Mastery

Dictionaries:

• Comprehensive knowledge or skill in a subject or accomplishment.
• Control or superiority over someone or something.
• The authority of a master: dominion.
• The upper hand in a contest or competition: superiority, ascendancy.
• Possession or display of great skill or technique.
• Skill or knowledge that makes one master of a subject: command.

Mastery is the state of being highly skilled or proficient at something. It is the result of extensive knowledge, practice, and dedication to a particular field or activity, and is often characterized by a high level of expertise and competence. To achieve mastery in a particular area, one must have a deep understanding of the subject matter, and be able to apply that knowledge in a skilled and effective manner. Mastery often requires a commitment to ongoing learning and practice, as well as a willingness to push oneself beyond one's current abilities in order to continue to improve and grow. Mastering a particular skill or discipline can take many years, and is often considered a lifelong pursuit.

I define Mastery as the state of being a Master at something. Mastery is the epitome/pinnacle of Effectiveness within a particular domain. It is what you strive for in your application of effectiveness. Mastery is a state of being where the possessor can perform/create/manage/act/achieve at the highest levels relative to all humanity and all human history. Mastery represents the highpoint of human potential, the source of the greatest discoveries and achievements in history. 

The master can invent things never before seen, ask questions never before asked, seek answers from out beyond the stars, and uncover new aspects of reality. The master can sense things others can’t, generate insights others don’t glean, and create realities others couldn’t dream of.

In short, a master can do things others can’t, including the other leading professionals in their field. Mastery is about the highest attainable ability to create in this reality. A Master has greater command of reality, other people, and themselves. For the Master, the real is internalized and becomes part of their nervous system, they embody the reality of their field. 

Mastery comes from greater intelligence and greater skill.

INTELLIGENCE

Mastery is the highest form of competence humans can achieve. 

Robert Greene uses the analogy of a mountain. Mastery represents a mountain, it's intimidating at first, there are many setbacks, the more you know the more complicated it becomes, but as you go higher, you get a better perspective until eventually you reach the top of the mountain and achieve this God-like perspective of your entire field - you see the whole landscape. You see the opportunities and the risks, you see the contingencies, where things work, where they don’t. You see the unique in the familiar.

This intelligence is the result of assimilating so much information that your brain awakens naturally with creative energy and makes connections that have never been made before. You know so much that it becomes part of who you are. You embody this knowledge to the point where it becomes intuition, you know what you need to know and do what you need to do automatically without much conscious processing. Your mind becomes “nth dimensional” as you look at the arena of your field in which you can create. Your creative capacity becomes infinite.

‘The master sees inside the machinery, how things connect with one another, and thus gains a more comprehensive understanding of the subject. With this comes a new power, the ability to experiment and creatively play with the elements involved. Then the degree of knowledge, experience, and focus is so deep that the master can now see the whole picture with complete clarity’. Just as the human brain evolved to see so many different colors, your brain can evolve to see the different unique colors of your profession that others can’t see. Mastery is an initiation into higher levels of seeing the world. It is access to the heart of life, to human nature and natural phenomena. 

In the state of mastery, your mind is closer to reality and to life itself. 

SKILLS

Just as Mastery implies abnormal intelligence in a field, Mastery also implies abnormal skills. The Master of a field has first acquired Mastery of the basic skills in his field. These skills are like fractals, you can go as deep as you want or as far out and broad as you want (meaning, there is a never ending list of the low-level skills and a never ending list of high level skills). 

A Master Data Scientist both has mastery of the field’s fundamental thought (zoom in), fundamental tools (zoom out), as well as why businesses may need to know what they need to know (zoom out more). A master would understand the computability theory of the problem as well as the reason Mark wants this data insight is not to act on it but to look smart in front of the board before they hire a new CEO. Since it would take me two weeks to prepare the data to act on and the board meeting is tomorrow, I am going to just prepare a high level overview of the insight so I can satisfy his goal’. 

Mastery requires effectiveness in all applicable skills, and mastery in most applicable skills. Everyone has a set of skills that they are a novice, amateur, apprentice, specialist, expert, or master in. We cannot be a Master at all things, nor an expert at all things. A Master in a field has a specialist, expert, or master level competency of the skills that cluster around this field.

99% of people are not masters. 90% of people are dabblers. 9% of people try to be hackers that find shortcuts. None of these lead to Mastery. Since 99% of the world are not masters, you can say the opposite of Mastery is the conventional.

Mastery is not overextending yourself, you have to be in it for the long run. Mastery is not spiky, dramatic, emotional, climatic, chaotic, or volatile. Mastery is not a “grind” (there may be periods of these elements in the journey to Mastery, but they aren’t helping you attain Mastery). If you focus on “grinding” you will not do the ten years necessary. It is not “results obsession”, if you get no pleasure from the process you won’t do it for ten years. 

Mastery is not skipping steps, avoiding the process, magically gaining power through political connections or easy formulas, nor is it dependent on our natural talents. It is not immediate gratification, instant success, or fast temporary relief. All of these lead in the exactly wrong direction. Quick fix, fast-temporary-relief, bottom-line mentality doesn't work in the long run and is eventually destructive to the individual and society.

Lastly, Mastery is not fear. Those who don't have Mastery are always in fear that their success will be taken from them. The master knows they can build it again and probably better if it is taken from them through chance or circumstance.

