0:03

Or is the apprentice who does not surpass his

0:07

master leonardo da vinci welcome to flourish i'm diane planadan and you're in

0:12

the right place if you're ready to create inspired life and we do support working

0:15

on our own personal development so we can be strong role models for those we

0:18

love and mentor and strong for our own personal well-being put your own oxygen

0:22

mask Alaska first, right? Today, we continue our journey in the best-selling book by Robert Greene called

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Mastery, and I'm sorry, mine's in rough shape.

0:33

I've read it a number of times, and I'm just so thrilled to share it with you

0:38

because I know that making time to read such important books is a bit of a luxury.

0:44

So here we go. The next chapter is all about how important it is that you have a mentor.

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He begins this chapter by saying, absorb the master's power, the mentor dynamic.

1:00

Make sure you stay till the very end and hit that subscribe button because this

1:03

book is absolutely awesome. But stay to the very end because he gives a really good tip about if you cannot

1:10

find a mentor, you don't have the resources, you don't have the connections.

1:14

Gives you some other ideas. So here we go.

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Life is short, and your time for learning and creativity is limited.

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Without any guidance, you can waste valuable years trying to gain knowledge

1:27

and practice from various sources. Instead, you must follow the example set by masters throughout the ages and find the proper mentor.

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The mentor-protege relationship is the most efficient and productive form of

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learning. The right mentors know where to focus your attention and how to challenge you.

1:49

Their knowledge and experience becomes yours.

1:52

They provide immediate and realistic feedback on your work so you can improve more rapidly.

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Through an intense person-to-person interaction, you absorb a way of thinking

2:04

that contains great power and can be adapted to your individual spirit.

2:09

Choose the mentor who best fits your needs and connects to your life task.

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Once you have internalized their knowledge, you must move on and never remain in their shadow.

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Your goal is always to surpass your mentors in mastery and brilliance. So how do you do that?

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Well, he gives some great examples in the book, top four at the very end of the chapter,

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and through his storytelling he has

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a nice example about michael faraday who when

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he was apprenticing in a bookbinding shop came across a night no 17 pardon me

2:47

41 book called improvement of the mind a self-help guide written by reverend

2:55

isaac watts and for watts learning had to be an active process.

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He recommended not just reading about scientific discoveries,

3:04

but actually recreating the experiments that led to them, the importance of

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having teachers, and not just learning from books.

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Taking detailed notes from lectures, then reworking the notes themselves.

3:16

All of this imprinting the knowledge deeper in the brain.

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And Faraday took it even further.

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And he says, but science does not consist of the accumulation of information.

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It is a way of thinking, of approaching problems. The scientific spirit is creative.

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Faraday knew he needed to move to the inside where he could gain practical hands-on experience,

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become part of the community and learn how

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to think like a scientist and thinking

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skills is one of those that you can work

3:50

your way up with if you've been watching the

3:53

show for a while you know that my son my bright

3:57

and dry one of the classes he took in

4:01

high school and this was optional was literally

4:04

called thinking skills he's the

4:07

only one in his class that took it kind of important

4:10

guys right and he goes on to

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say that faraday through his vigilance

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and eventually finding his

4:20

mentor because he remained ready and open to opportunities he went on to become

4:27

one of history's greatest practitioners of experimental science far outshining

4:32

the fame of his one-time mentor whoa don't outshine the master right first law of power.

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Well, sometimes you have to move on when you're ready because like Leonardo

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said, you're not doing yourself any favor if you hold yourself back.

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Why do we hold ourselves back?

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He says, we must admit there are people out there who know our field much more deeply than we do.

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Their superiority is not a function of natural talent or privilege,

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but rather of time and and experience.

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Understand, all that should concern you in the early stages of your career is

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acquiring practical knowledge in the most efficient manner possible.

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For this purpose, during the apprentice phase, you will need mentors whose authority

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you recognize, to whom you submit.

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Your admission of need does not say anything essential about you,

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but only about your temporary condition of weakness, which your mentor will

5:32

help you overcome. They'll help you overcome this.

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The reason you require a mentor is simple. Life is short. You have only so much

5:40

time and so much energy to expend.

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And I don't think he means that's a shortcut for you either.

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Because he says mentors do not give you a shortcut, but they streamline the process.

