Mastery: Picasso And The $20,000 Napkin

Issue No. 57 | January 29th, 2024 | Read Time: 2 Minutes

When I was 19, I thought the coolest thing you could do was to be a master at everything.

And so for 1-2 years, I dabbled in just about everything you could think of:

Flipping

Day Trading

Dropshipping

Cryptocurrency

Print On Demand

Affiliate Marketing

Instagram Page Selling

Just to name a few.

That was until I realized that the most successful people in the world only typically focus their efforts on one or two things. 

In other words, where your focus goes, effort shows.

That mastery comes from repetition and working towards one thing for months, years, and even decades. 

If you're willing to dedicate your life to one or two things and share it with the world, you're bound to gain a following.

And that's exactly what happened to Picasso.

I'm sure it's safe to say every one of my subscribers are familiar with Picasso, but long story short, he was a Spanish artist who dedicated his life to creating more than 20,000 paintings and sculptures.

His lifelong dedication to art is why he became famous, and why nowadays, his art is worth millions of dollars.

And there's a story about Picasso that I believe perfectly encapsulates the idea of mastery and value in one's craft.

In a small coffee shop in France, there was a woman drinking a cup of coffee and eating a scone when she noticed a man sitting across the room doodling on a napkin.

After about five minutes of doodling, she noticed the man stand up, crumble up the napkin, and go to throw it away as he walked out.

But before he could, the woman ran over to him and asked him if she could keep the napkin and would even be willing to pay him for it.

To which the man replied, "Of course, for 20,000 Euros."

The woman was stunned and quickly fired back on how that was an outrageous price for something that only took him "Five minutes to draw."

"Dear," the man said, "This didn't take me five minutes to draw, this took me 60 years."

And so the man stuffed the napkin in his pocket, turned around, and out the door walked Picasso.

This story is the perfect example of what mastery can do for you.

If you're willing to dedicate your life to what's directly in front of you, you'll have the reputation to charge whatever you want; since nowadays, everyone wants to be a master at everything.

Because you know what they say, a jack of all trades is a master of none.

Until next time,

Isaiah Taylor

Dive Deeper

What I'm Currently Reading -

Right now I'm in the middle of reading Theodore Roosevelt's Biography titled

Theodore Rex

by Edmund Morris. The second installment in the trilogy of his life. 

• If you'd like to see my book notes pertaining to this book or any others I have previously read, then check out my websiteisaiahctaylor.comto view my entire library of notes and summaries.

Quote Of The Week

• "Whatever your mission, stick by it as if it were a law and you would be committing sacrilege to betray it." — Epictetus