John -- I love this post, not just for its content (which is great) but also because I too was inspired by George Leonard's 1992 article, and then the resulting book. In fact, I have a hilarious story about meeting him at a writer's party a few years after the book came out, going nuts over his book, and then explaining why to all the other writers standing in the kitchen with us. Leonard was not only a great writer but also a great guy, who I sorely miss.
Keep up the good work. And when you have a moment, please check out the podcast I produce in my multimedia magazine (Craftsmanship) called "The Secrets of Mastery."
Thanks Todd - Leonard seemed do have a very down to earth nature and with that a realistic approach to mastery that I've not encountered with other writers on the subject.
I could not agree more. Lots of people have written about how to play this whole life game more effectively -- ranging from the spiritual to the lucrative -- and most are either (IMHO) off base or one-note songs not worth a record. Leonard, on the other hand, offered real substance, and did so concisely. A double-win.
This is a brilliant post; I can’t even fathom how long it must have taken you to research, write and edit it, but thank you. However, I think you’ve got the concept of homeostasis wrong; this isn’t like a fixed set point, like the water in a bathtub. If you jump into the tub, the water line is disturbed. Biological homeostasis is closer to harmony, in that there are a multitude of variables all interacting at any given time, and the organism requires a certain chord to be played, at a certain cadence, to play just right. Syncopation is desired in that ecosystem, not shunned.
Just stumbled on this post and really loved these brilliant nuggets. Thank you for summarizing the book so well. The section on loving the plateau was particularly fascinating. I'm going to be thinking about this for a while. “While goals are important, the real rewards in life can be found in the process, of how it feels to be alive, but we are never taught how to enjoy the plateau — so many of us indulge in self-destructive behaviours to escape it.” and "To love the plateau is to love the eternal now."
Yes it's simple advice but hard to follow - we are sometimes so impatient for results that we sabotage our efforts. True joy only comes after a struggle.
For what it's worth, when I tell people about George Leonard's book, "Mastery" (which I do quite often) and I try to explain how he defines mastery, and embracing "the plateau," I often put the gist of his advice this way: the secret is gentle pressure forward. No rush, no excess, and no giving up. Just forward, with patience.
I appreciate your thorough and detailed notes from the book summarized in your own words. I’m reading the book now, so it’s fun and helpful to re-read what I’ve read and discover what is ahead. Thank you for posting these.
This was a terrific summary John, thank you. It was inspiring, but in a nutrient-dense, whole food, broccoli sort of way :) I especially appreciated the finishing story of the judo master’s dying wish to be buried in his white belt. Just perfect.
Credit to the finishing story should really go to the author, George Leonard - but yes it's a really nice story, the book is full of insightful nuggets.
It's hard to get Leonard's book over here in Prague, John, so this is a great overview. Thanks! A lot of your summary chimes with other books I've read on mastery, including Josh Waitzkin's Art of Learning, those writing for musicians such as Barry Green, Gerald Klickstein, Stephen Nachmanovitch, and chess authors such as Jeremy Silman and Jonathan Rowson. It's a rich field.
I've only ever been a hacker or a dabbler with chess, sounds like you might have taken it more seriously. I'd also completely forgotten about Josh Waitzkin's book, I read that years ago when it came out - I must dig it out, I think I discovered him through a James Altucher podcast, he was also a chess player.
The corollary of Waitzkin's approach to mastery might be another Josh (Kaufman this time) whose book, The First 20 Hours, highlights the fact that you can get surprisingly far up the learning curve in, say, the first month of concerted effort you put in. This would, of course, conform to Leonard's idea of The Hacker*.
As always, I guess it depends on context and the goals we're trying to achieve. A little hacking in various domains can lead to self-knowledge about where we want to pursue long-term mastery.
---------------------------------
* That said, I had to put down Tim Ferriss's 4-Hour Workweek after reading his story of 'winning' a Tai-chi tournament by hacking the rules. He realised the weigh-in was the day before the tournament, so dehydrated himself to a lower weight class. Then bulked up overnight to push his lightweight opponents out of the ring in the tournament with minimal skill.
John -- I love this post, not just for its content (which is great) but also because I too was inspired by George Leonard's 1992 article, and then the resulting book. In fact, I have a hilarious story about meeting him at a writer's party a few years after the book came out, going nuts over his book, and then explaining why to all the other writers standing in the kitchen with us. Leonard was not only a great writer but also a great guy, who I sorely miss.
