488: Maurice Ashley | Chess Grandmaster Gives Life Insights

For those who are pursuing world-class caliber, today we’ll learn from my guest, Maurice Ashley, the Chess Grandmaster. This man lives his passion through his love for chess, and he not only made history as the first African-American Grandmaster in the annals of the game but he has managed to translate his love to others as a three-time national championship coach, author, ESPN commentator, iPhone app designer, puzzle inventor, and motivational speaker. Maurice has a wealth of experience from traveling the world as an ardent spokesperson of the many character-building effects of chess. Let’s tune in together and grab some powerful life insights from the Grandmaster himself. Things you will learn in this episode: [00:01 - 08:09] Opening Segment I introduce today’s guest, Maurice Ashley Maurice gives some background on his story Early childhood  Raised in Jamaica by his Grandmother  Free-time activities  Built a love for games  The transition from Jamaica to the US  Educational life [08:10 - 14:06] So Much More Than a Game  Maurice talks about his story of getting into chess Going into the chess club  Chess finds you  The brain for the game How chess sharpens other areas  It’s about making good decisions on every move  Getting inside the mind of the opponent  Patience and diligence  [14:07 - 25:24] Pursuing the Elements of World-Class; Insights from Chess  Maurice talks about pursuing world-class  Being a humble learner  Look at the best in your field  Don’t imitate, emulate  Willingness to fail  Improving at the plateau  Process over result  The goal to become a grandmaster  Maurice’s college experience  Becoming better than Brooklyn 15 years to get to that level  Maurice explains the tiers  The martial arts analogy  Top of the food chain  Beating the people with the title  Takeaways from Chess You can come in at every level  So many resources online  Having an opponent with real ideas  The person you speak to have ideas  Learn what others think  [25:25 - 33:04] Closing Segment The importance of embracing failure  Take the lessons and grow  How to make decisions in life? There is no system or sequence  Every situation has it’s own process  Look for the expectations as well as the rules  Think about the other person first  Stop and analyze  Who are people that inspire you?  Learning through books Tim Ferriss Jacky Robinson  Fredrick Douglass  Dr. King and Malcolm  Sports stars and business leaders  Final words  Tweetable Quotes:  “Chess finds you… it’s a little bit like a virus except it’s not looking necessarily for everybody who’s gonna get obsessed with it. There are certain people’s brains work a certain kind of way, and it goes, ‘ok, I got a Live One here!’” - Maurice Ashley “I think anyone who wants to be world-class, there are certain elements that have to be in their tool-kit. The biggest one is to be a humble learner.” - Maurice Ashley  “It’s much more important that you get inside the other person’s head, really parse out what they’re about every time we act…. It’s always we, not just me.” - Maurice Ashley  Resources Mentioned:  https://amzn.to/3kSq6Dp (Mastery) You can connect with Maurice on https://www.linkedin.com/in/mauriceashley/ (LinkedIn), https://twitter.com/MauriceAshley?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor (Twitter), and https://www.instagram.com/mauriceashleychess/?hl=en (Instagram). Visit https://mauriceashley.com/ (https://mauriceashley.com/) to learn more about his space. Did you love the value that we are putting out in the show? LEAVE A REVIEW and tell us what you think about the episode so we can continue putting out great content just for you! Share... Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy