Today, we dive deep into the age-old debate of talent acquisition versus talent development, using the contrasting blueprints of top college basketball teams as a springboard. We discuss the complex interplay of genetics, opportunity, motivation, and grit—not just in sports, but in every domain of life—as well as challenge the binary of nature vs. nurture, discuss the pitfalls of applying the "talent" label at too young an age, and offer practical advice for parents, coaches, and anyone looking to harness or develop talent. Whether you’re a late bloomer, a prodigy, or just looking to get a little better every day, this conversation will challenge how you think about talent.

Click here for an AI-generated, unedited transcript

Click to pre-order Brad's new book, "The Way of Excellence," which Steve Kerr, nine-time NBA Champion, is calling "an absolutely beautiful book"

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As a thanks you to you on Thanksgiving week, we're answering a handful of listener questions.

1. How can I navigate periods of intense work where my life is out of balance without developing bad habits?

2. If I truly internalize that achievement won’t make me happy, won’t I lose my drive?

3. How can I manage the tedium of doing a job that’s meaningful but involves a lot of boring day-to-day work?

4. How can I distinguish between normal training fatigue and chronic exhaustion from overtraining?

5. After a race/performance, I often come back too quickly without being fully recovered, or wait too long and lose fitness. How should I think about timing my return to training? 

Thanks to everybody who has sent along a question — and thanks for being a part of the The Growth Equation and excellence, actually community. If you'd like us to answer something that has been on your mind, email [email protected] or call our voicemail at 646-893-9503.

Click here for an AI-generated, unedited transcript

Click to pre-order Brad's new book, "The Way of Excellence," which Steve Kerr, nine-time NBA Champion, is calling "an absolutely beautiful book"

Subscribe to The Growth Equation newsletter

Join The Growth Equation Academy

If you are enjoying "excellence, actually," do us a huge favor: text your favorite episode to three people so they can enjoy it, too. Thanks!

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Elite performers know: mental fitness needs the same intentional training as physical fitness. In this episode, we break down mental fitness into three trainable components: resilience (your mental strength), emotional regulation (your psychological endurance), and psychological flexibility (your mental mobility). Drawing from meditation research, disaster psychology, and ultra-running wisdom, we explore what often gets confused for mental toughness (toxic positivity or stoic repression) and discuss what it actually takes to respond skillfully to life's inevitable storms. Learn practical tools for processing difficulty, the critical role of community in resilience, and why your values become the roadmap when emotions narrow your world.

Click here for an AI-generated, unedited transcript

If you have a question for us, send an email to [email protected] or call our voicemail at ‪(646) 893-9503‬.

Click to pre-order Brad's new book, "The Way of Excellence," which Steve Kerr, nine-time NBA Champion, is calling "an absolutely beautiful book"

Subscribe to The Growth Equation newsletter

If you are enjoying "excellence, actually," do us a huge favor: text your favorite episode to three people so they can enjoy it, too. Thanks!

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Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How does someone become CEO of The Atlantic, run a 2:29 marathon at age 44, write books, make music, and still be present for their family? For the answer, we turned to Nick Thompson, who, conveniently (and impressively), does all of those things. On today's episode, we use the release of Nick's new book, The Running Ground, to discuss his systematic approach to productivity and running, including how he organizes his day for maximum impact, why he has "non-goals", the best lessons running and writing have taught him, and how he pushes past limits, in running and in work—including the revelation that helped him break through a decade-long performance plateau after cancer.

Click here for an AI-generated, unedited transcript

If you have a question for us, send an email to [email protected] or call our voicemail at ‪(646) 893-9503‬.

Click to pre-order Brad's new book, "The Way of Excellence," which Steve Kerr, nine-time NBA Champion, is calling "an absolutely beautiful book"

Subscribe to The Growth Equation newsletter

If you are enjoying "excellence, actually," do us a huge favor: text your favorite episode to three people so they can enjoy it, too. Thanks!

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Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, we use the L.A. Dodgers' Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s gutsy back-to-back World Series appearances in Game 6 and 7 to discuss what we’re calling the optimization (or protocol) trap. This is when you become so tethered to a specific routine or “optimal zone” of performance that you become fragile. You trade self-efficacy for hyper-control or neuroticism. There are plenty of times when you have to perform and you’re not at your best, or the external conditions aren’t ideal. Being able to send it anyway—much like Yamamoto did in Game 7—is the sign of a truly elite performer. So today’s episode is all about training and building anti-fragility. We discuss how to differentiate between wisdom and fear when you hear the voice telling you to pull back; how to use “safe-to-fail” experiments to train self-efficacy; how to distinguish between faith-based confidence and delusion; and how to build routines that are flexible rather than rigid.

Click here for an AI-generated, unedited transcript

If you have a question for us, send an email to [email protected] or call our voicemail at ‪(646) 893-9503‬.

Click to pre-order Brad's new book, "The Way of Excellence," which Steve Kerr, nine-time NBA Champion, is calling "an absolutely beautiful book"

Subscribe to The Growth Equation newsletter

If you are enjoying "excellence, actually," do us a huge favor: text your favorite episode to three people so they can enjoy it, too. Thanks!

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Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In anticipation of the New York City Marathon this weekend, we (well, okay, mostly Steve) discuss the ins and outs of how to have your best race, building you a complete toolkit to help you get through 26.2 miles. BUT! It’s not just for runners. As the legendary marathoner Eliud Kipchoge once said, “Marathon is life, and life is marathon.” So we're explaining how each of the tools you can use for the marathon—and the lessons we’ve learned from running them—apply to life. This is about expectations, handling nerves, goal-setting, doing hard things when they get hard, working through difficulty, managing disappointment, learning how to surrender, letting go and much, much more—in running and in life. 

