Mastery: The Keys to Success and Long-Term Fulfillment
Author: George Leonard
Publisher: Plume 1992
“We fail to realize that mastery is not about perfection. It’s about a process, a journey. The master is the one who stays on the path day after day, year after year. The master is the one who is willing to try, and fail and try again, for as long as he or she lives.”
Mastery is a journey
The above excerpt from Mastery: The Keys to Success and Long-Term Fulfillment by George Leonard simply and eloquently sums up the message that George Leonard conveys throughout his book. Achieving mastery is not just about reaching great levels of expertise and success. Mastery is also the continuous journey and ability to remain a beginner and to continually learn.
Throughout the book, Leonard rarely if ever mentions the word discipline. He does speak of practice and training, but by purposefully avoiding the word discipline, Leonard removes the whole negative connotation discipline can bring in the form of punishment. Instead, he approaches becoming a master from a true place of want, love and happiness, which creates a lovely tone for the book.
Mastery: The Keys to Success and Long-Term Fulfillment sets forth simple yet profound teachings that can be applied in business, sports and life. Leonard gives you frameworks for what he believes are the keys to gaining mastery, with the recurring message that practice and embodiment are the essential steps to unlock the doors to mastery. I highly recommend this book for anyone at any age, as it doesn’t matter when you start your path to mastery, just as long as you start.
My Thoughts
I enjoyed reading this book cover to cover and found his philosophy on mastery to be spot on. It helped me realize where I was on my path or if I was even on a path. The book reinforced the idea of being present in every moment and being very intentional with every activity.
Rating
Five out of Five stars
image courtesy: Amazon.com
About Derek Lauber