Mastery: The Keys to Success and Long-Term Fulfillment
by George Leonard

Dec 2001

Simple, concise, powerful

When you are fortunate enough to stumble across true wisdom, you may find it has a few recognizable characteristics:

1) It is presented with exceptional clarity, often with sparing use of words.

2) The concepts or ideas presented are simple at first glance, but have profound implications hidden below the surface.

3) Only a minority will truly appreciate and benefit from the wisdom presented. The majority will either shrug it off, ridicule it, misapply it, or flat out miss the point entirely.

This book contains valuable wisdom… and you don't have to be a fan of eastern religion, aikido, or west coast liberalism to appreciate George Leonard's observations. (Book jackets and chapter headings often show the heavy hand of publishing-house salesmen; in the name of marketing they tend to inflate claims, stamp out nuance, and shout needlessly at a stereotyped target audience.)

This book won't change your life, of course. Only you can do that. If you expect to walk away with some new power or magical understanding that you didn't have to earn, you'll be sorely disappointed (see wisdom characteristic #3 above). But the main idea that Leonard presents here, and the advice he gives regarding it, is worth taking very seriously and pondering in depth. Like most books that center around a powerful idea, the content weakens when Leonard strays from the main focus. But he strays little, and the main focus remains extremely valuable.

This is not really a self-help book; nor is it really a motivational book. (Perhaps that is why I like it.) Leonard's goal is more to explain and to guide than to motivate. To stay on the path of mastery he describes, the passion must be cultivated separately (or already be in place). In other words, Mastery will not help you do better at your job if you are only working to bring home a paycheck; it will not help you improve in the hobby / pastime of your choice if it is just "something to do on weekends." Books like this offer clues as to how passionate effort can best be directed. But without passion, the magic doesn't work. If you don't have at least one area, any area, where your motivation is in some part excellence for its own sake, then pass this one by. (Or better yet, find something excellent to get excited about!)

As an investor and a trader, I would recommend this book to all who take their craft seriously. If you are already on the path, Mastery could help clarify an understanding that has been in the back of your mind all along.