In a single sentence: 10 years ago I defined Excellence as the prioritization of process/habit over success/results. The highlights included the Iceberg Principle (most of our efforts will remain invisible), The Law of Not Selling Out (staying true to our principles in the face of adversity), and The Journey Mindset (understanding that the road to excellence is a marathon).
All solid, foundational stuff. It's the 101 course for building Excellence. It teaches us how to build the machine.
But here’s the brutal truth: The book forgot to tell you how to fuel the operator.
It talks only about external Excellence. It falls short on the most critical, highest-leverage element of Inner Excellence.
The biggest shift you’re going to make—the one that actually gives you freedom—is so ridiculously simple you're going to dismiss it right now.
But this is the one thing that separates the merely successful from the genuinely fulfilled.
Today, it took a single question from an old friend and mentor to make me realize what my younger self was missing. (Thank you John)
“What small discipline, practiced consistently, made the biggest difference in the quality of your life and work?”
It took me only a couple of minutes to realize:
The one consistent discipline that has made the biggest difference in the quality of my life and work in the last 10 years is my daily gratitude practice.
Yep, that's right. It all comes down to appreciating what we have. Well, how does this lead to Excellence? Excellent question.
My Biggest Lesson: Stop Trying to Do More, Start Appreciating What You Have.
The 10-year younger me operated from a scarcity mindset. Excellence needed to be built. Success required rigorous efforts. We were not enough and had to work hard in order to earn the life we wanted.
When we build this habit in our daily mindset, the result is endless striving. Scarcity becomes a foundational principle. Excellence becomes this dot on the horizon - always visible, but always out of reach.
As a result our brain gets stuck in chase mode—always identifying threats and gaps. This drains our energy. We make riskier, costlier, fear-based decisions.
So how do we break away from this?
I bet you that the single, most high-leverage practice you will ever adopt is daily gratitude.
I know, I know. It sounds like a bumper sticker. It sounds like woo-woo crap. But this isn't about being "nice." This is about optimizing your CPU.
When they asked the super successful Ray Dalio, billionaire, hedge-fund manager, and author - about what made the biggest difference in his life, he had zero hesitation: My daily meditation practice.
This entails silently repeating a personal mantra (a sound or word) in a quiet place, eyes closed, for 20 minutes.
This felt silly to me. Just sitting there, repeating a mantra. I made a deal with myself that I'll find what works for me.
Then I came across this article talking about how words are this energy that we put out into the universe. I thought about what kind of words I wanted to put out and soon I was reciting out loud my daily gratitude list.
It made sense to me.
I noticed it put me in the right mindset for the day. Challenges were easier to overcome. Struggle and scarcity started to fade away. I still lived in the same apartment, drove the same car, worked the same job. But everything was somehow different. By speaking my words of gratitude, my attention and focus went into an abundance mindset.
Fast forward a few years and this daily practice has become the source of not just success, but fulfillment. My life improved in material and spiritual ways. I met new people, joined a new village. Increasingly I have the freedom to live my life on my own terms.
Gratitude is the cheat code that switches our mindset from Scarcity to Abundance.
The Minimum Effective Dose (MED) of Appreciation.
Until you find what works for you, here is how to start. This is a system. The key isn't the volume; it's the consistency.
Here is a non-negotiable daily discipline:
3 Things: Every single morning, before checking your phone, before opening Slack, speak out loud three things you are genuinely grateful for.
Be Specific: Don't say, "My health." Instead say, "The fact that I woke up without back pain and can walk 10,000 steps today." Specificity makes it real.
Add new things: You can't use the same three old things all the time. Ask your brain to search for new items every day. It trains the muscle.
That's it. It takes 90 seconds.
I bet you that this small discipline, practiced consistently, will do more for your quality of life than any investment you will ever make. It acts as a mental reset button, clearing the cache of anxiety and doubt that is slowing you down.
The Payoff is Performance.
You don't just feel better. You perform better.
When you start your day from a place of "I am enough," you approach problems with clarity and power.
You stop working and creating out of fear and start building from a position of strength and genuine sense of service.
The quality of your work? It skyrockets. The quality of your life? It becomes easier, more fun and flow, less of a competitive grind.
Stop chasing the next thing that you think will finally make you happy. You already have it. You just haven't thanked for it yet. Go write your three things for tomorrow. Now.
Then let me know and I will add you to my list of items I am grateful for.
One quick question for you before I go:
What is one 'excellent' habit you have that looks great on paper but actually makes you miserable? Seriously, I want to know what we need to unlearn.
Hit comment and let me know. I read every single one.
Let’s get after it.