The Way of Excellence: A Guide to True Greatness and Deep Satisfaction in a Chaotic World

by Brad Stulberg

A practical guide to realizing our potential amid the chaos of modern life and learning how to reconnect to ourselves, our work, and each other by focusing on the pursuit of excellence, by bestselling author and performance coach Brad Stulberg.

"An absolutely beautiful book."—Steve Kerr, nine-time NBA Champion; Coach of the Golden State Warriors and Team USA

Whether you are practicing guitar, pushing your limits at the gym, leading a team, honing a craft, studying medicine, or giving yourself the time and space to finally write that book, the pursuit of excellence is a big part of what makes life worth living—and it is for all of us. Unlike "pseudo-excellence," which is about hustle culture and hacks, genuine excellence is about challenging yourself in worthwhile endeavors, focusing on what matters most, and expressing the unique qualities that make you who you are. Too often, we get caught up in convenience and distraction to the detriment of our true potential. The good news is that we can set ourselves on a better path, one that includes more aliveness and resonance, more connection to self and others.

Here, Stulberg finds convergence between modern science, age-old philosophy, and daily practice to explain that we are wired to strive for excellence—it is what we are here to do, core to our humanity. Yet our environment often works against us. The path he shares to reclaim excellence means learning

Defining, living, and working in alignment with your valuesCultivating focus and concentrationThe power of prioritizing consistency over intensityBuilding durable confidenceThe connection between mastery and matteringDeveloping the courage to care deeplyDesigning environments that support excellenceSelecting goals based not just on what you want to achieve, but on who you want to becomeOvercoming the traps, pitfalls, and barriers to excellence including alienation, chasing a never-ending supply of dopamine, and addiction to external validation and the opinions of othersApplying the principles and insights of excellence to one's organizations and communities
At its core, excellence is a deeply-fulfilling process of becoming—the best performer, and person, you can be. 

Genres: Nonfiction, Self Help, Productivity, Personal Development, Audiobook, Business, Writing

288 pages, Hardcover

Published January 27, 2026

About the author

Brad Stulberg researches, writes, and coaches on performance, well-being, and sustainable excellence. He is the bestselling author of The Practice of Groundedness, Master of Change, and co-author of Peak Performance. Stulberg regularly contributes to the New York Times and his work has been featured in The Wall Street Journal and The Atlantic, among many other outlets. He serves as the co-host of the podcast "excellence, actually" and is on faculty at the University of Michigan. He lives in Asheville, North Carolina.

Follow him on Instagram and Threads @Bradstulberg and X @Bstulberg

Reviews

[Lindsey Hein · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brad does such a great job researching and sharing good news about how we can indeed pursue excellence without overdoing it. I love his work and will always read his books!

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think this is a good, thoughtfully constructed survey of ideas that are popular in the personal development space. The author is eloquent and intentional in how it’s presented and the ideas build nicely.

My criticism is that there was little added to the topic by this book. The myriad examples were all familiar ones and I would have appreciated some freshness in the stories that supported his points.

My favorite parts were ones I had saved on Instagram already. I wish more of those bangers (like the idea of your identity being like a house) had filled the book.

The chapter on rest was excellent and presented a framework that was both original and helpful.

Overall a decent read and I have recommended it to others with a few caveats.

[Alicia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the book’s exploration of striving for excellence. I initially equated excellence with perfection, but the author makes it clear that the two are not the same. Excellence is about pursuing what truly matters to us, guided by our values and goals. While it can look different for everyone, this book thoughtfully covers the foundational elements of a satisfying life.

If you’ve read self-help books before, some concepts may feel familiar, but I still took away a great deal that I plan to apply to everyday life. My biggest takeaways were the importance of getting clear on my values and goals, practicing discipline in my actions, being patient with the time growth requires, embracing the process and curiosity, and putting myself out there more to build community.

If you’re looking for an inspirational yet practical book that helps simplify what’s truly needed to achieve personal growth, I’d definitely recommend this one.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the digital ARC.

[Jake Grogin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Could have been a 10 page Article

[Sharon · Rating 3 out of 5]

He makes some good points but honestly, it felt like an extended Hallmark card. And he kept repeating the same things over and over how important it is to show up how important it is to have community how important it is to etc. etc.

