Mastery

“Only one who devotes himself to a cause with his whole strength and soul can be a true master.  For this reason, mastery demands all of a person.”

–     Albert Einstein

In context, I get it.  In total, I’m not sure I buy it.

While 100% on board with the concept of devotion to a cause, I don’t buy that mastery demands all of a person.  If that were true, Faith would be the only matter worthy of becoming a Master in.

Why this topic, now?

The Masters Tournament, golf’s grandest show, has been a special week for me since 1986, the year I picked up the game, largely due to the impact of Jack Nicklaus’ victory that year at age 46.  This year, I was pulling for an almost 45-year-old Master, Phil Mickelson, who finished second to a 21-year-old Master, Jordan Spieth.  If Phil couldn’t win, I wanted Jordan to, so it’s been a good day.

But Nicklaus, Mickelson and Spieth are all good family men.  Good friends.  Good people with charitable pursuits and strong souls.  Their mastery — dominance, if you will — of their game stems in part from the balance of their focus.

A “means to an end” mindset is not a way to develop mastery — but passion and drive, and the ability to share the benefits of the mastery with people we truly love, are.

“Giving it our all” is a noble approach.  Giving “all of us” leaves nothing for those we owe some of us to.  That’s more than semantics.  It’s foundational.  And difference makers keep it in context.