Mastery

There are countless self-help books--some good, some trite. Then there are self-help books that revolutionize the genre. Robert Greene's Mastery is such a book. It's Greene's fifth book broadly tackling the art of strategy, and like all his books, it's entertaining, educational, densely packed with biographies of powerful and interesting people, and almost completely devoid of fluff. Greene's overarching thesis challenges the conventional notion of "genius" as a genetic gift bestowed upon a handful of individuals--Mozart and Einstein immediately come to mind. To Greene, such a conception of genius is illusory. All "genius," Greene contends, is acquirable, and all masters, regardless of intrinsic ability, go through roughly the same process on their path towards mastery: 1) Finding your Life's Task. Greene argues that there's an inner force that guides you towards what you're "destined" to accomplish. Once you discover your Life's Task, throw everything at it. 2) Finding an ideal apprenticeship--the time when you hone the necessary skills and acquire the discipline vital to mastery. 3) Finding the right mentor. This is the key to a fruitful apprenticeship, enabling you to absorb the master's knowledge and power. Greene cautions that you must know when it's time to sever ties with your mentor and craft your own path in order to prevent remaining in your mentor's shadow indefinitely. The goal, Greene advises, it to eventually surpass your mentor. 4) Acquiring social intelligence. Social intelligence is an important theme in all of Greene's books. Quite simply, our personal and professional advancement will invariably stall if we don't learn to read people and deftly maneuver through the labyrinth of others' whims, passions, and ambitions. 5) "Awaken the Dimensional Mind: The Creative-Active." This stage involves expanding your knowledge to fields related to your craft, thereby challenging you to "make new associations between different ideas." Greene believes this is a critical step to optimizing your creative output and achieving mastery. 6) Fusing the intuitive with the rational. Greene argues that Einstein's discoveries can be as much attributed to his intuition as to his mathematical analysis grounded in pure reason. Practice and intimate knowledge of our field foster the integration of intuition with reason. For each stage, Greene outlines concrete steps to take to achieve these goals, including approaching difficult problems from unconventional angles or altering your perspective, embracing the holistic approach--i.e. utilizing and synchronizing the full range of resources and options your environment has to offer. One of the features that distinguishes Mastery from Greene's two other masterpieces, 33 Strategies of War and 48 Laws of Power, is its greater focus on the biographies of contemporary masters, most of whom are not well known to the general public. Greene delves into the lives of legendary masters like Mozart, Einstein, Goethe, Darwin, and da Vinci, but also of lesser known contemporary masters like software engineer and entrepreneur Paul Graham, animal scientist and inventor Temple Grandin, and linguistic archaeologist Daniel Everett, who cracked the previously thought to be indecipherable language of the reclusive Amazonian tribe, Piraha. Linking the human capacity for mastery to our biology and indeed, metaphysics, Greene writes in a veritably spiritual manner, making Mastery highly compelling and exceedingly motivational. The title Mastery is fitting, since Greene is undoubtedly a master in the art of strategy. It is amusing to hear some of his detractors bemoan the "amoral" nature of his books. Amoral virtues--be it courage, prudence, or temperament--are indispensable to achieving moral ends. A strategically inept well-meaning person will likely fail to achieve any significant good, because he is ill-prepared to deal with endless obstacles that stand in his way. Whereas a person well versed in the art of strategy and equipped with the amoral virtues necessary to overcome such obstacles, has the potential to achieve noble ends. The one area where I could quibble with Greene has to do with the age old debate over the role of nature vs. nurture. Since genetic makeup is a fixed variable outside of our control, it is perhaps pointless to dwell on its role in our development when writing a book about the concrete things we can actually do to better ourselves. Still, I wonder if Greene's unequivocal dismissal of the traditional interpretation of genius as inherent isn't to some extent mistaken. Regardless of how many thousands of hours Mozart spent studying his craft, is it really conceivable that any person of sound mind and body could replicate his success? I tend to think that there is something to be said about intrinsic genius; that there are masters who are born with an uncanny and natural ability to perceive things others do not and cannot, no matter how hard they try. Nevertheless, even if Greene errors in downplaying the role DNA plays in cultivating "genius," it in no way diminishes his strategy for acquiring mastery. Whether all of us can become the Einstein in our field makes little difference. What matters is that we can reach our maximum potential--become men and women in full--by following Greene's blueprint.

