I write this piece humbly, as someone who still makes mistakes despite being in and around markets for 30 years.

The truth is, I still haven’t mastered investing. And it infuriates and motivates me in equal measure.

For instance, I completely missed this semiconductor rally. I had both eyes on precious metals. Even after silver tanked at the end of January, I didn’t think, “Well, I’ll just stick my capital in semis.” I was too busy nursing my wounds and wondering about the war.

Still, I strive to improve. And luckily, I came across a short book about mastery that renewed my resolve to keep on keeping on. I hope this piece does the same for you.

George Leonard wrote a short book called Mastery in 1991. He was writing about aikido, but he may as well have been writing about investing. Or playing the piano. Or any worthwhile endeavor.

It’s More a Staircase Than a Road

Leonard spent years studying how people actually learn things. Not the saccharine motivational poster version. The real, messy, slow version.

His core insight: skill doesn't grow in a straight line. It grows in spurts, followed by long, flat periods he called plateaus. The journey looks more like a staircase than a yellow brick road.

You improve fast at first. Then you seem to stall. Nothing moves. Progress goes underground. Most people quit here, drifting to the next idea, or thrashing around trying to force results.

Leonard saw something that most people miss. When a learner plateaus, it’s at the level where acquired knowledge is being consolidated. The skill is still quietly building below the surface, like a tree deepening its roots before the next growth spurt.

Then one day you break through to a new level without any warning. And the whole process starts again.

Every serious investor alive has lived this story. But the ones who quit at a plateau never found out how far they could have gone.

Three Guys Walk Into A Bar Called Mediocrity…

Leonard described 3 types of people who can't make peace with the plateau. All three are everywhere in markets.

The Dabbler loves the beginner's high. The early gains (if he’s lucky). The novelty. The moment progress stalls, and it always does, they're gone. Crypto, then AI, then uranium, then whatever is screaming on FinTwit this week. Their portfolio looks like a scrapbook of enthusiasms. It has lots of stories, but no compounding.

The Obsessive thinks he gets to a plateau because he’s not working hard enough, so he starts to push harder. He looks at more indicators or a bigger size. He stays up later reading SEC reports. His equity curve looks like a volcano, with a sharp run-up and a brutal wipeout. Rinse. Repeat. These traders blow up because they refuse to let the process breathe.

The Hacker reaches a workable level and parks there permanently. A 60/40 portfolio, an index fund, and the same three newsletter subscriptions. It’s fine until the regime changes. Right now, a lot of Hackers are navigating a high-rate, high-inflation world with a zero-rate era map. The map and the terrain no longer match, if they ever did to begin with.

If you're honest, you may recognize yourself in one of these. I've been all three at different points in my career. The first step is simply to name it.

Now Watch The Master Work…

The Master investor doesn't look dramatic. That's the whole point.

The Master creates his best style and sticks with it. He runs a simple routine. It may be as simple as a weekly reading, a monthly review, and an annual strategy check. He treats each trade as a training rep and journals those decisions.

Most importantly, he has pre-committed to how he'll behave on the plateau. He knows his maximum drawdown tolerance. He knows his holding periods. He doesn't check the ticker every 20 minutes, looking for permission to feel smart.

When the flat stretches arrive, and they always do, he stays engaged without flinching. He keeps reading, learning, and logging decisions. He accepts the lack of dopamine hits as a feature of the process.

When the breakthrough inevitably comes, he's in a position to profit from it.

The Time Is Now

The last 15 years rewarded Dabblers and Obsessives. Zero interest rates made thoughtless action look like skill. You could buy almost anything, hold it for a few months, and claim to be a genius. The plateau was short because cheap money and government intervention papered over every mistake.

That regime will end soon enough.

In a world of higher rates, tighter credit, and genuine volatility, the Dabblers will get chopped up by trading costs and bad timing. The Obsessives will blow up when the leverage finally bites. The Hackers drift on, unaware their map is past its sell-by date.

The Masters will have been building the whole time. They will have read the 10-Ks and tracked the cycles. They have the discipline to hold the right position through the next long, boring, and ultimately profitable plateau.

Mastery is available to anyone willing to accept the challenge of walking up the staircase. You just need a written process, the humility to follow it, and the patience to love the plateau. Loving the plateau isn’t so much a stoic love of boredom. Rather, it’s the awareness that your know-how is consolidating for your next move up.

That's the edge most people give away for nothing.

Wrap Up

George Leonard may have written his book for aikido students, but it works for anyone trying to build genuine skill in a world that currently rewards noise and punishes patience.

The market will test you on the plateau. It will deliver boredom, doubt, and a steady parade of flashy distractions. It will make the Dabbler's approach look like genius, up until it doesn't.

Your job is to still be in position when the breakthrough arrives.

Pick your circle. Build your routine. Love the plateau.