Week Five

10/23/15

So you want to be an entrepreneur?

Lessons Learned:

I continued in the book “Mastery” and read section two this week.  It consisted of five key practices involved in mastery: instruction, practice, surrender, intentionality and the edge.  I will provide a short explanation of each one below.

Instruction:  There are many different types of instruction available, including teaching one-on-one, teaching in groups, books, movies, tapes, simulators, friends, classes and as it states in the book even “the street.”  When looking into instruction options it is important to look at experience, credentials, and especially interaction between the teacher and students. 

Practice: The general term of practicing is to learn a skill, improve, achieve goals or even make money.  In terms of mastery, practicing is considered a noun instead of a verb.  It is described not as “something you do, but as something you have, something you are.”  Practice in mastery is not to gain something from it but something that is done for its own sake.  Rewards from practice are nice, but they are not the goal of the master’s practice.  Masters love to practice and it will always be a part of their journey in mastery.

Surrender: Surrendering includes being humble and willing to surrender to your teacher at all times, without question.  A true master will obey his or her teacher and surrender to them.  My favorite part of this section was the parable of the cup and quart.  You must let go of the cup of milk before you can reach for the quart of milk.  This means that things may get worse, harder or messier before they get better.  But you will never be able to take the quart of milk into your hands without first letting go of the cup.

Intentionality: The power of imagery is very real and substantial.  By simply visioning something you can actually make it a reality.  Our minds are far more powerful than we give credit for.  If we want something we can visualize it, then we can believe our visualizations and create and cause them to happen.  “Every master is a master of vision”

The Edge: Masters will ultimately challenge limits and raise the bars of performance.  It is said that the key for a master is not either/or, but is instead both/and.  This section ends explaining that a master must first experience many years of instruction, practice, surrender and intentionality before reaching the edge.  And even then there is more training and more time on the plateau.  A master accepts this never ending challenge and lifelong path.

Lessons Not Yet Learned:

The idea of pushing past the edge is somewhat daunting to me.  I understand the process of a master and the key steps that must be followed, but the final step seems difficult and will push past comfort zones and limits.  I am still learning my capabilities and in the instruction phase of my mastery.

A Reference and Categorization Method:

There were a few readings that provided insight into this week’s lesson:

“Success is Gauged by Self-Mastery” by Elder Tanner

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1975/04/success-is-gauged-by-self-mastery?lang=eng#d

“How Entrepreneurs Craft Strategies That Work” By Amar Bhide (Harvard Business Review)

https://content.byui.edu/file/02ec646e-8a32-4f4f-a376-7c8c894abd2a/1/94202p2.pdf

“So You Want to Be an Entrepreneur”

http://www.actonguides.org/pdf/SoYouWant.pdf