Mastery by Robert Greene delves into the life of masters and their road to success and self actualization within their life. The lessons derived from their lives reflect their habits, philosophy, world view and priorities. Each section delves into in depth lessons with mini biography narrative to showcase the real life wisdom it was derived from. Each story was curated from rigorous study and combing to find the most relevant and useful information on Greene's part. The stories build upon each other for each master and there are multiple nuggets of wisdom from each life Robert has selected to use as an example. Roberts Greene's "Mastery" is a masterpiece in itself and a testament to his own pursuit of mastery in research, analysis and writing. Mastery is treasure trove of knowledge, wisdom, and understanding that any ambitious apprentice will appreciate. Greene lays out the path to Mastery in a straightforward yet expansive landscape. Readers can expect to read this book multiple times in their lives. The book is jam packed with guidance and experience invaluable to anyone who is serious about any particular craft. The book serves as a historical account and testament of the true potential of humanity. Within these pages readers will be educated and taught the proper methods and techniques to mastering their field and building powerful legacy as a result.

Like all of Greene's work, this one is dedicated to a subject that we all know, but have never really read about. There are plenty of books on genius, creativity, learning, etc., and how we can develop these things, but there is no book on the subject of why "mastery" is so relevant today. The fundamental idea behind the book is simple: our brains, from thousands upon thousands of years of evolution, are wired to allow us to reach a high-level of intuition -- a deep, creative state of connection to our environment. And even more, the experience of this high-level intuition -- which requires thousands and thousands of hours of practice, experience, and experimentation -- constitutes the height of our potential. It's what gives us ultimate meaning in life. In the book, Greene outlines five essential steps to reaching this state and packs these steps with detailed examples, strategies, and insights. We get to know famous geniuses and creative types -- old and contemporary -- as they struggle on their journey towards mastery. The only criticism I would have of this book is that I don't feel it is the how-to book that Greene tries to make it out to be. It is much more a detailed account of the creative process by which many have achieved mastery than it is an instructional manual on how to actually do so. For example, the insights Greene gives in each chapter, although enlightening, do not present us with specific exercises by which anyone can practice each step in the mastery process. In this way, the book is much more a seed, a hint, of what's possible than it is a detailed program of action. (Greene has hinted on many accounts his disdain for "formulas for success" -- so this criticism may not be a criticism after all). Nonetheless, this book is an excellent read for anyone interested in what it takes to reach genius potential, or for anyone dissatisfied or anxious about the future of their success. Prophetic and inspirational, this is a book you'll want to return to over and over again, as with Greene's other amazing works.

First of all, I love Greene's other books. However, a bit disappointed with this one...this book is about historical "masters" and how the characteristics of the individuals led them to become masters...how you can learn from them to become a "master" yourself. I would maybe recommend this to high school, college-aged or 20-somethings, or just read it for fun with an open mind (this would be me). I did really enjoy Greene's other books. . . The Laws of Power, Seduction, War. . . The 48 Laws of Power I purchased as soon as it was released over 15 years ago and I recommended to everyone and I would recommend it now. With Mastery, once I scanned the TOC I knew I probably wouldn't like the book, "Discover Your Calling: The Life's Task" (how trite can we get?), "Submit to Reality: The Ideal Apprenticeship" (the word apprentice is so over used these days), "Absorb the Master's Power" (are we Jedis in Star Wars?), "Awaken the Dimensional Mind: The Creative Mind" (so fluffy). I actually read this chapter first because the title was more appealing to me: "See People As They Are: Social Intelligence" but this chapter is simply a twist on theories presented in his other books (I still liked it though and found it entertaining). I enjoyed how Greene uses historical examples, providing the reader with historical facts and different insights that the reader might not have thought about on his own. For this reason alone I would recommend the book, but only to a particular segment of people (those who enjoy classics and the acquisition of cultural knowledge; people who like to think on a philosophical level). But, you aren't going to become a "master" at anything by simply reading this book-this is not an "action plan" type book (in contrast to, for example, Covey's "The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People"), but a thinker person's book. A different way of looking at yourself, your life, within the universe. I think it will appeal to only a limited type of reader audience, but after his previous books it doesn't really matter now does it?. For a $13 paperback it's a good read, but I would not have purchased it in hard cover. (Actually, I would love my teenager to read it, but she would just look at me and say, "what is this @#$%?!")

