John Keats

6. Apprentice yourself in failure
Henry Ford

7. Combine the “how” and the “what”
Santiago Calatrava

8. Advance through trial and error
Paul Graham

Reversal

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart—Albert Einstein

III.

ABSORB THE MASTER’S POWER:
THE MENTOR DYNAMIC

Life is short, and your time for learning and creativity is limited. Without any guidance, you can waste valuable years trying to gain knowledge and practice from various sources. Instead, you must follow the example set by Masters throughout the ages and find the proper mentor. Choose the mentor who best fits your needs and connects to your Life’s Task. Once you have internalized their knowledge, you must move on and never remain in their shadow. Your goal is always to surpass your mentors in mastery and brilliance.

THE ALCHEMY OF KNOWLEDGE

Michael Faraday

KEYS TO MASTERY

The importance of humility—the value of mentors—the mentor-protégé dynamic—learning as alchemy—interpretation of Michael Faraday story—Alexander the Great—the value of personal interaction—finding and attracting a mentor—famous figures or books as mentors—the mentor as father figure—when to cut the Master

STRATEGIES FOR DEEPENING
THE MENTOR RELATIONSHIP

1. Choose the mentor according to your needs and inclinations
Frank Lloyd Wright—Carl Jung—V. S. Ramachandran—Yoky Matsuoka

2. Gaze deep into the mentor’s mirror
Hakuin Zenji

3. Transfigure their ideas
Glenn Gould

4. Create a back-and-forth dynamic
Freddie Roach

REVERSAL

Thomas Edison

IV.

SEE PEOPLE AS THEY ARE:
SOCIAL INTELLIGENCE

Often the greatest obstacle to our pursuit of mastery comes from the emotional drain we experience in dealing with the resistance and manipulations of the people around us. We misread their intentions and react in ways that cause confusion or conflict. Social intelligence is the ability to see people in the most realistic light possible. Navigating smoothly through the social environment, we have more time and energy to focus on learning and acquiring skills. Success attained without this intelligence is not true mastery, and will not last.

THINKING INSIDE

Benjamin Franklin

KEYS TO MASTERY

Humans as the preeminent social animal—the Naïve Perspective holding us back—interpretation of Benjamin Franklin story—adjusting your attitude

Specific Knowledge—Reading People
Nonverbal communication—paying attention to cues—looking for common emotional experiences—reading people intuitively—looking for patterns—the danger of first impressions

General Knowledge—The Seven Deadly Realities
Envy
Conformism
Rigidity
Self-obsessiveness
Laziness
Flightiness
Passive Aggression

Social intelligence and creativity

STRATEGIES FOR ACQUIRING
SOCIAL INTELLIGENCE

1. Speak through your work
A. Ignaz Semmelweis
B. William Harvey

2. Craft the appropriate persona
Teresita Fernández

3. See yourself as others see you
Temple Grandin

4. Suffer fools gladly
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe—Josef von Sternberg—Daniel Everett

REVERSAL

Paul Graham

V.

AWAKEN THE DIMENSIONAL MIND:
THE CREATIVE-ACTIVE

As you accumulate more skills and internalize the rules that govern your field, your mind will want to become more active, seeking to use this knowledge in ways that are more suited to your inclinations. Instead of feeling complacent about what you know, you must expand your knowledge to related fields, giving your mind fuel to make new associations between different ideas. In the end, you will turn against the very rules you have internalized, shaping and reforming them to suit your spirit. Such originality will bring you to the heights of power.

THE SECOND TRANSFORMATION

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

KEYS TO MASTERY

The Original Mind—the Conventional Mind—the Dimensional Mind—interpretation of Mozart story—the three essential steps

Step One: The Creative Task

Altering your concept of creativity—searching for the Great White Whale—Thomas Edison, Rembrandt, Marcel Proust, and the ultimate creative challenges—The Primary Law of the Creative Dynamic—finding something to rebel against—remaining realistic—letting go of security

Step Two: Creative Strategies

A. CULTIVATE NEGATIVE CAPABILITY

Keats on the creative process—definition of Negative Capability—Mozart and Bach—Einstein and Negative Capability—Shakespeare as ideal—Faraday on humility—Negative Capability as a tool to open the mind

B. ALLOW FOR SERENDIPITY

The brain as a dual processing system—definition of “serendipity”—William James and mental momentum—maintaining openness of spirit—Louis Pasteur and serendipity—Thomas Edison, serendipity, and the recording of sound—the fluid mind—serendipity strategies of Anthony Burgess and Max Ernst—cultivating serendipity—analogical thinking and Galileo

C.