Mastery is the result of a deep expression of something natural.
-Robert Greene
Mastery details the attitude and general philosophy of people who worked to attain mastery in their respective fields of choice.
Greene dissects the life paths of such individuals.
He emphasizes the insane amount of effort that goes into developing a skillset – the tedious process all too often swept under the rug.
People want to believe talent is in-born so they don’t have to challenge themselves…
Mastery Is The Result Of An Internal Drive
Everyone has a creative drive, some more aware of it than others.
It’s a reflection of your uniqueness.
Following this drive to its conclusion will bring you into the presence of higher intelligence.
Utilizing this sense of discovery unearths passion and engrains a strong emotional resonance into your work.
This work must be obsessive to the degree that it borders on religious.
Working towards mastery is of vital necessity and leads to a positive outcome for the entire universe.
To reconnect with this sense of childish wonder, you must direct your focus inward…
By Creating, You Discover Who You Truly Are
Many people forsake their creative drive and give in to more material pursuits.
However, constantly grinding away at a job you hate saps away your creative energy.
All your remaining free time ends up spent on leisure as a means to recharge.
It’s extremely selfish to live strictly as a consumer who holds limited goals and pursues immediate pleasures.
Rest and stagnation cause your mind to start decaying.
The 9-5 square lifestyle increases passivity, and holds you back from evolving as a person.
The Biggest Counter-Force To Creation Is The Pressure To Conform
When you dedicate your life to your arena, you experience no separation between work and life.
The field that best suits your character is dictated to you by your inner-voice.
This inner-drive aims to give your life a larger purpose – something most people sorely lack within the modern world.
Trusting your instincts will let you follow up on tangents to your path, leading you to the most appropriate niche.
Finding work that suits your specific specialized skills will help you to avoid overwhelming competition and unnecessary politicking.
Creation Never Ends Because There Are Infinite Possibilities To Discover
To acquire knowledge in the most efficient way possible, mentors act to shorten the process towards success.
They pass on their wisdom and help you avoid dead ends.
The goal is to internalize and adapt their:
- Techniques
- Methods
- And thinking patterns.
However, when the time is right you must move on, confident in your abilities.
A suitable mentor can give you what your parents didn’t.
You are NEVER a victim of your circumstances because you can ALWAYS find the answers that you seek.
A cardinal trait of successful people is a high level of discipline.
This focus should ripple throughout every aspect of your life.
Refined discipline must merge with your retained childhood spirit in order to produce great works.
Such powerful emotions involved in a project successfully communicate authenticity.
Quality is achieved through obsessive innovation.
The higher the goal, the more internal energy is required.
At some point, your brain will reach inevitable peaks of creativity.
You must rest from time to time to stop burnouts.
There are multiple impediments to creativity, but the greatest one is impatience.
In your journey towards mastery you may come to understand your task, but there will always be some element of the unknown.
You will never be 100% entirely sure where your efforts will take you.
Be Patient Your Skills Will Produce Something Great
It’s vital to maintain a sense of destiny, and to never lose touch with your personal connection with it.
Persistent years of dedication let something unique and expressive to manifest – a masterpiece / magnum opus if you will.
A high level of game is necessary to keep the haters at bay.
An inability to navigate the social labyrinth will significantly impede your progress.
The amount of time spent towards achieving mastery is dependent on your focus.
Some say it takes 10,000 hours, others say 20,000 hours.
Your years of study and development must consist of obtaining high quality knowledge.
Constantly Look For Connections Between All The Elements Involved
No moment or interaction is wasted if you aim to discover the lessons that every single experience has to offer you.
Masters hone their sensitive instincts through putting work into their respective arenas.
They understand that what they want out of life doesn’t have to suit everyone else.
A conventional path kills the spirit and leads to a numb existence.
A master views his environment and field as a physical form, alive and evolving.
His connection to it is deeply emotional.
An Arena Is A Reflection Of The Larger Universe, Constantly Changing
No aspect of life can be separated from this sense of wholeness.
Whatever is produced becomes something that has a life and embedded energy of its own.
This is what causes people to have strong reactions to your work.
The amount of research that goes into creation can never be denied.
You must choose where to direct this creative energy.
You’re an inseparable instrument of the universe.
The significance of your actions may never be entirely apparent, but you can rest assured that you’re on the right path if you dedicate yourself to conveying your experiences through your work.
There’s No Limit To Knowledge And Understanding
You can never fully reach actualization, because it’s an ongoing process.
Suffering and doubts are all a part of the process.
You must consistently re-invent yourself through your ever-changing creations.
Creativity and adaptability are inseparable.
-Robert Greene
As you engage in the creative process, the nature of the universe will become apparent before your eyes.
After all, the universe is an infinite reality fractal – the patterns in one field apply to everything else.
It has been said that the astral plane / world of forms is a truer reality than the physical one we inhabit.
Creation brings you into the presence of something pure and divine.
The path of mastery will lead to the discovery of your own personal god.
This book is a great follow up to The War of Art.
I highly recommend it for any aspiring master or progress minded person.
Reading this book has helped erase many of my self-doubts in regards to choosing a life of passion over a life of comfort.
It’s an intensely inspiring read.
PS. Read Mastery by Robert Greene.
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My name is Mister Infinite. I've written 500+ articles for people who want more out of life. Within this website you will find the motivation and action steps to live a better lifestyle.
I’ve heard it called “the rage for mastery” and some people show it as children. The extreme ones are often considered eccentric – because they are.
You never really master what you are interested in because that interest is ever changing. You will be constantly learning as there is no end to Mastery. For me its the passion of getting there that matters most! It takes time as the long road of Mastery twists and turns. Will i eventually get there? Who knows but i love the scenery!
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