The Concise Mastery

by Robert Greene

The perfect pocketbook gift for the power-hungry - from 'the modern Machiavelli', Robert Greene, international bestselling sensation author of The 48 Laws of Power, Seduction and War. This concise version of the business classic Mastery provides a shortcut to Greene's powerful new tools for achieving greatness. Around the globe, people are facing the same problem - that we are born as individuals but are forced to conform to the rules of society if we want to succeed. To see our uniqueness expressed in our achievements, we must first learn the rules - and then change them completely.







Charles Darwin began as an underachieving schoolboy, Leonardo da Vinci as an illegitimate outcast. The secret of their eventual greatness lies in a 'rigorous apprenticeship': they learnt to master the 'hidden codes' which determine ultimate success or failure. Then, they rewrote the rules as a reflection of their own individuality.







Told through Robert Greene's signature blend of historical anecdote and psychological insight and drawing on interviews with world leaders, Concise Mastery builds on the strategies outlined in The 48 Laws of Power to provide a practical guide to greatness - and learn how to start living by your own rules.

Genres: Self Help, Psychology, Nonfiction, Business, Personal Development, Philosophy, Productivity

208 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 2, 2014

About the author

There is more than one author by this name on Goodreads.

Best-selling author and public speaker, Robert Greene was born in Los Angeles. He attended U.C. California at Berkeley and the University of Wisconsin at Madison, where he received a degree in classical studies. He has worked in New York as an editor and writer at several magazines, including Esquire; and in Hollywood as a story developer and writer.

Robert has lived in London, Paris, and Barcelona; he speaks several languages and has worked as a translator. In 1995 he was involved in the planning and creation of the art school Fabrica, outside Venice, Italy. There he met Joost Elffers, the New York book packager and discussed with him his idea for a book on power and manipulation, the ultimate modern version of Machiavelli's The Prince.

Robert and Joost became partners and in 1998, The 48 Laws of Power was born. The book has been a national and international bestseller, and has been translated into 17 languages. In 2001, Robert released his second book, The Art of Seduction, which is more than a sequel to The 48 Laws; it is both a handbook on how to wield the ultimate form of power, and a detailed look at the greatest seducers in history.

The third in this highly anticipated series of books, The 33 Strategies of War, hit bookstores January 2006 and offers a strategic look behind the movements of War in application to everyday life. In addition to having a strong following within the business world and a deep following in Washington, DC, these books are also being hailed by everyone from war historians to some of the heaviest hitters in the rap world (including Jay-Z and 50 Cent).

The popularity of these books along with their vast and fiercely loyal audience proves these are profound, timeless lessons from historical leaders that still ring true in today's culture. Robert currently lives in Los Angeles.

Reviews

[Gabrielė Bužinskaitė · Rating 2 out of 5]

What a let-down. It's my fourth book by Robert Greene, but my first disappointment.

I gained exactly nothing from this book. Perhaps because I've read so much from the author, his ideas seem obvious and repetitive. On the other hand, if he wants loyal readers, he shouldn't paraphrase the same stuff throughout the books. Disgrace.

The book is fine overall, and his suggestions for mastering your desired field are reasonable. It's just nothing revolutionary. I suppose one could google "how to master your craft" and get a free article that would say everything the author did.

Stick to his books "48 Laws of Power" and "The Laws of Human Nature". After those two, there's nothing left to gain from Robert Greene. Sadly.

[Jsnsquires · Rating 2 out of 5]

Haha only just realised after finishing that this was the “concise” version...I can’t really Imagine how repetitive the full version would be! Overall I don’t disagree with the general premise which can be summarised as masters aren’t particularly special or gifted they just dedicate many years and lots of time to a craft, it just seems like the point could have been made in many less words! On top of this there is a lot of cliched waffle about using your strengths and opening you mind to let creativity flow in. I don’t regret many books but this one I certainly did!

[Obeida Takriti · Rating 5 out of 5]

هذا رابع كتاب قرأته لهذا الكاتب..
كان الأول عن القوة والنفوذ..
والثاني عن الحروب وقواعدها..
الثالث عن الإغواء والإغراء..
والرابع عن البراعة..