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Your knowledge and experience becomes yours.

5:54

They can direct you away from unnecessary side paths or errors.

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They observe you at work and provide real-time feedback, making your practice more time efficient.

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Their advice is tailored to your circumstances and your needs.

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Working closely with them, you absorb the essence of their creative spirit,

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which you can now adapt in your own way.

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What took you 10 years on your own could have been done in 5, with proper direction.

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There's more than just saving time here. When we learn something in a concentrated

6:28

manner, it has added value. We experience fewer distractions.

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What we learn is internalized more deeply because the intensity of our focus

6:39

and practice, our own ideas and development flourish more naturally in this shortened time frame.

6:48

Having an efficient apprenticeship, we can make the most of our useful energy

6:52

and our creative potential. So what makes this mentor-protege dynamic so intense and so productive is the

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emotional quality of the relationship.

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By nature, mentors feel emotionally invested in your education.

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This can be for several reasons. Perhaps they like you or see in you a younger version of themselves and can

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relive their own youth through you.

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Perhaps they recognize in you a special talent. that will give them pleasure to cultivate.

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Perhaps you have something important to offer them.

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And he does speak here at length about your use because between 20 to 50,

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he says 20 to 40, but I'm going to stretch that to 50, the energy you have,

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the amount of times that you can bounce back after pulling an all-nighter or

7:50

just focusing and really,

7:53

really powering down on what you're doing.

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And that's when you become in the zone and in the flow, right?

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But you're never too old to learn.

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You're never too old to retool and regroup. And actually, there was an article

8:07

in Forbes just the other day that said people.

8:11

In their 60s plus are reentering the workforce. And I'm thrilled about that

8:16

because they have the expertise. But let's continue. you. So what is this teacher-student dynamic?

8:22

What makes it work so well? Why should you do it?

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Well, when you admire people, you become more susceptible to absorbing and imitating

8:31

everything they do. You pay deeper attention.

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Your mirror neurons are more engaged, allowing for learning that involves more

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than superficial transmission of knowledge, but also includes a style and a

8:44

way of thinking that is often powerful.

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Think of it this way. The process of learning resembles the medieval practice of alchemy.

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In alchemy, the goal was to find a way to transform base metals or stones into gold.

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To effect this, alchemists searched for what was known as the philosopher's

9:05

stone, a substance that would make dead stones or metals come alive and organically

9:10

change their chemical compound composition into gold.

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The mentor is like the philosopher's stone.

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Through direct interaction with someone of experience, you're able to quickly

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and efficiently heat up and animate this knowledge, turning it into something like gold.

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The mentor is like the philosopher's stone. And he circles back here to Faraday

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and how he spent eight years with his mentor, learning in the amounts of science and chemistry.

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And he became the inventor

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of electromagnetism as a

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result and it just dawned on him one day isn't that

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exciting i think that's super exciting he says

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if faraday had stayed on the path of self apprenticeship out of fear or insecurity

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he would have remained a bookbinder miserable and unfulfilled through the alchemy

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of intense mentorship he transformed

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himself into one of of the most creative scientists in history.

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Did you hear that? If he had stayed on the path of self-apprenticeship out of fear.

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There's nothing to fear but fear itself. Everything you want is on the other side of fear.

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I did a whole episode just about fear. You can link that in the show notes.

10:30

It's absolutely fascinating.

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So how do you do this? How do you find the mentor that's right for you,

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that's going to help you get on the other side of fear?

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Well, he says, to initially entice the right master to serve as your mentor,

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you want to mix in a strong element of self-interest.

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You have something tangible and practical to offer

10:51

them in addition to your use and energy if you

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work on yourself first developing a solid work ethic

10:58

and organizational skills eventually the right

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teacher will appear in your life and they'll

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appear in your life because they will

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recognize the ability to transfer their experience

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and knowledge to someone younger often provides them with

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great pleasure akin to parenting I like

11:17

that they can train you think on a higher

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level and to make connections between different forms of knowledge and gives

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a great example here about how Aristotle was a mentor to 13 year old Alexander

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the Great because the philosopher had learned and mastered so many different

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fields he could thus impart to Alexander Alexander,

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an overall love of learning and teaching how to think and reason in any kind of situation,

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the greatest skill of all.

