The Mastery Code

“I have recently concluded that the drugs, alcohol, and other substances are not the actual addiction, the need to escape reality is.”

When we come into this world, we have no idea why we even exist. We have no idea what’s going on around us. We do not choose what to follow or believe. Instead, we believe in what the people that raise us to believe. You are automatically affected by your environment before you can even be aware of it. Therefore, each person must take the time to discover who they are. It is only when they are open to all possibilities that the answer can be revealed to them.

Earl Nightingale said that the biggest plague in society today is not fear but conformity. People do not follow the leader, people follow the follower. People do things because everyone does them, and they seldom bother to ask why.

“Life will promote you to the extent of your ability to handle conflict and your ability to make sacrifices in order to go higher.”

We tend to think that life happens to us. But it is more true to say that we create our own reality. It’s true to some extent that things do happen to us. For example, we cannot choose where we are born or in what culture we grow up. However, we are in control of more things than we generally think. For instance, you might not be happy about your finances, but have you looked for professional help in this area? Did you commit to learning more about money and finances? Most people would answer, “No.” And this is a great example of how many people blame their circumstances for the things that happen to them. They don’t see that they can choose to control many of these circumstances.

Life isn’t easy or hard, it just is.

“Where you struggle in your life is a result of programs that you have running subconsciously that don’t support the conclusion you are desperate to achieve.”

We are all operating on programs that we’ve learned before, especially when we were kids. If we weren’t raised in a loving family, we don’t really know what love is. If we grew up in a poor family, we are very likely to stay poor. Unless we consciously decide to reprogram our minds.

Universities cannot give you the life education that you need. A degree shows only a willingness to learn, but it isn’t actually learning. And here is the scary part: Even after so many years of schooling, many people realize they don’t know how to live. They do not know how to apply the things they’ve been taught in their lives. This is because there is a different type of education that no degree can give you. And you can only achieve it by asking difficult questions about life and reprogramming your mind.

“The concept of winning, meaning someone else losing, is the very thing that drives us to the dark side. Only once the person can ascend from the perspective of lack into the perspective of abundance can one truly start to appreciate themselves as well as their fellow human beings and creation in general.”

At our core, we are good and we want to be good. We want to help others. However, helping others from an empty cup makes no sense. We are not doing anything good when we try to help and this help comes from a place of weakness. That’s why you must make sure you have a full cup.

There are two types of gratifications: instant and delayed. Human nature causes us to desire instant gratification. This means that we do things that will make us happy in the here and now. Instant gratification is, for example, the desire to get more likes on social media. It makes us happy, but only for a short moment.

The main reason people don’t get what they want in life is that they don’t really know what they want. This leads them to go after what’s easy and pleasurable for them at the given moment.

The people who win big in life, are the people who can forgo short-term pleasures. They build systems and ultimately facilitate their freedom.

“If you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing it is stupid.” - Albert Einstein

The definition of success has changed a lot during the last few decades. In the past, success was having a loving family and enough money to live. This is no longer the case.

Let’s define success not as a goal that you will one day achieve, but as this:

“Success is a progressive realization of a subjectively chosen worthy ideal.”

This means it’s not about scoring well at school or earning more than other people. Instead, it’s something that you choose personally. Nobody can define it for you.

This also means that some people will not understand you, or will be jealous of what you do. They will criticize you or try to undermine you. But that might simply be the price you pay for following your own path. And that’s completely fine.

“The mind can only be what it knows and believes it can be, and the body is then tasked to accomplish that which the mind believes.”

You have desires, you have a vision of what you want to achieve. However, do you believe you can get it, or is it just wishful thinking? If your mind does not believe in it, the body will not make it happen. The mind acts only on things it believes.

The main reason people don’t get what they want is that they don’t really know what they want. Or at least they don’t believe they can ever get it. No one ever told them that they can want the things they want. It causes them to live the life people around them live instead of their own life.

“The real prize is not the prize you achieve, the real prize is the person you have to become to get the prize.”

It’s not about getting what you want. It is about becoming the person that will attract people, opportunities, and inevitable success. It’s not about what you do, but WHO you are.

Becoming successful, in whatever terms you define success, is about changing who you are, not doing what it takes to be successful. 

