Sometimes an outsider can offer a game-changing take on a tried-and-true process. When it comes to performance, that person is Idan Ravin, author of the bestselling book, The Hoops Whisperer: On the Courts and Inside the Heads of Basketball's Best Players. Over the course of his career, Idan has worked with athletes like Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Kevin Durant, and Steph Curry. Though he never played for or coached a professional basketball team, his outsider status coupled with his passion for learning and performance science, have made him a one-of-a-kind teacher. In this interview we discuss: How some of the most impactful teachers can come from unexpected places How his outsider status and commitment to self-teaching made him the incredible teacher he is today Why teaching young people served him well in teaching professional basketball players The importance of seeing people for who they can be vs who they are not Why seeing what others never notice in performance is akin to the approach a plastic surgeon takes How high performing athletes can lose their love of the game and why Idan works so hard to recapture it Why he combines high intensity with sensory overload approaches to improve performance Why learning requires the comfort of safe spaces where we can make mistakes Why learning also requires the discomfort that comes with stretching ourselves to gain new skills The humility and modesty that comes with being vulnerable in our learning How rewiring our brains takes time, can be incremental, and is often far from linear Why he wants to redefine the word selfish to include reaching for something because you have earned it through self-reliance and responsibility Why the best teachers help us gain the skills we need and then support us in ways we express them Why he believes dreams are a luxury while faith is something you can control and act on The meaningful exchange that can take place when we teach and learn from those we teach The importance of taking action to achieve our goals How some of the most credentialed and strongly affiliated individuals can also be the least knowledgeable when it comes to learning and performance Episode Links Carmelo Anthony New York Knicks Nike commercial Peak by Anders Ericsson Adam Levine The Voice If you enjoy the podcast, please rate and review it on iTunes - your ratings make all the difference. For automatic delivery of new episodes, be sure to subscribe. As always, thanks for listening!