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.

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