Mastery Mondays #3: The Dabbler, The Obsessive, and The Hacker
The path to mastery is sometimes difficult and offers no easy shortcut. Not everyone is cut out to do what it takes to become the best in their industry, in their sport, or even in their relationships. See if you can see yourself in these descriptions:
The Dabbler
The Dabbler is the kind of person who makes a great start but follows up with a weak finish. The Dabbler approaches each new career, new project, or new relationship with great enthusiasm. He or she loves the getting ready part and the newness of starting something fresh.
The Dabbler loves starting a new job, getting a new office, and talking about how great the opportunities are. Then he/she hits a plateau. Maybe this job isn’t so great after all. Maybe it’s time to start looking for something different again.
The Obsessive
The Obsessive certainly has a goal of becoming the best of the best. She is focused on results and puts in long hard hours to get everything just right. She goes to all the seminars and courses. She reads all the books and listens to all the CD’s.
There is much progress at first. Then she hits the plateau. Unwilling to accept it, she redoubles her efforts and pushes herself almost to exhaustion. She refuses to accept the advice of others who encourage her to be more balanced. She tempted to take short cuts and her work suffers even more.
Progress comes in spurts, followed by steep declines, until it all falls apart. When that happens, the Obsessive is hurt along with family, friends, and colleagues.
The Hacker
The Hacker is cut from a different cloth altogether. After a mediocre start, he is willing to stay on the plateau forever. He really isn’t trying to become the best. He never goes to seminars or training courses, never reads the right books, and skips the important meetings that are essential to growing his business or relationships.
He does just enough to get by and follows the path of least resistance. He just can’t figure out why success doesn’t come his way. He feels short-changed. The path to mastery is just too much work. He would much rather just goof off with fellow hackers.
Keep in mind that it is possible to be a Dabbler in relationships and a Master at work. You can be a Hacker at golf and a Master at your profession -or vice versa. However, more often than not one of these descriptions will be the dominant characteristic in your life.
If you see yourself in one of these descriptions you are beginning to understand why you are NOT on the path to mastery. Understanding this is the first step to doing something about it.
Next week we’ll look at The War Against Mastery.
(This series is inspired by my reading journal of the book “Mastery: The Keys To Success And Long-Term Fulfillment” by George Leonard.)
(Copyright © 2008 By Dan Forbes, All Rights Reserved.)
 Dan Forbes, PL is a licensed Broker-Associate and Certified Residential Specialist. He leads the Forbes Advantage Team at RE/MAX Gulfstream Realty’s Lakewood Ranch Office in Bradenton, Florida.To learn more about buying a home or selling a home in the Bradenton - Sarasota Florida Real Estate market please visit Dan on the web at BradentonFloridaRealEstate.com ; TheRealEstateZoo.com ; The-Short-Sale-Expert.com ; and BradentonRealEstateClub.com
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