What if winning isn’t the trophy, title, or PR—but how you show up for what matters most? In this episode, bestselling author and coach Brad Stulberg shares insights from his newest book and what winning means to him:
The Way of Excellence
Excellence is a journey, not a destination. Available for pre-order now and launching in January 2026!
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Episode Transcript
Winning is giving something your all, leaving it
out there, laying it on the linein a way that aligns with your
values.
SPEAKER_00 (00:10):
Hmm.
SPEAKER_01 (00:10):
In a way that you're proud of.
SPEAKER_02 (00:12):
Do hard things.
Help one person.
Be good and do good.
Live a life of discipline, andyou will always win.
You have all the tools that youneed to succeed.
Welcome to Win Today.
SPEAKER_03 (00:29):
Thank you so much for tuning in.
My name is Ryan Cass and I amyour host.
My purpose in this world is tohelp push people further and
harder than they believepossible and become unshakable
in what matters most to them intheir lives.
Every week you're gonna learnfrom either myself or a renowned
expert in their field, and we'regonna unveil pieces of our
playbook to help you win today.
(00:50):
Please, if you love this show,subscribe and share it with
somebody that will benefit fromit.
Let's dig in.
Back with another edition ofWinning Is.
I'm so excited about this onebecause it is with one of my
favorite authors, BradStahlberg, and we recently had
(01:11):
an amazing interview for hisupcoming book, The Way of
Excellence.
So the episode won't release andto the full episode won't
release until the third week ofJanuary.
But what we can do is put outthis snippet of the discussion
and also uh use it as a way tointroduce Brad.
(01:33):
He's been on the show beforewhen his former most recent
book, Master of Change, debutedin 2024.
Brad is I believe best known forthe nuances that he brings into
(01:55):
his work, the meaning that he heintroduces a lot of concepts
such as excellence as anexample, existing as a
destination and a journey ratherthan a particular outcome or a
(02:15):
particular stat.
And he introduces a lot ofnon-dual thinking, meaning that
two things that we may oftenbelieve cannot coexist, meaning
that we can be rugged andflexible.
That's one thing from Master ofChange, the concept of rugged
flexibility.
He introduces a lot of non-dualthinking principles that allow
(02:42):
us to open our minds more, Ibelieve, to see how things can
coexist in a world that wouldlikely not take the time to
understand that.
And so with that, I reallyexperience Brad's work as an
avenue of possibilities.
(03:03):
And his newest book, The Way ofExcellence, is really going to
dive into how we can build abetter relationship with the
process and the journey and allof the inner workings that get
us there versus excellence isthe new PR or excellence is the
(03:30):
dollar figure in your bankaccount.
So I was super excited to havethis discussion about winning is
because I know that a personlike Brad wouldn't provide a
traditional response and thatwinning is X.
It's as you heard there in thevery beginning, it's connecting
(03:52):
to values, giving all that youcan in something that is deeply
meaningful to you.
So here's the rest of it, buthighly encourage that you check
out Brad Stahlberg and get acopy of The Way of Excellence,
which is on pre-order now, andit will be out in 2026.
(04:13):
Add that to your list and wintoday.
Brad, one thing that I've beenvery curious about this year, I
I launched a newsletter calledWinning Is.
So win today.
Now I'm curious, what doeswinning actually mean?
And I'm gonna make that a pointin every discussion that I have
on the podcast.
Because just like excellenceisn't an outcome-driven
(04:37):
destination, I don't believethat winning is either.
In a former version of me wouldhave, but if I ask you what is
winning to you, how would youdescribe that?
SPEAKER_01 (04:53):
Winning is giving something your all, leaving it
out there, laying it on the linein a way that aligns with your
values, in in a way that you'reproud of.
And sometimes the scoreboard'sgonna be in your favor,
hopefully more often than not.
Sometimes the scoreboard's notgonna be in your favor, but if
(05:14):
you keep coming back andstepping to the arena and
playing again, then ultimatelyyou're winning the infinite
game, which is you're becoming abetter person.
SPEAKER_03 (05:25):
If I asked Brad one or two decades ago that same
question, would that have beenthe response that you gave?
SPEAKER_01 (05:39):
Maybe one decade ago.
Two decades ago, I'm not sosure.
SPEAKER_03 (05:44):
It's always interesting, especially those
that that have a an athleticbackground that I'll ask that
question too.
I had a I had a sportspsychologist on from Minnesota a
few weeks ago.
She's a performance coach forthe Minnesota Vikings and a
former track standout athlete.
(06:06):
She mentioned that winning toher a decade prior, based off
her current age now, would havebeen the time on the track and
whether or not she won that racebecause at the time she was the
top track athlete coming out ofthe state of Iowa.
So I always love to see justwhat is it to somebody now.
(06:30):
And and I've not found a singleperson that has mentioned an
outcome-based response.
It's pretty, it's pretty funasking this question.
SPEAKER_01 (06:40):
It's a great question.
I think that in high school,certainly, it would have been
uh, you know, winning a statechampionship or getting a a
scholarship to play footballwould have been winning.
