The most elusive quality of excellence, of peak performers

worldwide and throughout history is that thing called

“Mastery.” What is this thing, and is it possible for ordinary

people, however committed, to touch this exalted state?

The answer is “yes,” but I’ve got good news, bad news, and more

good news. The first good news is that the path is deceptively

simple. The bad news is that it is hard, and can be painful.

The last, good news is that those on the path have no real

competition—very few people are actually willing to be

excellent in life. They want to talk about it, and dream about

it, but are unwilling to actually pay the price.

And this, as I’ve said, is very good indeed for those of us who

are.

The first thing we must do is devise a useful definition of

“Mastery” whether we are talking about this quality in the

domain of writing and the arts, of interpersonal interactions,

of intellectual pursuit. Then we must throw light on a pathway

to this quality that will enable us to reach our peak

potential.

Try this description: “Mastery is the ability to perfectly

match energy and attention to the task at hand.” In other

words, if every task has a perfect “profile” of attention and

ability necessary to complete it, if you bring either less or

more of yourself to the task, you may well complete it, but you

will struggle and waste energy—or not perform properly at all.

Or try this description: “Mastery is the ability to perform

instinctively and instantly in the manner you would perform had

you a month to consider your actions.” In other words, to have

instant access to your own deepest capacities.

In other words, Mastery is the place where intellectual or

physical or emotional preparation meets pure instinct. The

reflexes of an animal, the emotional purity of a child, the

intellectual focus of a scholar. An incredible goal, designed

to create incredible results.

And the achievement of that goal is exactly what I.D.E.A. is

about.

Instinctive Designation of Energy and Attention. The deliberate

cultivation of instinct, energy, and intellect to maximize your

results as a writer, athlete, businesswoman, human

being…whatever your goal. The theory is both childishly simple

and devilishly difficult, but is your key to accessing your

deepest wisdom.

Basically, I.D.E.A. says that you develop your instincts by

giving yourself deep feedback about the way you are currently

operating in the world. To strip away illusion, and operate in

a “truth zone” about the person you are and the world you live

in. As the ancient Samurai Musashi Miyamoto once put it, “Do

not think dishonestly.” A commitment to total truth will tear

the blinders from your eyes, possibly for the first time in

your life.

Sounds simple? Just wait. Here’s the bad news. In order to be

certain that you are accurate in your assessments, you must

take responsibility for your life, and the results you have

achieved (or occasionally endured!) in all three major arenas

of your life: body, mind, and spirit.

1. Body is fitness and health. Your body should be in alignment

with your own values, or you should be engaged in a daily

process of cultivating the physical health and beauty and

performance that WOULD reflect your values. Want to know if you

are? Strip to your underwear and look in the mirror. If you are

attracted to what you see, you are in alignment with your

values. If you aren’t, you aren’t. It’s as simple as that.

2. Mind. Mind manifests most clearly in our education and

career. Any worm will move away from pain, and toward pleasure.

Believe me, if you aren’t working at a career you enjoy, it

isn’t due to lack of intellect. In such a case you may have

emotional conflicts, value confusion about safety, freedom, and

responsibility, and it would behoove you to commit to healing

them. The core question: if you won the lottery next week,

would you still be at your job next year? If not, you should

accept the challenge of crafting for yourself a career path

that IS that attractive.

3. Spirit. Just as grass bending can signal the presence of

wind, the relationships we have with other human beings in THIS

world can help us understand our connection to the divine. The

most important relationship to address is the one with our most

significant other, our husband or wife, or lifemate. The history

of this aspect of our lives tells us an enormous amount about

our inner world. The most important question: If you viewed

your partner (or the average of your partners, over your

relationship history) as being your mirror image, what would

that say about you? And don’t protest that they aren’t, that

there’s no connection between you and the most important person

in your life. What a joke! Our relationships measure our

honesty, passion, intelligence, self-respect and general energy

Take responsibility here. If you’re happy with your

relationship, pat yourself on the back! And if you’re not…you

have work to do.

You need not tell another human being what you learn if you

look at these three arenas, but YOU need to know. You need to

come to some conclusions about how and why you are in the life

space you are in. The answers to these questions must be

consistent: in other words, you are willing to judge other

people by the same standards you hold yourself to. In all

likelihood, engaging in the I.D.E.A. process will give you vast

compassion for other human beings: we are all battle-scarred, we

are all magnificent, we have all failed, we have all succeeded.

And we move on, toward the light. For an artist, and we are all

artists, this process opens the door to a level of understanding

most human beings never approach. If you walk this path, it’s

important to avoid guilt, blame, and shame—these emotions have

no place in the evaluation of our lives. They merely cloud the

issue. Meditation, dream diaries, therapy, or talking with good

and supportive friends might be valuable to help move through

the pain and confusion. What I promise you is that if you walk

this path, you will be one of the very very few human beings on

this planet who are actually committed to excellence. Mastery

can be lonely…but as you climb that mountain, moving toward a

more and more rarified level of performance, you will begin to

meet the other climbers. And they will extend their hands to

you, and welcome you into an extraordinary family...one bonded

not by blood, but by spirit.