Act like an apprentice to master your craft. Here is how to do it.
July 18, 2024
"No matter your field, you must think of yourself as a builder, using actual materials and ideas." Here is how to do it.
"Mastery" by Robert Greene outlines the strategies to master your craft by completing your ideal apprenticeship.
1. Value learning over money
value learning above everything else
choose a place that has people and mentors who can inspire and teach you
train yourself to get by with little money
2. Keep expanding horizons
develop a hunger for more and more knowledge
mingle with as many different types of people as possible
be relentless in your pursuit for expansion
3. Revert to a feeling of inferiority
revert to a childlike feeling of inferiority
the feeling that others know much more than you
drop preconceptions about an environment or field
4. Trust the process
in moments of doubt, remember a past successful experience
time is the magic ingredient
the only impediment to mastery is yourself and your emotions
5. Move toward resistance and pain
go in the opposite direction of all your natural tendencies when it comes to practice
become your own worst critic
resist the lure of easing up on your focus
invent exercises that work upon your weaknesses
6. Apprenticeship yourself in failure
mistakes and failures are precisely your means of education
repeated failure will toughen your spirit
act on your ideas as early as possible, exposing them to the public, a part of you even hoping that you'll fail
you have everything to gain
7. Comine the “how” and the “what
"how" of things contain the secret of life, of how things move and change
how do things work?
how do decisions get made?
how does the group interact?
8. Advance through trial and error
like a hacker, value the process of self-discovery and making things of the highest quality
avoid the trap of following one career path
see what kind of work suits you and what you want to avoid at all costs
🙏 Thanks for reading Graymatter and sharing your perspectives.
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🚀 Check out my “Inner Quest - Unlock Your Career Potential” cohort course if you seek self-discovery to master your craft.
- James