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My Notes

"It often comes to us in a period of tension—facing a deadline, the urgent need to solve a problem, a crisis of sorts

pressed by circumstances, we feel unusually energized and focused

Most of the time we live in an interior world of dreams, desires, and obsessive thoughts. But in this period of exceptional creativity, we are impelled by the need to get something done that has a practical effect

The great danger is that we give in to feelings of boredom, impatience, fear, and confusion. We stop observing and learning. The process comes to a halt

Apprenticeship;

Creative-Active

Mastery

intuition is nothing more than a sudden and immediate seizing of what is real, without the need for words or formulas

The human relies instead on thinking and rationality to understand its environment. But such thinking can be slow, and in its slowness can become ineffective. So much of our obsessive, internal thought process tends to disconnect us from the world. Intuitive powers at the mastery level are a mix of the instinctive and the rational, the conscious and the unconscious, the human and the animal

the brain that we possess is the work of six million years of development, and more than anything else, this evolution of the brain was designed to lead us to mastery,

fashioning the mind into the most powerful instrument known in nature—far more powerful than any claw

hose who are less brilliant in their youth can often attain much more. Natural talent or a high IQ cannot explain future achievement

You will unconsciously lower your sights as to what you can accomplish in life. This can diminish your levels of effort and discipline below the point of effectiveness

you must see your attempt at attaining mastery as something extremely necessary and positive.

Everything that happens to you is a form of instruction if you pay attention

Anything that is alive is in a continual state of change and movement

The first move toward mastery is always inward—learning who you really are and reconnecting with that innate force

one idea flowed into another

he had come to hate the dependence forced upon artists to gain royal favor, to live from commission to commission.

worked best when he had several different projects at hand, allowing him to build all kinds of connections between them

you want to see your work as something more inspiring, as part of your vocation

from deep within. It emanates from your individuality. It tells you which activities suit your character. And at a certain point, it calls you to a particular form of work or career. Your work then is something connected deeply to who you are, not a separate compartment in your life.

see your career or vocational path more as a journey with twists and turns rather than a straight line

What we lack most in the modern world is a sense of a larger purpose to our lives

we must build our own world

without a sense of direction provided to us, we tend to flounder

Everything on this earth has its difficult sides!

presents itself to them with remarkable clarity in childhood.

In order to master a field, you must love the subject and feel a profound connection to it

Your interest must transcend the field itself and border on the religious

Occupy the perfect niche

The game you want to play is different: to instead find a niche in the ecology that you can dominate.

ou continue this process until you eventually hit upon a totally unoccupied niche, the narrower the better

A false path in life is generally something we are attracted to for the wrong reasons—money, fame, attention, and so on

hoping to fill with the false love of public approval

realize as early as possible that you have chosen your career for the wrong reasons,

Let go of the past

He showed up on time and stayed later than anyone else

You are not tied to a particular position; your loyalty is not to a career or a company

You are on your own

you must resist the temptation to overreact or feel sorry for yourself

He had disappointed his wife, and he had lost money for his father-in-law and his friends who had invested in the enterprise. He was useless at business and a burden to everyone. Finally he decided upon suicide as the best option

Whenever he thought of money first, disaster followed.

they would have to live frugally for the moment

The way back requires a sacrifice. You cannot have everything in the present. The road to mastery requires patience. You will have to keep your focus on five or ten years down the road, when you will reap the rewards of your efforts

the money and success that truly last come not to those who focus on such things as goals, but rather to those who focus on mastery and fulfilling their Life’s Task

SUBMIT TOREALITY

practical education known as The Apprenticeship

Whenever he experienced such inner turmoil at home, what always calmed him down was to head outdoors and observe the life around him

no one grumbled about the food or the weather or the tasks at hand. They valued stoicism. He would try to adopt such an attitude

take copious notes, but he would have to find a way to organize all of this information

he observed the gauchos and their ways, fitting into their culture as if one of them.

