What is the Mastery Mindset?

Matt Dearing

The mastery mindset is clear from the second you walk into Dearing Acting Studio. A dedication to mastery in fact is indirectly expected from those who connect with us. Whether you come in to work on your acting craft, or your self, you’ll quickly realize that you are entering a world of your own mastery.

Mastery Mindset

Let’s dig in, shall we?

 How you’ll achieve it? That’s up to you. We consistently stand by our message of “Passion. Love. Mastery”. These 3 principals are what encompass our business and the heartbeat of our atmosphere. These three simple words. And they mean everything.

I want to share with you guys what our value statements are for Dearing Acting Studio.

1. We “Act” with Passion

2. We center everything in Love

3. We progress through pursuing Mastery

So….What exactly is a Mastery Mindset?

The word “Mastery” sounds so beautiful, doesn’t it? When someone is a master of their craft or a master of a certain skill, you’re automatically more inclined to trust them, and ultimately, a “Master” is someone you should want to be around, work with, and learn from. So this leads us to the question of what it actually is and how you get “it”, right?

Is it something you have? Something you manifest? Maybe a value, belief or persona you take on? In my opinion, it’s all of those things. In the acting industry, it is an integral part of the actor’s process. Matt Dearing wrote an article about the actor’s purpose a while back. You can dive into that here.

The reason why we connect the word “mastery” with the word “mindset” is because the two words are inherently important to one another. You cannot manifest goals, growth and success if your mind (your ultimate control center) is not focused on the goals you set for yourself.

Let’s talk about this 10,000 Hours thing.

Author, journalist and public speaker Malcom Gladwell was the first known catalyst for the “10,000 Hours” theory. In his second book, entitled Outliers: The Story of Success, Malcom introduced the idea that it takes 10,000 hours of “deliberate practice” in order to master a skill based off of psychologist Anders Ericsson’s research findings. Check out how far Leeann Dearing has come since she wrote about her awful casting casting experience.

Sounds like a long time. Like, a really long time. I know.

Well, turns out that theory has been debunked. In my research, I have found articles from The Medium6seconds, and countless others who have unpacked the “who’s” and “what’s” of the now-broken theory. But the all encompassing realization is that there are several factors that go into mastering a skill or craft. It’s not just about repetitive and goal-oriented practice. It’s also about setting realistic goals, analyzing your own metrics and competing with your own work ethic.

What’s your mastery mindset process?

Because we talk about the word “mastery” so much at the studio, people are curious as to what that means to us. On our morning talk show, Morning’s with Matt, we invite various guests on the show to share their stories and ask questions. Some of the questions relate to the acting industry, and some relate to the big life questions. Check out Matt’s post on “What Do I Need to Be an Actor?”. We see an eminent pattern in many of these interviews. Many of the discussions revert back to process, protocol and success plans.

Why do we think this question always comes into play? Because we are all looking to improve. We all want to get better and fall in line with those who are masters in their craft. But it doesn’t come without work. What’s so great about mastery when you didn’t earn it. The blood, sweat and tears (and time, and practice, and failure…) that go into the mastery process are what make the victories so worthwhile.

Okay so, what’s the answer?

Alright, so you’re still confused as to what exactly the definition of Mastery is, right? Well, that’s for you to figure out for yourself. What does it mean to you? How will it fit into your life and the goals you make for yourself? You are the master of your own life. The master of your own talent, will power and success path. All you have to do is make the choice to want it bad enough- and be willing to work to get it.