Be the Master
Be the Master
Third Edition
About the Book
"Wouldn't you rather your life be measured by the number of lives you've helped succeed?"
In the Really Old Days, much of our working-class society revolved around Masters, who would take on apprentices and bring them up in a trade. We've mostly lost that kind of education in our everyday lives, and it's a shame. Part of the reason is that, as individuals, we often fail to recognize that we even have something worth teaching and sharing, or because we don't feel we've achieved a sufficient level of success to be seen as "Master" by someone else. That's all wrong. Every one of us has something to offer, and we're more than worthy. Sure, maybe you need a certain level of success in order to carve out the time to help others, but that's a straightforward journey.
That's what this book is all about. It's a way to recognize that you are worthy of sharing what you know. It's a step-by-step, actionable guide to defining and achieving whatever you see as "success." And it's a way of using that success to help other people achieve theirs - and in turn becoming even more successful yourself. Be the Master is the ultimate story of win-win, full of mythbusting, real-world tips, and proofs that you can do this.
This all-new Third Edition has been reorganized to provide a better and more actionable experience for readers. New anecdotes, shared by readers of previous editions, show you how Mastery can work for anyone, every day, and how it not only elevates your own opinion of yourself, but lets you firmly define and achieve success in a way you may simply have never considered.
BONUS: Purchasing the book via Leanpub also gives you "The Grind" workbook, in PDF format, free of charge, accessible via Leanpub's "extras" features. You can print this yourself or use it electronically, at your discretion.
“Wouldn’t you rather live in a world where you helped one person take even one tiny step forward than in one where you didn’t?”
You can live in that world, and you can start doing it today. By the end of the book, your only regret will be that you didn't start sooner.
About the Author
Table of Contents
-
- Introduction
- How This Book is Organized
- The Grind
-
Part 1: Starting Over
- Timothy the Blacksmith
- Our Toxic Relationship with Education
- What About College?
- Finding an Apprentice: You ARE Worthy
- A Diversity of Perspective
- Knowing it All
- Confidence vs. Arrogance
- Having vs. Getting
- Failure and Fear
- Laziness
-
Part 2: Steps to Mastery
-
The Path to Mastery
- 1. Define Success
- 2. Know Yourself
- 3. Define Yourself
- 4. Look Around You (and Look Closely)
- 5. Make a Plan (and Get Permission)
- 6. Execute, Study, Adjust
- 7. Find Your Audience
-
Attitudes of Mastery
- What is the Problem?
- Plan to Fail
- Create Safe Smithies
- Make Room for Progress, Rather than Making Progress
- Be a Master of More than Just Your Job
- Start with First Principles
-
The Path to Mastery
-
Part 3: The Grind™
- Using The Grind
-
Step 1: Define The Grind
- Define Success
- Know Yourself
- Define Yourself
- Teaching Catalog
-
Apprentices
- Review
-
Step 2: Monthly Plans
- Life Rules
- Needs Improvement
- My Current Plan
- Step 3: Weekly Plans
- Step 4: Weekly Reviews
- Make it a Habit
-
Part 4: Being a Master
- Masters Teach
- Masters Protect
- Masters Learn
- Masters Improve
- Masters Innovate
- Masters Unite
- Masters Leave
-
Part 5: Rules for Life
-
Be Your Word
- 1: Never Promise What You Can’t Deliver
- 2: Always Deliver What You Promised
- 3: Be Easy to Work With
- Be Detailed and Precise
- Cut Your Losses When the Time Is Right
- Be Friendly in the Face of Adversity
- Own Your Own Life
- Let Blue Sky Mode Happen
- Manage Your Time
- Communicate Well, Always
- Respect the Yellow Line
-
Be Your Word
-
Part 6: Being a Master at Work
-
- The Pitch for Mastery at Work
- Hurdles to Mastery at Work
- Mastery in the Workplace in Three Easy Steps
-
-
Part 7: Parting Sthoughts
- 1. On Success
- 2. It’s Never Too Early to Teach
- 3. Failing Doesn’t Mean Failure
- 4. Not Everything is All or Nothing
- 5. Mastery: Teaching More than Tasks
- 6. Unstructured Apprenticeships
- 7. Why I Teach
- 8. “Teaching”
- 9. How’s Your Grind?
- 10. Everyone’s Afraid
- 11. Information, Part 1
- 12. Information, Part 2
- 13. Finding the Time
- 14. Committing to Yourself
- 15. Knowing Yourself
- 16. Define Yourself
- And, in Closing
- Afterword
-
Keep in Touch
- Acknowledgements
- Suggested Reading
- Notes
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