حتى أنه من الصعب ترجمة هذه الكلمات للغة العربية لعدم وجودها بنفس المعنى باللغة الإنكليزية..
الكتاب كسائر كتبه تلخص بشكل رائع مبادئ تطبيقية ليصل الواحد للقمة في أي من هذه المجالات..

في هذا الكتاب يشرح كيف يمكن للإنسان أن يصل ليكون معلماً وقدوة في مجاله..
ويعرض ذلك من خلال قصص كأينشتاين وموزارت وداروين وغيره الكثير..

أنصح بقراءة كتبه الأربعة..
نسخة التلخيص أو النسخةالكاملة..

[Jacqui Schischka · Rating 5 out of 5]

As the name suggests this is simple the book "Mastery" condensed down. I really love both books and find them very inspiring - the idea that hard work matters more than anything else and mastery is the goal we should all be striving for.

[Carlos Garcia · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was supposed to be a short read but it took me longer than I expected. I like his style of writing because it's similar to Ryan Holiday, as Robert is one of his mentors.

Robert Greene dissects the book into three parts:
1) The Apprenticeship phase
2) The Creative-Active phase
3) The Mastery phase

Apprenticeship basically focuses on being a life long learner through discovering your life's task (purpose/passion), finding mentors who push and mold you, and eventually surpassing your mentors and becoming your own individual in the field you seek to master.

The creative-active phase focuses on developing your own skills and styles through experimentation. This is where your form your own identity and utilize all that you've learned from your mentors and your studies. You start branching out your knowledge in aims to create a niche within your field.

Mastery focuses on attaining and surpassing your 10,000 hours, which leads to the development of your intuition. This allows you to act and think fluidly, as if your mind and body are acting as one at what you have mastered.

Overall, it was a good book that reinforces the fact that mastery of anything only comes from constant learning, practice, patience, and hard work.

[Arabela · Rating 5 out of 5]

Contains Spoilers!

"Masters are those who by nature have suffered to get to where they are."

I don't know where to start and where to finish when talking about this book. The first book I've read from Robert Greene, and he is the first author I've read, who wrote down everything I think (it's like he read my mind ;) Of course, I have learnt a lot of valuable lessons from this book - one of them being that people who are extremely nice to you or praise you a lot are trying to get close to you so they can hurt you*.

I think reading this book at 18 definitely helped me to understand things that I already knew to a whole higher level. Mastery helped me to learn new things that are extremely important to know, no matter what you do.

I am really into psychology, reading people, and all the topics that were covered in this book, so this was the first book that I have been looking for. The way Robert Greene explains what he talks about it's so beautiful, so that everyone that reads this book can find their Life's Task, and achieve Mastery.

(Some) Favourite Quotes:

"This must begin with you, as you set the tone with your hunger to learn."

"You cannot change people at their core, but must merely avoid becoming their victim."

*"People who praise you too much or who become overly friendly in the first stages of knowing you are often envious and are getting closer in order to hurt you."

"But Masters inevitably possess another quality that complicates the work process: They are not easily satisfied by what they are doing."

[Alexander Lord · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like Robert Greene but not my favorite from him. Mastery takes hard work and you have to find what you're strengths are...

[Ahmad Tekriti · Rating 5 out of 5]

في هذا العصر ,أصبح التخصص ملحاً وسط الأزدحام الكبير
المجتمعات هي بالأشخاص ومعرفتهم ومهاراتهم !
الأشخاص هم الأساس في أي عمليّة حضارية

في هذا الكناب يركز عليك أنت
كيف تصل لل mastery ?
ما هي المراحل ؟ عدد الساعات ؟
الإستراتجيات التي يمكن أن تتبعه والأفكار التي من الأفضل إقننائها
كتاب مليء بالحياة !

[Ryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent book about the importance of mentorship and the importance of the value of practising a skill. A fascinating read. Just like The Concise 48 Laws of Power, it is worth reading the expanded version.

[Mohi]

Not good enough for a 4 not bad enough for a 3. I'm not gonna rate it. :))

[Taiba Nibkhel · Rating 3 out of 5]

More precisely 3,7 ish

Mastery by Robert Greene was a good and informative book. Liked when he used historical and well known individuals to illustrate his points, making the ideas more relatable and grounded in real life examples. I appreciated the structure and the insights, even though I’m not the biggest fan of Greene’s style overall.