The creatures here had ever so slowly evolved to their present form

One can have no smaller or greater mastery than mastery of oneself.

if we make too many mistakes, we create endless problems for ourselves. We spend too much time entangled in emotional issues, and we never quite have enough detachment to reflect and learn from our experience

To follow precisely the lead of others or advice from a book is self-defeating

you will ground yourself in reality, in the objective world represented by the knowledge and skills that make people successful in it

disciplined and focused

Practical knowledge is the ultimate commodity, and is what will pay you dividends for decades to come

Deep Observation

Skills Acquisition

Experimentation

Deep Observation—The Passive Mode

Any positive attention you receive is deceptive

giving yourself the space to observe

Every task you are given, no matter how menial, offers opportunities to observe this world at work

Emptying himself of any preconceptions

Submitting to and absorbing the reality of all aspects of this voyage

stilling your ego

observing first, basing your ideas and theories on what you have seen with your eyes, and then analyzing what you find

Skills Acquisition—The Practice Mode

mastering of skills

the skills are more nebulous, such as handling people or researching and organizing information

educe these skills to something simple and essential

watching and imitating others

repeating the action over and over

you begin with one skill that you can master, and that serves as a foundation for acquiring others

develop your powers of concentration

physical exercise, you can even get a kind of perverse pleasure out of this pain, knowing the benefits it will bring you

But once something is repeated often enough, it becomes hardwired and automatic

Real pleasure comes from overcoming challenges, feeling confidence in your abilities, gaining fluency in skills, and experiencing the power this brings. You develop patience

even to ten years of sustained, solid practice

Experimentation—The Active Mode

active mode of experimentation

gauge your progress and whether there are still gaps in your knowledge

Can you take criticism and use it constructively?

expose his ideas to others

force yourself to initiate such actions or experiments before you think you are ready

the human brain is asked to do and handle more than ever before

The Apprenticeship Phase is more relevant and important than ever

Working on them would sharpen his reasoning powers

train yourself to get by with little money and make the most of your youthful energy

she made the most of every free minute

t was almost unbearable, but he could withstand it because he was learning the trade for which he knew was destined

you must value learning above everything else

a valuable life skill

You must never disdain an apprenticeship with no pay

Keep expanding your horizons

she would have to educate herself and keep her mental horizons expanding by whatever means necessary

She would read many more books than were required, and work particularly hard on any writing assignments.

you must struggle against any limitations and continually work to expand your horizons

Be relentless in your pursuit for expansion

Revert to a feeling of inferiority

Participating in their lives as if he was one of their children

What prevents people from learning

certain learning disabilities that tend to fester and grow in our minds as we get older

sense of smugness and superiority whenever we encounter something alien to our ways

we humans retain what is known as neoteny—mental and physical traits of immaturity—well into our adult years

when you enter a new environment, your task is to learn and absorb as much as possible

revert to a childlike feeling of inferiority

Trust the process

his mind could not keep up with all of the information he had to process, and it was difficult to prioritize his tasks

through rigorous training—mental and physical—he could overcome his fear and almost any deficiency in his skill level

trust the process and the results that would come from more practice

He tripled his time with the simulator

he focused much harder

he grabbed it

Whenever there was a chance to have more air time

succeeded through his determination

work him to death

practice on the things he hated the most

practice and sheer determination

What separates Masters from others is often something surprisingly simple

In moments of doubt in the present, the memory of the past experience rises to the surface

time is the magic ingredient

faith in the process

Move toward resistance and pain

He would have to compensate for all of his inadequacies through sheer practice.

most rigorous and efficient training routines in the history of sports

three and a half hours of practice after school and on Sundays, eight hours every Saturday, and three hours a day during the summer.

keep rigidly to this schedule

well past any feelings of boredom or pain

such apparent ease was the result of so many hours of intense practice over so many years

read as many books as he could in the library.

in the actual writing of the poem that the best ideas would often come to him

boldly keep writing or he would miss such discoveries

rigorous self-apprenticeship he had put himself through

we humans shrink from anything that seems possibly painful or overtly difficult

Our skill becomes lopsided as we avoid our weaknesses

Resistance Practice

you resist the temptation to be nice to yourself. You become your own worst critic; you see your work as if through the eyes of others. You recognize your weaknesses, precisely the elements you are not good at

perverse pleasure in moving past the pain this might bring

resist the lure of easing up on your focus

concentrate in practice with double the intensity

You invent exercises that work upon your weaknesses

Apprentice yourself in failure

simplicity and compactness

he had been trying to make his automobile serve too many consumer need

maintain complete independence from the financiers

He even worked on the assembly line, endearing himself to the workers

practical intelligence, patience, and way of solving problems that could be applied to anything

