Keys to Mastering a Skill

What it takes to become a prodigy in your field.

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Mastering a vocation has much to do with a striking curiosity to learn everything, not from anybody, but from preceding masters.

You must start from the ground up, go back to history and study your predecessors.

Studying the giants delivers you from making mistakes your predecessors made, buying you valuable time to focus on what is essential.

The masters that preceded you have published their remarkable genius for you to capitalize and leverage.

To master your craft you must follow the following principles:

a. Read great books that are relevant to your field, in abundance and regularly.

b. Grasp the ideas and think about them, deeply. Write down, in your own words, what you learn.

c. Apply, diligently what you have learned and identify your weak points.

d. Practice regularly, not in moderation. If you have a passion for your craft, this will come easy.

e. Reflect on your work, cultivate a heightened awareness.

f. Acknowledge your weaknesses and put double or triple the effort to transform them into benefits.

g. Orient yourself properly and find a great mentor who you can model yourself after.

h. Exercise your social skills so you are recognized for your genius.

To master your craft, you must have an insatiable obsession over it, transforming work into play.

If you delight in your skill, it will never feel like work, it will feel as if you are both exploring and executing.