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The art, science, and practice of

peak performance and sustainable excellence.

THE GOAL

The Growth Equation redefines success as an ongoing path of peak performance, fulfillment, and well-being. It starts with a strong base of physical health, mental health, and community. The next step is cultivating and practicing skills such as drive, toughness, resilience, self-awareness, stress, rest, and self-compassion. With those in place, it is possible to unlock a more nourishing and enduring kind of excellence, one that is energizing, sustainable, and gives your life meaning.

Our goal is to walk with you on this path and help you grow along the way. We'll do this through our books, essays, articles, newsletter, podcast, speaking, workshops, and coaching. Consider this your one-stop shop for all things related to genuine success and excellence. Don't wait any longer to reach your potential in a sustainable way. Start now.

The growth equation NEWSLETTER

Receive weekly insights on the art and science of success from Brad Stulberg and Steve Magness. Join over 30,000 subscribers and unlock your full potential with our weekly newsletter. Every Thursday, we share original articles and links on cultivating a more enduring and fulfilling kind of success and excellence, along with practical tips for day-to-day application.

5 Principles for More Excellence With Less Angst

As an executive coach, I saw a troubling trend among my clients even before Covid-19: Many were exhausted and on a path to burnout, if they weren’t already there. The chief physician of a large healthcare system came to me because he wanted to “feel more stable and have more control over how he spent…

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Nailing the Basics is Simple Not Easy—The Growth Equation Manifesto

If you are overwhelmed and exhausted by competing information, claims, purported secrets, and so-called biohacks in health, fitness, and performance, you are not alone. We are tired too. In this post, we are going to go deep on debunking myths, explaining why they are pervasive, and then getting to what actually works for sustainable excellence…

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Redefining Success So It Doesn’t Crush Your Soul

Conventional thinking about success is dumb. Here’s a better way.

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The Key to Sticking to an Exercise Program? It’s Supposed to Feel Easy!

Grind culture is stupid. Lots of easy movement combined with a dash of hard work goes a long way.

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13 Rules for Life

The secret is there is no secret. What follows are 13 rules—supported by ancient wisdom and modern science—to help you feel better and be better.

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We’ve Reached Peak Wellness. Most of It Is Nonsense.

Here’s what actually works.

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When a Stress Expert Battles Mental Illness

Last August, I was in New York City doing media spots for my book, Peak Performance. In between interviews, I went on a long run in Central Park and didn’t eat or drink enough afterward. I went to meet a friend for dinner, but the place turned out to be a bar without a real kitchen.…

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Consistently Good Enough Beats Occasionally Great

“Good is the enemy of great” is one of the most popular self-improvement expressions there is. It’s the first sentence of an international bestselling business book, the title of another self-help book, and a mantra that NFL superstar J.J. Watt has used in press conferences. It sounds appealing and rolls off the tongue nicely, but there’s a good chance it’s downright…

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Good Vibes Are Contagious

This science all points toward the same basic truth: we are mirrors reflecting onto each other. The people we surround ourselves with shape us, and we shape those around us, too. The implications of this truth are important and actionable.

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The Dark Horse Path to Happiness

How to make a practice out of living.

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BOOKS

Do Hard Things

Why We Get Resilience Wrong and the Surprising Science of Real Toughness

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The Practice of Groundedness

A Transformative Path to Success That Feeds--Not Crushes--Your Soul

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THE PASSION PARADOX

A guide to going all in, finding success, and discovering the benefits of an unbalanced life.

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PEAK PERFORMANCE

Elevate your game, avoid burnout, and thrive with the new science of success.

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Speaking

Speaking, Workshops, And Coaching

Brad and Steve specialize in cross-domain thinking on success and excellence, weaving together ideas from psychology, biology, philosophy, neuroscience, and athletics to help you better understand cultivate a more fulfilling and enduring kind of success in all aspects of life.

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About Brad and Steve

Brad Stulberg and Steve Magness research, write, coach, and speak on the art and science of success, peak performance, genuine excellence, and well-being. They are the bestselling authors of the books Peak Performance and The Passion Paradox. Their work has been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The New Yorker, Wired, NPR, Outside, Sports Illustrated, ESPN, Forbes and many other national and international outlets. They coach fortune 100 executives, entrepreneurs, and world-class athletes, and have spoken at diverse organizations ranging from NASA, to Bank of America, to AmeriSourceBergen, to The University of Michigan, to Kaiser Permanente, to the NBA, NHL, and MLB.

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Community

A supportive community is a key pillar for achieving a more sustainable kind of success and well-being. The Growth Equation Patreon Community creates a supportive space for individuals as they strive on their ongoing paths of peak performance, lasting fulfillment, and true well-being.

Here's a snapshot of that we do in this community:

  • Share early-release podcasts
  • Host monthly book clubs, where we are joined by the authors of all the books we read for live video discussions
  • Facilitate intimate quarterly mastermind groups, where we solve our most thorny performance problems
  • Host peer-to-peer meetups
  • Provide exclusive guides to implementing the principles and practices we write about
  • And much more!
Join our growing group of curiosity driven high-performers today.
Join The Growth Equation patreon community