#148 The mastery shortcut

Hello, friends.

The fastest path to mastery and empathy is teaching.

When you’re gaining knowledge and skills, the road is curvy. It winds around in your mind like a parkway through a mountain range. As your competence and confidence develop, the road gets straighter and the fog lifts.

Teaching blazes the shortcut to mastery.

This isn’t a new concept. As long as there has been craftsman, masters taught apprentices, who became masters themselves and taught the next generation.

Think of carpenters and calligraphers. Even martial arts disciplines require the senior levels to teach tactics and techniques to their fellow juniors.

Even though I’d achieved a high level of proficiency as a golfer, I didn’t truly understand the golf swing (or why mine was effective) until I taught lessons to others.

My kids recently eclipsed 18 months of playing the piano, culminating with a recital. They’re making good progress. Two weeks ago my wife and I asked them to start teaching us to play. Already I can see the rate and depth of learning accelerate.

When it comes to leading teams or running a business, the same approach holds true.

I’m always on the lookout for opportunities to share what I’m learning with someone else who is curious to learn. And when I don’t have anyone, I picture someone in my mind when I journal or publish here at NFTF.

Until next time,

David

P.S. Looks like an interesting browser to try: Mighty
P.P.S. Jack Carr's new James Reece novel doesn't disappoint: In the Blood