Everyone holds his fortune in his own hands, like a sculptor the raw material he will fashion into a figure. But it's the same with that type of artistic activity as with all others: we are merely born with the capability to do it. The skill to mould the material into what we want must be learned and attentively cultivated
-- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
As we go through life, most of us absorb the belief that elite-level abilities are reserved for people who are talented, genetically gifted, or even blessed. This is not the case. Each of us is capable of achieving an incredible level of power.
We can glimpse this sometimes when we are faced with a strict deadline. We become unusually more focused and are able to be way more productive than usual. When looking back it seems almost as if it wasn't us doing the work.
This feeling of having a greater command of ourselves, other people, and reality can be called mastery. Each one of us has the ability to cultivate it, at least in some disciplines. It is a skill that can lead to tremendous abilities and power if properly exercised over a long period of time.
Attaining mastery is done in several stages. As a beginner, when you first start learning a new discipline or skill, you feel as if you've entered a foreign territory. Everything seems new and fascinating, maybe even overwhelming. As you study the field by yourself or with the help of mentors, you start to discover new rules about how things work. You start to internalize the rules of the game.
At a certain point, you will want to start experimenting with your own ideas. You see some novel connections between different disciplines. Maybe you want to add your own twist on a single narrow field of study. You take a skill and make it your own. You find a new way to write songs on the piano or develop a certain style of writing novels that you can call your own.
At last, you will reach a stage when you reach a deeper level of reality. The musical instrument you practice feels like a part of you. Or a sport you play puts you in a meditative state where you just feel what you need to do next. You develop amazing intuitions for how things should be. It feels almost magical. This is how you know you've reached mastery.
Despite having access to this amazing power, most people do not exploit it. You can see this in the way many people search for get rich quick schemes, novel drugs that provide a state of flow, and various other hacks. But even if these make you feel what you want, it is short-lived and leaves you unfulfilled afterwards.
The modern world also provides endless distractions in the form of content to consume (photos, videos, endless books, social media posts, etc.) You must fight against these viciously. They will slow down your progress or even compromise you entirely.
Know that you can reach higher levels of performance than you ever thought possible. Do not squander away this opportunity. Take advantage of your potential.
- Welcome to my Study Notebook. Here I take different ideas from great authors and dissect them in order to improve my thinking and share some great curated knowledge with the world! If you took something away from this post, please consider buying the book that inspired it: