7/9/2020 Mastery Summary - Four Minute Books

We tested this page and blocked content that comes from

potentially dangerous or suspicious sites. Allow this content View all blocked content
only if you're sure it comes from safe sites.

Mastery Summary
 February 14, 2016 (https://fourminutebooks.com/mastery-summary/)  Niklas Goeke
(https://fourminutebooks.com/author/linuscaldwell300/)  Self Improvement (https://fourminutebooks.com/category/self-
improvement/)

1-Sentence-Summary: Mastery (https://amzn.to/2RbquOJ) debunks the myth of talent and

shows you there are proven steps you can take to achieve mastery in a discipline of your own
choosing, by analyzing the paths of some history’s most famous masters, such as Einstein,
Darwin and Da Vinci.

Read in: 4 minutes

Favorite quote from the author:

(//valueimp
Veriphone
ref=fourmin

API

Robert Greene knocks out bestsellers. One after another. Seriously, that’s what he does.
Between 1998 and 2009 he published 4 NYT bestsellers: The 48 Laws of PowerUS$0
Global phone
(https://fourminutebooks.com/the-48-laws-of-power-summary/), The Art of Seduction
number
(https://fourminutebooks.com/the-art-of-seduction-summary/), The 33 Strategies
veri of War in a
cation
and The 50th Law (with rapper 50 Cent). free, fast, reliable
JSON API

To make it a full hand, he then published Mastery (https://amzn.to/2RbquOJ) inRapidAPI

2012,
which explains not only his own approach to master the craft of writing but also the path
all masters seem to take. To do so, he uses historical and contemporary gures as
examples, as he often does in his books.
19
Shares

https://fourminutebooks.com/mastery-summary/ 1/6
7/9/2020 Mastery Summary - Four Minute Books

Of course, the book became

We testedyet another
this page NYT content
and blocked bestseller. Don’t
that comes think he got there easily
from
potentially dangerous or suspicious sites. Allow this content View all blocked content
though. Between nishing his undergraduate degree in classical studies and publishing
only if you're sure it comes from safe sites.
his rst book, 20 years passed – Greene was 39 years old when The 48 Laws of Power
(https://fourminutebooks.com/the-48-laws-of-power-summary/) came out.

Nobody said the path to mastery would be easy. Here are the 3 rst steps you can take:

1. Trust your gut to nd your discipline to master.

2. Take an apprenticeship and get paid to learn.
3. Once you complete your apprenticeship, challenge everything you learned.

If you want to save this summary for later, download the free PDF and read it
whenever you want.

Download PDF  (https://pages.convertkit.com/5315bed0d5/91cec66105)

Lesson 1: Trust your gut feeling to pick a skill to master.

(//valueimp
Every one of us has probably had a few rare moments in their lives where the felt an
Veriphone
ref=fourmin
inner voice calling out to them.
API
“You should be a painter!”

“I think I could write a novel.”

It’s this feeling that something is just made for you. That you’d thrive in it. That you could
be great. Greene says you nally have to start trusting that feeling.
US$0
Global phone
We’re all the creations of our very own, unique double helix number
veri time
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nucleic_acid_double_helix), but we spend so much cation in a
free, fast, reliable
blending in and hiding behind the crowd (http://fourminutebooks.com/the-wisdom-of-
JSON API
crowds-summary/) that we’ve become scared to listen to our inner voice. Yes, nding
RapidAPI
your true calling (http://niklasgoeke.com/how-to- nd-your-true-calling/) isn’t easy. It
might take a while. Some deep digging and a whole lot of testing.

19
Shares

https://fourminutebooks.com/mastery-summary/ 2/6
7/9/2020 Mastery Summary - Four Minute Books

But when you go backWe

totested
yourthis
teenage
page and years, when that
blocked content youcomes
werefrom
12, 13, 14 years old – what
potentially dangerous or suspicious sites. Allow this content View all blocked content
did you want to do? Maybe you’ve already had it. Your lightbulb moment.
only if you're sure it comes from safe sites.

Da Vinci had his when he found himself stealing expensive paper from his father’s o ce
to draw animals out in the woods. Tim Ferriss had his when learning about the death of
a friend and terminal illness of a child on the same day
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RwosCDOwRHQ). Chad Fowler called it his Harajuku
moment (http://chadfowler.com/blog/2011/03/15/the-harajuku-moment/) because it
happened in a district of the same name in Tokyo.

It might sound foreign to you, but once you start trusting your gut, you’ll notice these
hints your inner voice gives you and you can nally start to listen.

Lesson 2: Learning comes before earning, so take an apprenticeship.

The more you learn, the more you earn. – Frank Clark

Once you decide on a eld, discipline, or skill to master, the best way to make progress
fast is to take an internship.
(//valueimp
Veriphone
ref=fourmin
Don’t focus on the money, focus on how much you can learn.
API
A job that pays more now will probably o er you less support and education, which will
pay for itself 10 times over down the road.

You’d be better o taking a low-paying job now that maybe comes with a great
mentorship, which will lead you to excel in your eld much faster than making all the
dumb rookie mistakes and learning the hard way.
US$0
Global phone
Yes, you should get paid to learn and create a win-win situation, but always know
numberthat
learning has a much bigger ROI than being paid a bit more. veri cation in a
free, fast, reliable
JSON API
Benjamin Franklin (http://fourminutebooks.com/money-master-the-game-summary/)
RapidAPI
could’ve swooped in on his father’s successful candle-making business. Instead, he took
a printing job, which he knew would help him master the art of words much faster.

