3 Lessons From Robert Greene's Mastery to Unlock Your Inner Genius (You Can Be the Next Da Vinci or Einstein)

03 Jan 2026 #books

There’s no secret behind the great masters of history.

We often think their success comes from a wealthy family, superintelligence, or invisible forces from other planets.

But in Mastery, Robert Greene shows there’s a process behind the success of those great minds. A process we can replicate to become a master too.

Here are my three main lessons from Mastery:

#1. “Mastery is like swimming”

We all have a natural inclination.

Maybe it’s writing, connecting with others, dancing, numbers, or animals. We’re drawn to something when money and a safe path aren’t involved.

Often, our inclination is clear when we’re kids.

For Einstein, that was seeing a compass for the first time. The forces moving the needle captivated his whole life.

To achieve mastery, follow your natural inclination and your strengths.

Like in swimming, you’ll barely move if you’re going against the current. That’s what happens when you try to master something you’re not suited for.

#2. Discover your Life’s Task

“Your Life’s Task is to bring [the seed planted at birth] to flower, to express your uniqueness through your work.”

Some masters know their Life’s Task since childhood. But others only find it after a phase of discovery and exploration.

Yoky Matsuoka is one of those masters.

She wasn’t interested in the traditional careers like law or medicine. She was into tennis. Her parents sent her from Japan to the US to pursue tennis, but an injury ended that path.

Unsure what to study, she chose engineering. Later, her interest in how hands work (from tennis) led her to robotics, and eventually neuroscience to study the brain-hand connection. By combining her passions, she revolutionized the design of robotic hands, modeling them after human hands.

If you don’t fit in any field or have multiple passions, create yours by exploring and combining other fields.

#3. The process behind great masters

All masters go through a similar 3-phase process:

Apprentice, Creative/Active, and Mastery.

First, they immerse in a field, learning as much as they can. For Leonardo, it was countless hours of sketching the landscape of his walks around the forest. Then, it was working under Verrocchio, one of the master painters of his time.

Then, all that immersion clicks and the master ventures into their own creations. That usually means taking distance from mentors and finding their own way.

Finally, their field becomes second nature, guided by intution. Notes flow on a piano, scenes come alive on canvas. The apprentice becomes a master. And that’s not the result of magic, but immersion, practice, and persistence—A path open to anyone willing to walk it.