3 Keys To Mastery, Finding Your Passion & Simplifying Life

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🚀 PERFORMANCE HACK

The 3 Keys To Achieving Mastery & How To Uncover Your Passion (The Best Fuel Source For The Journey!)

The pinnacle of all learning & skill acquisition is ‘mastery’...

It’s a term we’ve reserved exclusively for those at the absolute highest level of what they do; the top 1% (or 0.1%) within a given sport, craft, industry, or profession...

But this level of mastery isn’t just reached casually, part-time & it doesn’t just happen on its own…

And it’s definitely not easy to achieve…

…although what we’re going to cover in this week’s newsletter can make the hard work required to get there feel largely effortless (doesn’t feel like work) most of the time...

Also to start, what those before us who have achieved this mastery in their own work & lives have left for us are clues that we can assess, analyze & utilize in our own lives to achieve our own mastery...

More specifically, there are 3 foundational keys that those at the highest levels of mastery all sharewhich are universal, transferable & can be applied to across all fields & industries...

So whatever your ‘main thing’ is or is going to be (be it music or a musical instrument, a certain sport, video editing, graphic design, architecture, sales, or entrepreneurship), these foundations serve as a guide to what it takes to become great at what you do…

They are:

  1. Passion (as we’ll explore in this week’s newsletter)

  2. Self-Discipline & Hard Work

  3. Constant Innovation (that is, every day asking “How can I become/make this better?” & constantly striving to improve.)

Leonardo da Vinci mastered multiple disciplines including painting, sculpture, anatomy, engineering & mathematics…

Marie Curie's groundbreaking research on radioactivity earned her two Nobel Prizes & laid the foundation for modern nuclear physics & medicine…

Steve Jobs revolutionized the technology industry & his mastery extended beyond product innovation to include marketing, branding & creating a culture of innovation at Apple Inc…

Take any top individuals & ‘master’ now or throughout history & you’ll find these common themes play out as part of their story…

You’ll see the passion that motivated them…

The hard work they put in...

And the constant desire to improve & get better...

In this week's newsletter, we are going to dive deep into the first of these 3 foundational keys (the one that really gets us in the game in the first place, as well as makes the next one a whole lot easier)...

We’ll share some stories & examples of how the world’s best applied it…

As well as how you can apply it in your own life to create not just the success you want but the fulfillment along with it as well...

Let’s talk about it…

Passion: The Inner Fire/Fuel For Mastery

Whether it’s Tiger Woods drawing golf trajectories as a very young child…

Mozart composing music before his 6th birthday…

Picasso the 50,000+ paintings he created in his lifetime…

Or Bobby Fischer, age 6, playing chess against himself because he had nobody else to play with...

They all share one thing in common & it's the love for their craft...

(we’re using the term ‘passion’ but it goes by other names as well including one that generally has a negative connation although not in this context, ‘obsession’)

In their story of high achievers, you’ll observe a deep fascination with a particular topic, skill, field of study, question, or part of our world & it’s that which motivates them every day…

Just like a car requires some sort of fuel to move forward, we, as human beings, require some sort of passion, purpose, or motivation to take action…

And most extrinsic motivators (fuel sources) can only get you so far…

The possibility of a trophy or promotion (& the boosted status that comes with it) may get you to train/work hard for a few weeks / months beforehand, but that fuel runs out shortly/immediately after...

Curiosity (mild, fleeting, the spark) which can turn into full-fledged passion (severe, relentless, the raging fire) are a rare fuel source in that they has the possibility of never running out…

They just keep burning inside you possibly forever, fueling to keep going, keep exploring & keep venturing forward...

But a lot of people in this world lack this type of passion..

They go through life without any real sense of passion, or higher purpose, for what they do…

Rather than starting their learning, skill development & mastery endeavors with passion, many people start with motives of financial or status incentives…

In fact, this is one of the biggest reasons why so many hate their jobs!

Many people start their jobs (& careers) not based on intrinsic curiosities, passions & interests but instead, based on extrinsic motivators like money, existing skills demands from parents, or a number of other reasons…

In the beginning, even this is fine…

It’s fresh.

