I was able to continue my reading of Mastery this week.  I am learning that mastery of anything is not easy, and the journey to mastery is never really over.  I am learning that it takes more than self-discipline and determination to become a master.  George Leonard lists the following 5 keys on the journey to mastery.  Key 1: Instruction, Key 2: Practice, Key 3: Surrender, Key 4: Intentionality and Key 5: The Edge.  He teaches that the key to mastery is recognizing that the journey to mastering anything is never really over.

I was also able to read the talk from N. Eldon Tanner, "Success Is Gauged by Self-Mastery."  I loved the instruction given in this talk.  Elder Tanner taught that we must master ourselves first in order to find success.  He quoted DaVinci when he said, "You will never have a greater of lesser dominion than that over yourself....'the height of a man's success is gauged by his self-master; the depth of his failure by his self-abandonment...and this law is the expression of eternal justice.  He who cannot establish dominion over himself will have no dominion over others."  I was struck by the truth of this statement and how it relates to all aspects of my life.  The greatest thing we will master in this life is the mastery of ourself.  I'm grateful for the gospel of Jesus Christ, and for His Atonement so I can continue to try to become more like Him and overcome the natural man.

Maybe I should change the title of my blog to "Become the Master of Something."  I was able to read the first few chapters of "Mastery" this week and have found so much of what I have been lacking for so long.  George Leonard is the author of this book and described three different types of people who aim to master something.  One of these is "The Dabbler," which describes a person who approaches any new hobby or interest with great enthusiasm, loves the process of getting things set up, but tends to fall off the plateau when the journey to mastery gets really difficult.  They tend to rationalize quitting with numerous excuses.

I have done this many times over my life, except in my family relationships.  I have always told myself when I quit something that I have simply lost interest in it. I haven't learned to love the plateau, which is something I am going to work on.  I know that patience is a virtue that I need to master, and that the process of becoming patient will be long and sometimes painful.  I need to learn to love the times when i'm learning and not expect instant gratification on my path of learning.

I finished reading the Ministry of Business, by Steven Hitz and James Ritchie this week.  I loved how this book demonstrated how we can successfully navigate and incorporate spiritual truths to not only make us successful in business, but also in our personal lives.  In one section of the book they talk about writing a Personal Constitution, which is essentially a plan for your life.  This assignment was an opportunity for me to ponder who I am and who I want to become, and set both long and short-term goals to accomplish those goals.  After you break down your short-term goals, you then turn them into daily tasks so you are consistently working towards achieving your dreams.

I am a pretty organized person, but have always struggled in the past to set goals.  I understand the importance of them, but I have a hard time implementing them into my life.  I know that finishing my Personal Constitution will take more time than a weeks assignment, but I am determined to do it.