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MasteryBy Robert GreeneReviewed by Malcolm CoonAbout the AuthorRobert Greene is the bestselling author of The 48 Laws of Power, The Art ofSeduction, and The 33 Strategies of War, He has spent a lifetime studyingthe laws of power. Now, he shares the secret path to greatness. With thisseminal text as a guide, readers will learn how to unlock the passion withinand become masters.His newest book, released in October 2018, The Laws of Human Nature is anatural sequel to Mastery.About the BookEach one of us has within us the potential to be a Master. Learn the secrets of the field you havechosen, submit to a rigorous apprenticeship, absorb the hidden knowledge possessed by those withyears of experience, surge past competitors to surpass them in brilliance, and explode establishedpatterns from within. Study the behaviors of Albert Einstein, Charles Darwin, Leonardo da Vinci andthe nine contemporary Masters interviewed for this book.The Book’s ONE THINGMastery is not, as we often think, an element of genius or talent - something that you either haveor you don't have. Far from it, mastery is about patience, tenacity and practice. We all have theability to internalize skills at such a level that our brain transforms both the intuitive and rationalway we relate to those skills. At that point, the skills we master cease to be something we do andbecome who we are, altering the way we see, think about and interact with the world. As such, weall have the ability to develop and access mastery in any area that we desire.BLUE SKY LEADERSHIP CONSULTING 210-219-9934 PETER@BLUESKYLEADERSHIP.COMBlue Sky Leadership Consulting works with organizations to leverage Strategic Thinking and Execution Planning and we encompassmany of the principles in these books into our Four DecisionsTM methodology and development of your company’s Growth Roadmap .Need to grow top line revenue? Improve bottom-line profits? Build accountable and trusting teams? Improve cash flow? Developleadership team members? Contact us for a free consultationVolume 6Issue 06Copyright 2019 Blue Sky Leadership Consulting All rights reservedCopyright 2019 by Blue Sky Leadership Consulting. All rights reserved.
Cook Ting was cutting up an ox for Lord Wen-hui . “Ah, this is marvelous!” said Lord Wen-hui. “Imagine skillreaching such heights!” Cook Ting laid down his knife and replied, “What I care about is the Way, which goesbeyond skill. When I first began cutting up oxen, all I could see was the ox itself. After three years I no longer sawthe whole ox. And now—now I go at it by spirit and don’t look with my eyes. Perception and understanding havecome to a stop and spirit moves where it wants.”—CHUANG TZU, ANCIENT CHINESEWRITER, FOURTH CENTURY B.C.I. DISCOVER YOUR CALLING: THE LIFE’S TASKYou possess a kind of inner force that seeks to guide you toward your Life’s Task—what you are meant toaccomplish in the time that you have to live. In childhood this force was clear to you. It directed you towardactivities and subjects that fit your natural inclinations, that sparked a curiosity that was deep and primal. In theintervening years, the force tends to fade in and out as you listen more to parents and peers, to the daily anxietiesthat wear away at you. This can be the source of your unhappiness—your lack of connection to who you are andwhat makes you unique. The first move toward mastery is always inward—learning who you really are andreconnecting with that innate force. Knowing it with clarity, you will find your way to the proper career path andeverything else will fall into place. It is never too late to start this process.II. SUBMIT TO REALITY: THE IDEAL APPRENTICESHIPAfter your formal education, you enter the most critical phase in your life—a second, practical education known asThe Apprenticeship. Every time you change careers or acquire new skills, you reenter this phase of life. Thedangers are many. If you are not careful, you will succumb to insecurities, become embroiled in emotional issuesand conflicts that will dominate your thoughts; you will develop fears and learning disabilities that you will carrywith you throughout your life. Before it is too late you must learn the lessons and follow the path established bythe greatest Masters, past and present—a kind of Ideal Apprenticeship that transcends all fields. In the processyou will master the necessary skills, discipline your mind, and transform yourself into an independent thinker,prepared for the creative challenges on the way to mastery.III. ABSORB THE MASTER’S POWER: THE MENTOR DYNAMICLife is short, and your time for learning and creativity is limited. Without any guidance, you can waste valuableyears trying to gain knowledge and practice from various sources. Instead, you must follow the example set byMasters throughout the ages and find the proper mentor. The mentor-protégé relationship is the most efficientand productive form of learning. The right mentors know where to focus your attention and how to challenge you.Their knowledge and experience become yours. They provide immediate and realistic feedback on your work, soyou can improve more rapidly. Through an intense person-to-person interaction, you absorb a way of thinking thatcontains great power and can be adapted to your individual spirit. Choose the mentor who best fits your needsand connects to your Life’s Task. Once you have internalized their knowledge, you must move on and neverremain in their shadow. Your goal is always to surpass your mentors in mastery and brilliance.Book Review: MasteryPage 2 5Volume 6Issue 06
