You can’t learn if you think you already know. Updating your appraisal of your talents in a downward direction is one of the most difficult things to do in life - but it is almost always a component of mastery. There is a sort of ego ceiling imposed - one knows that he is not better than the “master” he apprentices under. The power of being a student is not just that it is an extended period of instruction, it also places the ego and ambition in someone else’s hands. It is not “Who do I want to be in life?” but “What is it that I want to accomplish in life?” The greatest work and art comes from wrestling with the void, facing it instead of scrambling to make it go away.Įgo crosses out what matters and replaces it with what doesn’t. Talking and doing fight for the same resources. What a lot of us do when we’re scared or overwhelmed by a project: everything but focus on it.Ī man’s best treasure is a thrifty tongue.
Though we think big, we must act and live small in order to accomplish what we seek.īecause we will be action and education focused, and forgo validation and status, our ambition will not be grandiose but iterative. Practice seeing yourself with a little distance. The ability to evaluate one’s own ability is the most important skill of all. That’s the definition this book will use.Įgo is the enemy of what you want and of what you have.Įgo is the enemy of real creative insight.Įgo is the enemy of working well with others.Įgo is the enemy of building loyalty and support.Įgo is the enemy of repeating and retaining your success.īuilding up our self-esteem, inspiring, encouraging, and assuring us that we can do whatever we set our minds to. The need to be better than, more than, recognized for, far past any reasonable utility. my notesĮgo = an unhealthy belief in our own importance. It's easy to read this and say “oh yeah I've got my ego under control”, but the problem is deeper than that. This message is crucial, but the opposite of almost every other book.
Value discipline and results, not passion and confidence. Go to the Amazon page for details and reviews.įorget yourself and focus on the work.