The Mushin Way to Peak Performance: The Path to Productivity, Balance, and Success

by Michael Veltri

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. 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.

Genres: Nonfiction

257 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 17, 2017

Reviews

[Nick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Full disclosure: I helped Michael develop the ideas in this book, so immodesty prevents me from giving this book anything less than five stars. But if you want to understand how to apply the principles of the elegant, timeless art of Aikido to your life, this is the book for you.

[Baroness · Rating 5 out of 5]

I very much enjoyed listening to this audiobook, it spoke volumes to me.
I battled and survived being in the hospital with covid and pneumonia. An experience that has made me a better and happier human and has reminded me to be fully present.
I’m going to email the author and thank him for writing this book.
May it inspire all who listen or read it, like it has inspired and reminded me,
I’m on the right path to my heart’s desire, just need to keep going…

[John Ellis · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a long-time martial arts practitioner, I found Michael Veltri's "Mushin: The Way of the Mind" to be both relatable and insightful. Veltri provides practical advice for achieving focus and improving discipline—both of which are necessary for success in all aspects of life. As a practising Stoic, I noticed that mushin and ataraxia are similar in that they both represent a calm, clear, and focused state of mind. This I found very pleasing and supports the unification of many of my practises.

Veltri's writing style is engaging, and he uses numerous examples to support his points. I particularly enjoyed his insights into the importance of understanding that you can't manage time, but you can manage where you place your focus and that your energy will naturally follow this. He strongly encourages us to be disciplined in how we use technology, particularly smartphones, because it has the potential to zap our focus and drain our energy.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and will return to it frequently as part of my practises. They complement each other perfectly, and I believe that the insights and practises offered in "Mushin" will be invaluable in assisting me in cultivating a clear and focused mind.

[Marci · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book begins with a description of Ueshiba Morihei on a "peaceful mission" in Mongolia and the Chinese attack his "peaceful mission." And it's all about like that: this is pleasant self-help pabulum but the author doesn't actually have any connection to Japanese history or what any of the Japanese terms he throws around mean because (as he acknowledges) he wasn't fluent in Japanese and his teacher wasn't fluent in English.

So: Fine for self-help. Not fine if you care about Japanese culture or martial arts.

[De E. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Honestly not a completely fair assessment because I often do not enjoy these books—-

The mega successful CEO telling the “common man” to not work as hard, relax, and rethink the value of a dollar versus meditative happiness.

That being said— I can agree with the merit in the book, as well as some of the practices, which honestly I engage in myself.

The blaring issue with most books in the genre is the redundancy. I felt I would have enjoyed listening to the author rather than reading about his beliefs.

[Sara Barker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall, an easy read with insightful and practical advice on moving forward in your life. There are 'tips' peppered throughout that have absolutely nothing to do with the surrounding content that feel obtrusive, and the strong theme about cell phones, apps and push notifications contained within the 'tips' began to feel like beating the dead horse.

[Andrew Pitkin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an effective method that inspired me to adopt the Mushin No Shin philosophy from Japan. I am now studying it more in earnest. Many of his techniques work--but you have to commit to reap the benefits!