MASTERY OF self means being able to choose your reaction in any situation. Showing love, understanding, forgiveness, are the hardest to do, and therefore the best indicators of having gained mastery of self. You know you’ve really mastered yourself when you can do this with the people who push your buttons the most – your business partner, spouse, parents.

When, instead of arguing for the sake of gaining power and attention, you act to edify the other person, this is understanding. When you act with understanding without having to show that you’ve done that – purely for the other person’s sake and genuinely wanting no credit for it – this is love.

Once you have mastered yourself in this way, you’ll gain a glimpse into the world of the great actors, who can completely become any role they choose to play. In real life this is not false, it’s authentic, because it’s coming from a commitment, for example the commitment to be a loving person, and then acting from that, not acting based on what you feel, which is usually driven by the need to protect some ego concern.