Book Review – ‘Mastery’ by Robert Greene.
As the title could suggest; there might be something for martial artists in this book.
For me, this is the second Robert Greene book I have read. Initially, I found myself sceptical about the motives behind Greene’s books. Not so much the author’s motives, but more the motives of the audience he might attract. Part of that, I am sure, comes from the marketing and the skew towards the ‘Modern Machiavelli’ tag line.
The first book I read, ‘The 48 Laws of Power’ was clearly modelled on the reputation of the late 15th century Italian statesman and wily fox Nicolo Machiavelli, whose book ‘The Prince’ was the go-to guide for subversive underhand political powerbrokers. Greene’s book tacitly promised to do the same thing. But I was surprised; ’48 Laws of Power’ was a real delight; packed with historical examples and carefully thought-out logic. In that particular book, Greene left me with lots to think about.
‘Mastery’, was it worth the read?
For me personally, the content of this second book was a treasure trove of closely examined case studies. The underlying theme being to unpack the whole mystery of people who rose to the top of their field and the journeys they went on. As I was reading it my ‘martial arts focus’ couldn’t help but come to the fore.
Whether it was the processing of information, the building of knowledge, or the acute sharpening of skills, it all seemed to apply to martial arts ancient and modern.
The whole section on the relationship between ‘mentor’ and ‘protégé’ analysed in detail what could be seen as the Sensei/student dynamic. Greene also explained the differences between healthy and unhealthy relationships through carefully chosen examples.
He also described how skills and development can thrive; or be choked off by bad decisions and lousy circumstances; all cautionary tales.
Mindset.
The author was keen to explain how shifts in perspective and unconventional thinking should be harnessed enthusiastically. Also (again through example) how complacency and rigid thinking will kill off creativity.
Models of thinking were explained, challenging the reader to contemplate their own particular approaches to their fields of interest. I started to wonder about my own methods of processing what I was learning and a few of my own lightbulb moments.
Some of the examples given had a kind of ‘triumph over adversity’ story to them; really uplifting and encouraging. These same examples were from music, philosophy, science (I really enjoyed the description of Einstein’s personal development), art, architecture, linguistics and anthropology. Non-standard mental processing seemed to lead to amazing breakthroughs, much more so than the conventional routes through academia.
But above all, aspects of incredible discipline and drive with hours and hours, even decades of obsessive study and examination, came through very strongly. These ideals must surely appeal to martial artists, where we are encouraged to celebrate such qualities. Afterall, dedication, sweat and toil are supposed to be our lifeblood.
As I worked my way through the book I made pages and pages of notes, and then expanded them into new ideas – some of which will surely feed into my up-and-coming Substack posts; so watch out for that.
I don’t want to add spoilers, but right off the bat Greene was keen to tell us that in this day and age we have no excuses.
People from previous generations were usually ‘information impoverished’, or ‘opportunity poor’, that’s why the genius prodigies from the 17th and 18th centuries appear to us as so freakish (Mozart, a prime example). They were born or landed in the right environment to allow their natural inclinations to flourish (another example; Napoleon), but these were so so rare in those days. Nowadays, I’m sorry, we are not starved of information; it’s all sitting there out in the ether for free; it’s even in our pockets.
But Greene also warns us that because everything is so ‘available’ to us, we find ourselves reluctant to chase the dream and put in the hours of discipline, because we are too often seduced by the magic of the quick-fix. Nobody has the appetite to put in hours of piano practice or sweat up and down the Dojo working on the fundamentals until they become second-nature, when they can order a takeout-pizza and watch boxsets on digital streaming channels.
Another rich theme for me was the ability we have to filter all of the information available to us, and how we fail to manage that process; through either not really paying attention, or too rapidly dismissing things that at first glance appear peripheral or even meaningless.
There is great value in examining how the mechanisms of our mind operate, another aspect of self-awareness that maybe we should be paying closer attention to.
For those interested in fight science, the story of Eddie Futch and his rise to be the most supreme boxing coach of the modern age is a true inspiration.
I appreciate that not everyone is as geeky as me over stuff like this. But for anyone who is curious as to what it takes to climb the competency hierarchy in any field of activity; music, sports, arts, business, or science; then this book is for you.