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What was that? Yeah, how to think and reason in any kind of situation.

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You will want as much personal interaction with the mentor as possible.

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A virtual relationship is never enough. Stay tuned.

12:06

But he says there are cues and subtle aspects you can only pick up through a

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person-to-person interaction, such as a way of doing things that has evolved

12:17

through much experience. And that's going back to the pattern of motion and mirror neurons and thought process.

12:24

But this process of absorption is also

12:28

relevant to non-manual skills it was

12:31

only through constant exposure in his example with

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faraday to his master davy that faraday

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understood the power of finding a crucial experiment to demonstrate an idea

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something would adapt later on was great success yeah being around presence

12:48

of greatness who do you surround yourself with he says although Although one mentor at a time is best,

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it's not always possible to find the perfect one.

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If your circumstances limit your contacts, books can serve as temporary mentors,

13:03

as the improvement of mind did for Faraday.

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In such a case, you will want to convert such books and writers into living

13:11

mentors as much as possible.

13:14

You personalize their voice, interact with the material, taking notes,

13:18

or writing in the margins. Whoops, that's me.

13:22

You analyze what they write and try to make it come alive, the spirit and not

13:28

just the letter of their work. He says, through much research and some imagination on your part,

13:35

you turn them into a living presence. You ask yourself, what would they do in this situation?

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And I would add to that, what would they say in this situation?

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How would they act in this situation? It's a powerful, powerful way. he says

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in any event you will probably have several mentors in

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your life like stepping stones along

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the way to mastery at each phase of life you must find the appropriate teachers

14:02

getting what you want out of them moving on and feeling no shame for this it

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is a path your own mentor we took and it is the way of the world okay,

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Now we're getting to the real meat of this, strategies for deepening the mentor dynamic.

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Oh, and he has this great quote here to start. It's from Nietzsche.

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One repays a teacher badly if one remains only a pupil.

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I like that. So he's going to do four strategies that are designed to help you

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exploit the relationship to the fullest and transform the knowledge you gain into creative energy.

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Number one, choose the mentor according to your needs and inclinations.

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The choice of the right mentor is more important than you might imagine.

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So much of your future that's influenced upon you can be deeper than you're consciously aware of.

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Your own choice can have a net negative effect.

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In selecting a mentor, you will want to keep in mind your inclinations and life's

15:12

tasks. The future position you envision for yourself, the mentor you choose

15:17

should be strategically aligned with this.

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And that was the first episode about your life's task.

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And he says, remember, the mentor dynamic replays something of the parental

15:29

or father figure dynamic. It's a cliche that you do not get to choose the family you were born into,

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but you are happily free to choose your mentors.

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In this case, the right choice can perhaps provide you with what your parents didn't give you.

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Support, confidence, direction, space to discover things on your own.

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Look for mentors who can do that and beware of falling into the opposite trap.

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Opting for a mentor who resembles one of your parents, including all of his

16:06

negative traits, you will merely repeat what hampered you in the first place.

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Number two, gaze deep into the mentor's mirror.

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To reach mastery requires some toughness and a constant connection to reality.

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As an apprentice, it can be hard for us to challenge ourselves on our own in

16:28

proper ways and get a clear sense of our own weakness.

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Masters are those who by nature have suffered to get where they are.

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They've experienced endless criticisms

16:39

of their work, doubts about their progress, setbacks along the way.

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They know deep in their bones what is required to get to the creative phase and beyond.

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Accustom yourself to criticism.

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Confidence is important, but it is not based on a realistic appraisal of who you are.

17:01

It is mere grandiosity and smugness.

17:06

Through the realistic feedback of your mentor, you will eventually develop a

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confidence that is much more substantial and worth assessing.

17:17

Number three, transfigure their ideas. Ideas.

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As apprentices, we all share in this dilemma.

17:25

Children from mentors must be open and completely receptive to their ideas.

17:30

We must fall under their spell. But if we take this too far,

17:34

we become so marked by their influence that we have no internal space to incubate

17:39

and develop our own voice. And we spend our lives tied to ideas that are not our own.

17:46

Even as we listen and incorporate the ideas of our mentors, we must slowly cultivate

17:51

some distance from them. We begin by gently adapting their ideas for our circumstances,

17:57

altering them to fit our style and inclinations.

