Mastery

by Robert Greene

The moment that you rest, thinking that you have attained the level you desire, a part of your mind enters a phase of decay.

The natural model for learning, largely based on the power of mirror neurons, came from watching and imitating others, then repeating the action over and over.

Our brains are highly suited for this form of learning.

The frustration is a sign of progress—a signal that your mind is processing complexity and requires more practice.

Improvement of the Mind—a self-help guide written by Reverend Isaac

You

A virtual relationship is never enough. There are cues and subtle aspects you can only pick up through a person-to-person interaction—such

You push yourself to learn from every possible source. You read more books than those who have a formal education, developing this into a lifelong habit. As much as possible, you try to apply your knowledge in some form of experiment or practice.

To be truly charming and socially effective you have to understand people, and to understand them you have to get outside yourself and immerse your mind in their world.

what you do not reveal to people is all the more eloquent and powerful.

Think of yourself as an explorer. You cannot find anything new if you are unwilling to leave the shore.

In any event, you must train yourself to look constantly for such analogies to reframe and expand your ideas.

it is quite simple to find arguments against any idea and knock it down from the sidelines. Instead, you must follow the route of all creative thinkers and go in the opposite direction.

At a particular high point of tension, they let go for a moment. This could be as simple as stopping work and going to sleep; or it could mean deciding to take a break, or to temporarily work on something else.

The key, then, to attaining this higher level of intelligence is to make our years of study qualitatively rich. We don’t simply absorb information—we internalize it and make it our own by finding some way to put this knowledge to practical use.

Every moment, every experience contains deep lessons for us. We are continuously awake, never merely going through the motions.

Like Proust, you must also maintain a sense of destiny, and feel continuously connected to it. You are unique, and there is a purpose to your uniqueness. You must see every setback, failure, or hardship as a trial along the way, as seeds that are being planted for further cultivation, if you know how to grow them. No moment is wasted if you pay attention and learn the lessons contained in every experience.

Mastery is not a function of genius or talent. It is a function of time and intense focus applied to a particular field of knowledge.

Whatever field of activity we are involved in, there is generally an accepted path to the top. It is a path that others have followed, and because we are conformist creatures, most of us opt for this conventional route.

We gain such power by first transforming ourselves into consummate observers.