Robert Greene on Creating Your Reality, 5 Dysfunctions of a Team, Singapore National Day reflections
Hi readers,
This week I’d like to share with you these ideas:
Robert Greene on Creating Your Reality
Current read - The Five Dysfunctions of a Team
Singapore National Day reflections
Robert Greene on Creating Your Reality
How can you create your reality?
In our lives, we have the power to shape our reality.
Sharing 3 key lessons and my reflections from Robert Greene’s interview on Invest Like the Best podcast, on “Creating Your Reality”.
1. Mastery is when the outside world is inside you
I’ve been watching the Men’s Basketball at the Paris Olympics 2024.
With legendary NBA players such as LeBron James, Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant, US won the Olympic Gold Medal with a 98-87 victory over France.
It was a strong fight till the last quarter, and this is USA’s fifth straight Olympic basketball championship.
In this winning team that was assembled, it's almost as though basketball, as a spirit of their own, lives inside the players.
And I give examples of people who play the piano, who've been practicing for so long, but they don't have to think anymore and they're interacting with the keyboard. They become the keyboard.
So it's almost, I say, it's mixing the rational with the intuitive. It's mixing the outside with the inside… You're a great soccer player like Pele or Neymar, or whatever. The field is out there, but it's inside your head. You've internalized it. — Robert Greene
2. To achieve mastery, it requires hours of boring tasks
Whether it’s the players in the Olympics or people you admire in your field of work, it seems like whatever they do is effortless and somehow they can get the results.
But as Roger Federer said, effortless is a myth.
Mastery is not that sexy.
It requires putting in the reps, and spending hours on boring tasks.
But to become really good at something to master it, it's going to require a lot of tedious work. It's going to require hours and hours of boring tasks.
You put in so many hours that the 10,000 hours to show that your brain literally changes. Your mission is a point where you don't have to think so much. So when you're a comedian, great comic routines come to you… You can improvise because you've been through it so many times. The repetitions take over. — Robert Greene
Personally, in terms of fitness, I felt like I was in a plateau stage for the longest while but I’m finally growing out it.
Last weekend, I hit a new record of leg pressing 3x my body weight and hit a new PB in shoulder press. While I am not training to become a superstar athlete, I’m happy with my small wins.
Fitness has taught me great lessons like ditching the fancy new exercises and focus on the few key exercises, and to always, always trust the process.
3. See your uniqueness as strengths
You are unique and different.
Literally no one else in this world has the same DNA sequence as you (well, unless you have an identical twin).
So why should we have a narrow definition of success when we are all so different?
Ask any Singaporean, and they'll probably tell you that these are the common definition of success
Academics: Get into the “Triple Science - Physics, Chemistry, Biology” stream rather than the Arts stream in A Levels
Success Symbols: Achieve the 5C’s - Cash, Car, Credit card, Condominium and Country Club membership to become successful
Job: Get a good job (your parent’s desire) straight after graduation
For me, I did not achieve any of those.
I was an “Arts” student in A levels - Geography, Economics, Literature, Math
The idea of pursuing meaningful work and ikigai resonates with me
I landed my full-time job 2 months after graduation
During my 4 years of university, I learned about investing, delved into the world of tech through tech internships, and I did something that most students were not thinking of doing which is writing online.
So connecting to what makes you different from everybody else is your life's task. And if you look at people who are successful or powerful, who business and arts and sports, wherever, they are one of a kind. They're not imitations.
You can't say for better or for worse that we know of another Elon Musk. There's nobody else out there. It's so weird and strange. And you can say that about other people. An artist is well, particularly in music or whatever. They're strange. They're not afraid to be different. That is your power. They have understood that they're unique. — Robert Greene
You have your own path, and it’s your mission to find out what makes you different because that is your power and what you can give to the world.
3. Re-create yourself, play with different kinds of colours
It’s easy to be pigeon-holed into one domain, whether inflicted upon by yourself or by society.
For example, Taylor Swift was thought to be famous in the genre of country music, embodying the “girl-next-door” character.
But she had a comeback and re-created herself.
Back in 2017 when she released her album “Red”, an interviewer commented, “You started out as a country artist, but now I think you sound more pop.”
In response to that, Taylor Swift mentioned:
“I feel like my music has become a lot of things. It’s hard to label the evolution, but I like there to be an evolution. I just like to paint with all different kinds of colors.” — Taylor Swift
As I journey through my 20s and still figuring life out (as much as everyone else), I like to remind myself of this quote, we can paint with all different kinds of colours.
Listen: Invest like the Best - Invest Like the Best Robert Greene - Optimizing Your Reality
Current Read: The Five Dysfunctions of a Team
As I am still going through the book, I will share my initial thoughts.
The main narrative in “The Five Dysfunctions of a Team” is that there is a new CEO who joined the company, and she is tasked to make the team united and lead the company to success.
Normally I don’t read “fable” style type of books, as I prefer non-fiction books that are more straight to the point.
But this book keeps me turning the pages, as the stories are engaging and quite reflective of common challenges faced by corporate teams.
In short, these are the 5 dysfunctions that plague teams:
Absence of Trust
Fear of Conflict
Lack of Commitment
Avoidance of Accountability
Inattention to Results
Stay tuned to the book review and summary!
Singapore National Day reflections
Home is where the heart is.
9th August marks Singapore’s 59th birthday.
From a country that was once a mud-flat, a swamp, to the modern city we know today. And there’s still a long way to go.
“Deep in my heart I just know. Right from the start, we will grow. Look where we are, we've come so far. And there's still a long, long way to go.”
— We Will Get There song 🎶
One of my favourite National Day Parade (NDP) songs, as I believe that we can contribute in our own ways to pave the progress of the next decades to come.
Cheers to the tiny red dot, I call my home and where my friends and family are.
Happy National Day Singapore 🇸🇬
Leaving you with a quote from Lee Kuan Yew.
“This was a mud-flat, swamp. Today, this is a modern city. Ten years from now, this will be a metropolis. Never fear. Some people think that we are a small place, they can put the screws on us. It is not so easy. We are a small place, in size, and geography. But in the quality of the men, the administration, the organisation, the mettle in a people. And believe you me, for the next thousand years, we will be here. I won’t be here, but people like me, and like my friends here tonight, will be here.” — Lee Kuan Yew, Founding Prime Minister of Singapore
That's all I have for you today.
If you enjoy this post, the best compliment you can give me is to share this with one person who would benefit from it.
Stay curious and see you soon.
Cheers,
Tess
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