I read the concise version first, cause yeah R.Greene can be a bit heavy sometimes, so it was nice to get a clear overview without too much ect.

Even if you're not chasing your passion or dream career, the principles in this book can still help you reach your goals. It’s filled with practical tips and strategies that apply to almost any area of life. In my opinion, read this book if you yeah have time.
Would I read this book again? Meh idk probably when I have time.

[Jay · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’m extremely disappointed with this considering the raving reviews as well as how strong the book started in its first few chapters. By about 40% through, it becomes extremely dull, repetitive, and monotone. Greene presents some insightful historical anecdotes with lessons behind them, but fails to truly deliver on the truly actionable points. This overall left me lost and disconnected from the lesson Greene was trying to present.

Most importantly, my biggest issue with this book is how insanely dull Greene’s writing style is. It genuinely reads more like a college text book than a modern day self help book, and because of this, each and every page was a struggle to get through. Which is truly unfortunate being that many of the lessons seem to be very useful.

Overall, I’d say Mastery is a passable self help book for those who have ample patience and are used to dull/monotone books. That being said, it ultimately fails to live up to its true potential.

[Athina Demon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not one of his bests 😅 but I'm glad I read the concise version as it was tedious at some point...don't want to imagine the long form!

Still it's Greene ... so there's always a lesson to be learned!

[Emilia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Leí el libro completo hace varios años y ahora leí la versión concisa.

La verdad es que me sorprendió el uso de un lenguaje agresivo y displicente cuando describía a la gente que no practicaba las “habilidades de los Masters”.

El autor a veces recalcaba que los demás responderían con envidia ante intentar alcanzar la maestría, que estas personas eran flojas por no esforzarse, que se es complaciente si se elige una carrera por dinero y no por seguir *your life task*.

Por otro lado, los tips/consejos eran repetitivos y me pareció que al autor le faltó incluir mujeres como ejemplos dentro del libro.

En general Mastery me dio una sensación de ser medio cultish y destinado más para CEOs o empresarios que para la persona promedio.

[Kyle Stewart · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the historical anecdotes and the book was very-well structured, aside from chapter 5 which dragged on making me want to get the experience over and done with.

[Chyavan ‎چیاڤانی کتێب · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading this was a great deed I did to mysel. I’m grateful such a book do exist.

[Chidi Brendan Obiechefu · Rating 3 out of 5]

The ideas in this book are very simple, and the book itself is an easy read. I found some parts a bit wordy, which made me more thankful I went for the concise version.

The book’s central idea is that to achieve mastery, broadly speaking, you must:
1. (Re)discover and return to your natural inclinations, choosing a career most closely aligned to them.
2. Subject yourself to a rigorous apprenticeship where skills (not money) is the primary motivation, until you get to the stage where you can experiment, and invoke your creative ability, after learning.
3. Learn from, and serve a mentor
4. Be socially intelligent

The book uses stories of past greats to demonstrate the ideas, and then synthesize them subsequently, focusing on how we can employ them in our lives today.

Overall, apart from the stories which were highly interesting, I found the book a bit too simple, the ideas too self-evident; and without the kind of profundity you find in ancient thinkers, there was nothing to strike you deeply enough. I finished the book slightly disappointed.

[Alejandro · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting description of a long-term process to excel at any field, it is surprising how broad the text actually is to allow this universality. Overall the advice presented is meaningful and rich, however it is at times a bit cryptic to follow, most probably due to the fact that this is a summarized version of a bigger work. The stories introducing each chapters are by themselves very interesting and they serve their purpose to open discussion on the topic in a smooth way.
I have two complaints about this book. The first is that the book is advertised as a more perverse, "get power for the sake of dominating" kind of book whereas in reality it aims something different (that probably wouldn't sell as much). The second complaint is the fact that claims of how the brain works are not supported at all by any kind of research or study. A good way to take this book to the next level would be simply to bring scientific evidence for its claims.

[Prajwal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly recommend this one for anyone trying to answer the question: "how do I master the true calling of my life?"

Concise and lays out very well the stages to mastery in any field. Still has examples from the main book itself, but these are to the point and help lay out the premise of each chapter. I might read the longer version at some point.

I particularly liked how each stage was laid out into examples, keys to mastering the stage (both positives accelerating the stage and negatives blocking the stage), and finally strategies relevant to the stage.

