Quotes About Mastery

The animal wrests the whip from the master and flails itself in order to become the master

Sometimes it seemed amazing that an average lifetime sufficed to learn enough to work here with a modicum of success.

The less effort, the faster and more powerful you will be.

I'm a massive Roger Federer fan, and sometimes I can see in his game the willful development of a tactic or technique that doesn't come as naturally to him, like fixating on improving the backhand. And I'm thinking, Hit the forehand! It's what you do!

The people I really admire, like William Blake and John Coltrane and Richard Wagner, had these ridiculously full universes that took their entire lives to describe.

I wish there was a painter who could paint as well as Ted Williams could hit.

Willie Mays was the best baseball player I ever saw. He could do anything.

My techniques are basics, but my willingness to be in the pocket and see things is very high level.

The forthputting of willpower is a means of strengthening willpower. The will becomes strong by exercise. To stick to a thing till you are master is a test of intellectual discipline and power.

My top three were Jim Brown, Wilt Chamberlain and Bo Jackson.

I caught the U.S. Open a couple of times, but, man, I would love to catch Wimbledon and watch Nadal - he is the king of all kings.

Any quality player can adjust well to the different demands. It is like a good tennis player who is expected to adjust to the clay at the French Open, the grass at Wimbledon, the hard courts of the U.S. and the heat of the Australian Open. A professional is expected to do all that.

I'm in this sport to win but win by being the best, not by being lucky.

Every time I win a tournament I have to think that there is something wrong with modern chess.

Fast learners win.

Martial arts is a life journey. One of the things my teacher taught me a long time ago was that everyone's path to the mastery of a certain system is different. Some people's path is a very direct route, where others might wind back and forth if you are injured or something.

Just as food is a craft, great service is, too. It can take years to perfect the technical aspects of clearing a plate, carving tableside, or pouring wine, and a lifetime to master the emotional elements of service.

When humans become gods, when our wings grow so great as to beat about the very edges of the earth, no one can answer but us.

Talk about Jose Mourinho, and you're talking about a winner.

Winning is not always the barometer of getting better.

The ability to manage large assets well - it's like being Michael Jordan or winning the gold in the Olympics; it's what you aspire to.

The longer you play, the better chance the better player has of winning.

I think that winning a third World Championship would really take me up to another level in the sport.

I want to know everything there is to know about a specific area. And it's winning at that mastery that really drives me. I want to be best at something. I don't even know what 'this' is, but there's this inner drive to be the best.