What is excellence, actually?
The number one piece of feedback we love to hear is how our material is a breath of fresh air amidst all the noise of hustle-and-grind culture and performative B.S. that's out there.
Wake up at 4:00 AM. Stare at the sun. Sprint until you can’t. Develop and stick to the perfect five-hour morning routine. Only eat meat. Drink raw milk.
At best, it’s exhausting; at worst, it’s harmful.
Our goal is to be the antidote. To give you big ideas, practical advice, and useful tools that will actually help you live better, that will actually facilitate your personal quest for excellence.
Which is why we’re excited to introduce our rebranded podcast: excellence, actually (Apple/Spotify).
For those of you who aren’t aware that we ever had a podcast, great—now you are! Subscribe today! If you've been listening to our prior podcast FAREWELL, it will feel similar to what we’re already doing. The only difference is that we will be even more laser-focused on providing you with ideas that you can’t stop thinking about and tools that you can use immediately.
Each Thursday, we’ll go deep on a specific topic that relates to excellence, and give you practical ways to put these ideas to work in your life right away: for example, how to set better goals, build more durable discipline, stay committed and consistent amid so much chaos and distraction, create and maintain momentum, stay curious over time, grow resilience, experience joy, and walk the path of mastery in whatever your craft or pursuit may be.
It’s these ideas that make our work popular in NBA locker rooms, backstage in concert halls, on the floors of the finest medical and research institutions, with the best investment firms, and with world-class creatives and artists of all types. Why? Because the people with skin in the game—the people who “get it,” who are doing the work at the highest levels—are able to cut through the noise and know what it takes to attain excellence, actually.
So what is excellence, actually?
It is having a vision: Goals channel your attention in a distracting world. By deciding how you are going to spend your time and energy, you are deciding who you want to become. You shape the goal, but then the goal shapes you. Make it ambitious but achievable. Make it inspirational but practical.
It is focusing on the process over the outcome: Outcomes matter. We won’t tell you they don’t. But the best way to get where you want is to focus on the next step in front of you. Plus, excellence is not a destination but a way of living. Each finish line becomes a new starting line.
It is relentless consistency: Nothing is more important than showing up—again, and again, and again. Show up on your good days. Show up on your bad days. Every effort is a deposit in the bank. The bigger the goal, the smaller the steps. When taken regularly, those small steps compound into significant gains.
And relentless curiosity: The shift from “I need to do this” or “I am scared to do this” to “Let’s find out what happens” is a powerful one. Greatness is as much about self-discovery as it is about anything else. It makes your motivation intrinsic rather than extrinsic: The urge to find the edge of your abilities and explore your limits is an endlessly renewable source of energy.
It is true discipline: It’s not a chest-thumping, performative act of toughness. It’s being the kind of person who shows up for what matters, full stop. You don’t need to make a show of it. The most disciplined people don’t. It’s doing what needs to be done and getting on with the show. It is as simple and as hard as that.
It is ruthless prioritization: You’ve got to be a minimalist to be a maximalist. Resist the shallow so you can go deep. So no to many things so you can say yes to what matters. Attention vampires are lurking everywhere. Identify and eliminate them or you’ll keep walking in circles rather than moving forward.
It is psychological flexibility: What happens to you is not as important as how you interpret what happens to you. Being able to respond to situations constructively and intentionally, rather than react habitually, is a key skill. We should train our emotional, attentional, and cognitive fitness just as we train our physical fitness.
It is building anti-fragile systems: Willpower will not always be there. When it’s not, you will only be as good as the systems you’ve put in place to make success easier. These systems must be firm but flexible. They are not too rigorously controlled or overcomplicated, such that they will be thrown off by unforeseen circumstances. The systems work for you; you don’t work for the systems.
It is staying in the game: There is no such thing as an overnight breakthrough. Observable results always trail effort. Progress is often slow, non-linear, and more challenging than you think. You’ve got to stay with something long enough to reap its rewards.
It is community: We become better so we can be better friends, lovers, parents, children, mentors, and coaches. Excellence is contagious. Research shows that the people with whom we surround ourselves shape us. It also shows that harder tasks become easier when surrounded by people we care about. Community is also a crucial component of mental and physical health. Feel good so you can do and be good.
It is competing against yourself: Comparison is inevitable. But ultimately, growth is measured based on the distance you’ve come from past versions of yourself. Excellence is not about being the best, but about being the best at getting better.
It is resilience: Failure is inevitable. If you never fail, you’ll never be great—because it means you’ll never have pushed your limits. Failure hurts, but it is also inevitable. Sugarcoating it doesn’t help. Feel your feelings, but then get back to work. The sooner you fail, the sooner you grow.
These are the ideas, frameworks, and tools that we believe make for actual excellence, and the ones we’ll be going deep on in the weeks to come. If you already subscribe to FAREWELL, great, there’s nothing you need to do, excellence, actually will show up automatically in your feed. If you’re not subscribed, do that now so that you never miss a show. Either way, head over to excellence, actually right now (Apple/Spotify) to check out our first episode, "How to Be Excellent, Actually."