This is an extremely powerful work on how to achieve mastery in one's life. Mastery can be thought of as the unique way each of us can fully actualize our potential for greatness and enjoy a fulfilling life. Achieving Mastery in life is a lot of work but it is the way to a flourishing life (a life of self-fulfillment). Spinoza's quote "All things excellent are as difficult as they are rare" came to mind several times as I read the book. The author provides ideas and strategies that can improve the process for those willing to expend the effort. I plan to re-read and work with the ideas and strategies covered in this book and apply them to my personal context. I also plan to purchase copies of the book for my wife and 2 teenage sons so they can benefit from this material as well. The work begins by discussing how to discover one's purpose in life. This is unique to each individual and needs to be well thought through. The author gives 5 strategies for finding your life's task and illustrates these strategies with historical and contemporary figures. Two of the strategies he discusses that really gave me a lot to think about are: 1. ) Occupy the perfect niche - the Darwinian strategy. In this strategy you need to find the career niche that best fits your interests and talents and then evolve that niche over time. I found the eaxample of V.S. Ramachandran very interesting 2.) Let go of the past - the adaptation strategy. The following quote from this section that really resonated with me: "You must adapt your Life's Task to these circumstances. You do not hold on to past ways of doing things, because it will ensure you will fall behind and suffer for it. You are flexible and looking to adapt." The author then covers the Apprentice Phase which he breaks into 3 steps: 1.) Deep Observation - the Passive Mode 2.) Skills Acquisition - the Practice Mode 3.) Experimentation - The Active Mode There are detailed strategies for completing the ideal appenticeship. These are illustrated by examples. 2 of my favorites in this section were "move toward resistance and pain" as illustrated by the example of Bill Bradley and "apprentice yourself in failure" as illustrated by Henry Ford. All 8 strategies are worth thinking about in detail. The next section covers learning through a Mentor and is one of the best parts of the book. The example of Michael Faraday is used as a great illustration. There are strategies discussed for finding the appropriate mentor(s), knowing when to break away from the mentor and what to do if you cannot find a mentor (the example here is Thomas Edison and there is an interesting tie-back to Faraday). Having a mentor is the most effective way to gain deep knowledge of a field in the least amount of time - it greatly accelerates that path to Mastery. The next section deals with social intelligence and seeing people as they are. Benjamin Franklin is used as an example. There are 7 deadly realities covered in this section (envy, conformism, rigidity, self-obsessiveness, laziness, flightiness and passive aggression) as well as strategies for acquiring social intelligence. The fifth section is on awakening the dimensional mind. This is where you see more and more aspects of reality and develop ways to become more creative (and not get stuck in the past). There are several strategies on creativity discussed in detail. I found the discussion on ways to alter one's perspective especially illuminating. These include avoiding: * Looking at the "what" instead of the "how" * Rushing to generalities and ignoring details * Confirming paradigms and ignoring anomalies - (key quote: "...anomalies themselves contain the richest information. They often reveal to us the flaws in our paradigms and open up new ways of looking at the world") * fixating on what is present, ignoring what is absent (Sherlock Holmes example) The section continues with strategies and examples for this "creative-active" phase. My favorite was a section on Mechanical Intelligence with the Wright Brothers as an example. The Final Section is on Mastery as the fusing of the Intuitive with the Rational. The strategies in this section are very powerful and I will be returning to them again and again. Here are the 7 strategies: 1.) Connect to your environment 2.) Play to your strengths (this is very important - see further thoughts on this below) 3.) Transform yourself through practice 4.) Internalize the details - the life force (Leonardo Da Vinci example) 5.) Widen your vision 6.) Submit to the other - the Inside Out perspective 7.) Synthesize all forms of knowledge This is a very powerful book filled with a lot of good ideas and strategies. There are ideas I plan to continue to "chew" on and think more deeply about while I work to integrate these ideas and strategies into my personal context. A lot of the book stresses the importance of self-discipline, persevering through difficult challenges, the importance of an adaptive and active mind, independent thinking and integrating all of one's knowledge. Here are a few recommendations I would make to augment the material covered in this book: 1.) For Self-Displine and Willpower (and perseverance): Willpower by Tierney and Baumeister The Power of Habit by Duhigg Grit (see TED Talk by Angela Duckworth and the GRIT assessment as well - Grit Assessment can be found at: available at [...]) 