Mastery by Robert Greene

Summary

A different kind of self-help book for those who do not want just feel good advice but solid paths that can lead to fulfillment in terms of doing something you are passionate about and being a master of the field you have chosen. I recommend this book to all traders.

Review

Robert Greene is the best selling author of a number of books that explore history and human psychology. For this book, Mastery, he deviated from his most familiar topics and delve into the self-help genre. In his own words, Robert Greene thinks there is a lack of self-help books with indepth exploration on the subject hence he chose to tackle the task in a way no one else has done before. The result, Mastery, has generated mixed responses from his fans and new readers.

Mr. Greene defines mastery as a state of all-knowing where the person having both extensive knowledge of a subject and the ability to see past accepted beliefs of the subject when being put into a situation where the evidence does not support those beliefs. Many examples are used to support the concept from both historical figures and modern masters. A pretty extensive conjecture is made on how one can embark on the journey of self discovery to become a master of certain skills.

The writing style of Mr. Greene has done a great job in the other books he has written. But when it comes to the self-help genre, he is facing a different group of readers for which many are not receptive to his approach. His writing style and the message delivered in the book is completely different from the other self-help books that in general focus on making the readers feel good about themselves.

So, this is a self-help book that does not really give exact advice to the readers. Instead it is an investigation into what people can do to explore what is possible and where their talent lies. It may not work out for everyone as Mr. Greene stated in the book. At the end not everyone can become a master in their field. What Mr. Greene points out in the book is that to acheive mastery in a field, if you are up to the challenge, has certain patterns to follow.

In summary, I like the message delievered in the book because I went through multiple transformations within my trading career so I see the beauty in which Mr. Greene has grasped in terms of the essence necessary to become a master of anything. The way the book was written, however, can use a slightly different format to improve the readability. I recommend this book to all traders who like to acheive some kind of breakthrough in their trading careers but lack the ideas on how to approach the problem.

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