A master is a person eminently skilled in something, as an occupation, art, or science.
In every field, there are only a few masters. Not because there are not enough people working in these areas of expertise, but because it takes a lot of effort to become a master. Talent alone is by far not enough.
Robert Greene's book Mastery is an eye opener to show people how mastery is achieved. In this book Robert analyzes many masters from past and present and he penned up some remarkable insights.
Here are the steps you have to take if you want to become a master;
1. Trust your gut to find your discipline to master.
You are going to put in a lot of time in your path to mastery, so make sure you find the discipline that fits your ambitions and your character. Find the field you are drawn to from childhood. Usually you already know you have some natural abilities and talents in this area.
2. Take an apprenticeship and get paid to learn.
It pays off to start as an absolute beginner at the bottom. This way you will learn the whole process from start to finish. This give you an absolute feel about the field over time. Once you put in enough hours, you will start to see the field different. If you take an apprenticeship with an master and get paid, you can learn intensely without worrying about financial difficulties.
3. Once you complete your apprenticeship, challenge everything you learned.
You have developed your own particular style once you have completed your apprenticeship. Once finished, you must keep an open mind; you do not blindly trust on the things your mentor taught you. You challenge every idea, situation, process and conclusion. Find the truth and find ways to make things better. A master innovates his field, so is always something to learn about it.
You need to completely understand the rules of the game to be able to forget them and play the game.
This road to mastery is one of hardships, but once you are there, you would be able to play the game on much higher levels compared to those who didn't put in all that effort. You would have the possibility to innovate the field, just like Beethoven, Da Vinci or Darwin.
You have to decide for yourself if all this effort is worth it. If you rather sit on the couch waiting for your life to improve magically, mastery is not for you.
