Mastery-Art Life and Lives (Patreon)

As an artist I've always had mixed feelings about people saying, "you're talented," when they like my work. On one level, it's obviously a compliment and I know they mean well so I say thank you. But on a deeper level it reflects a common misunderstanding of where good art comes from. 

Sometimes this "you're so talented," is followed up with an, "I wish I was creative." Both of these statements reflect pervasive myths and misconceptions about creativity. That it comes from bursts of inspiration, or that it is the fruits of natural talent. 

Mastery by Robert Greene strips away these myths and misconceptions and replaces them with a simple process that draws on history, psychology, and philosophy, outlining a framework for attaining expertise through a combination of intense focus, perseverance, mentorship, and continuous learning. 

The first part of the process is finding what Greene calls your, "Life's Task." 

Something like your calling, your passion, your purpose. Something that you're obsessed with. A problem you want to solve, a niche you want to fill. Something like that.

Mozart knew what hist Life's Task was when he was 4. And that's good for him. But for a lot of us, it's not that straight forward. For some of us the Life's Task appears to be one thing, then it shifts to something else and then it shifts again. 

Greene acknowledges that this isn't always a straightforward thing to find, so he offers different examples of how other people found their way. 

However you get there, this stage is about knowing yourself.

The next part of the process is to transform yourself through an apprenticeship phase. 

Gaining a deep understanding of the field you've chosen. This phase is about submitting to reality. Learning through observation and hands on experience. Submitting your work for criticism and feedback. Learning from the masters who came before you, and in some sense imitating their work. Working with mentors. Learning social intelligence and the social ecosystem that your field exists in...basically learning the ropes and conventions of your craft or field.

This phase is critical because it grounds us. In our day and age we have this false notion that we can teach ourselves anything by watching Youtube videos and reading books. And we can learn a lot that way, don't get me wrong.

 But from a biological point of view, our ape brains are wired to learn stuff by watching another ape do it, imitating that ape, and then having that ape correct our work in real time. Over and over until we it becomes second nature.

After a sustained apprenticeship phase comes the second transformation to the Creative-Active phase. 

The goal of the apprenticeship is to acquire a deep reservoir of knowledge and skills. In the creative active phase the goal is to cultivate your own unique creative voice. Building on, or sometimes overturning the conventions that you learned in the apprenticeship phase, from a place of deep understanding. 

This is where we awaken the Dimensional Mind, as Greene calls it. 

When we are kids we experience the world more directly. We think in terms of images and sensations. Everything is mysterious, and we are captivated by it. Pure experience. Greene calls this state "Original Mind."

As the years go by, and especially in the apprenticeship phase, we lose this sense of wonder. We learn to describe things in language and conceptual thinking. We learn explanations and the world becomes less mysterious. We take experience and existence for granted. This is what Greene calls, "Conventional Mind."

Original mind is too open, too spontaneous, too distracted. Conventional mind is too conservative, inflexible, and rigid. 

Greene says, "Some people maintain their childlike spirit and spontaneity, but their creative energy is dissipated in a thousand directions, and they never have the patience and discipline to endure an extended apprenticeship. Others have the discipline to accumulate vast amounts of knowledge and become experts in their field, but they have no flexibility of spirit, so their ideas never stray beyond the conventional and they never become truly creative. Masters manage to blend the two-discipline and a childlike spirit-together into what we shall call the Dimensional Mind."

The pinnacle of the creative active phase is Mastery. 

Where the skills and understanding is so intuitive and effortless that you end up making lasting contributions to field you are in.

Conclusion

This is probably one of the most practical and motivational books I've ever read on creativity. I can see why people get so motivated by Robert Greene's other books like the 48 Laws of Power and the Art of Seduction. He does a great job of outlining practical steps to take to achieve one's goal.

A few Examples of Master's Journeys

Here are some other useful examples of master's journeys. I think these all have interesting insights about all of the phases that green outlines in his book but I'll explain the things I found especially relevant to parts of this book.

Jamie Thomas- I talk about my skateboarding days in the video. That kind of sent me down a rabbit hole of watching some of my old favorite skaters. I came across this interview with Jamie Thomas talking about his path to becoming one of the biggest names in skateboarding.  

I think this interview is especially relevant to the Life's Task idea. Thomas talks about finding a an old skateboard in his family attic when he was a kid. And before he knew anything about the world of professional skateboarding, or anything about skateboarding at all, he was just obsessed with riding the thing itself. 

Chet Zar- This is Chet Zar talking about his journey to becoming a professional artist. Chet was obsessed with doing make up effects when he was a kid, which led him to a career doing make up effects in the film industry for 20 years. I think this is especially relevant to the Apprenticeship Phase.

Leonardo da Vinci- I think that Walter Issacson's book about Leonardo da Vinci is one of the best books about any artist. I think this book is especially relevant to the ideas of the dimensional mind and the creative active phase as well as mastery itself. 

Have fun,

Goodnight sweeties.