It’s new.

And everything that’s novel has some natural allure to it…

They may even enjoy the job & the income, the perks, or the potential of a promotion that comes with it...

But, over time, the excitement from money or promotions fades away / it’s not a sustainable motivation source, like intrinsic passion is…

Which all leads people to, eventually, reach burnout…

That’s when they begin to increasingly hate their jobs & careers…

And they spend a large part of their workweek just awaiting the weekend & then dreading Monday morning… (the highest suicide rate is sadly Monday morning!)

Which makes other stories in which people willingly & voluntarily work 70, 80, or 90 hours a week (without taking weekends off, even if they could) ever more shocking…

We think those people are crazy or at the extreme as ‘workoholics’ without realizing, often, those people are in a great/the best position because they love what they do & have a strong passion for it

As the saying goes:

“If you love what you do, you don’t work a day in your life”

They love what they do.

And they genuinely love Mondays…

And also they tend to compartmentalize their lives a lot less than people who view ‘work’ as something they hate, but pay the bills so they can enjoy their ‘life’ outside of work…

They view their ‘work’ as their purpose, their calling or their mission.

It’s meaningful & deeply fulfilling…

Here’s the next insight…

What Exactly Is Passion?

‘Passion’ is not to be confused with your level of understand / knowledge of a particular topic or level of skill…

While the 2 are definitely linked (with greater competence generally comes greater passion — we love what we are good at!) they are not the same...

And some curiosity/passion generally has to come first to get you to even want to become good at something which then makes you even more passionate about it... like a cycle/loop…

Also, it doesn’t have to be a particular topic (as you can would see on a school curriculum) or skills (as we generally think of them)…

Albert Einstein’s passion, for example, wasn’t merely the subject of ‘physics’, but rather a deep curiosity about & passion for understanding the invisible forces of the universe…

Mozart’s passion wasn’t just playing the piano, but rather composition & creating music…

It’s this passion that, in many ways, enabled Mozart to put in an estimated 3500 hours of music training, before age 6!

If ‘music’ was something he was ‘forced’ to learn, odds are, he would have settled & put in the bare minimum amount of work possible…

However, because it was a passion that fueled him, naturally, he was more willing to train harder…

Understanding this nuance is incredibly powerful because it allows us to expand our realms of possibility…

Although Martin Luther King Jr was a minister & activist, his passion was bigger than that...

His passion was about equality & human rights, not just ‘being a minister’...

Being a minister or civil rights activist was simply a ‘vehicle’ for him to fulfill his passions, in the same way, physics was Einstein’s ‘vehicle’ to follow his fascination…

We mustn’t mistake the ‘vehicle’ for the ‘passion’ itself…

Sometimes the topic or skill is the passion in itself, but sometimes, it’s not… & we must consider this in our own lives...

And when you do find your passion, you’ll know because it activates a new sense of energy & excitement in your life, which will pull you towards mastery at something…

All of this does pose the question though...

How To Find Your Passion

There is no one pattern or solution that shows up repeatedly amongst those who have found their passion & followed it until they reached mastery…

There are clues...

Throughout history, many found their passion deep in their childhood when they received an item, met a particular person, or encountered a certain circumstance…

Although a big part of this is not necessarily the age but simply the fact that we explore a lot more when we’re kids & experience a lot more “first’s” that we do as adults…

…unless of course, we consciously choose to get out of our ‘comfort zone’, adopt a child-like approach & start experiencing more new things again — more on this in a moment.

Others, like in the instance of Mozart, it was influenced by his family environment in which his father was a pianist & his older sister, Maria, was already learning the piano…

And for others, they simply re-connected with a topic or skill they used to enjoy in the past...

(when we’re younger much of what we do we do free of outside obligation & the only reason we do is because we want to & we enjoy it. You can use this asking yourself “what did/do I enjoy doing for it’s own sake?”)

For some, their passion finds them & for others, they have to actively go out there & seek it…

As to how you do that, the best insight is simply to test, taste & experience as much as possible.

