The version of success you’ve been sold is really just stress with better branding.

Brad Stulberg has spent 20 years researching and reporting on the top 1% in their field - Olympians, powerlifters, bestselling authors - and has written 5 books on what he’s learned, including Peak Performance and his newest, The Way of Excellence.

In this episode, you'll learn:

- Why work-life balance fails

- Whether your obsession with work is fueling you or burning you out

- Why hitting a goal you've chased for years can leave you empty

- Why positive self-talk doesn't actually work

- Why you can't feel fear and curiosity at the same time

- How elite performers rest without feeling guilty

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Chapters:

[00:00] Intro

[01:47] What Actually Counts as Excellence?

[03:45] The Two Ingredients for Meaningful Work

[07:03] The Science of The Last Percent

[10:15] Why Fear and Curiosity Can't Coexist

[15:10] Self-Soothing Doesn’t Work. This Does.

[21:55] Good Passion vs. Obsessive Passion

[24:55] Why Does Winning Feel So Empty?

[28:03] Is An Identity Crisis Inevitable?

[35:02] The Importance of Recovery

[41:45] The Value of Inefficiency

[47:03] Your Challenge This Week

Links & Tools from This Episode:

• The ONE Thing Operating System

• Brad Stulberg 

• Follow Brad Stulberg on X 

• The Way of Excellence by Brad Stulberg

• Free Resources