Week #7

This week I finished the book Mastery by George Leonard.  He discusses mastery as a journey.  So many wonderful things in the book that I would like to remember.  So at the bottom of this post is the book report I did on it.  I also read about Stephen Covey's 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.  They are:
1 - Be Proactive
2 - Begin and end with the end in mind
3 - First things first
4 - Think win/win
5 - First seek to understand, then to be understood
6 - Create synergy
7 - Sharpen the saw
These are wonderful things to remember and understand further in life.

The Principles of “Mastery”

                In the book “Mastery”, Leonard discusses what his definition of mastery is and how to get it.  Not as something that a normal person would think when we hear the word mastery, but instead as a process of continuing and practicing something.  Through this book and definition, I was able to learn some principles to help me in my future.  To take the journey of mastery, I need to first understand how I react to new situations, learn the five master keys, and learn the tools to use in mastery.
                There are three different categories where most people can find themselves associated with in a certain area of life, whether it be business, love, art, sports, school, etc.  Leonard titles them the Dabbler, the Obsessive, and the Hacker.  The Dabbler is one who tries many new things.  As he tries a new thing, he gets bored when he is doing the same thing and hits a plateau in his process and quits to try another thing.  The Obsessive is one who only focuses on the end results.  He quits when he hits a plateau because he is not seeing immediate results and progress.  The Hacker is one who is content.  He is fine not progressing and is fine hanging out on the plateau forever.  Through these categories, we can find what defines us better and how we can better stay on the plateau and continue towards improvements.
                The five master keys are Instruction, Practice, Surrender, Intentionality, and The Edge.  Instruction is for us to find the best instructor to guide us in what we are striving to master.  Great teachers want their students to surpass their own skills.  Practice is not something you do, but something you are.  Constantly practicing, especially when on a plateau, is mastery.  Surrender is you needing to fall into your teacher’s demands no matter what they are.  Be willing to make a fool of yourself.  That great teacher is teaching you something through this, you just may not understand it at this point of your learning process.  Intentionality is making sure to visualize that you can do this.  The vision in your mind is a powerful thing when embarking on a new mastery journey.  The Edge is making sure that you are willing to step to the edges, but understanding the safe limits.  There will be goals along your path that you will stop and obtain, and that is okay.  The journey of mastery is not a goal, but has little goals along the sidelines. 

                The tools used in mastery are understanding why so many resolutions fail and what you can do about it, having the energy for mastery, avoiding the pitfalls on the path, and packing for the journey.  Through understanding these things, we will be closer to understanding how to achieve mastery.
                The reasons resolutions do not work so often, is that we all resist change.  Whether it be good or bad, change is change.  To fight this resistance, you need to: 1 – Be aware of the balance and the environment needed to continue balance when starting a change, 2 – Be willing to deal with and go around your resistance, 3 – Gather a support system, 4 – Maintain a regular practice schedule, and 5 – Commit yourself to learning forever. 

Even after these steps, we need to have the energy.  To get the energy needed for mastery we need to: 1 – Maintain our physical health, 2 – Know the negative that is out there, but bring out the positive, 3 – Be honest in all things, 4 – Respect your dark side, but do not be accepting of it, 5 – Make sure to have your priorities straight, 6 – Keep your promises, and 7 – Stay on the path of mastery once you get on it. 

Still along the path we need to know what to watch out for so we can stay strong.  The pitfalls that Leonard warns us of are: 1 – living a life different than what you are trying to master, 2 – obsessing over goals, 3 – bad guidance, 4 – not having the desire or drive, 5 – having too much drive to achieve, 6 – being lazy, 7 – being injured, 8 – drugs, 9 – mastering to obtain prizes, 10 – mastering for the vanity, 11 – being too serious, 12 – lacking consistency, and 13 – trying to achieve perfectionism.    

Now that we know how to get on the path and what to avoid, we need to understand what to bring on our journey.  Leonard concludes that we should make a checklist with all the items we learned about through the book so we can look at the list throughout the journey.  The list contains the five mastery keys, how to deal with change, getting the energy for mastery, and the pitfalls to avoid.  Once we have this list, we can pack and begin our journey toward mastering what we have chosen to focus on. 

Leonard ends by reminding us that in order to become a master and a great learner, we need to be willing to look like a fool.  Allow new things to enter into our minds from our instructors that we never would have imagined.  Great things are brought to pass by doing things we would not think of as normal.  Success is found in mastery, and that is something we can journey towards.