One of my favorite movies is Moneyball. It’s based on Michael Lewis’ best-selling book of the same name. I finally read the book recently. I couldn’t put it down and I’m not a baseball guy. It’s the story of one man’s vision of creating a successful baseball team in the small market of Oakland, California. How did one of the poorest teams in baseball win so many games? Moneyball is a quest for something as elusive as the Holy Grail, something that money apparently can’t buy: the secret of success in baseball.

When you are watching professional baseball this time of year on television or on your smartphone, what is it you are really witnessing? Mastery. What is it, exactly? Merriam-Webster defines it as comprehensive knowledge or skill in a subject or accomplishment. Synonyms include proficiency, ability, and capability.

Explaining his success in music, Seattle musician Ben “Macklemore” Haggerty echoes Malcolm Gladwell’s concept of 10,000 hours or ten years, whichever comes first. In his song, “10,000 Hours,” he sings:

This is my world, this is my arena. The TV told me something different, but I didn’t believe it. I stand here in front of you today all because of an idea. I could be who I wanted if I could see my potential, and I know I am going to be him.”

He goes on to sing: See I observed Escher, I love Basquiat, I watched Keith Haring, you see I study art, the greats weren’t great because at birth they could paint. The greats were great because they paint a lot. Ten thousand hours.

Mastery is a process. It has very specific steps. I have poured myself into writing and speaking since 1992. If you will indulge me, we’ll walk through the steps to mastery one at a time.

1. Make a Decision. What follows is Interest and Assimilation. If you would do whatever it is you are passionate about for free, you are on the right path. I agree with the late Lou Tice who said, “All meaningful and lasting change starts first on the inside and works its way out.” The beginning of change and accomplishment comes only after a decision.
2. Imitation and Mimicry. When we first start out, we find role models to imitate. Van Morrison, perhaps the most gifted songwriter, singer, and producer in music (and the most vilified), first started writing songs and poems in the early sixties at age 13. He listened to and aspired to be like John Lee Hooker, Jackie Wilson, Chester “Howlin Wolf” Burnett, Muddy Waters, Bob Dylan, and Lonnie Donegan. He worked hard to copy their style. Morrison also read extensively the classical poets and philosophers in an effort to form his style and rhythm. He in turn influenced Bruce Springsteen, Elvis Costello, Bono, and Tom Petty.
3. Innovation and Creation. Learning and innovation go hand in hand. The arrogance of success is to think that what you did yesterday will be sufficient for tomorrow. Ask A-list comedians about the price they paid for their mastery, and they will tell you about the hundreds—or thousands—of late-night gigs to a half-dozen drunk people at 1:00 am. Watch Comedian, the documentary by Jerry Seinfeld. George B. Hinckley once observed, “The price of leadership is loneliness.” Innovation and creation mean making the time to THINK. George Bernard Shaw wrote, “I’ve become rich and famous by thinking a couple of times a week.” A key ingredient in innovation is the ability to challenge authority and break rules. The late Lenny Bruce knew that.
4. Risk and Reward. A leap of faith requires courage and the willingness to fail forward. It’s doing the things that frighten you. It’s having nerve, pluck, boldness, grit, audacity, daring, and valor. Someone once said, “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” In his 2005 commencement address to Stanford graduates, Steve Jobs told them, “Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma—which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”
5. Finding Your True Voice. Finding your true voice and your own style come in time, but only after thousands of hours of practice and trial and error. Finding your voice means writing, practicing, thinking, creating, and innovating. It means getting out of your comfort zone. Style and rhythm come after you put in the time. Keep what works and toss what doesn’t. Feedback is vital. John Legend, the wildly successful singer and songwriter said, “A hit song has two qualities, it is personal and universal.”
6. Success and Confidence. It really is true, success breeds success. The journey is a virtuous ascent. The more you succeed, the easier things become. It’s knowing you are good and wearing it well. Nothing is more endearing than a successful artist who is humble. Nothing is more annoying than an arrogant business man or woman. Hubris is defined as excessive pride or self-confidence. Pele, the soccer icon, said, “Success is no accident. It is hard work, perseverance, learning, studying, sacrifice and most of all, love of what you are doing or learning to do.”
7. Mentoring and Coaching Others. Share what you know, once you have attained Mastery. Whether you give it away or charge for it, there is something ennobling about coaching. It lends a greater dignity or nobility of character to our efforts. Morgan Wooten was a legendary high school basketball coach. From 1956 to 2002, he coached at DeMatha Catholic High School in Hyattsville, Maryland. He has the second-most wins as a head coach in the history of basketball on any level. He once said, “That's the beauty of coaching. You get to touch lives, you get to make a difference. You get to do things for people who will never pay you back and they say you never have had a perfect day until you've done something for someone who will never pay you back.”

Now that I have read the book, I need to go back and re-watch the movie.  It’s TWO of the TEN THOUSAND HOURS I need to invest to achieve my Mastery. How about you?