THE MASTER’S OBSESSION:
How Hungry Are You?
3-Minute Read
You don’t need balance. You need fire.
A young man approached a monk, hungry for wisdom.
“I want to find God,” he declared.
Without a word, the monk dragged him to the river, plunged his head beneath the water, and held it there—long enough for panic to rise. When he finally pulled the man up, gasping for breath, the monk asked, “What did you want more than anything else?”
“Air,” the man choked.
“Very well,” said the monk. “When you want God that badly, come back.”
That’s the difference between curiosity and obsession. And if you’re reading this, I suspect you know something about the latter.
You possess an intense drive to create, contribute, and serve. Your mission is not a passing fancy. It’s not optional. You want it like you want air in your lungs.
Obsession isn’t a flaw to fix. It’s the birthright of visionaries. When you learn to harness it with structure and purpose, it becomes a force that shapes nations, movements, and legacies.
This week in The Grip, we’re showcasing three leaders who embodied it: an emperor, an executive, and an athlete. Each remade the world by refusing to settle for “balanced.”
Let them remind you: your hunger isn’t crazy; it’s required.
Let’s dive in.
how hungry are you?
I’m not in this to do what’s normal. –Kobe Bryant.
Ordinary hunger is easily satisfied. But obsessive hunger is a different beast altogether. Obsessive hunger is like fire—the more you feed it, the hotter it gets. That’s what it’s like to be driven by a compelling purpose: you can’t NOT do it. And the more you do it, the more you MUST do it.
If you can relate, you may catch a glimpse of yourself in these three leaders who have gone before you:
Emperor Meiji: The Obsession That Modernized A Nation
In the mid-1800s, Japan stood at a dangerous crossroads. Western imperial powers loomed at the borders, and internally, the country remained splintered under feudal control. Then came Emperor Meiji—just fifteen years old when he ascended to the throne. What followed was not just a reign, but a relentless revolution.
Every morning began with stacks of foreign policy reports and industrial blueprints. His chambers reeked of ink and wax, not incense. By candlelight, he studied translations of Western economics and military tactics, scribbling margins full of annotations for his ministers. No decision was trivial. Meiji personally reviewed and signed tens of thousands of documents a year, refusing to outsource transformation.
When advisors hesitated to abolish the samurai class, he didn’t debate—he issued decrees. When temples protested public schooling, he ordered curriculum reform. When diplomats wavered on treaties, he sent back their drafts with hand-penned corrections. He read every dispatch. He missed no meeting. He governed like a man possessed.
Even illness couldn’t slow him, chairing late-night strategy sessions in his chambers while sick. Every action traced back to a singular obsession: against centuries of tradition, Japan must become unrecognizably stronger than its past, or vanish.
By the end of his reign, Japan had gone from feudal backwater to industrial juggernaut: railways, a constitution, global diplomacy, a modern army. These weren’t committee accomplishments. They were the byproduct of one man’s fire—a sovereign’s relentless refusal to be mediocre.
This is what obsession looks like when it leads a nation.
Sheryl Sandberg: The Disciplined Devotion of a Builder
As the former COO of Meta, Sheryl Sandberg architected the monetization engine that transformed the promising startup into a global business powerhouse. But what’s most striking about Sandberg isn’t just her strategic mind, it’s her operational discipline.
She was known for relentless clarity and focused intensity. In meetings, she sliced through ambiguity with surgical precision. She devoured metrics. She made decisions quickly. She demanded excellence from herself before ever expecting it from her team. And she did it without burnout, because she drew hard boundaries with her commitments.
Sandberg famously left the office by 5:30pm each day to be home for dinner with her children. That discipline wasn’t a soft exit, it was the result of a tightly organized, purpose-driven schedule compelled by outcomes.
Sandberg’s genius wasn’t just in what she achieved—it was in how she harnessed obsession with structure, boundaries, and focus. She didn’t try to do everything. She ruthlessly targeted what mattered to her priorities and left no room for distraction.
Not yet part of The Plenteous Life community? Subscribe to The Grip! Every week you’ll receive additional video, audio, and pdf tools directly in your email inbox to help you transform at both work and home.
Kobe Bryant: The Ritual of Relentless
By 4:00 a.m. he was already sweating, the gym lights beaming. While his teammates were still asleep, Kobe was running footwork drills, perfecting shot after shot.
After practice, he stayed. Film study. Opponent breakdowns. Every movement, every angle, studied like scripture, refining his craft like a scientist. He didn’t just want to win. He was committed to being unstoppable.
Kobe achieved championships, MVPs, and an Oscar. But it was never about basketball. It was about mastery, or as he called it, Black Mamba—becoming the best version of himself, relentlessly.
“Your hunger isn’t crazy; it’s required.”
Obsessive hunger often looks insane; it isolates you. It demands choices few will understand. But that’s what separates visionaries from spectators.
When wisely harnessed, obsession doesn’t burn you out; it builds your legacy. Just ask Sandberg: “If I’m not home to have dinner with my kids, I’m not doing my job right.” Her obsession wasn’t frantic. It was focused.
There’s a way to pursue obsession that benefits—rather than train-wrecks—the rest of your life. That’s what The Plenteous Life is here to help you accomplish. We’ll continue to cover this vital aspect of your leadership in upcoming issues of The Grip.
And if you’re ready to invest in support, our 1:1 coaching is tailored to leaders like you. Reach out here today to explore how we can help you create what matters.
I hope today’s message inspires and fortifies you in your service to others this week. The world needs more of you, fully alive, integrated, and fueled by obsession.
Let me know…what’s your mission?
Keep creating!
key takeaways
Is obsession a liability or a leadership asset?
When structured and aligned with purpose, obsession becomes your most powerful leadership tool, not a flaw to fix.
How do visionary leaders avoid burnout while staying obsessed?
They build disciplined rituals, protect their priorities, and channel intensity into intentional action—like Sandberg’s hard stop at 5:30pm.
What separates extraordinary creators from the rest?
They don’t settle for “balance.” They’re unapologetically devoted to the mission, and that hunger becomes their legacy.
May you prosper in every way!
Becky & TPL Team
52 Maxims of Conscious Choosing To Create the Deeply Satisfying Life You Desire.