Mentalities Of Mastery, Lessons From Robin Sharma

Welcome to today’s mind-over-matter session. We’re going to learn from the mastermind hacker himself - Robin Sharma.  

Self-help guru Robin Sharma is one of the world’s TOP leadership and elite performance experts. 

Sharma’s sold more than 15 million books, across 96+ nations, and 12 galaxies. He is most renowned for his #1 bestsellers ‘The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari’ and ‘The 5 am Club’. 

So, when it comes to personal mastery and leadership journeys, Sharma’s got you covered. 

In which case, let’s run over Sharma’s ‘5 Mentalities of Mastery’. The ones that the geniuses, business superstars, and über effective folks run (quietly) through their minds.  

#1 The Lunchbox vs. Executive Mentality 

Lesson one. Masters don’t think they’re masters. In fact, they tend to think they’re amateurs. Not in an imposter syndrome kind of way. More in the down to earth, open to constant learning, humble-subservient-servant to your craft kind of way. 

Mastery doesn’t emerge from the assumption that you’re a master. The moment people think they’re a master, guess what? They stop learning and cultivating new skills. And so that winning formula that made them an “almost” master goes right out the window. 

Mastery comes with a growth mindset. A thirst for knowledge. To know more and be more. To be hungry. These folks bring their lunchbox with them wherever they go, rather than strutting their executive stuff. 

People like Einstein, Descartes, Marie Curie, Da Vinci didn’t think to themselves, “Yep, I’ve done it! I’ve hit the pinnacle folks. And I’m just going to comfortably relax here now.” They got to where they were because there was always more. 

At the end of the day, mastery and “settling” are on the opposite ends of the spectrum. So, ditch the executive attitude and bring your lunchbox to work. Be hungry. Be thirsty. And feed your curiosity. 

#2 The Rigorous vs. Superficial Mentality 

Lesson two. We live in a world of a lack of professionalism, a lack of passion, and a lack of focus… Bear with us here.

People clocking on and off rather than bringing their A-game. Lost in a trance of distraction rather than eliminating said distractions. Basically, most people are suffering from a collective work hum-drum/attention deficit disorder. 

The reason being? 

We live in a world with a need for speed. From projects, and socialising, to accessing information and entertainment. And so, understandably, our work tends to be done too quickly. This is commendable in the short term but problematic in the long term. 

Half-efforts don’t equal mastery! So, rise above the masses. Rather than being superficial, you can be rigorous. 

Over-prepare for that meeting. Use your spare time to read more on your passion. Spend extra time writing that article instead of a slap-dash “effort”. Whip out a weekly journal to keep yourself honest and “on it”.  

Basically, ditch the speedy-surface-superficial mentality. Stop spreading yourself so thinly. Focus on going deep, rather than broad. Go deep on your skills versus being all things to everyone. Mastery comes with a certain level of obsession rather than the much advocated “balance”.  

#3 The Leader vs. Victim Mentality 

The third mentality of mastery is all about shedding the victim mentality. Every day we have a choice. Even a false choice is still a choice. You don’t have to partake in society. You can just opt-out and begin your outlaw journey at any time.

Assuming you’ve decided to stay with us, there you are: you’ve made a choice! And so the next question is how are you going to frame this choice? With a victim or leader mentality? You can give away your power or you can seize it. What will it be?

Victims use words like “I hate”, “I can’t”, or “That will never work”. And they find it much more comfortable to sit back and critique rather than go forth and create or achieve.

On the flip side of this “cannot” attitude, mastery requires a “can do” attitude. 

Now, you don’t have to be in a leadership role in order to have a leading mentality. From janitors and cab drivers to café waiters and store clerks, there are plenty of people with so-called “ordinary” jobs that work with a leading mentality. These people bring attention to detail, spark, and passion for whatever they are doing. 

So, remember: You have the power to frame the way you think. To rise above and beyond. You just need to make the all-important decision. And once you’ve shed the shackles of victimhood, you can rise your way to mastery.  

#4 The Future vs. Past Mentality 

This mentality runs a little along the lines of the victim talk. It’s mindset re-wiring. Overcoming past conditioning to form a new mindset for mastery. 

There are a lot of people who are mainly operating in continuation from the past. In other words, they were conditioned to behave in a certain way. For instance: 

a. Told explicitly/implicitly by others to dress like this, choose safe career paths and so on.

OR

b. Learnt from personal experiences. For instance, by taking a risk that doesn’t work out, and using this as the basis for never taking a risk again. 

Basically, most people are not living in the present or for the future. They are stuck in the past. 

And the issue with this is that if you can’t unstick yourself, you’ll be resigned to spend the future entrenched in old habits. Rather than constructing a future of designed intent. 

If you want to play at mastery, you need mastery in your thinking. Let go of that conscious and subconscious glue of the past. Override it with productive ammo for present and future you. 

This reformation may look a little different for everyone; meditation, affirmations, visualisation, counselling, hypnotherapy, reading or setting new habits. Whatever avenues you need to personalise your personal growth journey, take them!

#5 The Helper vs. The Taker Mentality 

From billionaires to celebrity CEO’s and Fortune 500 companies, true masters have installed a belief system that the person who serves, wins. For everyone. 

“He who serves the best prospers the most.” Because, at the end of the day, being a titan is about valued distribution to as many people as possible. The rise to mastery requires service to others. It gives your quest to mastery a why. And finding your why is crucial for personal and professional mastery. 

But how do you begin to apply this grandiose service of the self? Baby steps. Try waking up every morning and spend five (plus) minutes thinking about this fundamental question. 

For instance, Benjamin Franklin would wake up at 5 am every morning and ask himself the question “What good shall I do this day”. He’d ruminate. And then fill in the blanks accordingly. He’d set tasks for the day. Small steps for man. Giant steps for mankind.

Of course, everyone’s journey is different. Maybe you’re not a morning person. Schedule in some quality “one for all and all for one” time during the evening, once a day, or once a fortnight.

Because no amount of mastery can be achieved without the mentality to serve. If serving others becomes your obsession, you will work with love. The secret ingredient to mastery.