Mastery (The Modern Machiavellian Robert Greene Book 1)

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Volumes of text may not have any influence on a person and a single phrase might be enough to change destinies.

By creating a persona that is mysterious, intriguing, and masterful, you are playing to the public, giving them something compelling and pleasurable to witness. One of the key themes in this book is the idea that learning happens in a series of spurts, which are separated by long periods of apparent stagnation ("plateaus"). Seduced by the siren song of a consumerist, quick-fix society, we sometimes choose a course of action that brings only the illusion of accomplishment, the shadow of satisfaction. The bigger obstacles are fear and conformism, and we all have fear, and we all have some desire to conform.

Machiavelli has a new rival, and Sun-tzu had better watch his back - New York Times You may also be interested in. At a couple of points I felt that he might be contradicting himself when he stresses how long it takes to get through the steps to mastery. The author defining mastery as a journey takes us in a journey within his book explaining the 5 keys of mastery in part 2 the actual essence of the book after giving an interesting part 1 on the concept in general describing how other paths contrary to mastery are followed with their negative impact on the individual and society as a whole. He provides a model that we can use, common pitfalls, examples of typical learners - the hacker, the dabbler and the obsessive and other guidance. Satisfaction lies in mindful repetition, the discovery of endless richness in subtle variations on familiar themes.

While there was nothing really wrong with Mastery, per se, I did not enjoy it as much as many of the other books on mastery and mindset that I have read recently.

Our upbringing, our schooling system, what we see on TV (like commercials or movies), and social media all play a role in it. This question, this moment of choice, comes up countless times in each of our lives, not just about tennis or some other sport, but about everything that has to do with learning, development, change.

In general, be wary of people who want to collaborate— they are often trying to find someone who will do the heavier lifting for them. The idea of a Life's Task brought to mind a comparison with Sacred Contracts: Awakening Your Divine Potential by Caroline Myss, which is also concerned with helping one find one's life mission.

The Evolutionary Hijack: What constitutes true creativity is the openness and adaptability of our spirit. The power of the mental game came to public awareness in the 1970s through the revelations of some of the nation's most notable sports figures. Gaze deep into the mentor’s mirror: The mentor can show you where you’re weakest, don’t be afraid to see it. The master is the one who is willing to try, and fail, and try again, for as long as he or she lives.

It explains the nature of change, and sets your expectations straight in case you plan on becoming proficient in any area of life.But before you can even consider playing this edge, there must be many years of instruction, practice, surrender, and intentionality. The primary difference between masters and ordinary people is that the masters never gave up on their craft and took as long as it was necessary to perfect it. We find the excuse of “not having time” or fall into the trap of just wanting the acknowledgement of doing something new rather than really DOING IT!