Combine the “how” and the “what”

more rounded knowledge is in fact the way of the future

Advance through trial and error

There are no shortcuts or ways to bypass the Apprenticeship Phase

ABSORB THE MASTER’S POWER: THE MENTOR DYNAMIC

The mentor-protégé relationship is the most efficient and productive form of learning

The right mentors know where to focus your attention and how to challenge you

THE ALCHEMY OF KNOWLEDGE

learning had to be an active process

re-creating the experiments that led to them

taking detailed notes, then reworking the notes themselves—all of this imprinting the knowledge deeper in the brain

Arriving early each time and gaining the closest seat he could find, he soaked up every aspect of Davy’s lectures, taking the most detailed notes he had ever attempted

he would need a mentor.

Faraday listened with utmost intensity to every one of his instructions and did more than was asked for.

man of talent is not born to be left to himself, but to devote himself to art and good masters who will make something of him.”

To learn requires a sense of humility

stems from basic insecurity

The reason you require a mentor is simple: Life is short; you have only so much time and so much energy to expend

It is always possible to practice on your own, but you will not receive enough focused feedback

they streamline the process

mentors feel emotionally invested in your education

he possessed an intense energy and hunger for knowledge

Do not shy away from anything menial or secretarial

You will want as much personal interaction with the mentor as possible

books can serve as temporary mentors

One repays a teacher badly if one remains only a pupil

Choose the mentor according to your needs and inclinations

Wright went on a charm offensive to secure the position

he engaged him in a conversation about art and philosophy, knowing Sullivan’s own aesthetic predilections

cultivated a personal relationship with him,

spend as much time around him as possible, soaking up his style of thinking, and turning him into her de facto mento

let you find your own way, including your own mistakes, but would lend you support when you needed it.

Gaze deep into the mentor’s mirror

You must continually start over and challenge yourself

To reach mastery requires some toughness and a constant connection to reality

you must get the sharpest dose of reality that is possible from your mentor

Transfigure their ideas

very patient, yet also demanding

unusual seriousness and intensity

If he listened too closely to teachers and other performers and picked up their ideas or styles, he would lose his sense of identity in the process

Even as we listen and incorporate the ideas of our mentors, we must slowly cultivate some distance from them

“Poor is the apprentice who does not surpass his Master.”

Create a back-and-forth dynamic

He was a quiet, patient man who knew how to give precise instructions; he was a master at improving a fighter’s technique

It is never wise to purposefully do without the benefits of having a mentor in your life. You will waste valuable time in finding and shaping what you need to know.

elentless desire to learn through whatever crossed his path, as well as his self-discipline

SEE PEOPLE AS THEY ARE: SOCIAL INTELLIGENCE

emotional drain we experience in dealing with the resistance and manipulations of the people around us

Social intelligence is the ability to see people in the most realistic light possible. By moving past our usual self-absorption, we can learn to focus deeply on others, reading their behavior in the moment, seeing what motivates them, and discerning any possible manipulative tendencies

THINKING INSIDE

what if he were to create a fictional character who would write letters to The Courant?

fiercely disciplined and ambitious

when it came to his work, he was supremely rational and realistic, always looking to improve himself

But with people it was virtually the opposite: he would inevitably become swept up in his emotions and lose all contact with reality.

he would force himself to take an initial step backward and not get emotional

Gaining position inside people’s minds, he could see how to melt their resistance or thwart their malevolent plans

complete and radical acceptance of human nature

Better to accept such people as one accepts the thorns on a rose

When Keimer was away from the shop, he taught himself new skills such as engraving and ink-making

subtly convert him into an implacable ally

thought himself deeply into Norris’s mind

he dressed plainly; he worked harder than anyone they knew; he never frequented bars or gambling houses; and he had a folksy and even humble manner.

wherever he went he assumed the look, the outward morals, and the behavior of the culture at hand, so that he could better make his way

You must allow everyone the right to exist in accordance with the character he has

We humans are the preeminent social animal

developing our brain—by far the most important weapon in the human arsenal

Looking inward as to how the words and actions of others implicate us in some way, we continually misread their intention

