Mastery — Robert Greene

 

Rating: ★★★★½

Summary: There are time-tested ways of mastering any craft. Da Vinci, Einstein, Edison, Curie and many other iconic historical figures followed a well-worn path. They discovered their calling, pursued an apprenticeship, and applied creative, experimental thinking to problems at the outer boundaries of their disciplines. Their lives have left traces of their methods, and this book examines them in rigorous detail.  

At its core, mastery is the combination of thousands of hours of intense study and the use of guided intuition. Concepts are internalized through repetition until they become second nature. Only then, can patterns be 

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recognized, and the internalized skills be applied to unique problems, or combined with other areas of expertise. 

There is no historical evidence of any innate geniuses who could sidestep the requirements of long-term practice. For example, Mozart's precocity came from beginning his study of music at a very young age, and not from any inborn gift. 

Key Concepts + Quotes:

• "No good can ever come from deviating from the path that you were destined to follow. You will be assailed by varieties of hidden pain." 

• Early humans thrived because of their strong pro-social tendencies, as well as their ability to detach from the present in order to recall past events and plan future ones. 

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• The inclinations you had when you were young are clues that can guide you towards your Life's Task.

• Practicing a skill can lead to a cycle of accelerated returns, where improvement generates a desire to practice more, which in leads to more improvement. 

• "When it comes to practical life, what should matter is getting long-term results, and getting the work done in as efficient and creative a manner as possible."

• "The need for certainty is the greatest disease the mind faces."

• ​The powers of reason and scientific inquiry are important, but they need to be combined with the powers of the creative imagination.

• "To create a meaningful work of art or to make a discovery or invention requires great discipline, self-control, and emotional stability. It requires mastering the forms of your field." 

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• "In following your inclinations and moving towards mastery, you make a great contribution to society, enriching it with discoveries and insights, and making the most of the diversity in nature and among human society."