be really excellent
In 2013, I left the office of crème de la crème law firm Clifford Chance knowing I had just been interviewed by a quite extraordinary man.
Whereas most lawyers seemed to be teetering on the edge of a breakdown, this man was as relaxed as a Zen monk. He exuded effortless presence. It felt like I was the only person in the world.
As soon as I got home, I looked him up. Turns out this was Simon Davis, who since became the President of the Law Society. The Legal 500 ranked him as Clifford Chance’s top partner globally and described him as ’disarmingly charming’.
At the end of the interview, he invited me to knock on his door if I returned to work at Clifford Chance.
When I started my training contract two years later, I was fresh-faced and oblivious to how intimidated I was supposed to feel about approaching someone of his stature.
So I popped by.
Once more, his attention fell fully onto me. I was the only person in his world as he rocked back on his chair playfully.
‘Ben, if there’s one piece of advice I can give you, it is this: Be excellent in everything you do. Be really excellent.’
Wúxīn (無心) – Beyond Mind
During my time at Goldman Sachs, I met two similar beings. Both global partners, both with a hundred times more responsibility than the frantic ants below them, both totally present and available, always showing genuine interest in me.
When you observe the top-performers in any field, you see the same: effortless elegance, calm mastery. Roger Federer, Thierry Henry and Shifu Shi Heng Yi come to mind.
‘This mind is not hung up on things; it is unafraid, unshakable, undismayed, unfazed, undisturbed, and unchanged, master of all.’
— Suzuki Shosan
Shifu Shi Heng Yi, a world-famous Shaolin master, said that the essence of Qi Gong is the process of ‘refinement’. We smooth out all instances of both tension and lethargy. ‘Relaxed but not lax, firm but not stiff’, my master Shifu Wu Nanfang says.
Internal martial arts offer something quite special.
Unlike weightlifting, running or yoga, you cannot strain harder to lift more, run faster or stretch deeper.
There is a poetry and musicality to the movement. We are refining the quality of our attention.
Unlike meditation, where it’s hard for an outside observer to gauge what’s happening, a skilled teacher can see your imbalances instantly in how you move. I understand more from the tiny details in my students’ movement patterns than they could ever communicate in words.
In the West, it’s known as ‘the zone’ or ‘flow’. In Chinese martial arts, it’s known as wúxīn (無心) – literally ‘no mind’, a state where the logical brain shuts off and you act with pure instinct. No blocking. No dithering.
Excellence for Simplicity
‘And while [Michael Jordan’s] performance on the court would certainly have been enough to earn him the kind of respect others could only dream of, the real performance started early in the day and didn’t end until he was back in the privacy of his home. He made sure the game tickets were organized so he knew where everyone was sitting; he knew what his sponsors needed from him and whom he was supposed to see before and after the game. He paid attention to every single detail, from the tie he chose that day to the way his watchbands matched his shoes.’
– Tim Grover, Relentless
In martial arts, I study yin-yang balance.
Through Buddhism, I study the Middle Way.
Most understand balance to mean a tepid middle ground.
Dismantling this myth is central to my work.
Shed 100% of tension to be 100% calm.
Shed 100% of laxness to be 100% focused.
This is the state of mind we are tapping into.
Japanese Zen monks know this better than any. Yesterday at Zōjō-ji Temple, I watched a mesmerising performance in their evening ceremony. No speck of dust in the hall. Effortless precision in every movement and syllable in the chanting.
In Japan, ‘kodawari’ represents the relentless pursuit of perfection. Whether in the precision of a tea ceremony, the fluidity of calligraphy, or the rituals of Zen temples, this devotion to refining every detail embodies the harmony of discipline and grace.
It was through this attitude of refining the details in my time at Goldman Sachs while never compromising my meditative practice that I was able to halve my working hours while doubling output. And clients routinely report life-changing moments after waking up to how applying this attitude to their work life is a huge win-win for their well-being and performance.
Inner quiet is not the antithesis of excellence – it’s the foundation.
If you commit to excellence, life naturally becomes simpler.
Because it is impossible to focus wholeheartedly on 100 things at once and excellence demands full focus, you only take on things for which you can give full presence.
Practical Application
I just deleted WhatsApp after realising I wasn’t fully present when using it, attending to messages as if they were a chore. I instead invite people to connect through intentional calls.
I am constantly looking for ways to reduce the scattering of my attention to improve my focus. My book, Zen Digital Makeover, centres on this theme.
Other examples:
RELATIONSHIPS. I prioritise relationships and events that energise and inspire me, ensuring that when I engage, I bring my full presence and vitality.
LEARNING. No social media, news, email subscriptions and TV so I can focus wholeheartedly on one book and world-class coaches.
COACHING. I take on just a handful of students at a time so I can think about them deeply and give them uncommon focus.
SMALL THINGS. I never let my space become messy. I stay clean. I never let a backlog of admin tasks accumulate.
POSSESSIONS. I don’t buy or keep possessions that don’t feel totally aligned with myself.
CREATION. Only creating 5* work. The extra time 5* work requires ensures I don’t start things whimsically.
Exercise
Ask yourself:
Where is your energy scattered?
Where is the grey zone draining your power?
What can you eliminate to make space for excellence?
Remember:
One thing at a time.
Everything you do, you do wholeheartedly.
Keep your word to yourself.
The respect you receive in public reflects the respect you show yourself in private.
Be really excellent.