[Alexandra Bro · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read all of Brad Stulberg’s books, follow him on social media, and listen to his podcast. I love the way he talks about excellence, progress, and caring, and this is my favorite book of his. Thank you for writing this. Please continue.

[Jeff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Author and podcaster, Brad Stulberg, has written an easy to understand, yet challenging book on how to strive (and achieve) excellence in what you do.

While many write and tell you to ignore your emotions, Sulberg adopts a healthier approach in saying we should actually let our emotions guide us to excellence. This includes thinking through all potential outcomes and seeing how it makes us feel. As someone that has helped recovery groups, that is a key point that we try to hit home with those struggling with addiction. “If you continue down this path, what are the possible outcomes and how do they make you feel?” It is great seeing this applied in the positive side towards how we strive for excellence.

Another point that struck me early on in this book was falling into the trap of our short-term feelings are off and do not align with our morals, values, and long-term goals.

These points are developed early on in this book, but the lasting effect is woven throughout the rest of the book and to me, were key thoughts.

The second half of the book focuses on our mindsets, habits and practices. One of the key points that struck me in the second half was the challenge to be the best at getting better. Words to live by.

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for providing an ARC for an unbiased review.

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received an advanced copy of this book through Net Galley. I really appreciated this book and feel that it is one that is helping me get 2026 onto a good start. I really appreciated how the author laid out the introduction where he said that first section is more theory while the second section is the practical advice. The author then said — I dont care where you start which I appreciated. The first section on theory of excellence was better than I expected and felt it was just enough scholarly research with practical examples.

The second section is amazing and I have too many highlights / passages. They are short sections that allow the reader to pick and choose the topics most of interest to them.

I also appreciated how the practical examples didnt just focus on sports. Yes there are some examples, but I feel often times we over index on those examples which are great but not practical for folks in non-athletic pursuits

I am going to buy the physical copy and keep it on my shelf to reference when I am in the lulls of daily life and figure out how to rekindle the mindsets to continue to do excellent work.

[Sekar Writes · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book talks about excellence, but the section of the book that impressed me instead was the idea that excellence is deeply human because it comes from feeling: from trying, failing, adjusting, and slowly finding your rhythm. The ones that we easily tend to forget and unconsciously losing it in the era of AI.

I also loved the “identity as a house” metaphor. It reminded me how important it is to have more than one room in your life, so one setback doesn’t shake everything.

The argument itself isn’t radically new. Mostly could be read in other self-development books, but the reminder that growth still belongs to humans was highly important and necessary.

[Nathaniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Way of Excellence exists in rare territory. Stulberg writes about large ideas without getting lost in theory or dumbing it down to plain and lifeless platitudes that are all too common in these types of books. This book achieves what the best of them do: it creates an expansive theory for life. Building on the work of Pirsig and 'quality', Stulberg successfully moves the torch forward. We need more of this in 2026 and the years to come.

Smart and actionable—it's a book that knows what it is and what it's trying to accomplish.

five stars.

[Jason Huber · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brad Stulberg writes with passion and craft. The message in this book is clear, simple, and important. I enjoyed all of Brad’s insights - I slowed down getting through this book because I was taking so many notes.

At the end of the day, pursuing excellence is simple but not easy. There are no magic hacks or quick fixes. As Brad writes, there is no such thing as an overnight breakthrough. But by reading this book, you can come away with lots of little practices that you can incorporate into your life that will make you better at whatever you do. But more importantly, they will help you feel fulfilled in your pursuits.

[Chad Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Way of Excellence is one of the best books I’ve read in quite some time. The main reason is the fact that it is an all encompassing guide to what true excellence looks like in your life. It isn’t a one size fits all prescription, but there are some universal truths that are applicable to everyone. This is a book I will be recommending to anyone who has any desire to better themselves.

[༺ Jason ༻ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars

Had some good pointers, but if you’ve read other similar books you already know many of them. A lot of research examples, but this book suffered in dragging out what could have been more concise and less rududnent. Still a good read.

[Melissa]

Note to self: You pre-ordered this. Do not purchase another copy!

[Melissa]

Deep Life

[Ryan Lewis · Rating 2 out of 5]

Maybe I've read too many other great productivity books. I didn't find this one to be groundbreaking or compelling.