By Engr. Carlos V. Cornejo
In this harshly competitive, technology centered, globalized marketplace it might be tough to get a good paying job. Companies are outsourcing work to people thousands of miles away, who produce high quality work for a fraction of the cost. Soon artificial intelligence will be powerful enough to replace all truck drivers, bank tellers, and language translators. Eventually AI (artificial intelligence) will do all work that doesn’t require a great deal of creativity.
To become irreplaceable in this very competitive marketplace, we need to attain Mastery. If we can attain Mastery, we will unlock a higher intelligence and creative ability that will be hard to outsource and difficult to automate. This great book by Robert Greene, entitled “Mastery” recommends three essential mindsets to attain mastery: primal curiosity, learning above everything else, and unique combination.
Primal Curiosity
When Albert Einstein was five, his father gave him a compass. As he examined the compass, he was completely mesmerized by the invisible force that moved the needle. It made him wonder “What other undiscovered or less understood forces exist in the world?”
This early experience hinted at a primal curiosity for Einstein that would fuel his obsessive drive for the remaining decades of his life. The first mindset we must adopt is to re‐discover and stay connected to our primal curiosity as we navigate our career decisions.
In my case, primal curiosity was triggered when I started to learn Catholic doctrine. I was fascinated with the reasonability of the Catholic faith. I found the teachings logical at the same time consistent with human experience. My curiosity led me to explore philosophy which is a tool to connect faith with reason, and learn to use it with the master theologian of all time St. Thomas Aquinas’ through his book, Summa Theologiae. And thanks to the great interpreter of St. Thomas, Dr. Peter Kreeft, of whom I owe a lot in understanding the teachings of the Summa with his masterful detailed explanation of it in his books.
The author recommends journaling 20 minutes a day to better understand and reconnect with your primal curiosity. Remove yourself from distraction and write fast and freely for twenty minutes on things you find interesting. What works for me, for my journaling, is to type or write down anything I find interesting from my book readings and try to ponder on those notes if a newspaper article could be written about it or just use it as a future reference.
Learning Above Everything Else
The master boxing coach, Freddie Roach, started a coaching apprenticeship at night while working as a telemarketer in Las Vegas during the day. Without being asked, he began to hang around a boxing gym every night and show the young boxers some tips he picked up as a boxer in his late teens and early twenties.
Roach gave up common comforts and did not waste time on other things to advance his learning. Eventually, with enough 1‐on‐1 personalized training at the gym, he had sufficient skill and trust from young boxers to set up his own business. And the rest is history as he became a renowned boxing coach and would go on to work with and train great boxing champions, like our very own, Manny Pacquiao.
The second mindset of Mastery is to prioritize learning above all else even if it means taking lower pay, getting zero recognition for your work, facing harsh criticism, and enduring long hours of tedious work because it will pay off in the long run.
Unique Combination
Robotics engineer Yoky Matusoka reconnected with her fascination of the human hand. With a base level of skill and the help of her robotics professor, she was able to manifest her primal curiosity. After years of work, Matsuoka designed the most advanced robotic hand of its kind.
But she didn’t stop there. Connected to her primal curiosity, she was eager to understand how the brain commanded the hand to move. Matsuoka turned her attention to getting a doctorate in neuroscience. Having advanced knowledge, skill, and experience in two fields: robotics and neuroscience, she combined the two and created a new field in the science community called neurobotics.
This is the third essential mindset to Mastery. By combining seemingly different skills and experiences in a unique way, you can carve out a niche field where you are considered a one of kind.
“Ultimately you create a field that is uniquely your own…you have found a niche that is not crowded with competitors. You have freedom to roam, to pursue particular questions that interest you. You set your own agenda and command the resources available to this niche.
Unburdened by overwhelming competition and politicking, you have time and space to bring to flower your Life’s Task (your primal curiosity)” – Robert Greene
