The Road to Mastery

11/24/2025

Author: Billy Sandoval

The road to mastery is not paved with hundreds of victories, but thousands of failures.

Tweaks, adjustments, shifts in thought processes.

I remember my onboarding of my first full-time chess teaching position in Seattle.

They sat me down to assess what level I'd be able to teach.

I remember incorrectly thinking the value of a Queen was 8 points.

I mentally face-palmed. That was embarrassing.

But you keep learning. Keep growing.

The truth is, whether it’s chess or something else, you can only get well at it by doing it poorly.

And we don’t like to do things poorly, right?

It’s clunky, shameful, and inefficient.

But it’s the only way forward.

You only fail if you stop.

I encourage you to keep putting yourself out there. Keep pushing your limits. Trying new things. Mess up. Smile. And do it again.

Eventually, you’ll look around and wonder how in the world you made it so far.