Quotes about Mastery
The strict competences of independence, the formal mastery, the complexities of attitude and know-how necessary to life on the farm, which have been in the making in the race of farmers since before history, all are replaced by the knowledge of some fragmentary task that may be learned by rote in a little while.
— Wendell Berry
The good artist believes that nobody is good enough to give him advice. He has supreme vanity. No matter how much he admires the old writer, he wants to beat him.
— William Faulkner
I'm against the picture of the artist as a starry-eyed visionary not really in control or knowing what he does. I'd almost prefer the word 'craftsman'. He's like one of those old-fashioned ship builders who conceived the build of the boat in their mind and after that touched every single piece that went into the boat.
— William Golding
An old Scot used to say to us, 'If He is not Lord of all, He is not Lord at all.
— Leonard Ravenhill
High Standards for High Achievement.
— Les Brown
Excellence in any department can be attained only by the labor of a lifetime; it is not to be purchased at a lesser price.
— Samuel Johnson
Whatever your life's work is, do it well.
— Martin Luther King, Jr.
Before you dismiss a beginner's work, remember how much you sucked when you started. You probably sucked worse, actually.
— Jason Fried
Some writers have excellent "control"; they know exactly what they want to convey, and they convey it precisely and accurately
— Mortimer Adler
Knowing the rules of an art is not the same as having the habit.
— Mortimer Adler
If you fail to control your own mind, you may be sure you will control nothing else.
— Napoleon Hill
Before you can achieve success in the higher and broader sense you must gain such thorough control over yourself that you will be a person of poise.
— Napoleon Hill