There are no Shortcuts

The most sure sign of mastery is simplicity. Often, ‘simple’ is mistaken for ‘easy’, which makes it easy to discount it's value.

Picasso’s Bull outlines the path to simplicity. In order to create 'simple' bull, we must first know the all detailed aspects of the form.

This principle applies broadly. If you want to make any simple abstraction of reality, you must first understand the whole depth of the reality you are looking to abstract from. Doing your 10,000 hours to master a skill, is only just the starting point to achieve simplicity.

Great work stands out because when you see the process and land on a result, it feels obvious. The amount of work required to achieve that obvious outcome can’t be discounted though, because it’s only obvious in hindsight. There are no shortcuts.