1.
Life is not designed to hand us success or
satisfaction, but rather to present us with challenges that make us grow.
Mastery is the mysterious process by which those challenges become
progressively easier and more satisfying through practice. The key to that
satisfaction is to reach the nirvana in which love of practice for its own sake
(intrinsic) replaces the original goal (extrinsic) as our grail. The antithesis
of mastery is the pursuit of quick fixes. (P. 441)
2.
Five steps to mastery:
1.
Choose a worthy and meaningful challenge.
2.
Seek a sensei or master teacher (like George
Leonard) to help you establish the right path and priorities.
3. Practice diligently, always striving to hone
key skills and to progress incrementally toward new levels of competence.
4. Love the plateau. All worthwhile progress
occurs through brief, thrilling leaps forward followed by long stretches during
which you feel you’re going nowhere. Though it seems as if we’re making no
progress, we are turning new behaviors into habits. Learning continues at the
cellular level . . . if you follow good practice principles.
5.
Mastery is a journey, not a destination. True
masters never believe they have attained mastery. There is always more to be
learned and greater skill to be developed. (P. 441)
3.
In 1987, I finally recognized that unresolved
grief was keeping me from enjoying my work, and that only a hiatus from
coaching could resolve it. (P. 442)
4.
I had no long-term vision for where this (Total Immersion Program) might
go, but I was making a real impact on those who attended and loved being
self-employed with my job security dependent only on the quality of my efforts.
(P. 443)
5.
I would ask a smart, driven college student to
examine what is it they are driven to do. Are you driven to achieve an
intrinsic or extrinsic goal? (P. 444)
6.
If your highest goal is incremental, patient,
continual learning and development in critical skills and core competencies—and
you allow recognition, promotions, and financial rewards to be a natural result
of the excellence you attain at core competencies—you will be far more likely
to experience success and satisfaction, and perhaps even attain eminence, in
your field. (P. 444)
7.
My basic motivations: To continually deepen my
understanding of technique and performance. I’ve never been satisfied that I
had the last word, always felt certain there were further insights and nuances
to be learned; To have a life-changing positive impact on those I coached; and
To leave an enduring mark on the field of swim coaching, to leave the
profession better off than I found it. At 66, I’m just as passionate and
curious as I was at 21, if not more so, and I have no plans to retire. I can’t
imagine anything else I might have done which would have brought greater
fulfillment. (P. 444)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Total_Immersion
Reference
Ferriss, Timothy.
Tribe of Mentors: Short Life Advice from the Best in the World (P. 440).
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Kindle Edition.
Comments
Post a Comment