Power: The Mentor Dynamic – to become a master you need a mentor. The mentor should be someone who has already mastered the craft based on skills and knowledge. To get the best out of your mentor ensure that you make the relationship a back and forth one. Do not only be on the receiving end always. Whatever advice is given to you by the mentor, take it and change it for your own situation because his situation is not exactly the same as yours. Let the things you learn be personalized to what you are going through. Be ready to hear the uncomfortable and harsh truths that your mentor will have to tell you. Ensure that you have chosen a mentor based on the needs that you have.

See People As They Are: Social Intelligence – there will always be people surrounding you in your journey to mastery. When you gain social intelligence, you are able to see people for who they really are. What motivates them? What manipulating tendencies do they have? This way you can avoid being manipulated. 

Avoid people who shower you with big praises or those who are too friendly upon just meeting you. Such people are envious, and you should watch out. You should also learn to keep a low profile and avoid envy. Learn to show some weakness and let the boss take credit as usual. 

Awaken the Dimensional Mind: The Creative-Active – to become a master, you need to be innovative. To achieve this, you need to have an open mind. To become open, you need to have the mind of a child. You must be exploratory and curious. 

Take your mind away from social programming and avoid everyday routines. Be open-minded in everything you do. To succeed you have to combine your acquired skills and knowledge with a child-like mind that is free to explore and learn more on the go. 

Greene indicates some pitfalls that you should avoid if you want to awaken the dimensional mind. Some of these pitfalls include complacency, dependency, impatience, inflexibility, grandiosity, and conservatism. 

Fuse the Intuitive with the Rational Mastery – you have to accept that mastery is never ending process. It continues on for long because challenges and new things will always be there. As a master, therefore, you should never stop learning. 

Never get complacent. Greene says that “mastery is not a function of genius, it’s a function of time and focus.” To really attain mastery, it can take even up to 20 years and therefore you need to be prepared to make it your lifestyle. 

What I Love About The Book

I love the level of research that has been put in writing the book. If you are looking for a detailed book that will give you exceptional guidance on how to master anything you want then this is it. 

Despite being very well detailed, the book is simple to understand and easy to summarize into three steps that you can quickly follow. The journey goes through; the apprenticeship, the creative-active and then mastery. 

Why You Should Read The Book

This book will take you through how you can master any craft in your life. Mastery becomes a way of life for you as it has been for many other masters in history such as Darwin, Thomas Edison, Napoleon, Leonardo Da Vinci, and many others. 

If you are tired of just being normal and living a mediocre life, then you should read this book. It will spark your creativity and enhance your innovativeness.

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