Mastery

Aditya Mittal

Mastery

• What• Why• How

What is Mastery?

• Knowing an aspect of reality in intricate detail• Developing an intuitive feel for reality• Combine instinctive and rational thought into

intuition• Extraordinary creative ability

What is Mastery?• Ideas come out of thin air• Ideas come when you are not even

thinking about problem• You can work faster and achieve more

Conscious vs Sub-conscious

Mastery: Analogy

• Cricket• Car Driving

Learning LevelsConscious Sub-conscious

Hand/Eye Coordination NA

Basic Shots Hand/Eye Coordination

Anticipating Bowler Shots, Hand/Eye Coordination

Game Strategy/Politics Anticipating, Shots, Coordination

Learning LevelsConscious Sub-conscious

Hand/Eye Coordination NA

Basic Maneuvering (turns, gear change) Hand/Eye Coordination

Anticipating moves by other drivers, Navigating

Maneuvering, Hand/Eye Coordination

NA !! Navigating, Anticipating, Maneuvering, Coordination

Learning LevelsConscious Sub-conscious

Hand/Eye Coordination NA

Basic Maneuvering (turns, gear change) Hand/Eye Coordination

Anticipating moves by other drivers, Navigating

Maneuvering, Hand/Eye Coordination

NA !! Navigating, Anticipating, Maneuvering, Coordination

Stagnation!

Learning LevelsConscious Sub-conscious

Typing, Hand/Eye Coordination NA

Grammar Typing

Ideas Grammar, Typing

Story Ideas, Grammar, Typing

Why Mastery?• Mastery is Happiness• Mastery is Power

• Ability to influence• Ability to achieve• Ability to change things• Not limited by conscious thought

Power

• Masters are:– Creative– Natural leaders

Is Mastery Innate?

• No!• Life Interests are Innate!

How Mastery?

• Find Inner Calling• Apprenticeship– Find a Mentor– Creative-Active– Develop Intuition (Instinctive + Rational)

• Mastery

Finding Inner Calling

• Emotional Choice• Illogical

• First: Re-connect with inclinations• Second: Redirect career path• Third: Expand skills, gain mastery and

independence

ExamplesInclination Calling Vocation

Singing/Poetry/Dancing Communication/Expression

Theatre/Public Relations

Art/Painting Detail Design

Tinkering Building Engineering

Teaching Educate, Inspire & motivate

Trainer, Coach, Mentor

Talking Influence Lawyer, Salesman, Politician

Sports Competition, Strategy

!!

Following Inner Calling

• Learn quickly and more deeply• Claim your independence

• Larger purpose of life!

Apprenticeship

• Exercise your inner calling• 5-10 years• Goal is Transformation of mind and

character– Not money, position or title

Apprenticeship

ImpatientScattered

DisciplinedFocused

Apprenticeship

• Choose places of work and position that offers greatest possibilities of learning– Not bookish theory, practical knowledge!

• Do not chose an apprenticeship that is easy and comfortable

Apprenticeship Phases

• Deep Observation (Passive)• Skills Acquisition (Practice)• Experimentation (Active)

Deep Observation

• Observe & Understand: Rules & Procedures• No task is menial

• Like a hunter in a new jungle – Gather every detail of the forest and the ecosystem

Skill Acquisition

• Mirror Neurons: watch and imitate• Practice and Repeat!• Cycle of accelerated returns– Ability to practice for longer hours

• Aim: – Hardwiring of skills– Become one with the machine

Skill Acquisition

• Focus on one skill at a time• Practice is boring: Do not get tired!• Once actions become automatic – Collect

feedback and Analyze!– Weaknesses– Be self-critical

• Aim higher, Improve Qualitatively!

Transformation

• Intense Practice Transforms– Hard work– Painful to mind and body– Elements become automatic and easier– Mind totally absorbed in practice– Blocks everything out– Become one with the tool– Achieve Tacit Knowledge!

– Revert to a feeling of inferiority

Transformation

• Develop Emotionally• Redefined sense of pleasure• Develop patience• Develop confidence in yourself• Bored? Need new challenge, not distraction• 10,000 hours – 7-10 years of practice

Experimentation

• Take on more responsibility• Initiative• Doing work that exposes you to criticism and

failure

• Test your character, move past fears, develop sense of detachment with work

Leonardo da Vinci

• Go above and beyond

Apprenticeship

• Given side angle

“The layers of paint he applied were exceptionally thin, this brush strokes invisible. He had gradually added more layers, each ever so slightly darker than the last. Experimenting with different pigments, he had taught himself how to capture the delicate contours of human flesh”

Find a Mentor

• Some people know more than you– Time and experience

• Mentors: streamline but no short-cut• Provide feedback• Make practice more efficient

Creative Activity

• Combine– High level of knowledge about a field or subject– Openness and flexibility to use this knowledge in

new and original ways

– Example: the reverse sweep!

Creating Conditions for a Breakthrough/Insight

• Seek out what is unfamiliar• Don’t be intimidated by mystery/uncertainty• Allow for serendipity

– Widen your search– Relax (play!)

• Drill down: Cycle between speculation and observation• Shift perspective (eg, what did not happen)• Think in primitive ways (visually, not linguistically)• Holistic View – add dimentions• Internalize all forms of knowledge

Breakthrough

• Begin with an intuition• Broad search followed by narrowing possibilities• Heighted Focus• Never Satisfied!• Process becomes more conscious and less intuitive, and

so dead and stale• Work even harder!• Blocked: Creates inner tension and frustration• Giveup? No!• Relax, do something else: solution comes to Master

Emotional Pitfalls

• Complacency – you know very little• Conservatism – creativity rather than comfort• Dependency – high internal standards• Impatience – “stubborn rigor”, pleasure in

pain• Grandiosity – Remember luck, training, forget

ego• Inflexibility – Adapt. Paradox!

Magical Powers

• Can anticipate and predict correctly – Rommel• Intuitive feel of the whole – Einstein• Can take advantage of interconnectedness of

things – Gandhi

Faraday

• Born in poor family• Book-binder• Read books• Exchanged paid book-binding job for un-paid lab-

assistantship with Davy• Worked as Davy’s assistant for 10+ years• Learned on the job under Davy• Contributed to electromagnetism and

electrochemistry

Finding Calling

• Return to origins• Occupy a niche• Rebel against “false paths”• Adapt