Mastery

Mastery debunks the myth of talent and shows you there are proven steps you can take to achieve mastery in a discipline of your own choosing, by analyzing the paths of some of history’s most famous masters, such as Einstein, Darwin and Da Vinci.

Every one of us has probably had a few rare moments in their lives where the felt an inner voice calling out to them.

“You should be a painter!”

“I think I could write a novel.”

It’s this feeling that something is just made for you. That you’d thrive in it. That you could be great. Greene says you finally have to start trusting that feeling.

We’re all the creations of our very own, unique double helix, but we spend so much time blending in and hiding behind the crowd that we’ve become scared to listen to our inner voice. Yes, finding your true calling isn’t easy. It might take a while. Some deep digging and a whole lot of testing.

But when you go back to your teenage years, when you were 12, 13, 14 years old – what did you want to do? Maybe you’ve already had it. Your lightbulb moment.

Da Vinci had his when he found himself stealing expensive paper from his father’s office to draw animals out in the woods. Tim Ferriss had his when learning about the death of a friend and terminal illness of a child on the same day. Chad Fowler called it his Harajuku moment because it happened in a district of the same name in Tokyo.

It might sound foreign to you, but once you start trusting your gut, you’ll notice these hints your inner voice gives you and you can finally start to listen.

Once you decide on a field, discipline, or skill to master, the best way to make progress fast is to take an internship.

Don’t focus on the money, focus on how much you can learn.

A job that pays more now will probably offer you less support and education, which will pay for itself 10 times over down the road.

You’d be better off taking a low-paying job now that maybe comes with a great mentorship, which will lead you to excel in your field much faster than making all the dumb rookie mistakes and learning the hard way.

Yes, you should get paid to learn and create a win-win situation, but always know that learning has a much bigger ROI than being paid a bit more.

Benjamin Franklin could’ve swooped in on his father’s successful candle-making business. Instead, he took a printing job, which he knew would help him master the art of words much faster.