Click here for an AI-generated, unedited transcript

If you have a question for us, send an email to [email protected] or call our voicemail at ‪(646) 893-9503‬.

Click to pre-order Brad's new book, "The Way of Excellence," which Steve Kerr, nine-time NBA Champion, is calling "an absolutely beautiful book"

Subscribe to The Growth Equation newsletter

If you are enjoying "excellence, actually," do us a huge favor: text your favorite episode to three people so they can enjoy it, too. Thanks!

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• YouTube

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For a long time, it was assumed that fatigue was a muscular phenomenon. It was thought be a set point and once you hit it, you couldn't go any further—like running into a wall. However, more recent research has showed that it's actually much more of mental phenomenon. Our brain shuts us down before our body does, in order to protect us from injury, exhaustion, or even death. (See: Tim Noakes's central governor theory and Samuele Marcora's model of fatigue, both of which we discuss in today's episode.) This presents us with an interesting conundrum: We have to get to know our fatigue extremely well, so that we know how to navigate all the signals it's sending us. Knowing when to ignore your brain's warning signs, and when to heed them, has far-ranging consequences for everything from endurance sports to creative work. So today we're teaching you the steps to help you learn how to dance with your fatigue.

Click here for an AI-generated, unedited transcript

If you have a question for us, send an email to [email protected] or call our voicemail at ‪(646) 893-9503‬.

Click to pre-order Brad's new book, "The Way of Excellence," which Steve Kerr, nine-time NBA Champion, is calling "an absolutely beautiful book"

Subscribe to The Growth Equation newsletter

If you are enjoying "excellence, actually," do us a huge favor: text your favorite episode to three people so they can enjoy it, too. Thanks!

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Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We talk a lot on this podcast about the principles that underlie true excellence, so we’re especially excited when we see those core ideas exemplified in the real world. On today’s podcast, Steve, Brad, and Clay each pick one sports moment from this past weekend that illustrated a lesson (or three) about healthy competition, unpacking what you can learn from the Tigers and Mariners going 15 innings, A’ja Wilson’s third WNBA title, and the Chicago Marathon. All in all, we ended up with seven lessons about how to compete the right way.

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Pre-Order Our New Book, "The Way of Excellence," Today—And Get Great Bonuses!

To get a limited first edition copy plus great exclusive bonuses, pre-order The Way of Excellence from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or Bookshop,org, and then fill out this form with your order number to receive your bonuses today.

Whether you are pushing your limits at the gym or on the track, practicing guitar, coaching or leading a team, honing a craft, practicing medicine, or finally taking on that big creative project, this book will help you create, contribute, maximize your potential, and be the best and most authentic version of yourself.

Steve Kerr, nine-time NBA champion and coach of Team USA, read an early copy and called it "an absolutely beautiful book...it captures a lot of what I believe as a coach."

Pre-orders are a huge help to us and the best way to support our work. They are also a great deal for you. As an "excellence, actually" listener, if you pre-order today, you'll get access to incredible exclusive bonus materials—including a professionally produced 90-minute masterclass, a workbook with interactive exercises for each chapter, a comprehensive reading list, and more. It's an absurdly good value.

1. Click to pre-order The Way of Excellence

2. Fill out this form with your order number to receive the bonuses.

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Click here for an AI-generated, unedited transcript

If you have a question for us, send an email to [email protected] or call our voicemail at ‪(646) 893-9503‬.

Subscribe to The Growth Equation newsletter

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today, we're exploring the transformative power of curiosity, which is one of the most effective tools elite performers use in high-pressure situations. We'll explain how shifting from a mindset of fear or rigid confidence to one of open curiosity can change your biology and psychology, unlocking new levels of performance—whether you’re stepping up to a heavy barbell or presenting to a boardroom. It orients the brain way from a threat-based "avoidance" mindset, and towards a challenge-embracing "approach" mentality. Drawing on neuroscience, psychology, and real-world stories from elite athletes and performers, we're giving you practical tools to keep you curious in high-stakes moments.

Unedited transcript: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1z5-KGTToE5cGVHJQtfE2d5gF0aLYjKin-Ww8ADEzztw/edit?usp=sharing

If you have a question for us, send an email to [email protected] or call our voicemail at ‪(646) 893-9503‬.

Subscribe to The Growth Equation newsletter: https://thegrowtheq.com/newsletters/geq/

If you are enjoying "excellence, actually," do us a huge favor: text your favorite episode to three people so they can enjoy it, too. Thanks!

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Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Is personal development and self-improvement making us better—or just more self-absorbed? In today's episode, we wade into the debate sparked by a recent New York Times article (link below) about whether the world of betterment is actually helping with personal growth, or just creating inward navel-gazing? We discuss how to think about the role of individual agency in a world of structural challenge, the pitfalls of hyper-optimization, and why nuance (and community) matter more than ever. We explore how to use self-help as a tool—without letting it take over your life. Whether you’re a self-improvement skeptic or a die-hard devotee, this conversation will give you new ways to think about growth, agency, and what it really means to be excellent, on both an individual and collective level.

"Is Today's Self-Help Teaching Everyone to Be a Jerk?" by Emma Goldberg: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/25/style/self-help-books-columns-readers.html

Unedited transcript: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1mzKxdG-NcdRbzUsKH6IEMLGt3z5Z7Fln00AN1T4hN3U/edit?usp=sharing

If you have a questions for us, send an email to [email protected] or call our voicemail at ‪(646) 893-9503‬.

Subscribe to The Growth Equation newsletter: https://thegrowtheq.com/newsletters/geq/

If you are enjoying "excellence, actually," do us a huge favor: text your favorite episode to three people so they can enjoy it, too. Thanks!

• iTunes and Apple Podcasts
• Spotify
• Android
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• YouTube

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.