I was able to relate to my ongoing apprenticeship and I'm grateful for this book to have mapped the next few turns I need to be aware of.

[Beaver Buzz · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very concise, straightforward version that boils down the pathway to mastering any skill efficiently. A good read.

[Chloe Jannelli · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have such a spiritual connection to this book since it had an irrevocable impact on my life it's embarrassing.
I remember reading the first chapter on a plane in 2023, right after spending new year's in Paris.
I bought all of the summaries of his trilogy in a bookshop near Jardin Des Tuilleries.
Reading about "discovering your calling" and when I felt the deepest existential turmoil driven by the fear of pursuing acting, brought my back to reality. It's as though having read about "finding your life's task" gave me the only leverage I had at that time to trust my instinct about acting. And so I did. I think if memory serves right, I came back to my second semester at Penn and became much more active with acting. Sure it still took me over six months to truly admit my need to become an actor but I got there. And I'm sure I would have gotten there eventually but somehow I picked up this book, read it before any of the others and never really looked back. And that's powerful !
Anywho! Because of this deep emotional connection to it, I read all of it last summer and took some notes here and there but I knew I wanted to do it well so in March I started going over it and I JUST FINISHED.
For the past three days, all I've done is taken notes on this book. I am going a little insane to be honest.
And timing is important to note. I think I picked it back up in March because I was looking for a coach and wanted his take on mentorship which is his third chapter.
But now that I've made a decision about which drama school to go to next year, I felt this need to go back to this book to consolidate my decision so that I'm sure I've taken the right one especially from the apprenticeship chapter.
And I sure have which is great but what's even more beautiful about this fourth read is that it's not only linked to an apprenticeship but sort of the very recent philosophy I've garnered from life.
A key connection of the past month was ideas and this month has included spirituality and it really deeply touches on those themes. I won't even mention the link to "connections" which is quite incredible.
But what I've realised is that perhaps I really subconsciously took in a lot of what I'd read because some parts of it, I would be astounded by having reached the same process or conclusion.
This is all to say that I feel very attuned with this book.
I will now sort of reflect on the notes like I had done in March because all it's been is sort of highlighting and synthesising. And now I want to do some thinking and reflecting and planning :)

[Adella Nuraisyah · Rating 4 out of 5]

A deeply reflective guide on finding and mastering the thing you’re meant to do.

In this distilled version of Mastery, Robert Greene walks us through how individuals can unlock their full potential by identifying their life’s task—that one calling they’re meant to pursue—and committing to a lifelong process of mastering it. With powerful real-life examples, the book frames mastery not just as a skill, but as a path to purpose and fulfillment.

This book lit something in me. I was deeply moved by how it encourages us to honor our natural inclinations, to listen closely to what we’ve always been drawn to, and to dare to follow it with focus and discipline.

But here’s the thing—it also made me spiral a little 🤯
Because what if you’re someone who loved too many things as a child? What if you don’t have a single clear inclination, but a whole playlist of them? This book hits differently for generalists or multipassionate people.

Most of the examples were of people who already knew their inclination from a young age and went all in. In this economy? 😅 Pursuing “this and that” takes time, money, and lots of risk. And starting feels overwhelming when you don’t even know which thread to pull first.

Still, The Concise Mastery is an inspiring nudge for anyone feeling lost or disconnected from their potential. It won’t solve the uncertainty—but it might get you asking better, more honest questions. And sometimes, that’s where the real work begins.

For the confused creatives, the curious generalists, and the quietly ambitious souls—this one’s for you.

[Abhinav · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m not usually a fan of ‘self help’ books but this one does a good job. Mastery explores the idea of what it means to be a master in a trade and how one gets to that state. It is a deep dive into the human mind towards the goal of crafting the ideal values and behaviours that are necessary to become a master in the modern age. The book starts each chapter with the life of a prominent historical figure like Darwin, DaVinci, Mozart, Faraday, and then uses their anecdotes to craft the story the author wants to convey. My favourite chapter was the one about social intelligence and the seven deadly realities of society. Overall, I would still not give this 4-5 stars since it didn’t inspire me in a moving or expressive way: it was too factual and ordering. Like with all self help books, it was very direct and a lot of what was proposed was, dare I say, obvious. That being said, I did learn a fair bit that will surely be useful in life.

