The Rare Path of Mastery

For 99% of you reading this, George Leonard could have probably beaten you up. He was a fifth-degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do and he writes about his path to martial arts mastery in this book.

George Leonard thinks that modern culture, in its instant gratification and consumerism, has waged “war against mastery.\” In this short and powerful book, George Leonard writes a convincing argument that living on the path to mastery is the best way to live. 

The real juice of life, bitter or sweet, is found in the process of living not in the products

Products, goals contingencies that exist in the future and past, beyond the sensory realm

Process, practice, exists only in the present

Five Keys to Mastery

• • Instruction
  • Practice
  • Surrender-cultivate the heart of beginning at every stage, you never be expert, just a learner
  • Intentionality
  • The Edge-always pushing the envelope physically

homeostasis-condition of equilibrium for self-regulating systems, resistance to all change doesn\’t matter if it\’s good or bad

Think of human temperature regulation-when hot body cools down with sweat, when cold, body chatters to keep movement

RESISTANCE is proportionate to magnitude and speed of change

We possess stores of untapped potential energy.

Maintain good shape: those who feel good about their bodies are more likely to use them.

Set priorities in choosing one goal, forego all others, indecision leads to inaction, clarity creates energy

To be a learner, one must be willing to be a fool.

In the master\’s secret mirror, there is an image of the nearest student in class eager for knowledge, willing to be a fool.