Book Review: MasteryPage 3 5Volume 6Issue 06
IV. SEE PEOPLE AS THEY ARE: SOCIAL INTELLIGENCEOften the greatest obstacle to our pursuit of mastery comes from the emotional drain we experience in dealingwith the resistance and manipulations of the people around us. If we are not careful, our minds become absorbedin endless political intrigues and battles. The principal problem we face in the social arena is our naïve tendency toproject onto people our emotional needs and desires of the moment. We misread their intentions and react inways that cause confusion or conflict. Social intelligence is the ability to see people in the most realistic lightpossible. By moving past our usual self-absorption, we can learn to focus deeply on others, reading their behaviorin the moment, seeing what motivates them, and discerning any possible manipulative tendencies. Navigatingsmoothly the social environment, we have more time and energy to focus on learning and acquiring skills. Successattained without this intelligence is not true mastery, and will not last.V. AWAKEN THE DIMENSIONAL MIND: THE CREATIVE-ACTIVEAs you accumulate more skills and internalize the rules that govern your field, your mind will want to becomemore active, seeking to use this knowledge in ways that are more suited to your inclinations. What will impedethis natural creative dynamic from flourishing is not a lack of talent, but your attitude. Feeling anxious andinsecure, you will tend to turn conservative with your knowledge, preferring to fit into the group and sticking tothe procedures you have learned. Instead, you must force yourself in the opposite direction. As you emerge fromyour apprenticeship, you must become increasingly bold. Instead of feeling complacent about what you know, youmust expand your knowledge to related fields, giving your mind fuel to make new associations between differentideas. You must experiment and look at problems from all possible angles. As your thinking grows more fluid yourmind will become increasingly dimensional, seeing more and more aspects of reality. In the end, you will turnagainst the very rules you have internalized, shaping and reforming them to suit your spirit. Such originality willbring you to the heights of power.VI. FUSE THE INTUITIVE WITH THE RATIONAL: MASTERYAll of us have access to a higher form of intelligence, one that can allow us to see more of the world, to anticipatetrends, to respond with speed and accuracy to any circumstance. This intelligence is cultivated by deeplyimmersing ourselves in a field of study and staying true to our inclinations, no matter how unconventional ourapproach might seem to others. Through such intense immersion over many years we come to internalize andgain an intuitive feel for the complicated components of our field. When we fuse this intuitive feel with rationalprocesses, we expand our minds to the outer limits of our potential and are able to see into the secret core of lifeitself. We then come to have powers that approximate the instinctive force and speed of animals, but with theadded reach that our human consciousness brings us. This power is what our brains were designed to attain, andwe will be naturally led to this type of intelligence if we follow our inclinations to their ultimate ends.The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honorsthe servant and has forgotten the gift.—ALBERT EINSTEINBook Review: MasteryPage 4 5Volume 6Issue 06
Our Faculty and Our SponsorsActions:What thought, or idea had the biggest impact on you today?What is your ONE THING? What one specific action you will takeTODAY from what was discussed?Calendar of EventsFirst Friday – Wittigs 2018 Avenue B San Antonio 7:30 – 9:00 [Sponsor: UTSA EMBA Alumni Association]Feb 1stThe Cilantro DiariesMar 1stSleep SmarterApr 5thHow to Fly a HorseWine & Cheese Wednesday – Wittigs 2018 Avenue B San Antonio 5:30 – 7:00 PM [Sponsor: Haworth]Feb 6thSPECIAL EVENT – Oscar NightFeb 13thWisdom @ WorkthMar 13Engaged LeadershipApr 10thEmployee Experience AdvantageSecond Tuesday – Wittigs 401 William St. Corpus Christi 5:30 – 7:00 PM [Sponsor: Wittigs & Haworth]Feb 12thWisdom @ WorkthMar 12Engaged LeadershipApr 9thHow to Fly a HorseFourth Thursday – Haworth 2 E Greenway Plaza #100 Houston 11:30 –1:00 [Sponsor: Haworth & Wittigs]Feb 21stMasteryMar 28thHow I Raised Myself from Failure to Success in SellingApr 25thYour Oxygen Mask FirstFourth Friday – Alpha Home 419 E. Magnolia Ave. San Antonio 8:00 – 9:30 [Sponsor: Alpha Home]]Feb 22ndMasteryMar 29thYour Oxygen Mask FirstApr 26thHow I Raised Myself from Failure to Success in SellingCopyright 2019 Blue Sky Leadership Consulting All rights reservedVolume 6Issue 06
01.02.2018 · By Robert Greene Reviewed by Malcolm Coon About the Author Robert Greene is the bestselling author of The 48 Laws of Power, The Art of Seduction, and The 33 Strategies of War, He has spent a lifetime studying the laws of power. Now, he shares the secret path to greatness. With this seminal text as a guide, readers will learn how to unlock the passion within and become masters. His