Social intelligence is nothing more than the process of discarding the Naïve Perspective and approaching something more realistic.

honing the observational and empathic skills

he began to see his charm as the actual source of his problem

you have to understand people, and to understand them you have to get outside yourself and immerse your mind in their world

His focus on gaining social intelligence was the turning point of his career

magical ability to see into people

his ability to attune himself to their energies

he thought deeply of how they were experiencing the world, what they were feeling and missing

to start looking outward instead of focusing only on your own feelings, to observe before you react

supreme acceptance

You cannot change such people at their core, but must merely avoid becoming their victim

being as tolerant as possible, you gain a much greater ability to understand people and to influence their behavior when necessary

specific knowledge of human nature—namely the ability to read people, to get a feel for how they see the world, and to understand their individuality. Second, there is the general knowledge of human nature, which means accumulating an understanding of the overall patterns of human behavior that transcend us as individuals,

Specific Knowledge—Reading People

But in these moments of connection, the internal monologue is shut off, and we pick up more cues and signals from the other person than usual.

when we are not inward-directed but attending more deeply to another person, we gain access to forms of communication that are largely nonverbal in nature,

you need to train yourself to pay less attention to the words that people say and greater attention to their tone of voice, the look in their eye, their body language

If you can get people to become emotional, they will reveal a lot more

When you drop your defense mechanisms and pay deep attention to others

as long as your emotions and empathy are directed outward, you will be able to detach yourself when necessary and analyze what you have gleaned

try to imagine that you are experiencing the world from their point of view

Look for any common emotional experiences

Reliving a part of that emotion can help you begin the identifying process

ability to empathize with others is related to the creative process of feeling your way into the subject you are studying

Their actions, however, say much more about their character

You will often notice that they wear this like a mask to hide the opposite, to distract others from the truth

They are blustery because they are inwardly very insecure; they are overly friendly because they are secretly ambitious and aggressive; or they joke to hide a mean-spiritedness.

You must avoid the common mistake of making judgments based on your initial impressions of people.

Often it is the quiet ones, those who give out less at first glance, who hide greater depths, and who secretly wield greater power

picture of a person’s character over time

So restrain yourself from the natural tendency to judge right away, and let the passing months reveal more and more about who people are, as you get better at reading them

people are in a state of continual flux

General Knowledge—The Seven Deadly Realities

negative qualities—Envy, Conformism, Rigidity, Self-obsessiveness, Laziness, Flightiness, and Passive Aggression

People who praise you too much or who become overly friendly in the first stages of knowing you are often envious and are getting closer in order to hurt you. You should be wary of such behavior

If you are dealing with insecure types, you can display great interest in their work and even turn to them for advice.

You must be careful not to boast of any success, and if necessary, to ascribe it to just good luck on your part

Self-deprecating humor will work wonders as well.

nonthreatening exterior

when it comes to matters of politics, morals, and values, make a show of adhering to the accepted standards of your environment.

resort to a kind of artificial simplicity, to create habits and routines that give us a sense of control

The best strategy is to simply accept rigidity in others, outwardly displaying deference to their need for order.

When it is time to ask for a favor or help, you must think first of appealing to people’s self-interest in some way.

find a way to make the conversations revolve around them and their interests,

Your best defense is your prudence. Keep your ideas to yourself, or conceal enough of the details so that it is not possible to steal them.

fear of direct confrontation

avoid entangling yourself emotionally in their dramas and battles.

He made himself uncommonly patient and open-minded in his dealings with people from many different cultures and backgrounds

Speak through your work

he was a man obsessed

people’s natural reluctance to accept new ideas

He behaved humbly and with self-deprecation

Harvey remained mostly silent

very politely and yet thoroughly refuted their ideas

ignore the critical role of social intelligence in all fields

greatly due to his social agility

even a scientist must play the courtier

houghtful, well-reasoned, and easy-to-read book

He did not give fuel to the foolishness of others by engaging in petty battles

your work is the single greatest means at your disposal for expressing your social intelligence

it is hard to argue with the results you produce

Craft the appropriate persona

personality we project to the world plays a substantial role in our success and in our ascension to mastery

being conscious of her persona and taking control of the appearance dynamic

people will tend to judge you based on your outward appearance

consciously molding these appearances, creating the image that suits you, and controlling people’s judgments

you never settle on one image or give people the power to completely figure you out. You are always one step ahead of the public

creation of a persona as a key element in social intelligence

Think of it as theater

creating a persona that is mysterious, intriguing, and masterful

learn how to mingle and blend into all types of environments, giving yourself maximum flexibility

