Real Power True Peace
Marlise: Yes. That’s beautiful. I love that.
Robert Greene: But what derails so many people in life – they never get to that point where it starts to become exciting. They never get to the top of the mountain because they don’t have the faith that in practicing something and applying themselves for that year or two years, three years, they’re going to reach that. They give up before they get there because they think everything has to be fun in the moment.
Marlise: Yes. If it’s something you’re passionate about it will keep you moving down that road. We were just speaking about the obstacles that show up in the pursuit of mastery, and how it can be kind of an emotional drain, not only from the people who surround us, maybe not letting us believe that we can actually take that next step, but often society, as well. So how do you keep your focus on what’s most important so that you can take the time to acquire habits and patterns?
Robert Greene: It’s not that complicated. I maintain in the book that everybody is essentially unique. That there is something that you’re drawn to – a field, a subject, some kind of activity – it was there when you were very young, when you were a child. It’s like a voice. I call it a voice inside of you that draws you to certain subjects. And you know it. And you stop listening to it. It’s really the attitude that you take toward learning, itself. I talk in the book – I use sort of an archetype of an apprenticeship.
If you feel like you’re heading in the right direction, if you can see a goal in mind – like you’re going to produce that film, or you’re going to write that book, or you’re going to create that business, then suddenly the tedious stuff in the moment, and the obstacles, and the people that get in your way, they don’t bother you one-tenth of the amount that it bothers you when you’re not headed in that right direction. You’re able to be more patient.
