I started reading the more famous 48 laws of power and have not finished it. This should warn me before starting another book by the same author. It has exactly the same problems and style as the other books. Too long, too repetitive with few interesting points. I have no problem with most of the points, but the examples chosen were often repeated between chapters or there were two where one would be good enough. I would like to read a more edited version of this book.

Mastery by Robert Greene

In our culture we tend to equate thinking and intellectual powers with success and achievement. In many ways, however, it is an emotional quality that separates those who master a field from the many who simply work at a job. Our levels of desire, patience, persistence, and confidence end up playing a much larger role in success than sheer reasoning powers.

what is of more interest are the rules that are unstated and are part of the underlying work culture. These concern style and values that are considered important. They are often a reflection of the character of the man or woman on top.

Note: Look for the unwritten rules

The era we have entered is not one in which technology will make everything easier, but rather a time of increased complexity that affects every field.

In the future, the great division will be between those who have trained themselves to handle these complexities and those who are overwhelmed by them—those who can acquire skills and discipline their minds and those who are irrevocably distracted by all the media around them and can never focus enough to learn.

There is more to this than just time saved. When we learn something in a concentrated manner it has added value. We experience fewer distractions. What we learn is internalized more deeply because of the intensity of our focus and practice.

In a looser sense, a figure from the past or present can serve as an ideal, someone to model yourself after. Through much research and some imagination on your part, you turn them into a living presence. You ask yourself—what would they do in this situation or that? Countless generals have used Napoleon Bonaparte for just such a purpose.

To be truly charming and socially effective you have to understand people, and to understand them you have to get outside yourself and immerse your mind in their world.

Note: You need to go to the head of other people to be able to understanda them completely

If you have a rebellious or naturally eccentric streak, as is often the case with those who are aiming for mastery, you must be careful in displaying your difference too overtly, particularly in the Apprenticeship Phase.

When it is time to ask for a favor or help, you must think first of appealing to people’s self-interest in some way.

The root cause of all passive aggression is the human fear of direct confrontation—

Understand: people will tend to judge you based on your outward appearance. If you are not careful and simply assume that it is best to be yourself, they will begin to ascribe to you all kinds of qualities that have little to do with who you are but correspond to what they want to see.

Masters not only retain the spirit of the Original Mind, but they add to it their years of apprenticeship and an ability to focus deeply on problems or ideas. This leads to high-level creativity. Although they have profound knowledge of a subject, their minds remain open to alternative ways of seeing and approaching problems.

If you go at your work with half a heart, it will show in the lackluster results and in the laggard way in which you reach the end.

Mastery is not a function of genius or talent. It is a function of time and intense focus applied to a particular field of knowledge.