You can become the greatest you in your field of choice. You can become a veritable master. The seed of mastery and success resides in you. Mastery is constantly within your reach.
I recently had the pleasure of listening to the Nigerian Soprano Abiodun Koya (I have a short clip of her performance following), and I could not get over her command of her craft. The high notes she was hitting…wow! Her voice gave me goosebumps. While listening to her, I had to own that I was indeed listening to a Master (mastery is a continuous journey).
A ‘master’ is someone who has gained (note this word – gained) mastery in the execution of a set of skills and has become extremely skilled within his/her sphere of competence.
You have heard about Chess Masters, right? Well a Chess Master is someone who has over time, and through certain disciplines and habits (related to the craft) become exceptionally skilled in the game of chess. Anyone can become a ‘master’, it’s not a domain reserved for just painters (like Michelangelo), comedians (like Basketmouth, Bernie Mac, Steve Harvey, Ricky Gervais and others), musicians (Josh Groban –my favorite, Michael Jackson), athletes (Serena Williams, Cristiano Ronaldo) etc.
Whatever your sphere of competence, YOU CAN BECOME A MASTER. It does not matter what you do; you could be a homemaker, banker, coach, designer, tailor, administrator, writer, engineer, researcher, doctor, thinker, singer… the list is endless.
I will balance this bold declaration it by asserting that while everyone can become a master, not everyone will become a master. The distance between one point and the other is how far we are willing to push ourselves in pursuit of mastery of our gift.
Do you want to become a master in your field? Do you want to leave the crowd and become The One whose prowess will bring people from far and wide to listen, witness, applaud, and enjoy your gift?
That you are still reading means that you indeed want to become a Master. I wish to put forward a few tips that will set you on your way to mastery. I would like to know your thoughts on this issue; feel free to comment below.
Self-belief is the foremost requisite for mastery. If you do not first believe that you can, how can others believe that you can? Seek the fuel to feed your self-belief, and feed off this constantly.
Mastery requires serious investment in time. It is said that it takes at least 10,000 hours of continuous practice of your skill to step into mastery level. How much time have you devoted to developing your skill?
You have to exit the Echo Chamber. In the Echo Chamber the words of the naysayers are echoed and they resonate time over time. And what you consistently listen to you become. You have to soar higher.
To operate at mastery level you have to Elevate. Masters are not chickens that scratch the ground. Neither are they pigeons that can only fly so high. Masters are eagles who can go up to 10,000 away from ordinary winged creatures.
Masters keep their focus on their main goal. Anthony Robbins famously says (and I agree) ‘where focus goes, energy flows’. If your focus is on your last defeat, your energy will flow there to bring that focus to life. When you focus on you next win, on being better than you were last time, your energy flows to bringing that train of thought to reality.
“After a crushing injury caused her to plummet from her #1 spot to #172 in 2011, she seemed to become a totally different player. Serena didn’t lose her talent or her drive, but she lost her focus. She spent too much time and energy thinking of her losses and being paralyzed by fear, instead of letting her hunger for future wins take over when on the court and training”. [Anthony Robbins: The Mindset of a Champion]
Masters keep practicing. They practice harder and longer than everyone else in their category. The Olympian of our times is Michael Phelps with more Olympic medals than any other person in history. His practice routine is brutal. He swims approximately 80,000m weekly and practices twice a day; up to six hours daily. This is commitment and focus at its best. And it lends credence to the 10,000 hour to mastery belief.
Are you a Sci Fi buff like me? I really love watching and dreaming of far flung places beyond the stars. What comes to mind is Tony Stark running diagnostics on one of his suits. He can literally see every functional part of the suit. This way he can easily drill down to wherever or running sub-optimally.
The masters’ mind works in the same way. The master is able to see the elements of her craft because she is intimately connected to them on a structural level. The master knows about technique, knows about component parts, and knows about integral relationships relating to her craft. The master does, and so should you.
Mastery does not come cheap – you pay for it in your energy, time, money, emotions, intellect, physical body,– whatever part of you that is involved in the exhibition of your skill will have to be disciplined to gain mastery.
Speaking about Abiodun Koya again, do you know that notable singers give up cold drinks, including cold water? It compromises the quality of their voice. Do you want to become an opera singer of note but still guzzle liters of ice cold water each day; is ice cream is your beverage of choice?
Ms. Koya only has liquids either hot or at room temperature. She is paying the price for MASTERY. So when you see her singing for Presidents, you know that is her reward for the price she paid daily.
Playing at master level has nothing to do with luck. Mastery is a result of intentional and deliberate choices we each make every day. Remember, everyone can become a master, even you and I.
Have you heard the story of how Michelangelo sculpted his masterpiece Angel? He was given a literal block of marble. When asked the inspiration for his world famous sculpture, he said that the Angel had always been inside the block of marble, he only let the masterpiece out.
Each of us has a masterpiece in us waiting to be liberated. Will you discover your master within and release her/him? Take the first step today.
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