Summary: The author just finished re-reading Mastery by Robert Greene, praising it as one of the best books they’ve read. The book emphasizes the importance of intense focus, facing fears, embracing pivots, and valuing deep work for achieving mastery in any field. It also highlights the significance of self-discovery, learning from mistakes, and prioritizing curiosity over external validation.
Mastery is an outcome within your control:
“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.” (View Highlight)
Going all in means facing fear:
“You must always be prepared to place a bet on yourself, on your future, by heading in a direction that others seem to fear.” (View Highlight)
Embrace the pivot:
“You must see your career or vocational path more as a journey with twists and turns rather than a straight line. You begin by choosing a field or position that roughly corresponds to your inclinations. This initial position offers you room to maneuver.” (View Highlight)
Money can’t be the goal:
“Most often you deviate because of the lure of money, of more immediate prospects of prosperity. Because this does not comply with something deep within you, your interest will lag and eventually the money will not come so easily.” (View Highlight)
Deep work is key:
“It is better to dedicate two or three hours of intense focus to a skill than to spend eight hours of diffused concentration on it. You want to be as immediately present to what you are doing as possible.” (View Highlight)
You must learn from errors. Don’t wait to be told:
“Mistakes and failures are precisely your means of education. They tell you about your own inadequacies. It is hard to find out such things from people, as they are often political with their praise and criticisms.” (View Highlight)