My wish is that through reading this book, seekers of mastery should be able to apply its nine lessons to virtually any endeavor to which they seriously dedicate themselves. Once developed, the new knowledge, skills, awareness, and control that accompany sincere efforts at mastery can be applied to other dimensions of life. This effort to help seekers clear away clouds of confusion is my main purpose in writing this book. I also hope it will motivate and inspire, as other autobiographical works written by travelers of the martial Way have motivated and inspired me, works like Funakoshi Gichin's Karate-Do: My Way of Life, C.W. Nicol's Moving Zen, and Dave Lowry's Autumn Lightning. Such works are too few, and so I humbly offer this book as a similar contribution, however unworthy, to the field.

I am also moved to share these lessons as part of the obligation and indebtedness I feel to the teachers, beginning with my parents, I have had along the Way. Knowing that there is no way to adequately repay what I have been given, I hope that writing this can serve at least in part as an expression of my gratitude to them for their teachings and other kindnesses, and a sharing of their wisdom with more people than they can personally reach. For as I hope to make clear by the end of the work, helping each other, acknowledging and acting on our social responsibilities, is really at the core of why we should bother at all about mastery. All of the effort we put into our own personal development is worth nothing if it isn't somehow put to use to benefit others.