The Most Underrated Way to MASTER Any Skill

when I was a kid my parents and teachers gave me the wrong idea they said that if I practiced a skill every day I would keep getting better and better they said study every day and you'll get smarter every day exercise every day and you'll get stronger every day you might have heard similar things as well because of that most of us subconsciously believe that if you are consistent then the progress needs to look like this after reading the book Mastery by George Leonard I realized this idea is not just wrong it also sets you

up for failure in reality the path to Mastery never looks like that it looks like this in this video I will explain this graph and give you eight practical lessons from the book to help you master any skill if you ignore this you will fail to master any skill you will start something but quickly lose motivation and quit you will start again hoping things will be different this time but the same things will keep happening okay let's get started lesson number one understanding Plateau let's take a look at that Mastery graph again when you start

a new skill you'll experience a short burst of progress this is exciting but it's soon followed by a decline and you hit a plateau where nothing is happening even though you're stuck this Plateau is still a step above where you started if you stick with it long enough another small jump happens followed by another Decline and another Plateau if you've ever tried losing weight you have seen this yourself week one you drop 4 lbs in week two you gain two back and in week three nothing happens this is the plateau most people give up when

they hit the plateau they expect constant Improvement Mastery is more like two steps forward one step back and then staying in the same place for a long time probably 95% of the path to Mastery is spent on the plateau where you see no progress Mastery is a slow bumpy road however nowadays not everyone has the patience to keep going or stay during those Plateau moments this brings me to the next point which is lesson number two everyone wants a quick fix the path to Mastery according to society has no Plateau but instead it looks like

this climax upon climax we are bombarded with messages like instant money instant millionaire instant celebrities instant Noodles Etc everything must be quick and fast we don't want to diet we want some magic tea that'll make us lose 11 lbs in a week we don't want exercise to have a healthy heart we want a $30,000 operation that will split our chest wide open but this doesn't seem to matter at least it's a quick fix the truth is that there's no quick fix if that is the case then how do you best move toward Mastery you just

need to practice for the sake of the practice ice itself the author says we have to keep practicing the unfamiliar movement again and again until we get in the muscle memory or program it into the autopilot Mastery isn't about shortcuts or always moving forward it's about how you handle the plateau the question is which mindset do you bring to the table the dabbler the obsessive or the hacker we'll find out in the next lesson by the way pay close attention because you're about to see yourself lesson number three three personality types number one the dabbler

the dabbler loves starting new things whether it's a sport or a new career he gets excited by the newness when he makes his first bit of progress he is thrilled but then the plateau comes his excitement Fades he starts skipping lessons he starts thinking maybe this isn't for me he quits and goes to start something new the same thing applies to careers excited in the beginning and then oh no here comes the plateau again maybe this job isn't for me it's time to look around again the dabbler has a very long resume number two the

obsessive the obsessive just like its name suggests is obsessed he loves the results and it doesn't matter how to get them just get it fast he stays after class talking to the instructor he asks what books and courses he can buy to help him progress faster the obsessive starts by making great progress but when he finds himself on a plateau he doesn't accept it if the dabbler quits when he meets the plateau the obsessive doubl his effort he refuses the plateau he pushes himself he works all night he takes shortcuts for the sake of quick

results after going through rough ups and downs he hurts himself due to doubling efforts he slows down and finally quits number three the hacker the hacker has a different attitude he's willing to stay on the plateau but doesn't want to work hard toward the next level either after some progress he reaches a plateau and just stays there he doesn't care he likes his comfort zone at work he does only enough to get by leaves early takes every break talks instead of doing work and wonders why he doesn't get promoted to recap the dabbler reaches the

plateau gets scared and quits to chase another new thing the obsessive refuses the plateau he doubles his efforts hurts himself eventually Burns Out and quits the hacker reaches the plateau and just stays there in his comfort zone according to the author in his workshops he asks the audience to raise their hands which of the three would best describe themselves in almost every case the response breaks down into nearly even thirds so which one are you these three characters are not meant to say how much you fall short but rather to help you on the path

to Mastery by recognizing which which one you are you can adjust how you respond when you hit the plateau now apart from the plateau and these three personalities there is one more powerful force that is going to stop you this force is within yourself and it's called homeostasis I'll explain it in the next lesson lesson number four understanding homeostasis here is a family of five and the father happens to be an alcoholic when he's drinking chaos happens in the family so chaos is the normal state for some reason the father decided to stop drinking you

