The Mushin Way to Peak Performance

Chapter 9 Zanshin: Calm Awareness

In this chapter, you will learn how aikido principles helped me act decisively at a moment when delay would have had significant costs. You'll hear about what my aikido students have in common with spies and superheroes, and learn how an ordinary person can learn to fight off 10 attackers at once. You'll learn some simple strategies for developing your own calm awareness of a situation, and you'll see how this kind of calm awareness can help you make better decisions, leading to success and peak performance.

On September 11, 2001, I was working at an office a few blocks from the White House. Social media and texting were both in their infancy then, so we heard about the attacks from the television one of my coworkers had on in the office. We were a small sales team—there were only six of us. When the news of the attacks broke, we all stood there for a moment, frozen in horror, watching video of the first plane flying into the tower.

I immediately knew: Our country was under attack. And my team and I were standing about a football field away from the president's house. I knew at that moment that time was of the essence. I looked around at my team and said, “Let's go!”

I led them straight down to the parking garage. We all got in our cars and drove out into the streets, which were eerily quiet. The whole city must have been glued to the television ...