#FUELSTOP: Robert Greene’s Five Step Path To Mastery

#FUELSTOP: Robert Greene’s Five Step Path To Mastery

Two Minute Takeaways- Fuel Up & Go!

Mastery Is Possible For Everyone

Use these Stout highlights from Robert Greene’s in-depth mastery plan to kick start your pursuit of the next level and #BringOutYourStout.

 

Five Focused Steps To Mastery

In his in-depth article on The Path To Mastery five time bestselling author Robert Greene debunks the myth that it takes some special innate talent or gift to become a master. Rather his research and observation shows that it is the INTENSITY OF DESIRE to learn and THE COMMITMENT TO PROCESS that leads one to develop high-level skill achieve success. In Green’s words: Follow these steps and you are no longer replaceable. You are one of a kind, a Master of your field and of your destiny.
 

Stout Insights
  From Robert Greene’s 5 Step Path To Mastery  

STEP 1:
Discover Your Calling

“The first move toward mastery is always inward. It is never too late to start this process.”
Look back at what first excited you in your life and career path. Reconnect with those deep interests, then channel the skills you already possess into pursuing that direction. Put the brakes on jumping in with a radical, drop everything change- focus on making a powerful pivot that leverages what you’ve already built.

STEP 2:
Apprentice With Intensity

“Transform yourself into a consummate observer. Move toward challenges that will toughen and improve you.”
Practical knowledge pays future dividends- each skill learned becomes the foundation for acquiring the next. Focus on opportunities that will get you feedback on your performance and develop the ability to take criticism and turn it into progress. When you’re SURE of your skill, seek ways to move out and apply it on your own and prove yourself ready for the next level.

Step 3:
Gain Social Intelligence

“Learn to read people in the moment. Success attained without this intelligence is not true mastery, and will not last.”
The first and most important factor in social intelligence is to recognize and correct the innate tendency we have to project our emotions onto other people. Turn off your ego and turn up your listening & observation skills to really see people as they are- not how you want or need or wish them to be. The second factor is checking the reflection others give you of yourself; learn to see yourself as other see you and correct our own social weak spots.

Step 4:
Awaken Creative Energy

“Mix discipline and practice with a bold and original spirit. One without the other will lead you nowhere.”
Maintaining an open, experimental mindset will foster an ability to see unique connections. Don’t let fear of failure stop you from challenging the status quo and experimenting- the best solutions often come from turning problems on their head and finding a new way to tackle them.

Step 5:
Develop High–level Intuition

“Masters come to understand all of the parts involved in what they are studying.”
Deep immersion, staying true to innate inclinations and internalizing all parts of the whole lead to an ability to see beyond the surface and sense the dynamic at play in any situation. Foreseeing difficulties and creating solutions before the problems even come to light will catapult you to success in any field.

 

The time that leads to mastery is dependent on the intensity of our focus. There are no shortcuts; but in the end the payoff is immense.
Robert Greene

 

Robert Greene’s Mastery

Want more?

For more advice on following each step, see Roberts Greene’s detailed article or pikc up his best selling book, Mastery and check the Stout Magazine archives on mastery and craft.

 

Photo courtesy of Robert Greene