Everyone starts at zero. What we fail to consider in our haste-to-the-top world is that moving to Mastery is not just about learning skills. True Mastery is a way of being. We reach Mastery through falling down and getting up again. A thousand times. Or more. This shapes us the person, as much as we learn the skills required. In the fire of the path to Mastery is burnt away the rough edges of petty emotions, reactivity and ill-considered reflex, plus desires based on lack, goals that we have inherited and many other things that do not reflect our soul’s calling.
To aspire to Mastery the call of the quest must be far stronger than the weak voice of failure. Otherwise we would not get up.
It helps, as in really helps, to have a few Journeymen around, plus a Master to guide. Too many entrepreneurs start the path under the illusion that they can travel the road alone. That is a fools game.
The Journeyman is the person who is well along the path. They know what it feels like to fall and get up and fall again. They are guided by the Master and spend time teaching the Apprentice.
Don’t mistake the Master as one who has arrived. Any great Master is simultaneously humble and sovereign in their Mastery. Their field of compassion is immense. Yet their ability to hold their ground in Mastery is solid. They never stop learning. They remain open to new paths, new perspectives, new possibilities.
All of us are at various stages of this cycle in different places in our lives. Our age does not prohibit us from becoming an Apprentice. One of the greatest Apprenticeships is the one of death. How to become a Master at dying. This unavoidable journey might arrive at any time.
Wise is the one who knows where they are on the journey, and seeks the appropriate companions for the road.
When choosing a path, choose the one that cannot be silenced. The one that persists to call at 2:23AM.
When choosing a Master, choose the one who has walked the road and prevailed, who will hold you to the call with compassion, rigour and great love.