from cover 'George Leonard is a remarkable man who embodies what he teaches: an amazing curiosity, a passionate intelligence, and the rare combination of someone who has both a broad vision and the focused mastery of details.'-Dean Ornish Drawing on Zen philosophy and his experise in the martial art of aikido, bestselling author George Leonard shows how the process of mastery can help us attain a higher level of excellence and a deeper sense of satisfaction and fulfillment in our daily lives. whether you're seeking to improve your career or your intimate realtionships, increase self-esteem or create harmony within yourself, this inspiring prescriptive guide will help you master anything you choose and achieve success in all areas of your life. 'If he's right-and Leonard has been right so many times about prevailing zeitgeists that you have to wonder if he has a third eye-the upcoming decade might be known as the decade of mastery.'-San Francisco Chronicle 'George Leonard translates the wisdom of Zen into a self-help program for sticking with it-whether you want to learn aikido or need support in realizing long-held goals.'-The New Age Journal Contents Introduction Part One: The Master's Journey Introduction 1. What is Mastery? 2. Meet the Dabbler, the Obsessive, and the Hacker 3. America's War Against Mastery 4. Loving the Plateau Part Two: The Five Master Keys Introdukciton 5. Key 1: Instruction 6. Key 2: Practice 7. Key 3: Surrender 8. Key 4: Intentionality 9. Key 5: The Edge Part Three: Tools for Mastery Introduction 10: Why Resolutions Fail-and What to Do About It 11. Getting Energy for Mastery 12. Pitfalls Along the Path 13. Mastering the Commonplace 14. Packing for the Journey Epilogue: The Master and the Fool

Read this in parallel with "Art of Learning" by Joshua Waitzkin. All the lessons taught in Leonard's book are a subset of those in Waitzkin's. ( )

Read this on a whim based on a Metafilter comment. It's basically a book about how to learn stuff good. Pretty interesting - to me, the two biggest points are that plateaus in learning are fine and that preconceptions can be very harmful. I think much of this book is common sense but it is nice to see it all in one place. It also kind of makes me want to learn Aikido. It was a quick read, and enjoyable enough. Overall I'm glad I read it, and the concepts he has distilled will probably stick with me into the future. ( )

Now a classic in the self help category; this little book asks us to resist the temptation to become a "dabbler," and instead stick with something until we excel at it. Motivational and to-the-point. And who doesn't want long-term fulfillment? ( )

A book everyone should read, smacks the modern give-it-me-now viewpoint in the face with a dose of stuff-takes-time-so-suck-it-up reality. ( )