19
Shares

https://fourminutebooks.com/mastery-summary/ 3/6
7/9/2020 Mastery Summary - Four Minute Books

Lesson 3: Once you complete

We tested your
this page and apprenticeship,
blocked content that comes from challenge everything
potentially dangerous you learned.
or suspicious sites. Allow this content View all blocked content
only if you're sure it comes from safe sites.
Not that an apprenticeship isn’t hard enough to nd, let alone complete, but no, the path
to mastery becomes even harder. Once you leave your apprenticeship to venture out on
your own, you have to immediately throw everything you learned out of the
window.

Well, not quite. But Greene says you must keep an open mind – like a child. Challenge
everything you know. The rules your mentor taught you. The common ways of doing
things you learned.

Which of them are universal? Which can be broken, bent, or banished?

By the time you end your apprenticeship, you’ll have developed your own unique style of
your craft, and only when you allow yourself to let it ourish can you truly innovate and
build something that is worthy of a true master. So no, you’re never done learning.

But is it worth it? You decide. You can keep making excuses. Or you can start today.

(//valueimp
Mastery Review Veriphone
ref=fourmin

APIbeen
I feel like many of the stories and examples that make the book come to life have
left by the wayside in this summary. The general ideas are solid and hold up, and it’s an
inspiring read (especially the part about listening to your inner voice), but I can’t shake
the feeling that there’s more to Mastery (https://amzn.to/2RbquOJ) than that.

Contrary to what we learned a little earlier from Cal Newport

(http://fourminutebooks.com/so-good-they-cant-ignore-you-summary/), this book is
US$0
more along the lines of the adage to follow your passion – but it doesn’t water down the
Global phone
e ort, dedication and deliberate practice (http://fourminutebooks.com/bounce-
number
summary/) it takes to become successful. veri cation in a
free, fast, reliable
JSON API
I love the message but want more of the stories that powerfully carry it, so I’m going for
RapidAPI
the book. I recommend you do the same. His latest work, The Laws of Human Nature
(https://fourminutebooks.com/the-laws-of-human-nature-summary/), is also worth a
look!
19
Shares

https://fourminutebooks.com/mastery-summary/ 4/6
7/9/2020 Mastery Summary - Four Minute Books

What else
We tested this can you
page and learn
blocked from
content thefrom
that comes blinks?
potentially dangerous or suspicious sites. Allow this content View all blocked content
Whether there’s a link between mastery and natural talent – or not
only if you're sure it comes from safe sites.
Why you’ve never heard of Sir Francis Galton, even though he was way smarter than
his brother, Charles Darwin
What the only shortcut on the path to mastery is
How adults can nd the curiosity and disrespect for the status quote of a child again
What you can do to foster the creative part of your brain
The true meaning of mastery and where it came from

Who would I recommend the Mastery summary to?

The 18 year old, who’s about to pick a career path and is debating between interest and
money, the 23 year old apprentice, who is about to complete her training, and anyone
who keeps second-guessing their gut feelings.

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE AUTHOR  (HTTP://POWERSEDUCTIONANDWAR.COM/ABOUT/)

READ THE FULL BOOK SUMMARY ON BLINKIST  (HTTP://FOURMINUTEBOOKS.COM/GO/BLINKIST/)

(//valueimp
GET THE BOOK ON AMAZON  (HTTP://AMZN.TO/243ETHA) Veriphone
ref=fourmin

API

 The Pomodoro Technique Summary (https://fourminutebooks.com/the-pomodoro-technique-summary/)

Essentialism Summary  (https://fourminutebooks.com/essentialism-summary/)

US$0
Global phone
FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL
number
veri cation in a
free, fast, reliable
JSON API
RapidAPI

19
Shares

https://fourminutebooks.com/mastery-summary/ 5/6
7/9/2020 Mastery Summary - Four Minute Books

 We tested this page and blocked content that comes from

potentially dangerous or suspicious sites. Allow this content View all blocked content
(htt  (htt  only if you're sure it comes from safe sites.

ps://  (htt ps:// (htt

ww (htt ps:// ww ps://

w.q ps:// pint w.in ww

uora twitt eres stag w.fa

.co er.c t.co ram. ceb

m/q om/ m/f com ook.

/fou four our /fou com

rmin min min rmin /4mi

uteb uteb uteb uteb nute

ooks ooks ooks ooks boo

) ) ) /) ks)

Search... SEARCH
(//valueimp
Veriphone
ref=fourmin

About Us (https://fourminutebooks.com/about/)
API
Four Minute Books participates in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an a liate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising commissions by
linking to Amazon.

About (https://fourminutebooks.com/about/) || Suggest a book (http://fourminutebooks.com/suggest-a-book/) || A liate

(http://fourminutebooks.com/blinkist-a liate/) || Privacy (http://fourminutebooks.com/privacy-policy/) || TOS (http://fourminutebooks.com/tos/) || © 2020
Theme by Colorlib (http://colorlib.com/) Powered by WordPress (http://wordpress.org/)
US$0
Global phone
number
veri cation in a
free, fast, reliable
JSON API
RapidAPI

19
Shares

https://fourminutebooks.com/mastery-summary/ 6/6