You can start with a simple list of things you think you might be fascinated by & go out there to experience them…

As part of this, do things you wouldn’t normally do.

Travel.

Meet new people.

Explore learning new topics or skills.

The more you explore & get out of your comfort zone, the more you can find out (about yourself & the world)

Just like you discovered your dream car, or what your favorite food is, or your favourite movie, by seeing & testing a lot of them first, before eventually settling on a ‘favourite’...

…the more things you test & experience, the greater your odds of finding something that deeply arouses your fascination, curiosity & creates that fire of passion inside you.

In other words, when you’re finding your passion, you want to say ‘yes’ to everything you can… & only once you find it, begin to say ‘no’ to increase focus, specialize & really concencrate on that thing that you’re passionate about…

One final insight we’ll add here is this…

Almost Everything Can Be Turned Into A Career!

There are people whose passion is making their own homemade jewelry, who today have an amazing career & make a great living through this, selling it online...

There are others whose passion is a fascination with nature & plants, who create a good living by monetizing this passion by blogging about plants, publishing ebooks on the topic, or leading nature retreats out into the wilderness to help others connect the nature that modern city life lacks...

Everything can be monetized & turned into a career if you’re creative enough (in large part thanks to today’s modern world, how it’s arranged, globalization, technological advancements, etc)

And, if you’re still in doubt of this, just go & search the internet & you will find people making a living (or building a fortune) from the craziest things…

You’ll find these weird & wonderful examples which may just build up your own belief that it’s really possible…

However, as we know & we remind you once more, we don’t start there…

We start with passion & only layer the money, fame, recognition & other extrinsic factors on top later on…

…just like so many of the world’s highest achievers & those who have achieved this ‘mastery’ have done.

And if you'd like to learn more about what mastery really takes, as well as strategies to start learning faster, developing your skills up to 500% faster & becoming extraordinary at anything you set your mind to… be sure to check out our book on the topic called:

Inside you'll learn how to start soaking in new information like a sponge & activate your brain’s full potential to achieve your goals faster & thrive in today’s rapidly-changing new world

(even if you think you're a "slow learner", have a "bad memory", "low IQ" or lack "natural talent")

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  • The 'backwards law' which goes again everything we're been told about self-discipline, explains why resisting & fighting can often backfire & illustrates how surrendering to your emotions can sometimes be the very best approach... (note: when I first learned about this, I protested & resisted this change like crazy... but today, I know better, I use this & have never looked back!)

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💭 QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“The reasonable man adapts himself to the world: the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man.”

George Bernard Shaw

Fitting in, feeling understood & bonding over shared ways of life is easy, comfortable & important to wellbeing… but it isn’t necessarily what creates progress individually, or as a species.

We need people who are willing to stand out from the crowd, be contrarian in their thinking, challenge socially-accepted notions, in turn, moving the human race towards an even greater level of understanding, progress & results 🧠 

‎‍🪒 PSYCHOLOGICAL TOOL

'Occam’s Razor' (Or… A Philosophical Tool For Reducing Complexity & Simplifying Life While Achieving Better Results!)

Do you ever catch yourself over-complicating things in your life?

It's a common trap we all fall into from time to time…

We take something straightforward & turn it into an intricate web of thoughts, decisions & possible actions.

The result? More confusion, more work, and more stress.

It's time to break free from this cycle...

Enter Occam's Razor.

At its core, this philosophical tool states that:

"In most cases, the simplest explanation is the right one."

Imagine, for example, that you have a splitting headache...

Your mind might immediately jump to the worst-case scenario — a life-threatening disease.

Sure, that's a possibility, but Occam's Razor advises a different approach…

The simpler explanation?

You might be dehydrated, stressed, or simply coming down with a common cold…

Remember, in most cases, the simplest explanation is the right one.

Albert Einstein, a genius in his own right, echoed this sentiment:

"Everything should be made as simple as possible, but no simpler."

In essence, it's usually far more intelligent to start with the simplest explanation for a problem or situation & then work your way up from there to greater complexity than it is to start with the most farfetched outcome & attempt to simplify later.

