Meaning and Mastery

I am learning so much about myself! I love that. This week has been a great lesson in courage, perseverance, and hard work.

We started reading Mastery by George Leonard and I was enthralled by the concepts described in the first chapters. Leonard talks a lot about how our society is fixated on the idea that we should have one climax after another - that we should keep experiencing highs and never plateau. He shares his own experiences with learning to embrace the plateau, which is a normal and vital part of progress. He emphasizes that we need to learn to love practice and find joy in simply doing what we love.

We also listened to a lecture called "A Hero's Journey" by Jeff Sandefer, which was quite profound. He taught us that a hero's journey is all about you and not at all about you. I think that's pretty typical of any hero - you have to be good enough to be completely selfless and serve. He also talked a lot about the importance of living a life of meaning, and that when we grow old, that's what will matter most. He said that when people over the age of 60 are interviewed, they will all voice similar opinions that only three things matter: Did I contribute something meaningful? Am I a good person? Who did I love, and who loved me? Those three questions bring everything we do into perspective. Am I working to contribute something meaningful? Am I becoming the person I want to be? Am I loving the people around me and allowing them to love me? I'll definitely be pondering those things this week.

Finally, we studied a woman named Erica Mills and her journey as an entrepreneur, which was very inspiring. Erica faced a lot of difficult situations and not only made the best of them, but used them as opportunities to grow and become better. I was very inspired by her example.