From Mastery to Effortless Mastery, my end of the year presents

Jazz has always been a way to find his way into my life. I think even in everyone's life if you listen carefully to the everyday whispers of life. This year it came back in the shape of concerts, one in particular that made me deeply happy. It also surprised me as it unexpectedly brought me back to a topic I'm currently fascinated about and exploring mastery.

Is it true that it takes at least 10.000 hours to master a thing? Is it true that mastery comes from some sort of devotion daily applied into practice? How do you find your path to mastery? What about your "call"? The classic millennial questions, right?

Two books came to me at the end of the year and fascinated me.

The first found me through earbuds. Walking through Brussels' cobblestone streets. In fact, I was listening to Andrew Huberman's podcast, just a few months ago. I've been listening to his podcast since 2022 and found him deeply interesting. This time, the young Stanford neuroscientist was interviewing Robert Greene about his book "Mastery". What caught my ear wasn't the usual discussion of dopamine or cold showers. This time Huberman was confessing how this single book had architected his entire professional journey: Mastery.

Here's the full podcast episode.

The second book came through a chance encounter. On a winter evening, while I was with a dear friend at Brussels' Flagey concert hall, after watching Robert Glasper perform, I found myself in line to meet him. I genuinely believe he's one of the best contemporary jazz men alive. When my turn came, I hugged him (yes, I'm this kind of labrador- person most of the time) and then did something peculiar. I asked him for a book recommendation. Without hesitation, he mentioned "Effortless Mastery" by Kenny Werner, stating it was the only book he red multiple time and helped him immensely finding his own musical style. Wow.

Two Worlds

So let's dive in. Robert Greene's "Mastery" (2012) is a deep analysis of how history's greatest achievers reached their potential. Through studying figures like Einstein, Darwin, Leonardo da Vinci, and contemporary masters, Greene uncovers the hidden path to excellence. His book reads like a practical manual for achievement, backed by historical evidence and psychological insights.

Kenny Werner's "Effortless Mastery" (1996), on the other hand, emerged from a jazz pianist's personal crisis. After years of technical practice and professional success, Werner found himself paralyzed by anxiety and self-judgment. His book is both a meditation on the nature of artistry and a practical guide to liberating oneself from the fear that blocks natural ability.

Two paths, one destination

Greene's approach is like a master chess player: strategic, calculated, emphasizing years of deliberate practice. He outlines specific stages: discovering your calling (what he calls "Life's Task"), apprenticeship, active learning, and creative synthesis.

Werner's path is more like a zen master: focusing on letting go, finding flow, and transcending the ego's need for control. He introduces meditation practices and mental techniques specifically designed for performers and creatives.

The strategic path

Greene's research reveals compelling patterns among masters throughout history. First, he emphasizes the non-negotiable nature of deep immersion - there are no shortcuts to developing extraordinary capability in your field. Second, he illuminates the crucial role of mentors, showing how they're not just teachers of technique, but rather windows into entirely different ways of perceiving and thinking about mastery itself. Perhaps most fascinating is his insight about pattern recognition: true masters develop an almost supernatural ability to see connections that others miss, a skill he calls "dimensional thinking."

The Effortless way

Werner's discoveries about mastery came through personal crisis and transformation. His most profound insight is about the nature of fear - how our desperate need to prove ourselves actually creates a cage of self-consciousness that blocks our natural abilities. Through his own journey, he discovered that true mastery paradoxically emerges from a state of deep acceptance and trust, rather than striving and control. Most revolutionary is his assertion that the state of mastery is actually our natural condition, but we must learn to remove the blocks we've built against it. His approach suggests that presence - being fully in the moment without judgment - matters far more than traditional notions of perfection.

What "Mastery" teaches us

Greene's deep study of masters across history reveals several universal truths. The path to mastery begins with discovering your life's calling - not through abstract contemplation, but through deep engagement with different fields until you find what naturally pulls you forward. This journey requires an apprenticeship phase where you must prioritize learning over earning, absorbing not just skills but subtle patterns of excellence.

Perhaps his most compelling insight is about time - there's a necessary period of deep immersion that cannot be rushed or shortcut. Yet this time must be spent actively, not passively. True masters approach their field like investigators, developing what Greene calls "dimensional thinking" - the ability to see connections and patterns invisible to others.

Most surprisingly, Greene emphasizes that technical brilliance alone is insufficient. Masters must develop acute social intelligence, learning to read people and navigate relationships as skillfully as they navigate their craft. The final stage is creative synthesis, where all this learning transforms into innovation.

What "Effortless Mastery" reveals

Werner's insights begin with a startling observation: many technically accomplished professionals are actually trapped in fear-based performance. They've mastered their craft but lost their joy, imprisoned by the very standards that drove their success.

His core teaching is radical: mastery isn't about acquiring more but about removing blocks to what's naturally present. Through specific meditation practices and mental techniques, Werner shows how to access what he calls "the space" - a state of effortless competence where your skills flow naturally without self-conscious interference.

Most profoundly, Werner challenges our fundamental assumption about practice and performance. Instead of endless striving for improvement, he advocates for a practice of surrender - learning to trust the intelligence that emerges when we stop trying so hard to be perfect. This doesn't mean abandoning high standards; rather, it means approaching them from a place of freedom rather than fear.

Why this matters now

As I reflect during these quiet days between Christmas and New Year's, these books offer something valuable: a more complete vision of excellence. In a world obsessed with quick hacks and instant results, they remind us that true mastery requires both the courage to practice deliberately and the wisdom to let go.

Maybe that's what both Greene and Werner were trying to tell us all along, just from different sides of the same mountain.

End of the year final words

Hoping these lines made you feel as excited as I felt while reading these books, I wish to you, dear reader who crossed my bog and made it to the end of this post, a warm, kind, enthusiastic and (why not) jazzy end of the year and beginning of the new one. Let's continue to dive in. Hugs.

Domi