10. Mastery + Accountability
Let’s talk about Mastery and Accountability, and the crucial role they play in your success. Mastery is the relentless pursuit of improvement through focused practice, discipline, and learning until excellence becomes second nature. In his book Mastery, George Leonard tells a story about Kano Jigorō, the founder of Judo, and how he was so dedicated to the concept of Mastery that when he was on his deathbed, he asked his students to bury him in a white belt.
Think about that — one of the most accomplished martial artists of his time and beyond, asks to be buried with a white belt to symbolize his new journey in his next life. THAT’s Mastery.
Here’s a beautiful quote from The One Thing on mastery, purpose, and success:
“Success demands singleness of purpose. You need to be doing fewer things for more effect instead of doing more things with side effects. It is those who concentrate on but one thing at a time who advance in this world. Passion for something leads to disproportionate time practicing or working at it. That time spent eventually translates to skill, and when skill improves, results improve. Better results generally lead to more enjoyment, and more passion and more time is invested. It can be a virtuous cycle all the way to extraordinary results.
The ONE Thing shows up time and again in the lives of the successful because it’s a fundamental truth. More than anything else, expertise tracks with hours invested. The pursuit of mastery bears gifts. When people look back on their lives, it is the things they have not done that generate the greatest regret…People’s actions may be troublesome initially; it is their inactions that plague them most with long-term feelings of regret. Make sure every day you do what matters most. When you know what matters most, everything makes sense. When you don’t know what matters most, anything makes sense.”
Go From E → P
The majority of people operate under one of the following two mental models:
- 1. The Entrepreneurial (E) mindset, which means they do things based on natural ability, effort, and what feels comfortable. This works and can help you succeed—but it doesn’t go far enough.
- 2. The Purposeful (P) mindset, which means they take a more strategic approach to success—by seeking frameworks, models, systems, and/or coaching to break through limitations and achieve bigger results.
For example, imagine you’ve just been asked to go chop some firewood…
An ‘E’ would grab an axe and start chopping away as hard as possible until the job was done.
But a ‘P’ would toss the axe aside and look for a chainsaw instead.
In order to be more productive and effective at what we do, we’ve got to go from E → P by adopting a Purposeful ‘P’ mindset.
Be Accountable
“Accountable people achieve results others can only dream of. When life happens, you can be either the author of your life or the victim of it. Those are your only two choices—accountable or unaccountable.”
I know a lot of folks who are great at blaming others but terrible at taking ownership of their lives. Let’s not be that. Let’s take responsibility for our outcomes. Because when we do, we put ourselves in control…
Let’s say you walk into work tomorrow, newly equipped with the skills you’re learning in this course…
With this new knowledge at hand, you decide you’re going to try time-blocking your day. So, you carve out a block of time for your ONE Thing, and then set up time blocks for the rest of your day as well.
Then, you get straight to work on your ONE big thing for the day…
And just as you’re getting into flow, a co-worker comes down the hallway, lingers over your desk, and starts asking you trivial questions that are unrelated to the work you’re trying to do.
Then, they ask if you’d like to go out on a break with them…
What do you do?
Do you tell them “Yes” or do you tell them “No”?
Answering “Yes” when you know you should be focusing on your ONE Thing, puts your co-worker in control.
Answering “No” puts you in charge.
Even better, setting up your workspace so that people know not to interrupt you in the first place REALLY puts you in control…
Actionable Insights
Here are your actionable insights for this lesson:
- Go from ‘E’ to ‘P’ and adopt a Purposeful mindset. Don’t chop away with an axe if you have the option of using a chainsaw. Look for systems and processes that can help you accomplish your goals more efficiently without sacrificing quality.
- To minimize distractions while you work on your one thing, make a sign that says “Until I’m done with my ONE Thing, nothing else matters.” Post it up outside your office door so it’s visible to any potential interrupters. Add whatever else you need to add to ensure they know not to screw with you while you’re working.
- You are the author of your destiny. Be accountable, take responsibility, and make the hard choices NOW, so you can enjoy the fruits of your labor later.
