This article outlines four simple laws of self-mastery that YOU can use to unlock success…and examines why most men aren’t willing to do them. Fear and pain.
These laws are simple, but they’re not easy. Here’s the TL;DR version of it for you:
The Four Laws of Self-Mastery are: Read, Study, Learn, Attend.
The secret to success with them is consistency in action.
“Your success, financial and otherwise, will never far exceed your personal development. Start doing something that you’ve put off because of the risk of failure.”
– Dan Miller
Failure is one of the biggest drivers that prevents us from unlocking the success that lies within us. Often, it’s not even the failure itself that prevents us from taking action…it’s the fear of failure.
We allow fear to serve as our driver. Why? It delivers results. It’s easy and effective. Fear and pain are the primary drivers in life behind the things that we do, and more specifically the things we do not do.
What happens when we begin to operate with an overwhelming desire to succeed instead of this fear?
We find balance in life.
In this article, we will continue to examine what it takes to think this way. This article is part of a series intended to equip the reader with tools and resources to succeed
and live a healthy and balanced life.
Please note that this is the third article, which is part of a larger series. I recommend doing your homework and reading the first two articles in the series for context:
7 Steps to Make 2022 Your Best Year Ever
Yes. You’ve got some homework to do.
When you’ve completed this, you can return to this article, where we will do a dive into why “Read” is the first law of self-mastery. Be disciplined and do the work.
In the beginning of this article, we read a quote by Dan Miller:
Your success, financial and otherwise will never far exceed your personal development.
When we begin to achieve financial peace and improved
physical health and well-being, we begin to experience increased clarity of
thought – which allows for more effective personal development.
When we begin to experience increased clarity – it is
important to take advantage of the improved mental state we find ourselves in
and begin working through understanding the first law of self-mastery:
Read.
Did you do your homework?
Are you one of us – the Men of Order? Or…are you comfortable with the complacency
and mediocrity of your life? Be the
leader you were born to be. Do your
homework!
Read
As you can see, much of this content has been inspired by Dan Miller, author of the book 48 Days: To the Work You Love. If you did your homework and read the previous articles, you’ll find links to much of the other content I’ve read and consumed and shared within this series here on Men of Order.
Reading is critical in our journey towards Personal Development…which is why it’s the first law of Self-Mastery. We must consume a wide variety of content to determine what is currently appropriate for us.
What do we read? Where do we begin? You can perform internet search after internet search and find numerous “top 10” lists – and you can compare and contrast lists all day. Alternatively, you can look at someone like Naval Ravikant, who suggests reading the best 100 books over and over again.
Check out his recommended reading list.
I think you’ll enjoy it, along with the following quote:
“The truth is, I don’t read for self-improvement. I read out of curiosity and interest. The best book is the one you’ll devour.”
Naval Ravikant
The beauty of this quote is its simplicity. It’s very much in line with the guidance and counsel I received from my father growing up – and we’ll touch more on that in the next article about Family.
When we pursue what we’re curious about and the things that interest us, we will never cease to be entertained and subsequently…the books we end up devouring are the very same books we study.
A changed perspective allows us to see it as such.
Study
Often, “reading” and “studying” get mixed up with one another. To simplify…I think we “read” first – to absorb as much information as fast as possible. Revisiting what we’ve read allows us to study it further.
Let’s look at the word, “study” to better understand the meaning of the word.
Definition of study
(Entry 1 of 2 – noun)
1: a state of contemplation
2a: application of the mental faculties to the acquisition of knowledge
years of study
b: such application in a particular field or to a specific subject
the study of Latin
c: careful or extended consideration
the proposal is under study
d(1): a careful examination or analysis of a phenomenon, development, or question
(2): the published report of such a study
3: a building or room devoted to study or literary pursuits
Definition of study (Entry 2 of 2)
1a: to engage in study
b: to undertake formal study of a subject
The purpose of the examination of the word is to differentiate the meaning of the word “study” from the word “read.” You’ll see where we’re going shortly. Hang with me…
You read a twitter feed on the toilet when you’re taking a shit. If you’re trying to improve your life…you STUDY the references and links contained within Men of Order articles. Do your homework!
Learn
I’ll save you the hassle of reading through a dictionary definition of the word “learn” – but understand that when we learn – we gain knowledge or understanding…more than simple memorization.
We come to be able and realize how what we have been reading and studying can be applied in life. Moreover, we are generally able to teach something once we have learned it.
This idea of teaching what we have recently learned is something that seems to be frowned upon in certain circles – for one must have the proper degree to teach a child.
However, if we look at many Amish and ethnic communities, we will see that often times the older children teach the younger children the content they have learned.
Furthermore, when we begin teaching something that we have learned, or are learning – it enhances the manner in which we actually learn the material we have read and studied. Teaching seals the deal.
Attend
This final law of self-mastery is the simplest of them all.
Simple, but not easy.
To attend – we must show up. To achieve self-mastery, we must be consistent with all of them.
We’ve already learned that the secret to unlocking success is embracing fear and pain – two things that most people aren’t willing to two…and two simple reasons why most people are not successful.
Showing up consistently is the simple key that will help you move beyond most people.
Showing up often means putting yourself in uncomfortable
and/or intimidating situations…often times these are stressful environments –
but remember, not all stress is bad! Do
you work out? You’re stressing your
muscles in order to achieve the desired gains.
In these cases, we consistently stress our mental and emotional states in
order to grow and move forward with our personal development.
“Start doing something that you’ve put off because of the risk of failure.”
Dan Miller
Personal development consists of activities that develop a person’s capabilities and potential, build human capital, facilitate employability, and enhance quality of life and the realization of dreams and aspirations. Wikipedia
One of the greatest ways that we can do all the above is by networking. Online networks are great. In person networks within your local community are great.
Engage in both and attend consistently.
You will meet people you would not “normally” come across in life – but we are not normal. We are Men of Order.
This piece outlined four simple laws of self-mastery that YOU can use to unlock success…and examined why most people aren’t willing to do them. Fear and pain.
Become the leader you were born to be by consistently applying these four laws in life.
