Miyamoto Musashi was a renowned warrior in feudal Japan. He fought sixty duels to the death and saw combat in six large scale battles. In his old age he codified his strategy and philosophy in several written works. The most famous of these, the “Book of Five Rings,” is still studied by military strategists, businessmen, and philosophers today. In his writings, he put forth nine precepts. These were his rules for success. The first of these simply reads “The way is in training,”

The way is in training. This is another universal truth. It applies to warfighters and healers, artists and tradesmen, athletes and entertainers. Mastery of a craft requires deliberate practice, focused effort over thousands of hours of training. There’s more to this statement though. It has a deeper meaning.

Modern training philosophy, especially police and military, is very much result focused. A policeman completes a forty hour instructor certification course and is now a subject matter expert. At least according to his chain of command. A soldier completes SFAS and the Q-course and earns his tab. He doesn’t realize how little he actually knows of his craft until he gets to his team. A problem with check the box training is that it’s designed to create a minimum standard through brief immersion. That isn’t how you train for mastery.

Training for mastery is process focused. Look at anyone at the very top of their craft. They have a system of training in place designed to carry them through a career lifetime of steady improvement. That system, that process, becomes their lifestyle. Their way of life. It’s the foundation their mastery is built on. It’s the bedrock that supports them in moments of defeat, and the touchstone that keeps them grounded through victories. And that focus on the process, day in and day out, is how you achieve mastery. Brief periods of intense effort alone won’t do it. It takes a sustainable and dedicated level of training over the long haul.

That process, that system, becomes your way. Your path to walk. Your journey to mastery. And over time the process becomes its own reward. The journey itself is now the destination. The way is in training.