Mastery Vs. Art - Perfection Or Calling?

We commonly refer to the best investors as Masters Of The Universe. But what’s beyond mastery? Is doing your share of 10,000 hours enough to become a master? Or is there more?

Once you have become a master, it’s almost like intuition. You’re no longer competing with others, but with yourself. Self-mastery is what successful CEOs are all about. They have an edge, because they live life on their own terms. You're perfect... almost.

Once you become aware of your limitations, your next step is to overcome them. And once you overcome them - you teach others. The student becomes the master - it’s been this way for centuries. And only when you teach, can you become a true master.

When you teach a subject, your mind processes information differently. You transform that information, mould it into wisdom as if playing with clay and then impart it to others. Rather than just regurgitate it - you create your own version of it.

And yet, mastery is not the peak.

There’s another higher calling - the call to become an artist. This is when your destiny calls, and whatever you’ve learned suddenly becomes irrelevant. You’ve surpassed mastery for destiny - where you actually change the world. Here, you find joy in what you do, and no longer wish to profit from it. When you embrace this new calling - you start the journey and provide your gift to the world… it becomes your life’s work.

Seth Godin