2.) For an adaptive/active mindset (and recovering from failure) Mindset by Carol Dweck Apapt by Tim Harford 3.) For a great fictional example of many of the ideas covered in the book, I would recommend Ayn Rand's The Fountainhead (Roark as a positive example; Keating as a negative example of what the author calls "the false self") 4.) Other Real world examples Richard Feynman (see his books "Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman" and "The Pleasure of Finding Things Out" 5.) Finding your strengths Strengthsfinder 2.0 by Tom Rath VIA Survey of Character Strengths (available at [...])

In Mastery, Robert Greene attacks the premise that geniuses are born and illustrates how masters such as Einstein, Da Vinci, and Proust, as well as non-household names such as Daniel Everett and Cesar Rodriguez are created. He portrays the hardships experienced by some of the greatest minds and explains that their work ethic, patience, and trust and faith ultimately caused them to become masters. Greene believes in apprenticeship in three phrases: Deep Observation, Skill Acquisition, and Experimentation or independent action. During deep observation Greene advocates to “see the vision and keep working at the skills we want to gain restlessly.” He writes, “You must choose places of work and positions that offer the greatest possibilities for learning. Practical knowledge is the ultimate commodity, and is what will pay you dividends for decades to come...This means that you move toward challenges that will toughen and improve you, where you will get the most objective feedback on your performance and progress. You do not choose apprenticeships that seem easy and comfortable” (55) In acquiring skills, one will have “tacit knowledge” or “a feeling for what you are doing that is hard to put into words but easy to demonstrate in action.” (59) followed by a “Cycle of accelerated returns” similar to a positive feedback loop “…the practice becomes easier and more interesting, leading to the ability to practice for longer hours, which increases your skill level, which in turn makes practice even more interestings.” (60) Though, Greene cautions “begin with one skill that you can master, and that serves as a foundation for acquiring others. You must avoid at all cost the idea that you can manage learning several skills at a time. You need to develop your powers of concentration, and understand that to multitask will be the death of the process.” (60) To the student, Greene stresses developing social intelligence and avoiding political games with colleagues. He writes, “we think that what matters in the work world is gaining attention and making friends. And these misconceptions and naivete are brutally exposed in the light of the real world.” (54) Upon starting to work he explains, “If you impress people in these first months, it should be because of the seriousness of your desire to learn, not because you are trying to rise to the top before you are ready.” (57) He continues, “Understand: your work is the single greatest means at your disposal for expressing your social intelligence. By being efficient and detail oriented in what you do, you demonstrate that you are thinking of the group at large and advancing its cause. By making what you write or present clear and easy to follow, you show you care for the audience of public at a large.” He predicts, “The future belongs to those who learn more skills and combine them in creative ways.” (64) “There are two kinds of failure. The first comes from never trying out your ideas because you are afraid, or because you are waiting for the perfect time. This kind of failure you can never learn from, and such timidity will destroy you. The second kind comes from a bold and venturesome spirit. If you fail in this way, the hit that you take to your reputation is greatly outweighed by what you learn.” (83) Put simply: Design a personal vision, Observe masters and choose mentors, build your skills, experiment, fail and repeat. Ostinato Rigore -- “stubborn rigor” or “tenacious application” the phrase Da Vinci would mutter to get past all impatience. (54) Or in Hebrew Hatmadah. I recommend this book to Students, Adults, Teens, Entrepreneurs and tag the following:Self-Help, History, Inspiring, Business, Developing Skills, Genius, Work Ethic. Hope you enjoy!

