by Robert Greene
Find a niche that is not crowded
- Choose your field of interest. Ho into a side/narrow field you like -> unoccupied narrow niche = your unique field
- First master one field of interest. Then a second one, combine them to make novel connections and create a new field
- Then widen your search and expand in other fields.
Ground yourself to reality and be aware of your inadequacies
- Essential to begin with ONE skill that you can master. Avoid at all cost the thinking that you can handle multiple skills at one time.
- Accept boredom/hardness at the beginning of learning. Pain is a challenge.
Be present
- Two hours of intense concentration » eight hours of diffused attention
Observe yourself
- Learn where you want to improve.
- Vary what you do to make it more interesting and find the best ways to learn (if you expect different results from doing the same things you are insane).
- Make sure to practice hard and keep being challenged.
Ideal Apprenticeship
- Value Learning over Money and everything else. Opt for opportunities that can teach you the most.
- Train yourself to get by with little money and make the most of your energy.
Feel inferior
- Accept that you don’t know everything and can learn from anyone.
- Be present and be in a state of wonder and absorption of information.
We tend to avoid our weaknesses
- Dispersed attention to that
- Conventional practice (you follow what you do)
Practice Resistance
- resist the temptation to be nice to yourself
- Recognize your weaknesses
- Focus
- Resist on easing up
- Double the intensity
- Be creative for exercises that work for your weaknesses
- Give yourself deadlines
- Set your State of excellence to be higher
- Treat Mistakes and failures as opportunities to learn
- Choose tasks that are ambitious so you have to rise to the challenge
CULTIVATE NEGATIVE CAPABILITY
- Capable of negating your ego
- Experience what you are seeing without needing to judge
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