"I couldn't stop telling people about this book. Wise and joyful, it genuinely changed the way I thought about learning - and it left me bursting to put it into action." - Tim Harford, author of Fifty Things That Made The Modern Economy writing about Robert Twigger's book MICROMASTERY.
Author during the 'trolley project' in the Sahara desert
My talk 'Use your expedition head' borrows from my own twenty plus years of making expeditions and from my studies of MICROMASTERY. I've learned that on an expedition the most important ingredient is enthusiasm. If people lose the will to get out of bed in the morning you won't get to your destination. How to nurture, grow and cajole enthusiasm from myself and others in trying situations is something I have become expert at. And a lot of it comes from the MICROMASTERY perspective. This is a learning perspective. If people lose enthusiasm it is a learning problem as much as anything else. Why? Because they have lost the ability to learn from the situation and improve their own place in it. They want to give up instead.
MICROMASTERY is about providing a new way of learning ANYTHING rapidly and efficiently. Because in the end, it is always about learning. People who can learn fast have confidence, they can respond to the ever changing demands of the workplace, they can have enhanced and more interesting lives.
I started my career as a writer after spending several years in Japan studying aikido with the Tokyo Riot Police- where I gained an instructor's license and black belt. After that I became the first person to cross the Saharan Great Sand Sea on foot, caught the world's longest snake for the National Geographic film Big Snake and replicated the first crossing of northern Canada by indigenous birchbark canoe. In between I had many and varied assignments including hunting for real life zombies in Haiti and documenting the survival of one of the rarest breeds of deer in China.
In every case I had to learn new and sometimes complex skills quickly- often because my life would depend upon them. Over time, this provided the basis for the Micromastery technique. Working with various schools- from Winchester College to a local Comprehensive, Universities such as Oxford, Oxford Brookes and the Royal College of Art, Libraries as far apart as Singapore and Manchester, and corporations such as Oracle, SAB Miller, Maesrk and Proctor and Gamble I was able to refine MICROMASTERY into a powerful program which can be adapted for personal or business use.
I then interviewed over a 100 'masters' in their own fields to discover what Micromastery techniques they could share. This is the basis of the interntaionally best selling book published by Penguin- MICROMASTERY.
"Micromastery is a triumph. A brilliant idea, utterly convincing, and superbly carried through." Philip Pullman.
Joking apart, I had long dreamed of exploring a desert. The Sahara no less. But I was no desert 'master' and I didn't have 10,000 hours to spare to learn...The secret was: MICROMASTERY. Micromastery is about mastering a small but functionally complete microcosm of a field that is much bigger and more inchoate. It provides several crucial things, the most important being- the microcosm is NOT simply a 'chunk' of the main subject, it is more like a cell containing the DNA of all significant paths and relationships needed to master something. It is also a way into the new subject and a model of how to proceed. Most importantly too it has a self-generating supply of motivational nutrition. Some examples: making a perfect omelette is a micromastery of cooking, doing a kayak roll is a micromastery of canoeing, planing an exact cube of wood is a micromastery of carpentry...you don't have to look far to find them and, later, create your own for whatever subject you need to master. Rapidly.
But it isn't just about being in a hurry. Rapid Learning is all very well, but if it doesn't supply ongoing motivation you WILL give up. Rapid Learning is a short cut and some short cuts are so unpleasant you wish you'd gone the long way round. Micromastery provides many of the benefits of rapid learning but also, crucially, it contains within it the MOTIVATIONAL NUTRITION to continue. Turning up and keeping going are where it's at.
My adventures are about taking GIANT STEPS into strange and impossible to imagine places. I travelled in Borneo, Malaysia and the Spice Islands to catch the world's longest snake in order to compete for the Wildlife Conservation Society Roosevelt prize; and searched for a nearly extinct breed of deer in China. I have hunted for real life zombies in Haiti, trained for a year with the Tokyo Riot Police in Aikido, and was the first person to retrace the original 1793 traverse of Northern Canada in a homemade birchbark canoe. I was the first person to walk entirely on foot the 700 km Great Sand sea of the Sahara desert.
I have learned to use MICROMASTERY along the way and my hilarious talk about my adventures will both have you roaring with laughter but also getting some inspiration for using MICROMASTERY in your own life and work.
I have talked at schools, universities, small companies and large corporations. Here is a recent TEDx talk I gave on one aspect of micromastery: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zEUIfXbz0PA
Here is a link to me trying to compress 9 months of travel into 6 minutes for Alastair Humphries Night of Adventure series:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WpoDKEEDKr8
MICROMASTERY is available for booking right now. I have a keynote inspirational speech that is humorous and inspiring. I provide workshops for a half-day, full day or three day Micromaster your business skills course.
To start a conversation about a MICROMASTERY talk or workshop contact Matthew at this email: robtwigger 'at' gmail.com or go through thehamiltonagency.com
Praise for Robert Twigger's Work
"Robert Twigger is one of the handful of authors whose books I go out and buy on publication date. In my opinion he's our finest travel writer." Anthony McGowan
"A bona fide media daredevil with brains and balls beyond the norm" Daily Telegraph
“Remarkable, enjoyable and difficult to categorise,” New Scientist
"Robert Twigger is an inspiring author. Read his books." Nick Hodgson, Kaiser Chiefs
"A brilliant book!" Ray Mears
"Lively, interesting, unusual and entertaining," Sara Wheeler, author of Terra Incognita
"My favourite book about Japan." Loyd Grossman
“A unique and dazzling talent,” Tony Parsons
Adrian Turpin of The Independent called him “The Adventurer Philosophical” and his eclectic range of travel books to remote places focus on adventure, hardship and humour.
"One of the best and most original of recent travel writers." Catholic Herald
“Riveting,” Washington Post
“A yarn that manages to be ripping, thoughtful and times very, very funny,” Maxim
“A book of unexpected brilliance... subtle, funny, stimulating and original,” Patrick French
“A frantic, very funny urban quest,” Simon Garfield
“A modern classic and the best martial arts book ever. It's cool.” Angharad Jackson
"You've got bollocks my lad," Franc Evans, English Matador
“Another terrific read.” Katherine Lacey, Oxford Times
“The most intriguing sports book ever to win the William Hill sports book of the year award.” Daily Mail
“Robert Twigger's books have won him acclaim as a writer of enormous energy and originality,” The Scotsman
“Poetry in motion,” Sue Townsend