But, let's explore some more...

How does Occam's Razor apply to your personal growth journey?

Well, it's not just about headaches, but about the bigger picture too...

When it comes to your goals, projects, and daily decisions, this principle & tool truly can be a game-changer...

Many people find themselves busy but making little progress on their goals…

One reason is they're focusing their energy on a multitude of less important tasks, rather than homing in on the 1 thing that truly matters & doing that...

reminder: complexity isn't the enemy here; it's about the order in which you approach it... start with simplicity.

So, how can you put Occam's Razor into action starting today? Here's a quick guide:

  1. Identify Complexity: Whenever you face a problem, decision, or goal, recognize if you're making it more complicated than it needs to be.

  2. Seek Simplicity: Start with the simplest explanation or action. Ask yourself: What's the most straightforward approach here? What's the basic first step that I can take now?

  3. Gradual Complexity: If necessary, work your way up to complexity, adding layers of detail or depth as needed.

By embracing 'Occam's Razor', you'll simplify your life, reduce confusion & minimize overwhelm, all while getting more done & achieving better results!

You'll have the clarity to focus on the actions that truly work and make significant progress toward your goals...

Remember, the path to personal growth & high performance often starts with a simple step. Embrace simplicity, and you'll find that success isn't as complicated as it might seem 😃 

And if you’d like to learn more frameworks, methods & mental models to improve your decision-making & results… check out our other, companion newsletter, titled:

We do the heavy lifting & grunt work of meticulously researching, studying & curating the best insights, concepts & frameworks to help you make more intelligent decisions & get ahead in life... & delivering those to you (in simple terms, easy to implement) every single week…

…ultimately, helping you to achieve more of the results, the success, happiness & wellbeing you truly deserve in this life!