This means that all the investment you make should be investments in yourself. What’s more, you have to become the person that’s worthy of the goal you are seeking.

“Self-discipline is simply the act of choosing between what you want now and what you want most later on.”

If you don’t have a strong vision of where you want to be, of what you desire, you will naturally fall into things that are here and now. One of the ways to change this is to raise your standards and think big. That will help you to desire more, and set a new direction.

The next step is taking action. Only by taking action can you get what you want. The action will reinforce the belief. So the more you do, the more confident you will be that you can achieve whatever you want.

Once you start taking action, you will stay in motion unless an external force stops you. An object in motion stays in motion.

“You must let go that part that is deemed to be logical and rational because rationality is suicide to that part of you that believes in all things.”

Steve Jobs once said that you cannot connect the dots looking forward. You can only connect them when looking backward. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in the future. You have to trust in yourself, your gut, karma, whatever. That’s the only way you can move forward.

Build a vision of who you want to be and what you want to achieve. For example, visit places that inspire you such as expensive cafes. And trust that one day you will connect the dots.

“Money is a wonderful servant but a terrible master.”

Each of us has been raised in a different family, where the relationship to money was different. The money could have been a master—you lived in scarcity. Or the money could have been a servant—you lived in abundance. Whatever it was, it’s important to switch to a proper way of thinking about money. From now on, think of money as a tool to be mastered and nothing else. Commit to yourself that you will be wealthy, and there is nothing bad about it.

Despite what society thinks of rich people, money isn’t good or bad. Money is just a tool.

To make people pay you, you must present them the value of the thing you sell. You can sell services, products, or knowledge.

When you are in a competitive market, you don’t have to compete with others. The beauty of this world is in the variety of services and products we have. Decide that you will provide your own form of value for a problem people are experiencing. Don’t do it to compete with someone or something else.

You must become aware of your attitude. Not everyone is aware of their attitude, and it is only when you are aware of things that you can change them. Awareness of your attitude will help you to expect more from yourself. And this expectation will lead to better progress. If you don’t choose your attitude, you will default to one based on the attitude of your surrounding society. Generally, this is a negative one.

Your mindset can be progressive or regressive. If you don’t have a progressive mindset, then you are regressive. The unfed mind devours itself.

Risk is a part of the process to get what you want. Without risk, you will stay where you are, and you will not expand your mind. Risk, by definition, is something with an unknown outcome. So embrace it; it’s part of the process.

Persistence is probably the most important principle. Along the way, you will stumble on many obstacles. Sometimes it will feel like going from failure to failure. Only with persistence will you be able to push through. You can’t plan everything, and whatever your goal, it will take more time to achieve than you think. But with persistence, you will eventually get there.

We all want to be loved by others; however, to have fulfilling relationships there are two things you should do. The first one is to love yourself and put yourself first. Be unapologetic about it. If you don’t put yourself first, other people won’t put you high on their priority list either. 

The second important thing is to give before you receive. Relationships are a two-way street, and usually, you have to give your love before you can get anything back. Relationships are also about receiving, so don't be afraid of that. Receive what other people give you, and then give them the same back.

Your reputation is what other people think of you, your character is who you really are. That’s why character is far more important. That’s why focusing on achieving and competing is not the best mindset. The better mindset is to focus on having good character.

Having character means being trustworthy, respected, responsible, fair, and caring towards others. All strong leaders are people of good character.

“Your life must be committed to learning and improvement.”

You have talents. You might not even be aware of some of them, so be sure that you identify them. Then, invest in your talents. Everyone starts somewhere. And with enough investment, they become masters. Here is the key: Invest in yourself, not other things.

Once you start working on your talents, go out into the world and express them. People must see what you have, so you understand where you are and how much you still need to improve.

This is where criticism comes in. There will be people that will love you and people that will hate you. You can’t have one without the other. That’s the reason most people never start expressing themselves—they fear criticism. Remember, fear is just a story you tell yourself, it’s not real. It’s just an illusion.

The people that criticize you, don’t do it because of you. There is something in themselves that they hate. That’s why they express hate to others. Don’t let them stop you from doing what you want!