WEEK 15: Beginner’s Leverage — Why Starting Like a Rookie Unlocks What Mastery Alone Can’t
- Glen Jensen
- Apr 21
- 3 min read
Updated: Apr 28
The Lie of Mastery
When I started making video content for social media, it sucked.
To some people, it probably still does.But that’s the only way it’s going to evolve.
Same goes for writing.
Same goes for public speaking.
The only path to great is through not-good-yet.
TL;DR: Want to Go Deeper — or Think It Through Out Loud?
If you’d rather wrestle with the ideas than just read about them, I made something for that.
It’s not a summary — it’s a conversation.A back-and-forth that questions assumptions, pokes at certainty, and unpacks what “beginner’s leverage” really means in real life.
For thinkers, doubters, and those who learn best by dialogue over doctrine — this is your portal.
When Expertise Becomes a Cage
Mastery can become a trap.The more skilled you get, the more you want to protect your pride.The less willing you are to look foolish again.
That’s what keeps you stuck — guarding old trophies instead of hunting new terrain.You’re not lazy. You’re clinging to an outdated identity.
The Power of Strategic Incompetence
Beginner’s leverage.
It’s the freedom to move again — not despite your ignorance, but because of it.
When you allow yourself to start badly, you reopen doors that mastery quietly sealed shut.You don’t abandon what you know — you sharpen it by friction with the unknown.
Mastery isn’t a destination.It’s the discipline of returning to wonder, again and again, on purpose.
Your Assignment
Beginner’s Sprint
Pick something you’re bad at: a language, a sport, a skill, a creative medium.The metric isn’t performance. It’s play. It’s presence.
Do it for 5 minutes a day, every day, for one week.Don’t overthink. Just move. Just make. Just begin.
If it’s easy, you’re not stretching.If it’s awkward, you’re doing it right.
The Master’s Secret
Remember Week Zero?Painting your life like the Golden Gate Bridge — never done, always repainted?
That wasn’t metaphor.
That was a warning.
True mastery is maintenance.
And maintenance means beginning again.
Real masters don’t hide the rust.
They go looking for it.
From the Field
Six months after landing in Brazil, I decided to learn paragliding.
In Portuguese.
Stranger in a strange land, doing strange things in a strange tongue.
It was brutal. But it broke something open.
I had to learn to listen again.Not to reply — to survive.And in that crucible, humility returned. So did wonder.
Necessity didn’t just teach me.It remade me.
What Stays With You
Rust never rests. Neither should your wonder.
For Those Who Want More
Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind — Shunryu Suzuki
The Art of Learning — Josh Waitzkin
These books aren’t tips and tricks.They’re invitations to return to the real work.
Lines That Linger
“In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities, in the expert’s there are few.”— Shunryu Suzuki
“Let yourself be silently drawn by the strange pull of what you really love. It will not lead you astray.”— Rumi
“Pivoting is giving yourself permission to suck at something — and begin again.”— Glen Jensen
The Real Challenge
Choose one thing this week that terrifies your pride.
Be willing to look foolish.
Be willing to learn again.
That’s the edge. That’s the lever.
Before You Go
If this stirred something, good.
You’re not meant to be polished — you’re meant to be alive.
For deeper context, revisit:
Next week:We go after the charlatans.The performance coaches. The hollow formulas. The awards no one respects.You’ll see why the growth you need will never come from their funnel — and never did.
Get ready.It’s going to be a cleansing fire.
P.S.
I send these once a week — no funnels, no fanfare.
Just grounded clarity for people building from the inside out.
If that’s you, sign up at my site.
Free. Honest. Yours if you want it.
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