I originally began to understand the attribute of mastery differently when I read “Mastery: The Keys to Success and Long-Term Fulfillment” by George Leonard several years ago. It was written in 1992, but seems to have even more relevance to our experiences today, and some sections are just prophetic in terms of our economic problems today. This book was different than the typical quickie self-help book. It was actually the opposite.

I remembered a passage that stuck with me:

Living life as a contingency

Contingencies, no question about it, are important. The achievement of goals is important.

But the real juice of life, whether it be sweet or bitter, is to be found not nearly so much in the products of our efforts as in the process of living itself, in how it feels to be alive.

George Leonard
Mastery: The Keys to Success and Long-Term Fulfillment (1992)

I have thought about these ideas quite often. The life of contingencies really haunted me for awhile. I could relate to that experience growing up. I didn’t want that to be the experience of my children if I could help it.

He goes on to describe the fact that our progress on the path of mastery , in learning any new skill involves relatively brief spurts of progress, each of which is followed by a slight decline to a plateau somewhat higher in most cases than that which preceded it. He says, you have to be willing to spend most of your time on a plateau, to keep practicing even when you seem to be getting nowhere.

[excerpt from my Minnesota Council for the Gifted and Talented State Conference presentation: Don't Fence Me In - Mastery, Creativity, and Adventure in the Home Education of Bright Children]