[Artemis · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book surprised me in the best way. I expected something a bit cold and mechanical.

Greene doesn’t promise shortcuts. He doesn’t sell a dream. What he does is lay out, through story after story, what mastery actually looks like: long years of practice, obsession, patience, struggle, humility, and a very real connection to craft.

What I appreciated most was how human the book felt. It’s not just about talent or genius. Actually, Greene pretty much says those things are overrated. It’s about time, focus, and learning from failure. There’s something oddly comforting about that. You don’t have to be extraordinary from birth, you just have to be willing to go deep, and stay there.

This isn’t just a business or self-help book. It’s for anyone who’s serious about getting better at something, whatever it is.
Highly recommend for people who aren’t looking for hacks, but who care about craft, depth, and doing something meaningful over time.

[Michael David · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed Greene's concrete examples and pithy reminders with respect to the mastery of a craft. The most important is that it takes countless hours of practice and training, totaling at least 10,000. There is no easy path to mastery: intuition, after all, according to Sibony's You're About to Make a Terrible Mistake, is really a combination repetition of high-validity actions and continuous learning from them. To develop that naturally takes persistence, drudgery, and practice, which are the same things that Greene also advises.

After looking within, quieting the noise, and returning to one's roots, one can always find one's niche. By building up oneself toward familiarity with this niche, and inductive thinking through exposure with different experiences and examples, mastery might eventually be realized.

[Rakesh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great book from the author.

This book provides us a pointer to find out out life's task by looking in to ourselves when we were kids and use the apprenticeship as a building block from experts and thus adding out self knowledge and further continuously with focus which will lead to mastery in our interested field.

During this path, we will encounter some failures which will again fortify us with information that helps us later in building our VOICE which makes us a master. Years of experience in a interested field and enormous amounts of focussed hard work create several connections in our brain, that makes us rise to the top as a MASTER.

Amazing read and definitely worth a read, another time.

[Manar · Rating 2 out of 5]

I agree with the points, yet the book could have been written a lot more concise. There was also a bit of wishy-washy language, and a hint of nihilistic thought or philosophy.

The author of the book studied classical studies- I would have rather read more about classical studies surrounding the topic than neuroscience about the topic.

The author is not an expert on neuroscience and if he is using such arguments to support himself - then he should at least cite credible sources himself. (He does no such thing)

The last thing is that the title of the book “Mastery” feels purposefully picked to get people to read it more- as there is another older and more authentic “Mastery” book by George that I would recommend rather than this book.

[Clicky Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

I previously read another book in this collection on 'power', and whilst it was interesting, it felt very long and repetitive - so this time around I oped for the 'concise' version, which seemed more like a normal book length. That was a good choice, as it turned out, as it meant I enjoyed it more than I would have. The narrative structure of the book felt a bit disjointed, but the contents was interesting - examining the traits, practices, and examples of known masters. I did come away with a feeling that the book made it out to be impossible to be a master unless you dedicate your entire life to something, which... may well be true, though I am not sure how I feel about that in the context of lifelong learning. Either way, a decent read.

[CY Sim · Rating 5 out of 5]

I feel like i can understand this book after these years of studying and working. In the past, i studied for the sake of a graduate certificate. Now, after years of working and learning from the Masters i have met in the work, there are much i have learnt. Its not just about their knowledge and experiences, but their words and the meaning behind.

There are many points in the book that superimposed on what i have experienced and clarified the situations. Power and intelligence must continue, otherwise it will decay and die. That is so true when i think about it. Learning is uncomfortable. but can be geared by curiosity. 10000 hours of practice would make a master. When i am unmotivated, then its time to flip open this book again.

[Abhishek Thakur · Rating 4 out of 5]

After reading the Concise Mastery, I jave been wondering- Should I have read the unabridged Mastery instead?

Real life anecdotes and life stories are a good attraction of Green's books. But here, for this particular topic, they could very well be the main attraction.

This topic is something people intuitively already understand. But yes, there is an apparent dearth of good literature on it (or is it? Perhaps Greene hasn't considered the self help genre!).

Perhaps one reading is not enough. I will need at least a couple of readings more to really understand what the author was really saying (or what his 'voice' was!)