The Mushin Way to Peak Performance

The Mushin Way to Peak Performance

by Michael Veltri
Released February 2017
Publisher(s): Wiley
ISBN: 9781119285250

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Book description

Follow your own nature to achieve clarity, power, and success

The Mushin Way teaches tools and techniques to help you reach peak performance and transform your business and personal life. Regardless of what we want to achieve in business or in life, transformation can be difficult and we tend to be our own worst enemies. We hold ourselves back without even realizing what we are capable of. In this book, you'll learn how to break through the cycle of stress and setbacks to act with clarity, purpose, and direction—achieving peak performance and transformation along the way. You'll look deep inside to discover the natural leadership abilities lying dormant within you; you'll wake them up, make them stronger, and learn to draw on the strengths of those around you instead of muscling through with brute force. You'll discover how making the right choice is an empowering act, and develop the strength and confidence to stop hesitating at every crossroad. With pragmatic advice and wisdom drawn from the guiding principles of the Japanese martial art of Aikido, you'll find your inner warrior and learn that even the most challenging battles can be won—or may not even need to be fought.

When you set your sights high, peak performance can feel like a constant uphill battle fraught with failures and disappointments. What if success was more like a transformational river current that carries you along to your goal? This book shows you how to come down off the hill into the refreshing waters of mindfulness to begin your journey to the top.

  • Develop laser-like focus, even in high-stress environments
  • Identify and develop your own innate leadership qualities
  • Turn setbacks into opportunities and defeat into victory
  • Achieve much more than ever before, with far less effort

Eastern philosophy teaches us to work in harmony with our own nature instead of fighting ourselves every step of the way. The Mushin Way shows you just where your inner strengths lie, and how to leverage them for success.

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Title Page
  3. Copyright
  4. Dedication
  5. Introduction: The Aikido Way
    1. The Modern Battlefield
    2. What Is Aikido?
    3. My Path to Aikido
    4. First Encounters
    5. Journey to Japan
    6. The Interruption
    7. How the Book Is Structured: Applying the Principles of Aikido
    8. How to Use This Book
  6. Chapter 1: Heiki: Equanimity
    1. There Is Another Way
    2. An Opportunity to Prevent Violence
    3. A True Hero
    4. Calm Courage in the Everyday
    5. A Moment When I Needed Heiki
    6. Calm Energy Leads to Action
    7. There When You Need It
    8. Embracing Heiki
    9. When You're Known for Fighting Fires, You Get More Fires to Fight
    10. Helping Others Through Heiki
  7. Chapter 2: Ki: Energy
    1. Building a New Routine to Embrace Change
    2. It's All about Energy
    3. My Own Encounters with Ki
    4. When It Feels Like Ki Deserts You
    5. Ki Alone Is Not Enough
    6. When Strength Seduces You
    7. Understanding Ki Means Understanding Your Own Limits
    8. Learning Self-Awareness As an Entrepreneur
    9. Channel Your Ki to Succeed
    10. Building Elegant Support Structures
    11. The Payoff
  8. Chapter 3: Musubi: Connection
    1. Tying Things Together
    2. It's All about Connection
    3. Building Musubi: Start with Self-Interest
    4. Deepening the Connection
    5. Working without Musubi
    6. You Can't Sell without Musubi
    7. Turning a Company Around by Cultivating Connection
    8. Putting Musubi into Action
  9. Chapter 4: Nen: One-Point
    1. Finding Your Center of Gravity
    2. Staying Centered through Good Times and Bad
    3. Finding Your One-Point by Stepping Away
    4. Maintain Your One-Point and You'll Achieve Integrity
    5. Sometimes You Have to Make a Change to Remain Yourself
    6. Michael Veltri, Super-Spy?
  10. Chapter 5: Mushin: No-Mind/No-Distractions/No-Fear
    1. Give the Grenades to the Zen Masters
    2. No Expectations, No-Mind
    3. Mindfulness and No-Mind
    4. Emptying Your Mind Isn't Easy
    5. Silencing the Monkey Mind
    6. The Opposite of Mushin
    7. A Better Way to Make Decisions
  11. Chapter 6: Irimi: To Enter
    1. Centripetal Force—You Have to Get Close
    2. Not Confronting a Problem Can Be Disastrous
    3. The Real Cost of Avoiding a Problem
    4. Procrastinators, Take Notice!
    5. How to Tell the True Problem from a Distracting Tangent
    6. Confronting the Smartphone Problem
    7. Starting Small Is Still Starting
    8. The Power of Irimi
  12. Chapter 7: Kokyu: Breath-Power
    1. Kokyu-Ho: Knocking Someone Over with Only a Breath
    2. Time to Get Uncomfortable
    3. One Way to Get Past Your Anxiety
    4. Breathing While You Work
    5. How to Take Control of Your Day
    6. Risking Failure to Succeed
    7. Real Risk, Real Rewards
    8. Creating Emotional Exhale Moments
    9. Try It Yourself—Today
  13. Chapter 8: : Aiki: Unity
    1. What I Should Have Known
    2. Harmony in Action
    3. Using Aiki in Daily Life
    4. Try It Yourself
    5. Use What You Have
    6. The Road Less Traveled
    7. Start with Self-Awareness
    8. Embrace Your Weaknesses
    9. Adapt, Improvise, and Overcome
    10. Do Your Own Self-Assessment
    11. Finding a Way
  14. Chapter 9: Zanshin: Calm Awareness
    1. Real-Life Daredevils
    2. The Skill That Gives Spies Their Edge
    3. An Exercise in Zanshin
    4. Moments of Calm Awareness
    5. Prepared for the Unexpected
    6. Developing Zanshin
    7. A Moment of Truth
    8. The Power of Zanshin
  15. Chapter 10: Wa: Harmony
    1. Why the Finns Are Different
    2. Fighting for Peace
    3. Harmonious Hiring
    4. The New Polaroid: Winning through Cooperation
    5. Harmonious Progress
    6. Understanding How Progress Really Works
    7. The Honorable No
    8. The Honorable No That Saved My Company—and My Sanity
  16. Conclusion: Sumi-Kiri: Clarity of Mind and Body
    1. Clarity of Mind and Body
    2. The Road to Acceptance
    3. Listening to the Inner Voice
    4. Clearing the Way for Action
    5. My Teacher
    6. Duty and Obligation
    7. Strength Forged in Pain
    8. Tempered Steel
    9. A World of Enlightened Warriors
    10. Are You Ready to Transform Your World?
  17. Acknowledgments
  18. Hire Michael to Speak
  19. Index
  20. End User License Agreement

Product information

  • Title: The Mushin Way to Peak Performance
  • Author(s): Michael Veltri
  • Release date: February 2017
  • Publisher(s): Wiley
  • ISBN: 9781119285250