The 7 Masters

Start here.

A dojo is where you practice, not where you’re finished.

Who this is for

If you’ve collected a shelf of books, talks, and advice, and the life you’re actually living hasn’t caught up, this is for you.

It’s for people who stay busy — owners, tradespeople, creators, anyone trying to make the work and the life line up — and who don’t need another guru. You need a way to sort.

I’m Steve Padgett. I’ve been a CPA since 1991. I’m also a guitarist and an entrepreneur in Mount Vernon, Washington. Around 2019 I had almost talked myself out of my own dreams. I had decided the grown-up move was to give up the “crazy” ideas and be happy with the life I had. This is as good as it gets, I told myself.

Then I doubled down. I went looking for teachers, and I could see the other risk too: follow one guru off a cliff. This project is what I built so I wouldn’t do either one.

If you’re standing where I stood, start here.

What The 7 Masters is

The 7 Masters is a personal-growth project I call Dojo of the Mind. I don’t think of myself as a guru. I’m a tour guide of my own experiences, sharing them so they might have a positive ripple effect on yours.

The idea is simple. Instead of worshipping one master, I rotate a list of seven. That list has changed, and it will keep changing, which is the whole point.

The method is a line from Bruce Lee:

“Absorb what is useful, discard what is useless, and add what is specifically your own.”

— Bruce Lee

Absorb. Discard. Add. That’s how you study seven teachers without becoming a disciple of any one of them. You take what works, let the rest go, and add what you’ve learned the hard way.

There are two lists, and a third kind of master:

• The Known are masters the world knows, people I study through their work. The first seven are Bruce Lee, Napoleon Hill, Grant Cardone, Jim Kwik, Brendon Burchard, Tony Robbins, and Ray Dalio, with Nir Eyal next.
• The Not Knowing are the people who taught me without knowing it — family, a teacher, a client, friends. I only name a private person when I have their permission.
• The Way means a craft you study the way Bruce Lee studied fighting arts.

I practice in public with essays and short videos. The book comes after the work.

The three best first reads (and watches)

How The 7 Masters Started

Around 2019, I had almost talked myself out of my own dreams.

I’d decided my real problem was that I kept chasing “crazy” ideas. The grown-up move, I told myself, was to give them up and just be happy with the life I had. This is as good as it gets. It’s all downhill from here. From now on I’d accomplish less, not more.

I was almost there. My flame of passion and dreams was nearly out.

Read the full story

What to do next

1. Read the full origin story: How The 7 Masters Started.
2. Meet the first seven, and the method, at The 7 Masters.
3. Starter notes coming soon.
4. If you want to, share your own seven. There’s a simple fill-in graphic for that, below.

Share your seven

Once you have a list, you’re welcome to share it. There’s a fill-in graphic with seven blank lines. Post it with #My7Masters, and tag me if you’d like me to see it.

Placeholder — the fill-in graphic will be linked here after Steve OKs it and the file is hosted on the site. It is not uploaded in this pass.

Your list does not have to match mine. The list is supposed to change.

Name a private person only with their permission.

I won’t promise to feature or repost anyone. There is no prize or contest.

Starter notes coming soon.

The teachers named here have not endorsed this project. Personal growth, not tax advice.