Could Josh Waitzkin be the most interesting person alive?

I recently learned about him after reading an edition of George Mack’s newsletter. Mack writes, “Josh is 46, but he's lived the life of a 460-year-old.”

I knew I had to look further into this guy.

What I found is astonishing.

Waitzkin has made the art of learning his entire career. Mastering a new craft is his craft, his muse, his raison d'etre. He’s done this with several domains, including chess (became an international master at age 16), Tai Chi (a two-time world champion), and Jiu-Jitsu (a black belt).

Photo Credit: Josh Waitzkin Website

Today, he’s mastering a new skill: foil surfing, the sport of riding a surfboard which has a hydrofoil attached to the board instead of a fin. After spending a week with surfing legend Laird Hamilton, Waitzkin began experimenting with tow-in foiling.

“When you learn a technique, you’re learning one thing. When you learn a principle that embodies a technique, you might be learning a thousand things. And when you internalize a principle that crosses the boundaries between arts, you are learning about life itself,” Waitzkin said. “This is part of the reason why I think my approach to surfing and foiling has looked so strange to lifetime surfers because I’m not approaching it locally. I’m working on internalizing certain core concepts, universal principles, and I’m integrating the technical landscape in that context.”

Waitzkin is remarkable in that he’s willing to start over time and time again. Most people have a contrary approach — they find one domain and master it until they become a pro. Waitzkin realizes that for him, the excitement peaks during the learning process.

"I've come to realize that what I am best at is not Tai Chi, and it is not chess. What I am best at is the art of learning,” he says.

What I found most fascinating about him is he refuses to get trapped by the allure of success. When he masters a new craft, he is willing to put it aside in favor of another pursuit and start from scratch. For Waitzkin, it’s all about mastering the basics.

“It is rarely a mysterious technique that drives us to the top, but rather a profound mastery of what may well be a basic skill set,” he says.

Here’s what we can learn from Waitzkin about learning for the love of learning, becoming a high-performer, and the importance of finding your edge.

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