The El Dorado of the mind

I have devoted my life to alchemy, searching for the philosopher's stone that turned all matter to gold. However, as my hair turned from black to white, I realized that the stone lay within the El Dorado of my mind. In my pursuit to inspire and equip you to LEAD yourself, I set a target of learning from the experts. Currently, I am reading Mastery by Robert Greene.

I found it pretty enthralling as Mr Greene talks of how every person can use the grain of the human mind to attain mastery - it is a matter of uncovering the area the person has a deep & powerful inclination to. He says this inclination is the inner calling that we?discover by connecting with our primal curiosity. Once found, human beings can attain a?higher level of intelligence through a process of hard work & lifelong learning.?

Thinking about this?took me back to my formative years.

As a young child, I had learning difficulties. It was almost impossible for me to byheart anything. To conquer the challenge, I kept reading books aloud. The act of reading aloud happened to be the stepping stone of my confidence. People in my neighborhood praised me for my effort to study, and I shined. I became the best all-around student in academics when I finished my primary education. Then came a period of struggles in my life.

By the time I reached my 30th birthday, I was a broke mother of two boys. Nothing material existed for me, as I had no money, no job, and two broken cervical vertebrae. As I crawled inside life's dungeon, I chose self-help books as my best friend. Earl Nightingale said if your spend an hour every day in your chosen field, you will become an expert in five years or less. Alhamdulillah, within ten years, I turned myself from misery to mastery in self-leadership.

I can relate and totally agree with the process described by Robert Greene in Mastery. If we want to excel in any field, we go through the three-step process described by Mr Greene. Let us take an example of public speaking.

1.????Apprenticeship. In this step, we are outsiders to the skill. We learn the basics. We are afraid and ignorant. We feel intimidated and confused. Yet, in our excitement to become inspirational speakers, we keep pushing ourselves. Although we feel bored or frustrated at times, we never give up. We start gaining clarity and fluency. We gain self-confidence. We attempt to speak in any situation.

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2.????Creative-Active. In this stage, we transform from students to practitioners. Through much practice and immersion, we see the inside of machinery. We try our own ideas and gain feedforward suggestions. We expand our knowledge and develop our styles. We always wait for the opportunity to fine-tune our speaking skills.

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3.????Mastery. Because we remained faithful to the process, our degree of knowledge, experience and focus is deep. Our tools are no longer outside but within us. We have internalized the process as part of the nervous system. We can see the whole picture, access the heart of life, and can make decisions rapidly and are highly creative. We evolve with the process with a continuous feedback loop. Inspirational speaking is our way of life.

Our brain is malleable, and we can take advantage of the elasticity and discover the El Dorado of the mind if we simply trust the process and be patient. Remember that the more prominent the ambition, the slower we need to go. Patience is the fundamental key component of success.?