might think the family will live happily ever after however within a few months some other family member say the youngest one will do something to create chaos in the family why does this happen it's because of homeostasis homeost stasis is a force that tries to keep things in the same state even if that state is unhealthy and miserable for example if you don't exercise for 20 years your body regards that as normal when you start to exercise something might happen maybe you'll feel dizzy maybe there's a panicky feeling inside and that's homeostasis giving its signal

resisting change homeostasis is your body and mind's way of trying to keep things familiar it doesn't only work on a very tiny scale like the cells in our bodies it also works on a big scale like in a family and also in a country we might think our culture doesn't like change but the truth is that homeostasis Works to keep things as they are even if they aren't very good it resists all change it has a sneaky way of striking back like the example of the alcoholic father or the feeling feeling of discomfort when you

start to exercise so if there's homeostasis how can we change then that I will explain in the next lesson which is lesson number five three ways to deal with homeostasis first recognize how homeostasis works you might encounter resistance in different forms physically mentally or socially from friends and relatives say that you always get a plate and now you change before this you came to the office after 9:00 and now that you wake up earlier you come at 8:00 your co-workers or family might not welcome the change not because they wish you harm you need to

be aware that it's just homeostasis doing its job second be willing to negotiate with your resistance to change what should you do then don't back off you can't be sure exactly where the resistance will pop up is it inside your body or by the people around you stay alert use that resistance as a guide it's a sign that you are changing and third build a support system surround yourself with people who understand what you're going through those who have faced similar challenges or are on a similar Journey this could be a mentor a friend or

even an online community these people can offer advice share their experiences and provide encouragement when you need it most having people people in your corner can make all the difference when homeostasis tries to pull you back into your old habits now that you understand Plateau the three personality types and how to deal with homeostasis you're probably ahead of 95% of people however don't get excited yet because there are 10 challenges that are going to stop you lesson number six 10 challenges along the path to Mastery number one incon consistency okay I agree that consistency is

King I won't argue with you on this but I want to warn you about something that I call blind consistency let me explain I once met a guy who had a book summary YouTube channel just like this one he' produced a few videos and asked for my opinion about his channel as soon as I opened one video I saw a few complaints about the quality of the audio there were also a few more issues so I shared everything I thought needed to be improved I after 9 months I accidentally came across his channel and was

surprised to see that all this time he had kept uploading consistently however when I clicked on one of his recent videos I noticed that he still had the same exact problems yes he was consistent but he never improved he never changed he never listened to complaints to me this is blind consistency yes you need to be consistent but you also need to stop look look back and improve with every iteration so if you're stuck in the same place for a long time there's a chance that you forgot to analyze and make changes to your plan

number two poor instruction you sign up for a free course to learn how to build a website but the instructor skips key details doesn't explain the basics and uses outdated software you end up feeling lost and frustrated doubting your ability to do it on your own the issue isn't you it's the poor instruction but but remember the responsibility for getting good instruction is on you not your teacher number three conflicting way of life what you want to achieve in your life might be different from your current career for example you might be working as a

project manager simultaneously studying at the University but you're passionate about building a YouTube channel this creates a conflict because your job and studies take up most of your energy leaving little for your side project this was exactly the case with me this is a tough spot to be in but this is the reality with most of us today we have to support ourselves financially and at the same time find a way to keep the dream alive if you're also facing the same conflict then you have to make sacrifices and find some Creative Solutions unfortunately there's

just no other way around it for example my solution was to wake up early and work on my side project for 2 hours before I left for work I made sure that I first worked for myself before I worked for somebody else number four perfectionism sometimes we set such a high standard for ourselves that no one could ever meet them Mastery is not about perfection it's about a process a journey let me give you my own example for a long time I struggled with perfectionism when it came to hiring people I had this subconscious expectation

that whoever I hired would be able to take over completely with a little guidance I thought I could just step back and let them run with it but when they didn't meet that impossible 100% standard I would get frustrated and disappointed I would blame them or myself it wasn't until I took a step back and realized that the real issue was my own expectation when I lowered my standard to 80% everything started to shift I saw that 80% done by someone else was still a huge help and with time as we worked on more projects