Keep up the good work. And when you have a moment, please check out the podcast I produce in my multimedia magazine (Craftsmanship) called "The Secrets of Mastery."
Thanks Todd - Leonard seemed do have a very down to earth nature and with that a realistic approach to mastery that I've not encountered with other writers on the subject.
I could not agree more. Lots of people have written about how to play this whole life game more effectively -- ranging from the spiritual to the lucrative -- and most are either (IMHO) off base or one-note songs not worth a record. Leonard, on the other hand, offered real substance, and did so concisely. A double-win.
This is a brilliant post; I can’t even fathom how long it must have taken you to research, write and edit it, but thank you. However, I think you’ve got the concept of homeostasis wrong; this isn’t like a fixed set point, like the water in a bathtub. If you jump into the tub, the water line is disturbed. Biological homeostasis is closer to harmony, in that there are a multitude of variables all interacting at any given time, and the organism requires a certain chord to be played, at a certain cadence, to play just right. Syncopation is desired in that ecosystem, not shunned.
Thanks Matt - that's a really good point about the idea of homeostasis as an evolving equilibrium rather than fixed point - thanks!
Just stumbled on this post and really loved these brilliant nuggets. Thank you for summarizing the book so well. The section on loving the plateau was particularly fascinating. I'm going to be thinking about this for a while. “While goals are important, the real rewards in life can be found in the process, of how it feels to be alive, but we are never taught how to enjoy the plateau — so many of us indulge in self-destructive behaviours to escape it.” and "To love the plateau is to love the eternal now."
Yes it's simple advice but hard to follow - we are sometimes so impatient for results that we sabotage our efforts. True joy only comes after a struggle.
For what it's worth, when I tell people about George Leonard's book, "Mastery" (which I do quite often) and I try to explain how he defines mastery, and embracing "the plateau," I often put the gist of his advice this way: the secret is gentle pressure forward. No rush, no excess, and no giving up. Just forward, with patience.
I appreciate your thorough and detailed notes from the book summarized in your own words. I’m reading the book now, so it’s fun and helpful to re-read what I’ve read and discover what is ahead. Thank you for posting these.
Thanks for your comment Ryan - I hope you enjoy the rest of the book. I feel like I should have put some spoiler alerts in! Ha...
Haha, not at all. The notes are exceptional.
This was a terrific summary John, thank you. It was inspiring, but in a nutrient-dense, whole food, broccoli sort of way :) I especially appreciated the finishing story of the judo master’s dying wish to be buried in his white belt. Just perfect.
Credit to the finishing story should really go to the author, George Leonard - but yes it's a really nice story, the book is full of insightful nuggets.
It's hard to get Leonard's book over here in Prague, John, so this is a great overview. Thanks! A lot of your summary chimes with other books I've read on mastery, including Josh Waitzkin's Art of Learning, those writing for musicians such as Barry Green, Gerald Klickstein, Stephen Nachmanovitch, and chess authors such as Jeremy Silman and Jonathan Rowson. It's a rich field.
I've only ever been a hacker or a dabbler with chess, sounds like you might have taken it more seriously. I'd also completely forgotten about Josh Waitzkin's book, I read that years ago when it came out - I must dig it out, I think I discovered him through a James Altucher podcast, he was also a chess player.
The corollary of Waitzkin's approach to mastery might be another Josh (Kaufman this time) whose book, The First 20 Hours, highlights the fact that you can get surprisingly far up the learning curve in, say, the first month of concerted effort you put in. This would, of course, conform to Leonard's idea of The Hacker*.
As always, I guess it depends on context and the goals we're trying to achieve. A little hacking in various domains can lead to self-knowledge about where we want to pursue long-term mastery.
---------------------------------
* That said, I had to put down Tim Ferriss's 4-Hour Workweek after reading his story of 'winning' a Tai-chi tournament by hacking the rules. He realised the weigh-in was the day before the tournament, so dehydrated himself to a lower weight class. Then bulked up overnight to push his lightweight opponents out of the ring in the tournament with minimal skill.
I very much appreciate this summary. Thank you.
Thanks Katy
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