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Mastery: The Keys to Success and Long-Term Fulfillment

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bert

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I really enjoyed reading this book. I didn't think that it was completely consistent but nevertheless, I was inspired by it. The main concepts is how to become a master at something. He identifies some things that I found really helpful but at the same time I found a few things I ignored.

One part that helped was Leonard identified different types of people approaching the subject of mastery. He labeled them as the 'dabbler', the 'obsessive,' and the 'hacker' which I thought was pretty accurate. George Leonard himself became excellent at Aikido which is a type of martial arts, but in his book he is good at applying his advice to all areas of life. To quote: " The way we walk, talk to our children, and make love bears a significant relationship to the way we ski, study for a profession, or do our jobs."

Leonard emphasizes enjoying the practice time and criticizes quick fixes for quick results. However, I have always tried to be result oriented and he criticizes it because he sees it leading to quick fixes and frustration. I can see were he is coming from but I still don't completely agree. I did find some chapter as boring or against some of my beliefs but there are some that I go back and read again and again. I would definitely recommend at least checking this book out.

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Leonard emphasizes enjoying the practice time and criticizes quick fixes for quick results. However, I have always tried to be result oriented and he criticizes it because he sees it leading to quick fixes and frustration. I can see were he is coming from but I still don't completely agree. I did find some chapter as boring or against some of my beliefs but there are some that I go back and read again and again. I would definitely recommend at least checking this book out.

I think the "frustration" aspect which you refer to and the author appears to be critical of as it relates to being result orientated is something that varies from person to person. In my opinion the real issue is the individuals commitment to finding the correct solution. Rarely if ever do I give up and I think that has a lot to do with my success in life. However I have several family members that give up very quickly after their initial attempt fails. It's this defeatist attitude that stifles them, they rather avoid the frustration you refer to. It is no coincidence that these same family members always attempt to deny reality in some way. Similar to "out of sight - out of mind", they exhibit a behavior after failure which supposes that if their initial attempt failed then it is impossible. As a result I would disagree with the author that ROS is negative or something to be critical of.

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