Mastery

I certainly didn't get the book from the first read. The writing is superb but there's so much information, it's hard to connect the dots. I can say for sure it shows the breadth of mastery. I don't worry that I've probably missed most of this book. It was a real pleasure to read.

Greene discovers aspects of mastery through lives of renowned masters. Just look at the list of them:
John Coltrane (jazz player), Freddie Roach (boxing trainer), Temple Gradin (animal behavior consultant), Michael Faraday (scientist), Paul Graham (entrepreneur), Teresita Fernández (sculptor), Orville and Wilbur Wright (inventors), Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (writer), Leonardo da Vinci (polymath), Hakuin Ekaku (zen master) and many, many others.

They are very different. Greene shows what's common in their paths to attaining mastery and what kind of strategies they've used. You can probably use it as a blueprint for your own mastery. Or even better, put your mastery into perspective.

By the way, Greene's own career wasn't easy. Before becoming an author, Greene estimates that he worked 80 jobs, including as a construction worker, translator, magazine editor, and Hollywood movie writer. No idea, how he became such a good author, I wish he wrote a chapter about himself and his research.