Mastery: How do you become a master?

This diagram attempts to synthesize some general guiding principles one can use to develop individualized strategies for mastery. Old but useful knowledge. 1. Identify interestsRecognize predilections: much easier to master things one has a natural inclination towards. Some tips:Developing self awareness helps. Reflect often. Meditate. Identify your core beliefs. Observe yourself from an external pov. Ask yourself questions such as "what were my proclivities when I was younger", "what meaningful activities do I enjoy", "what meaningful activities do I not enjoy?", "am I being mindful about the choices I am making?", "what is the motivation behind my actions?". Constantly challenge yourself and keep yourself honest.2. Convert interests into goalsDevelop explicit goals: much easier to maintain perspective when one has well defined goals.Some tips: Developing integrity is key in following through with a goal. Nothing less than full commitment can pave the path to mastery. 3. Execute goals1. Observe, observe, observe. Diminish biases and understand lay of the land. Identify required skills.2. Acquire required skills. Practice, practice, practice.3. Apply acquired skills and put yourself out there. Solicit feedback, especially from critics.4. Goto 1 and repeat.Some tips:1. Identify masters and request them to mentor you. We humans are naturally good at learning by imitation. It shaves off significant time when you are making the "necessary" mistakes rather than "all" the mistakes.2. Grit and patience are crucial to power through adversity. 3. Very few fields allow the luxury of working in total isolation. Develop theory of mind and the ability to navigate social situations.4. Being able to do everything by yourself is not always a good thing. Intelligently use resources (technology and people) in your environment. Relinquish control when necessary. Offload work to other competent people to help focus on the most critical aspects of your work. 5. Don't lose the forest for the trees during the execution phase. Take breaks.6. Mastery is a lifelong process. A true master is always learning and always improving.