together that 80% slowly improved getting close to 100% number five injuries if your path to Mastery is a physical one like martial arts or Sports yes you need to keep pushing yourself beyond your comfort zone but you still need to know your limit don't push yourself too much that it leads to injuries because injuries can take you off the path either temporarily or permanently pushing your limits in business or Sports means working with your body not ignoring it staying safe isn't just about being careful it's also about paying attention to your body's signals it's kind

of like driving a car you don't just Drive slowly you also watch for warning lights on your dashboard number six Vanity Vanity refers to the desire to look good in front of others which can be a significant obstacle on the path to Mastery when you focus too much on how others see you you avoid taking risks trying new things things or making mistakes instead of asking questions in a meeting at work you'll think if I ask this question people will think I'm dumb so you stay silent or if you start a boxing class you might

worry so much about how you look that you forget to focus on practicing the technique the fear of looking silly will stop you from getting better true Masters shouldn't be afraid of looking like an idiot or making mistakes number seven overco competitiveness the m who only focuses on winning is bound to lose in the long run the saying winning isn't everything it's the only thing is one of the biggest myths if winning is the only thing that matters then practice morals discipline and character mean nothing overc competitiveness creates more losers than winners who knows how

many future Olympic medalists have walked away from Sports because their coaches preached that beating the school across town is the only goal and it doesn't matter how you play as long as you win don't get me wrong winning is an important part of the journey but it's not everything competition adds excitement to life just like salt and pepper add flavor to food but salt and pepper can't be the whole meal a true Master knows how to win with Grace and lose with equal Grace number eight obsessive goal orientation when you want to climb a mountain

you have to be aware that the peak is ahead but don't keep looking at it keep your eyes on your path don't keep looking at your $1 million goal but instead aim for the first 1,000 then 10,000 and then 20,000 number nine prizes and medals excessive use of external motivation can slow and even stop your journey to Mastery there was a study where children were given gold stars as rewards for good performance initially this motivated them to to work harder but over time their progress slowed down even when more stars were offered the children became

more focused on earning Stars than on learning showing that while rewards can boost motivation at first they don't lead to Lasting Improvement true growth comes from being driven by a desire to learn not just by external rewards number 10 don't be too serious just enjoy they say laughter is the best medicine just lose loosen up yourself sometimes and make your path to Mastery enjoyable lesson number seven loving the plateau from a young age we were told to study well in school to get good grades so that we could go to college so that we could

land a good job again and again we were told to do something so that we could get to the next thing we were taught to Value the prize Chase for the next thing the next thing and the next thing but no one told us to enjoy and value the current moment which is the plateau here's how we live our life now you get rushed to get dressed but getting dressed doesn't count then you hurry through breakfast but eating breakfast doesn't count then you rush to work but getting to work doesn't count either it's like everything

we do in between the important stuff is just a hassle to get through and the plateau is similar to these in between moments if you stopped at think about it most of life is in between for example there are 24 hours in a day in a year we have 8,760 hours during the non-playoff year the actual playing time for a National Football League is 16 hours so for the player does this mean the remaining 8,744 hours of the year are in between we know that the Zen students focus on meditation but they also practice meditation

while sweeping the courtyard and while washing the dishes Zen students don't take these sweeping and washing dishes as in between those little things are also counted that's the mentality we need to embrace in our path to Mastery and in life itself so next time you wash your dishes enjoy the movement you don't have to hurry doing your in between moments all right we're almost done I will end this video with a story from the author lesson number eight consistency despite of no recognition when the author was a little child his father used to bring him

to the office on Saturdays his father worked in the fire Insurance business besides playing around the office the author said he also loved to sit there and watch his father doing work the author was mesmerized by the depth of his father's concentration his father was in his world entirely relaxed and focused as he opened envelopes of various sizes and shapes sorted the contents into piles and made notes for his secretary all the time he worked his lips were slightly parted his breath steady and calm his eyes soft and his hands moving steadily almost hypnotically he

was an ambitious man with a burning desire for the extrinsic reward of his work including public recognition and even Fame and most importantly he loved his work his father's colleague later told him that his father was among the best in his field but still he didn't get the public recognition and fame that he always wished for in the end what his father Left Behind wasn't public recognition but a profound example of loving your work for its own sake love of your work and willingness to stay with it even if you don't get the recognition is

good food and good drink this is it for this video if you want a onepage visual summary of all eight lessons which you can print and use as a reminder the entire text of this video as a PDF if you prefer reading and an audio file if listening is more your style then check out the description for more info thanks for watching