Um so I don't know, threedecades ago, then yeah, it would
have been something verydifferent.
Um I also think that back tothings being able to coexist,
(07:04):
you can have a secondary goal.
So I answered what winning is,but then you could ask me, all
right, well, then what are someoutcomes that you want to see?
And then I'd say, well, I wantthis book to be on the New York
Times bestseller list.
I want to deadlift 550 pounds.
Um, I want to uh, I mean, thoseare really like the only two
(07:27):
outcome goals, right?
My goals around family andparenting.
They're they don't have clearoutcomes.
And I still care deeply aboutthose outcomes.
But that's not how I definewinning.
Um and I think that oftentimeswhat happens in sports
psychology is like the pendulumcan shift so far away from
outcomes to like process,process, process, become a
(07:47):
better person.
And yeah, like that's at the topof the hierarchy, but there's
nothing wrong with wanting tohave more points than the other
person on the scoreboard orwanting to get the promotion or
wanting to hit the bestsellerlist or wanting to break 100,000
downloads, whatever the numberis.
Like it's good to want thosemetrics.
I think sometimes if you don'twant those metrics, it's because
you're scared to fail.
And it's better to really wantthem and risk failure.
(08:09):
However, again, that's not atthe top of the hierarchy.
The top of the hierarchy isabout giving it your all,
becoming a better person.
That's a level underneath that.
SPEAKER_03 (08:20):
On the note of, and I appreciate that that you
brought that up because at timesI often wonder, should we even
have so many outcome-driven,we'll call it secondary goals?
Yeah.
But I love that you mentioned,hey, that like if you you
should.
That means you care.
That means it's reallyimportant.
That's what I just heard.
On the topic of failure, do yousee failure for failure?
(08:44):
Or is there an alternatedefinition in your mind for that
as well?
SPEAKER_01 (08:49):
It's the shortest chapter in the book, is the
chapter on failure.
Um, because I think all thisstuff has been written on
failure, and much of it's verygood on failing forward, on
learning from failure, uh, onfailure being necessary, um, on
nobody getting away withoutfailure.
And and I agree with all ofthat.
And I think that in the moment,failure hurts and it sucks,
(09:13):
especially if you gave somethingyour all.
And it's okay to let it hurt,and it's okay to have it suck.
And the love of the game,whatever the game may be, has
got to be bigger than the painof failure.
And then you just keep going.
And sometimes you keep goinglater that day, sometimes you
keep going later that week.
If it's a failure at game sevenof the World Series or in the
(09:35):
Olympic final, maybe it takes amonth before you pick yourself
up and get going again.
But I think weover-intellectualize failure a
lot.
Instead of just saying failuresucks, it's inevitable.
Learn from it if you can, let ithurt, let it sting, and then
just get back to work.
SPEAKER_03 (09:52):
Yeah, keep rolling.
Brad, two more for you.
One, what is the best way for usto support you, show you love,
and be evangelist of your ofyour mission in in this coming
year?
SPEAKER_01 (10:09):
The the best way is definitely to grab a copy of the
the new book, The Way ofExcellence.
Uh, you can get it wherever youget books, get it on Amazon,
Barnes and Noble Bookshop, yourlocal bookseller, um, and just
to please enjoy it.
Read the book, wrestle with it,try to apply it to your own
life.
Uh, if you find it resonant,share it with your colleagues,
(10:30):
your teammates, your family,your friends.
Um, I I really think that yes,there's the book is really kind
of like a process goal, but theultimate goal is redefining
excellence and reclaimingexcellence.
Uh, and that's got to be a lotmore than me and a lot more than
this book.
It's gonna be everyone readingit, engaging with it, and
sharing it.
SPEAKER_03 (10:50):
Everyone get the book.
And last one, Brad, as opposedto the three question rapid
fire, one elevator question.
What's how can how can we startour journey of excellence today?
What's one step we can take?
SPEAKER_01 (11:09):
How many floors do I have in the elevator?
You get you get one floor.
SPEAKER_03 (11:14):
Oh, but they're they're they're tall floors.
SPEAKER_01 (11:17):
That's quick.
Um I think reflect on yourvalues and reflect on your goals
and see if they're aligned.
And if they're not, ask yourselfhave my values changed or do I
have the wrong goals?
And if you don't have a goalthat aligns with your values,
don't freak out about that.
(11:38):
The world is overwhelming, it'schaotic.
The subtitle of this book isliterally um a guide to true
greatness and deep satisfactionin a chaotic world.
Like, don't feel bad if youdon't have a big goal, but maybe
consider having one.
Maybe consider what that woulddo for your physical health, for
your mental health, for yourspiritual health.
Um, and in and try to findsomething that aligns with those
(11:59):
values where you care about theoutcome on the scoreboard, but
even more so you care aboutbeing a different, better kind
of person.
SPEAKER_03 (12:06):
I love it.
Brad, as always, thank you somuch, not only for the
opportunity today, but thank youfor how you serve the world and
how you are redefining, helpingredefine what excellence really
means, and so that we can craftour own definition and build a
(12:27):
meaningful relationship with itand win today.
Thank you so much.
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