See yourself as others see you

What she could control, however, was her own work

the source of the problem had to be herself

ability to see herself from the outside, as if she were looking at another person

he would discuss her ideas with engineers, involve them as much as possible in her work, and never directly criticize people for anything

They gave her a clear and realistic picture of herself as others saw her, and that is all she ever needed for self-correction

she taught herself to mix in anecdotes and even jokes, and to make her slides not so logical and tight.

self-detachment

Suffer fools gladly

he found it useless to complain about what he could not change.

He would talk very little, rarely venturing an opinion on anything. He would get his interlocutors to go on and on and about this or that subject. He would wear a pleasant mask as he listened, but inwardly he would observe them as if they were figures in a stage play. They would reveal to him their secrets, their petty dramas, and their inane ideas, and all the while he would smile and always take their side.

you will be continually encountering fools

rationality and results don’t matter to them

You simply waste valuable time and emotional energy.

In dealing with fools you must adopt the following philosophy: they are simply a part of life, like rocks or furniture.

smile at their antics, to tolerate their presence as you would a silly child, and to avoid the madness of trying to change them.

he would avoid any environment that involved politicking.

THE CREATIVE-ACTIVE

you must become increasingly bold

you must expand your knowledge to related fields, giving your mind fuel to make new associations between different ideas. You must experiment and look at problems from all possible angles.

This love of practice only seemed to increase with the years

We become defensive about the world we now take for granted, and we become upset if our beliefs or assumptions are attacked.

They retain a childlike excitement about their field and a playful approach

And so practicing the piano was not some kind of chore or duty, but an opportunity to expand his knowledge and to explore more musical possibilities

The Creative Task

creative activity is one that involves the entire self—our emotions, our levels of energy, our characters, and our minds

You must have patience and faith that what you are doing will yield something important

You can ignore the doubters and critics

it is the choice of where to direct his or her creative energy that makes the Master.

it is always best to choose a task that is slightly above you,

You cannot find anything new if you are unwilling to leave the shore.

you must let go of your need for comfort and security

If you are worried about what others might think and about how your position in the group might be jeopardized, then you will never really create anything

Creative Strategies

Think of the mind as a muscle that naturally tightens up over time unless it is consciously worked upon

the further we progress on our creative task, the fewer alternative possibilities or viewpoints we tend to consider

loosen up the mind and let in alternative ways of thinking

CULTIVATE NEGATIVE CAPABILITY

The world around us, he wrote, is far more complex than we can possibly imagine.

everything in the universe is in a state of constant flux

let the mind absorb itself in what it experiences, without having to form a judgment on what it all means

we must be capable of negating our ego

allows them to entertain a broader range of ideas and experiment with them

humility toward knowledge

ot grow too fond of your ideas or too certain of their truth

we must create limits on what we’ll consider;

Negative Capability should not be a permanent state of mind

elatively cohesive patterns,

ALLOW FOR SERENDIPITY

The brain is an instrument developed for making connections

letting go of conscious control and allowing chance to enter into the process

When we are in a more relaxed state, our attention naturally broadens and we take in more stimuli

maintain an openness and looseness of spirit

widen your search as far as possible

analogical way of thinking

ALTERNATE THE MIND THROUGH “THE CURRENT”

go in the opposite direction

bold and audacious with your ideas

ALTER YOUR PERSPECTIVE

Unfortunately, we transfer this mental shorthand to almost everything

resist this shorthand

not rushing to generalize and label

pay greater attention to the relationships between things, because that will give you a greater feel for the picture as a whole

Our minds are always hurrying to generalize about things, often based on the most minimal amounts of information

we must sometimes shift our focus from the macro to the micro—placing much greater emphasis on the details, the small picture

try approaching a problem or idea with a much more open mind.

Make sure, however, that you do not become lost in the details and lose sight of how they reflect the whole and fit into a larger idea

But sometimes these paradigms end up dominating our way of thinking.