Seldom have I had the pleasure of finding and reading such an insightful book. The three sections in the Introduction, "The Ultimate Power; The Evolution of Mastery; and The Keys to Mastery" cogently outline the direction the author intends to take us. The reader is advised that it is a mistake to consider this to be a book of pithy sayings and homilies. Nothing could be further from the truth. In essence, this book is a roadmap for the common person to explore himself, or herself, and to look deeply into the lives of such masters as: Leonardo da Vinci, Alfred Einstein, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Buckminster Fuller, Benjamin Franklin, Martha Graham, Charles Darwin, Henry Ford, John Keats, Michael Faraday, Frank Lloyd Wright, Carl Jung, Glenn Gould, William Harvey, Richard Wagner, Marcel Proust, Wilbur and Orville Wright, among others, for lessons learned and mistakes to avoid. Each of the six main sections of the book utilized the same structure: the topic, followed by a brief biography of acknowledged masters, and a discussion of the "Keys to Mastery." Section 1, "Discover Your Calling" suggests everyone has a unique gift to offer the world, details how Leonardo da Vinci found his, and follows it with the "Keys to Mastery," and strategies for finding your life's task. Each succeeding section uses the same outline, e.g., what you need to master a part of your life, how a master did it, and strategies to emulate toward your own mastery. I found section 5 in section 6 to be a most useful exploration of the topics of the creative (emotional) mind and the cognitive (rational) mind. Much of my 34 year career as a psychologist has focused on assisting patients to find a balance between their emotional and their rational minds. Patients whose emotions rule their lives frequently make decisions that are not in their best interest. Assisting them to evaluate their situations by using their rational mind allows them to acknowledge their feelings, yet make rational decisions that have a better chance of succeeding. Patients whose rationality rules their lives frequently make decisions that ignore giving credence to their emotions. Assisting them to incorporate the legitimacy of their feelings allows them to become more fully a human being. Even Star Trek's Mr. Spock had his emotional moments. To put it into more historical perspectives, René DesCartes's (1596-1650) conjecture that "Cogito Ergo Sum," translated as "I think, therefore I am," was, in my opinion, only half right. For example, if I pinch your arm really hard, are you going to have to think to know you're alive? Or is it equally valid to say "I feel, therefore I am?" Similarly, Aristotle (384-322), in creating the taxonomy of animal species, said, "Man is the rational animal." Personally, I think Aristotle had it backward. "Man is not the rational animal," it seems to me that "Man is the animal that rationalizes." We do what we feel like doing, then we come up with reasons to justify having done it. One cannot ignore either mind at the expense of the other, in either direction. Robert Greene's book, Mastery, is both intellectually stimulating and emotionally satisfying, which, I surmise, is what he intended. Therefore, I highly recommend this book to anyone.

If you're looking for quick tips or hacks, this isn’t the book for you. But if you’re trying to actually master a skill, a craft, a calling, this book cuts deep. Robert Greene doesn’t sugarcoat anything. He walks through how the greatest minds in history like Da Vinci, Darwin, and Edison went through long, grueling apprenticeships and obsessively practiced until they hit another level. What hit me hardest was how Greene explains the emotional and psychological side of mastery, not just the technical stuff. It helped me zoom out and rethink how I work, how I learn, and how much patience I’m willing to give something I care about. I’ve reread parts of it twice already and find something new every time.