No. 19 — 4th June 2023

Idea

Being a beginner is scary. We don’t know much about how the game works, who the best players are, what the best strategy is, or how we’ll hack our way to success. What we do know, is that we want to graduate from beginner status to mastery.

This is a situation we face several times in our life, especially in our late teens and 20s. In assessing where we want to set up our foundation for a prosperous future, we begin forecasting paths in the domains we’re interested in.

Given that this is an intimidating scenario, having a framework for attaining mastery puts you at an advantage. It means that whenever you encounter a new domain you feel you want to master (like AI, writing, investing or painting), you have the tools to navigate the path.

The framework I’m sharing today is distilled from studying individuals at the pinnacle of their field, like Charlie Munger and Kobe Bryant. I’ve arranged it such that it applies to a variety of domains, but doing so has its limitations, so feel free to modify it to your liking. Here’s the framework:

How to master a new domain

1) Set a clear goal

The path to domain-expertise begins with setting a clear goal. Just like we add a location on Google Maps to outline a path from our current location, we must have a destination in mind towards which we can begin marching.

The destination itself inevitably evolves, so relative clarity on the direction will suffice.

Some examples include:

• Create a mini-portfolio in 3 months by learning how to invest
• Write a short story in 2 weeks by learning storytelling
• Build a functional app in 6 months by learning how to code

2) Study the fundamentals

Every domain has sub-domains and each sub-domain has its own logic and strategies. By mapping out the sub-domains to our main domain, we identify what the fundamentals of our domain are, and why they are important.

For example, Charlie Munger (the legendary investor and Vice President of Berkshire Hathaway) studied psychology, business, economics and math to master the field of investing. He understood that each factor influences the movement of stocks, and hence understood its fundamentals to have the upper hand.

Kobe Bryant knew that a great free-throw, quick feet, and a tall jump would make him a superior basketball player, by helping him outshoot, outrun and outjump the opponents.

Similarly, studying the fundamentals of our craft helps us improve at each of its individual verticals.

3) Learn how to think

While the fundamentals can get us from 0 → 95%, it alone won’t help us attain mastery. To do that, we’ve got to learn how to think.

Knowing how to think gives us the judgement we need to make important decisions. We understand why things happen, which helps us navigate our way out of any apprehensive situation.

Here’s an analogy that proves its value:

If you bought the same stock Charlie Munger bought, you might have a stake in the same company, but you likely bought it at a higher price and thus may not profit from it like he did.

In contrast, if you learn how Munger decides when to make an investment, you can apply his framework to buy the right stock at the right time and maximise your gains.

There’s immense value in learning how the masters of your field think. You save yourself years of mistakes, and build a stronger foundation for your future.

4) Apply what you learn

So far, we’ve been operating outside the arena. To truly improve at what we do and even have a shot at mastery, we’ve got to step inside the arena.

We can do so by setting incremental milestones that allow us to get a feel for the space without having much at stake. This can be writing one paragraph, or coding a simple game.

While entering the arena, it’s useful to have a mindset that isn’t discouraged by failure. If we give ourselves permission to make mistakes and bang into the wall, we learn where the boundaries are. This helps us learn and improve at a faster rate.

Having a bias towards action is what builds mastery.

5) Stay connected

As important as focusing on ourselves is, it’s wise to stay connected with the domain itself. By keeping up with the current advancements, we better understand if the paradigm is shifting, and what it may shift to. This helps us be ready for the future.

We can stay connected in several ways, but some favourites of mine include newsletters, blogs and social pages. I prefer to stay away from mainstream media, as much of what I hear is more distressing than it is valuable.

That’s the framework. It’s worth mentioning again that it’s designed to work for a variety of domains, so it could use fine-tuning specific to the domain you’ve got your eye on. If you’re looking to learn about how Munger thinkers, check this article out:

I hope today's email helped you out on your road to mastery. If it did, consider sharing it with a friend who may benefit from reading it.

Till next week,

Team Juice — Ria, Jay and Akash

Sera, Law Garden, Ahmedabad, India, 380006
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