We routinely look for patterns in the world that confirm the paradigms we already believe in

many people have great ideas, but are afraid to put them into action in any form

Fixating on what is present, ignoring what is absent

the ability to alter our perspective is a function of our imagination

imagine more possibilities than we generally consider

experiencing a lot of resistance and setbacks in your work, try to see this as in fact something that is quite positive and productive

With the invention of language, the intellectual powers of our ancestors were vastly enhanced

If there are no words for certain concepts, we tend to not think of them

To Leonardo da Vinci, drawing and thinking were synonymous

The hand-brain connection is something deeply wired within us; when we attempt to sketch something we must observe it closely, gaining a feel through our fingers of how to bring it to life. Such practice can help you think in visual terms and free your mind from its constant verbalizations.

synesthesia—moments in which the stimulation of one sense provokes another.

must plow forward,

Such moments are signals from the brain to let go

need for tension

The feeling that we have endless time to complete our work has an insidious and debilitating effect on our minds

you must always try to work with deadlines

if we are not careful, we will tumble into emotional pitfalls

Complacency

Our skeptical, cynical attitudes can actually cut us off from so many interesting questions, and from reality itself

You begin to fall in love with the ideas and strategies that worked for you in the past.

develop internal standards and a high degree of independence

Sometimes greater danger comes from success and praise than from criticism

Praise generally does harm

We fail to understand the element of luck that always goes into success

Once the ego inflates it will only come back to earth through some jarring failure

flexibility,

You must know your field inside and out, and yet be able to question its most entrenched assumptions

you must avoid emotional extremes and find a way to feel optimism and doubt at the same time

simply don’t stop questioning

Don’t worry about what you can’t answer, and don’t try to explain what you can’t know. Curiosity is its own reason

Try to comprehend a little more each day. Have holy curiosity.

The Authentic Voice

he loved nothing more than to study and expand his knowledge

the greatest impediment to creativity is your impatience

They would rely on technology instead of on their own thinking

Opportunists, on the other hand, have no particular specialty. They depend instead on their skill to sniff out any kind of opportunity in the environment and seize upon it

We humans are the ultimate opportunists in the animal world, the least specialized of all living creatures

must read journals and books from all different fields

You must keep your mind completely open

whatever you are creating or designing, you must test and use it yourself.

Natural Powers

maintain an attitude of constant dissatisfaction

Because the creative process is an elusive subject and one for which we receive no training, in our first creative endeavors we are most often left to our own devices, to sink or swim

embrace slowness as a virtue in itself

You take pleasure in the laborious research process; you enjoy the slow cooking of the idea, the organic growth that naturally takes shape over time.

The Open Field

modern dance

we suffer from the dead forms and conventions that clutter our culture

nothing that becomes repetitive and boring more quickly than free expression that is not rooted in reality and discipline.

The High End

she was different from others

same mental disease, which we shall call technical lock.

This technical lock afflicts people in all fields as they lose a sense of the overall purpose of their work

Your project or the problem you are solving should always be connected to something larger—a bigger question, an overarching idea, an inspiring goal.

you must return to the larger purpose

prevent yourself from fetishizing certain techniques or from becoming overly obsessed with trivial details

The Evolutionary Hijack

lexible, adaptable mind

he would synchronously invest $15,000 in ten startups all at once. He would find these ten prospects by advertising his offer and choosing the best among the applicants

is much messier and more complex

evolutionary hijacking

Perhaps language itself developed as a strictly social tool and became hijacked as a means of reasoning, making human consciousness itself the product of an accident

we come upon something by accident

the creative process is more like the crooked branching of a tree

openness and adaptability of our spirit.

We imagine that the objects around us can be used and co-opted for different purposes. We do not hold on to our original idea out of sheer stubbornness, or because our ego is tied up with its rightness.

Dimensional Thinking

with a fervor that others saw as madness

Champollion’s enthusiasm never dampened

genuine hunger to understand

he was willing to devote twenty or more years to the job, or whatever it took to solve the riddle.

Alchemical Creativity and the Unconscious

Life, however, is more fluid and complex; our desires and experiences do not fit neatly into these tidy categories.

oppressive code of political correctness that tamps free expression down

Coltrane himself admitted that he did his worst work during the few years he was addicted to heroin

private life was extremely disciplined

requires great discipline, self-control, and emotional stability.