If someone valued mastery, it would mean that they prioritize the pursuit of skill and expertise in a particular area. Someone who values mastery might be very dedicated to learning and practicing a particular skill or discipline, and be willing to put in the time and effort required to achieve a high level of proficiency. They might be highly focused and disciplined, and be willing to push themselves beyond their current abilities in order to continue to improve and grow. Valuing mastery could also involve being open to feedback and criticism, and being willing to learn from others who are more skilled or experienced. In general, valuing mastery would mean making the pursuit of excellence and expertise a priority in one's life.

I’m less encouraging about the value of Mastery. It’s not for everyone. It requires immense sacrifice from every other domain in your life to achieve. If everyone pursued Mastery, their roles as fathers and mother’s etc. would suffer. To be a true master, you can barely have a life outside the field (remember, we aren’t talking about “Expertise”, you can have a life outside Expertise. We are talking about the highest level of achievement humanly possible).

Mastery can only be achieved from the love of doing something simply for the sake of doing it. This is what people mean when they say “you need a passion”. The reason for this is not necessarily some unique element of passion, it’s just that you won’t spend the necessary time for 1-3 decades unless you love it. Mastery occurs from long term commitment to the journey itself. If you are too focused on what you’re going to get from it then you won’t spend the time necessary learning about the aspects that don’t have an immediate return on investment or a very long-term ROI growth curve. If you're doing it for the accolades then your days are numbered.

Mastery is the result of long term Effectiveness applied to a field. It is the result of being effective for a very long time towards a singular intention. Mastery has a general abstract development process, but remember, it can be developed in many ways. Here is the outline presented in Robert Greene’s book Mastery quoted exactly;

1. Discover Your Calling: The Life’s Task: 

You possess an inner force that seeks to guide you toward your Life’s Task - what you are meant to accomplish in the time that you have to live. The first move toward Mastery is always inward - learning who you really are and reconnecting with that innate force. Knowing it with clarity, you will find your way to the proper career path and everything else will fall into place. It is never too late to start this process. Find something you have a deep and profound inclination towards.

2. Apprenticeship

After your formal education, you enter the most critical phase in your life - a second, practical education known as The Apprenticeship. Before it is too late you must learn the lessons and follow the path established by the greatest Masters, past and present - a kind of Ideal Apprenticeship that transcends all fields. In the process you will master the necessary skills, discipline your mind, and transform yourself into an independent thinker, prepared for the creative challenges on the way to mastery. 

3. Find a Mentor: 

Absorb the Master’s Power: The Mentor Dynamic. Life is short, and your time for learning and creativity is limited. Without any guidance, you can waste valuable years trying to gain knowledge and practice from various sources. Instead, you must follow the example set by Masters throughout the ages and find the proper mentor. Choose the mentor who best fits your needs and connects to your Life’s Task. Once you have internalized their knowledge, you must move on and never remain in their shadow. Your goal is always to surpass your mentors in mastery and brilliance.

4. See People as They Are: Social Intelligence

Often the greatest obstacle to our pursuit of mastery comes from the emotional drain we experience in dealing with the resistance and manipulations of the people around us. We misread their intentions and react in ways that cause confusion or conflict. Social intelligence is the ability to see people in the most realistic light possible. Navigating smoothly through the social environment, we have more time and energy to focus on learning and acquiring skills. Success attained without this intelligence is not true mastery, and will not last. 

5. Awaken the Dimensional Mind; The Creative Active

As you accumulate more skills and internalize the rules that govern your field, your mind will want to become more active, seeking to use this knowledge in ways that are more suited to your inclinations. Instead of feeling complacent about what you know, you must expand your knowledge to related fields, giving your mind fuel to make new associations between different ideas. In the end, you will turn against the very rules you have internalized, shaping and reforming them to suit your spirit. Such originality will bring you to the heights of power.

6. Fuse the Intuitive With the Rational; Mastery

All of us have access to a higher form of intelligence, one that can allow us to see more of the world, to anticipate trends, to respond with speed and accuracy to any circumstance. This intelligence is cultivated by deeply immersing ourselves in a field of study and staying true to our inclinations, no matter how unconventional our approach might seem to others. This power is what our brains were designed to attain, and will be naturally led to this type of intelligence if we follow our inclinations to their ultimate ends. 

I commit to the pursuit of being a Master of the following:

• Master of Mastery: I want to be able to Master the process of Mastering anything.
• Master of Self: Body, Mind, Spirit.
• Master of My Life, being me; Each life is unique, and being a “master” at something requires constant attention and development. You don’t have time for anything else, that’s how obsessed you become. So, I wanted to pick an arena of Mastery where I could permit myself to learn about all the things that interest me. That became ‘being a Master at being Me’. As such I need to delineate if I want to be a novice, amateur, apprentice, specialist, expert, or master in my interests because I can’t be a Master in them all. These interests include:
  • Writing
  • Management & Influence
  • Finance & Investing
  • Mathematics & Data Science
  • Spirituality
  • Humanity (psychology, sociology, ecology, development, evolution, current state)
  • Technology
  • Art
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Economics
  • There are others, I have not fully refined my list of what I want to be a novice, amateur, apprentice, specialist, expert, or master in. I will refine that over time.

Pushing against the passive trend of these times, I work to see how far I can extend control of my circumstances and create the kind of life I desire through action.