1/ How to achieve mastery?
“Singular focus compounds exponentially.”
At some point in life, we all want to be masters at what we do. But mastery comes at a cost and there is one thing that you need to get right.
YOU’VE GOT TO BE DUMB
“Is he stupid?” No, I’m perfectly in my senses. Let me tell you about “The Dumbness Quotient”
Late 2013 was the time when I bought my first and the only bass guitar I’ve ever owned. I was a part of a metal collective and we played at various college festivals in and around Mumbai.
Every gig gives you a sudden rush of emotions running through you. The joy of performing on stage gives you an incomparable high! You are on cloud nine thinking you have killed it on stage, only to be humbled by the next band performing after you, who outperforms you in terms of skill, delivery, presentation and what not.
“Masters”, I told myself. But what do masters do which separates them from the clutter?
In our context, this was the follow up question I asked myself, “Who is the best bassist in India?”
Quite a few names popped up. All but one in particular, blew me away!
Born in 1996, Mohini Dey is probably the youngest bass player in India. She started learning bass guitar at the age of 3 and started doing concerts and recordings at the young age of 10.
Imagine learning how to play the bass at 3! Its weight might have been heavier than herself. A passionate mind can achieve anything and she is a living example of that!
Over the years she become an in-demand session player to do numerous live and studio work for many artists throughout India and the world, working with, A.R Rahman, Zakir Hussain, Niladri Kumar. Names which cannot be touched upon by many in the music world.
Being the same age as her I was dumb founded (and I still am)
Can you be dumb?
What did she do right? What do most masters do well? Here are some personalities who are masters at what they do :
- Tiger woods — Golf
- Sachin Tendulkar — Cricket
- Zakir Hussain — Tabla
- Niladri Kumar — Sitar
What is the one common trait amongst all of them? They all started early? Yes they did. But rather than focusing on that aspect, it is more important to focus on what they don’t know. Their dumbness quotient.
Dumbness Quotient (DQ) = (100-Level of Expertise)
Rate yourselves on the basis of the level of expertise you possess in your domain of work.
For example, if you are a Cricketer,
- Level 1 of Expertise — Sachin Tendulkar
- Level 10 of Expertise — Aakash Chopra (JK he wasn’t that bad, he was worse)
Higher the DQ, higher are the chances that you are on your path towards mastery.
I’m sure Rahman can’t do his books or N.Kumar might not know how to plan his investments because their knowledge is limited to their area of expertise.
Point being, if you concentrate your efforts on what you are good at, everything else that you don’t know well or are dumb at, gets filtered out and can be outsourced to others to do it for you.
You level up, not by knowing few things about many things, but by knowing everything about one thing.
To achieve mastery, outsource your dumbness!
Connect with me here :
Twitter : www.twitter.com/deepenshah_
Linkedin : www.linkedin.com/in/deepenshah25