Drugs and madness only destroy such powers

years of practice, the endless routines, the hours of doubt, and the tenacious overcoming of obstacles these people endured

FUSE THE INTUITIVEWITH THE RATIONAL:MASTERY

passion for reading books

devoured all forms of literature

he had never given up

intuition, or a fingertip feel

But the types of intuitions discussed by various Masters cannot be reduced to a formula, and the steps they took to arrive at them cannot be reconstructed

Whatever he studied, he did so with incredible intensity and depth

all of these details became internalized

he whole and feel this dynamic is simply a function of time

it is through all of their hard work, the depth of their knowledge, and the development of their analytical skills that they reach this higher form of intelligence

high degree of reflection and reasoning

intensity of his attention

He did not simply read books—he took them apart, rigorously analyzed them, and learned valuable lessons to apply to his own life.

You must see every setback, failure, or hardship as a trial along the way

By constantly applying yourself to the subject that suits your inclinations and attacking it from many different angles, you are simply enriching the ground for these seeds to take root.

The Roots of Masterly Intuition

But as these ancestors slowly developed reasoning powers, they had to detach themselves from their immediate circumstances and depend less on instinct.

Intuition, primitive or high level, is essentially driven by memory.

This high-level intuition, like any skill, requires practice and experience

we must develop the habit of maintaining our cool and never overreacting

hese powers only increased with the years

He is eighty-two years old, and possesses an activity of mind equal to a youth of twenty-five years of age.”

The Return to Reality

Renaissance, a cultural movement for which the ideal was the Universal Man

The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant

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.

1. Connect to your environment—Primal Powers

the ability to connect deeply to your environment is the most primal and in many ways the most powerful form of mastery the brain can bring us.

consummate observers

o become such sensitive observers, we must not succumb to all of the distractions afforded by technology; we must be a little primitive

You must see your environment as a physical entity and your connection to it as visceral

Play to your strengths—Supreme Focus

He hated having to memorize so many facts and numbers. He hated the stern authority of the teachers

he importance of learning through one’s own observations, leading to the development of ideas and intuition

visual forms of intelligence

encouraged students to learn on their own, wherever their inclinations would take them

electromagnetic waves move at the speed of 186,000 miles per second, which happens to be the speed of light. This could not simply be some coincidence. Light must therefore be a visible manifestation of an entire spectrum of electromagnetic waves

he had no ties to any school of thought.

he worked with unbelievable tenacity at this one problem

During almost every waking hour he contemplated the problem from some angle or other.

he would consider his primal distaste for authority and conventions as a great strength

imagination and intuition played a far larger role in his discoveries than his knowledge

his patience mixed with his extreme tenacity

His two theories of relativity have to be considered as perhaps the greatest intellectual feats in history

mental and psychological strengths and working with them

determining your

many hours of dedicated focus and practice

when she was calm, they would react to her in a calmer manner.

humans are deep conformists

anything that is peculiar to our makeup is precisely what we must pay the deepest attention to and lean on in our rise to mastery

Transform yourself through practice—The Fingertip Feel

he was quickly overwhelmed by the glut of information that a pilot had to process.

learn how to take a scan pattern of all the instruments

endless hours of practice

equire a lot of repetition and intense focus every time he entered the cockpi

tune everything out and immerse himself completely in the moment

we don’t want to have to think of the 10,000 to 20,000 hours that go into such mastery

Internalize the details—The Life Force

You must see whatever you produce as something that has a life and presence of its own

Widen your vision—the Global Perspective

He worked hard at building a personal rapport with his fighters

mental.

confidence that comes from complete preparation

raining yourself early on to continually enlarge your perspective

ook at how it inevitably

connects to a larger picture.

Look wider and think further ahead”

Submit to the other—The Inside-out Perspective

profoundly immersed in the present and remarkably happy

Those who make assumptions from far away, based on universal theories, do not see the whole picture

we can never really experience what other people are experiencing. We always remain on the outside looking in, and this is the cause of so many misunderstandings and conflicts.

Synthesize all forms of knowledge—The Universal Man/Woman

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