Mastery

Mastery by Robert Greene is an exhaustive study of how human beings achieve the highest levels of skill and creative power. Drawing on the biographies of nine historical masters, including Leonardo da Vinci, Charles Darwin, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and Benjamin Franklin, Greene identifies the phases all masters move through: apprenticeship (absorbing the rules and conventions of a field), the creative-active phase (experimenting and pushing boundaries), and mastery itself (an intuitive, fluid command of the craft). He argues that mastery is not a gift but a process, available to anyone willing to embrace patient, deliberate practice and resist the temptations of comfort and shortcuts. A deeply researched and inspiring examination of what it means to pursue excellence over a lifetime.