Ignore the following text. It’s random & only here to improve delivery. It helped her understand all of the little things I do for her that I thought she was too young to notice. But now she says "thank you" more often, which really brings a smile to my face. I already know that this book is going to help her grow up to be a kind, grateful young lady." Thanks again for this book and I hope you can share this message with other mothers like me so they can read it to their kids." - Jenny Now, that's an incredible story! A Mother's Love is certainly one of my favorites, too, because of all the messages I get like this one. Click the button below to take a look inside A Mother's Love: It's about an interesting creature... a lonely Yeti, who's living in the snowy mountains all by herself, hoping for some company... Here goes: "If you're looking for some fun, or maybe even a friend, go up to the mountain to the path's end. There you'll find the Yeti, who lives all alone. She'll make you feel welcome in her snow-covered home. So pack up your gear, go slow and steady, the fun's just begun because the Yeti is ready!" This fun poem is from a new book called The Yeti Is Ready... And it's given my kids a new perspective on friendship & acceptance!" Click the red button below to take a look inside The Yeti Is Ready: You will rejoice to hear that no disaster has accompanied the commencement of an enterprise which you have regarded with such evil forebodings. I arrived here yesterday, and my first task is to assure my sister of my welfare and increasing confidence in the success of my undertaking. I am already far north of London, and as I walk in the streets of Petersburgh, I feel a cold northern breeze play upon my cheeks, which braces my nerves and fills me with delight. Do you understand this feeling? This breeze, which has travelled from the regions towards which I am advancing, gives me a foretaste of those icy climes. Inspirited by this wind of promise, my daydreams become more fervent and vivid. I try in vain to be persuaded that the pole is the seat of frost and desolation; it ever presents itself to my imagination as the region of beauty and delight. There, Margaret, the sun is for ever visible, its broad disk just skirting the horizon and diffusing a perpetual splendour. There—for with your leave, my sister, I will put some trust in preceding navigators—there snow and frost are banished; and, sailing over a calm sea, we may be wafted to a land surpassing in wonders and in beauty every region hitherto discovered on the habitable globe. Its productions and features may be without example, as the phenomena of the heavenly bodies undoubtedly are in those undiscovered solitudes. What may not be expected in a country of eternal light? I may there discover the wondrous power which attracts the needle and may regulate a thousand celestial observations that require only this voyage to render their seeming eccentricities consistent for ever. I shall satiate my ardent curiosity with the sight of a part of the world never before visited, and may tread a land never before imprinted by the foot of man. These are my enticements, and they are sufficient to conquer all fear of danger or death and to induce me to commence this laborious voyage with the joy a child feels when he embarks in a little boat, with his holiday mates, on an expedition of discovery up his native river. But supposing all these conjectures to be false, you cannot contest the inestimable benefit which I shall confer on all mankind, to the last generation, by discovering a passage near the pole to those countries, to reach which at present so many months are requisite; or by ascertaining the secret of the magnet, which, if at all possible, can only be effected by an undertaking such as mine. These reflections have dispelled the agitation with which I began my letter, and I feel my heart glow with an enthusiasm which elevates me to heaven, for nothing contributes so much to tranquillise the mind as a steady purpose—a point on which the soul may fix its intellectual eye. This expedition has been the favourite dream of my early years. I have read with ardour the stories of the various voyages which have been made in the prospect of arriving at the North Pacific Ocean through the seas which surround the pole. You may remember that a history of all the voyages made for purposes of discovery composed the whole of our good Uncle Thomas’ library. My education was neglected, yet I was passionately fond of reading. These volumes were my study day and night, and my familiarity with them increased that regret which I had felt, as a child, on learning that my father’s dying injunction had forbidden my uncle to allow me to embark in a seafaring life. These visions faded when I perused, for the first time, those poets whose effusions entranced my soul and lifted it to heaven. I also became a poet and for one year lived in a paradise of my own creation; I imagined that I also might obtain a niche in the temple where the names of Homer and Shakespeare are consecrated. You are well acquainted with my failure and how heavily I bore the disappointment. But just at that time I inherited the fortune of my cousin, and my thoughts were turned into the channel of their earlier bent. Six years have passed since I resolved on my present undertaking. I can, even now, remember the hour from which I dedicated myself to this great enterprise. I commenced by inuring my body to hardship. I accompanied the whale-fishers on several expeditions to the North Sea; I voluntarily endured cold, famine, thirst, and want of sleep; I often worked harder than the common sailors during the day and devoted my nights to the study of mathematics, the theory of medicine, and those branches of physical science from which a naval adventurer might derive the greatest practical advantage. Twice I actually hired myself as an under-mate in a Greenland whaler, and acquitted myself to admiration. I must own I felt a little proud when my captain offered me the second dignity in the vessel and entreated me to remain with the greatest earnestness, so valuable did he consider my services. And now, Margaret, do I not deserve to accomplish some great purpose? My life might have been passed in ease and luxury, but I preferred glory to every enticement that wealth placed in my path. Oh, that some encouraging voice would answer in the affirmative! My courage and my resolution is firm; but my hopes fluctuate, and my spirits are often depressed. I am about to proceed on a long and difficult voyage, the emergencies of which will demand all my fortitude: I am required not only to raise the spirits of others, but sometimes to sustain my own, when theirs are failing. This is the most favourable period for travelling in Europe. They fly quickly over the snow in their sledges; the motion is pleasant, and, in my opinion, far more agreeable than that of an English stagecoach. The cold is not excessive, if you are wrapped in furs—a dress which I have already adopted, for there is a great difference between walking the deck and remaining seated motionless for hours, when no exercise prevents the blood from actually freezing in your veins. I have no ambition to lose my life on the post-road between St. Petersburgh and Archangel. I shall depart for the latter town in a fortnight or three weeks; and my intention is to hire a ship there, which can easily be done by paying the insurance for the owner, and to engage as many sailors as I think necessary among those who are accustomed to the whale-fishing. I do not intend to sail until the month of June; and when shall I return? Ah, sister, how can I answer this question? If I succeed, many, many months, perhaps years, will pass before you and I may meet. If I fail, you will see me again soon, or never. Farewell, my, excellent Margaret. Heaven shower down blessings on you, and save me, that I may again and again testify my gratitude for all your love and kindness.

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