Mastery: Robert Greene (The Modern Machiavellian Robert Greene)

Product Information

This book certainly contains some good and well needed advice, for example it frequently stresses the importance of self acceptance and self love, a concept which I think many of us struggle with. In the long run, the war against mastery, the path to patient, dedicated effort without attachment to immediate results, is a war that can’t be won. What I really liked about this book is that it can be first used as an introduction to the topic of mastery but then it serves as a step by step guide to making mastery a part of your life. The instruction starts with the reasons why mastery is so rarely practiced these days and the various things people default to instead. Mastery takes extreme discipline and love for practice and improvement. This is something our society rarely has the patience for with our “get it done yesterday” attitude.

Contingencies, no question about it, are important. The achievement of goals is important. But the real juice of life, whether it be sweet or bitter, is to be found not nearly so much in the products of our efforts as in the process of living itself, in how it feels to be alive. " If you cannot love your partner the way she is, someone else can love her just as she is. Don’t waste your time, and don’t waste your partner’s time. This is respect.” To take the master's journey, you have to practice diligently, striving to hone your skills, to attain new levels of competence. But while doing so—and this is the inexorable fact of the journey—you also have to be willing to spend most of your time on a plateau, to keep practicing even when you seem to be getting nowhere " To practice regularly, even when you seem to be getting nowhere, might at first seem onerous. But the day eventually comes when practicing becomes a treasured part of your life. You settle into it as if into your favorite easy chair, unaware of time and the turbulence of the world. It will still be there for you tomorrow. It will never go away."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"). Mastery requires us to change the way we approach these periods - which we usually think of as unimportant "in-between" time. Leonard gives advice on how to embrace these plateaus, and identifies the many impediments that prevent us from persevering.

Still, you learned an essential skill. What's more important, you learned about learning. You started with something difficult and made it easy and pleasurable through instruction and practice. You took a master's journey."

Important reading…an integral addition to a growing body of literature that argues for a radical shift in how businesses operate. ” —Kirkus The author starts by introducing the key elements of Mastery to the reader. He emphasises the fact that the journey to mastery has a start, but it is never ending. For to become a lifelong learner means you need to stay on the path. The most important aspect of the mainstream image we are being exposed to, is to understand where it's coming from. All Masters go through a transformative phase in their lives, like how a butterfly emerges from its chrysalis. This typically involves a self-directed apprenticeship that lasts 5-10 years. Homeostasis, remember, doesn't distinguish between what you would call change for the better and change for the worse. It resists all change. "

The only way to master love is to practice love. You don't need to justify your love, you don't need to explain your love; you just need to practice your love. Practice creates the master. p71 Fascinating . . . If Pink's proselytizing helps persuade employers to make work more fulfilling, Drive will be a powerhouse. ” —USA Today 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.The people we know as masters don't devote themselves to their particular skill just to get better at it. The truth is, they love to practice—and because of this they do get better. And then, to complete the circle, the better they get the more they enjoy performing the basic moves over and over again." Everything is what it is. You don't need to justify what is true; you don't need to explain it. What is true doesn't need anyone's support. Your lies need your support. p167 Chamorro-Premuzic, Tomas. Book review: Mastery, by Robert Greene. Management Today. November 1, 2012. When you buy something you don’t need, it ends up in the garbage. It’s the same in a relationship.” Disclaimer – I doubt I ever would have chosen to read this book without a recommendation from someone else. It was lent to me by a co-worker, and I read it, in part, out of respect for her.