Mastery is not a gift handed to the “talented", it’s a ruthless process: time, patience, humility, apprenticeship, and the emotional control to not quit when it gets boring. In this review, I break down Greene’s core ideas, why social intelligence matters as much as skill, and how intuition gets forged through long exposure to the craft.

(00:00) — Go against the tide: develop mastery
(00:11) — Why this book, why now
(00:38) — Context: comparing to 48 Laws of Power
(00:57) — Reading experience: chunky, dense, “Greene” style
(02:42) — Power vs Mastery: maturity and intent
(03:24) — Who this book is (and isn’t) for
(04:32) — The myth of talent: process beats “genius”
(06:16) — Core point: mastery is a process
(07:31) — Time, patience, humility IQ (and people quit early)
(08:17) — Freddie Roach: mastery through endurance
(09:52) — The book’s structure: life task → apprenticeship → mastery
(10:37) — “Life task”: curiosity vs passion
(12:18) — Apprenticeship: long, boring, necessary
(13:50) — Mental dynamic: emotional regulation
(14:24) — Social intelligence: skill alone won’t save you
(15:48) — Dimensional mind: intuition + rational
(18:18) — AI analogy + building a “bigger matrix” of insight
(20:44) — Closing: the six steps and the seduction of mastery

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Ever looked at the art world and thought: how does any of this actually work?
I read How to Collect Art (2024) by Magnus Resch to figure out whether a normal person can buy a single great piece… and whether art is actually a good investment.

Resch approaches the art market like an economist: data, power structures, and the brutal reality of gatekeepers. The big theme? The art world isn’t a free market, it’s a pyramid. A tiny number of fairs, galleries, curators, and institutions sit at the top… and they decide what becomes valuable.

In this review, I cover:

Why the “mysterious” art market feels so closed-off

The alpha / beta / gamma / delta pyramid Resch uses to explain status and access

Why “art as an investment” is mostly a trap (unless you’re playing at the top end)

Why the book made me want to buy art for meaning, not resale

00:00 – Intro: why I picked this book
00:21 – The empty wall problem (why I want art)
00:58 – What I hoped the book would solve
02:12 – The book’s style: blue quotes + companion “artist” book
03:22 – Resch’s economist approach to art
04:09 – The real driver of value: representation & institutions
05:11 – The “35-year-old” cliff edge for artists
06:12 – The harsh truth: most art has near-zero resale value
06:52 – Art index vs S&P 500 (and what happens with broader data)
09:11 – When art can be an investment (and the price floor)
10:24 – The better frame: be a patron, not an investor
10:52 – The parts I skipped: emails, CVs, auction house logistics
12:22 – “Networking and Instagram” (useful but irritating)
13:26 – The collector mantra: buy what you love
14:13 – The pyramid: alpha / beta / gamma / delta
18:35 – NFTs + digital art gets a mention
19:11 – Did it help me buy art? What I’m taking away
21:11 – Final verdict + what I’ll do instead

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A short snippet on the way we do things behind the scenes as the new year approaches and a concerted effort in our book reviews rises.

Connect with Mere Mortals:
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Connect with Mere Mortals:
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