In this discussion, Steven Kotler, a peak performance expert and author, shares insights on achieving seemingly impossible goals. He outlines his formula, emphasizing the need to activate intrinsic motivators and develop grit through structured training. The importance of creativity, continual learning, and rediscovering childhood flow activities are highlighted as key elements for personal growth. Kotler also offers actionable advice to kickstart your journey towards the extraordinary, making the podcast a treasure trove of motivation and practical steps.
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insights INSIGHT
Peak Performance: More Than Flow
Peak performance requires more than just flow.
Skills like motivation, grit, goal setting, learning, creativity, and problem-solving are also essential.
insights INSIGHT
Defining Impossible Goals
Impossible goals are defined as those with no clear path between where you are and where you want to go.
They have statistically low chances of success but are achievable with the right approach.
insights INSIGHT
Biology vs. Personality
Biology scales in peak performance, while personality doesn't.
Peak performance systems based on individual personalities often fail because biology is foundational.
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Decoding the Science of Ultimate Human Performance
Steven Kotler
In this groundbreaking book, Steven Kotler delves into the science of 'flow,' an optimal state of consciousness where individuals perform and feel their best. Drawing on over a decade of research and firsthand interviews with top action and adventure sports athletes like Laird Hamilton, Jeremy Jones, and Danny Way, Kotler explains how these athletes achieve the impossible through flow. The book bridges the gap between extreme sports and mainstream life, offering insights on how to radically accelerate performance in everyday activities. It is a exploration of profound possibility, examining what is achievable for human beings and where our limits lie.
The Art of Impossible
Steven Kotler
There are goals in life that seem very attainable. And then there are those which seem practically impossible — rising out of poverty and/or a traumatic childhood, becoming a bestselling writer, deadlifting 500 pounds. With impossible goals the odds seem long, and it isn't clear how to get from point A to point B.
My guest today has spent decades figuring out the roadmap for making that journey. His name is Steven Kotler, he's a peak performance expert, the Executive Director of the Flow Research Collective, and the author of numerous books, including his latest: The Art of Impossible: A Peak Performance Primer. Today on the show, Steven talks about how he defines an impossible goal and then unpacks the formula for making the impossible, possible. That formula begins with harnessing the five big intrinsic motivators that will give you focus for free and which you need to activate in a certain sequence, and then moves through the six levels of grit which should be trained in a particular order as well. We discuss the importance of creativity and continual learning, and how to assess the ROI of your reading. Steven also explains how flow amplifies the process of achieving peak performance, and why you need to rediscover the primary flow activity from your childhood. At the end of our conversation, Steven shares some things you can begin doing today to start tackling your impossible goals.
The Art of Manliness 