18:00

As we progress, we can become bolder, even focusing on faults or weaknesses in some of their ideas.

18:06

We slowly mold their knowledge into our own shape. As we grow in confidence

18:12

and contemplate our independence, we can even grow competitive with the mentor we once worshipped.

18:19

And back to Leonardo da Vinci, where I opened with, four is the apprentice who

18:24

does not surpass his master. What would Leonardo do, right? And number four, create a back and forth dynamic.

18:34

Why is that important? Well, once a back and forth dynamic is sparked, aren't. The relationship has

18:39

almost limitless potential for learning and absorbing power.

18:45

In theory, there should be no limit to what we can learn from mentors who have

18:49

wide experience, but in practice, this is rarely the case. The reasons are several.

18:54

At some point in the relationship, it can become flat. It is difficult for us

18:59

to maintain the same level of attention that we had in the beginning.

19:02

We might come to resent their authority a little, especially as we gain in skill

19:06

and difference between us become somewhat less.

19:10

Also, they come from a different generation with a different worldview.

19:14

At a certain point, some of their cherished principles might seem a bit out

19:18

of touch or irrelevant, and we unconsciously tune them out.

19:23

The only solution is to evolve a more interactive dynamic with the mentor.

19:29

If they can adapt to some of your ideas, a relationship becomes more animated.

19:34

Feeling a growing openness on your part to your input.

19:38

You are less resentful. You are revealing to them your own experiences and ideas,

19:43

perhaps loosening them up so their principles don't harden into dogma.

19:48

Such a style of interaction is more in tune with our democratic times.

19:52

We can serve as something as an ideal, but it should not go along with a rebellious

20:00

attitude or a lessening in respect.

20:03

Bring to the relationship the utmost in admiration and your total attention.

20:10

Attention, you are completely open to their instruction, gaining their respect

20:17

for how teachable you are. They will fall a little bit under your spell.

20:22

I like that. With your intense focus, you have proven skill levels,

20:29

giving you the power to introduce more of yourself and your needs.

20:33

This must begin with you as you set the tone with your hunger to learn.

20:38

Once a back and support dynamic is sparked, the relationship has almost limitless

20:43

potential for learning and absorbing power.

20:46

But what if you can't find a mentor? Well, he says, it's never wise to purposely

20:52

do without the benefits of having a mentor in your life.

20:54

You will waste valuable time in finding and shaping what you need to know.

20:58

But sometimes you have no choice.

21:02

There is simply no one around you who can fill this role, and you are left to your own devices.

21:07

In such a case, you must make a virtue of necessity.

21:12

That was the path taken by perhaps the greatest historical figure to ever attain

21:17

mastery alone, Thomas Alva Edison.

21:22

Mm-hmm. He says, if you are forced onto this path, you must follow Edison's

21:27

example by developing extreme self-reliance.

21:31

Under these circumstances, you become your own teacher and mentor.

21:34

You push yourself to learn from every possible source. You read more books than

21:40

those who have a formal education. Developing this into a lifelong habit. As much as possible, you try to apply

21:49

your knowledge in some form of experiment or practice.

21:52

You find for yourself second-degree mentors in the form of public figures who

21:57

can serve as role models. Reading and reflecting on their experiences, you can gain some guidance.

22:04

You try to make their ideas come to life, internalizing their voice.

22:09

As someone self-taught, you will maintain a pristine vision.

22:14

Completely distilled through your own experiences, giving you a distinctive

22:18

power and path, the mastery.

22:23

So no excuses. You can do it, right? And he ends with a quote here,

22:27

To learn by example is to submit to authority.

22:30

You follow your master because you trust his manner of doing things,

22:34

even when you cannot analyze and account in detail for its effectiveness.

22:38

By watching the master and emulating his efforts, the apprentice unconsciously

22:43

picks up the rules of the art, including those which are not explicitly known

22:49

to the master himself, Michael Polanyi.

22:52

And a prime example of this is now that you know that you have the power within you,

23:00

get to parent yourself you get to take control of yourself and you get to be

23:06

a mentor to others a role model a positive one and in doing so you will live a more inspired life,

23:17

well if you like the show share it with somebody you know and hey hit that subscribe

23:20

button give us a thumbs up. You do not want to miss the next chapter. I'll see you then.