Steven Kotler, a New York Times bestselling author and peak performance expert, shares insights from his book, The Art of Impossible. He explores how to decode motivation, creativity, and flow—skills once deemed unteachable. Kotler discusses personal growth through challenges, the importance of intrinsic motivation, and mastering the flow state for optimal performance. He emphasizes the balance between skills and challenges while encouraging the exploration of diverse interests. His insights aim to help unleash human potential and achieve seemingly impossible goals.
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Magic Inspiration
At nine years old, Steven Kotler's brother showed him a magic trick, sparking his interest in the impossible.
This led him to pursue magic for a decade and learn from mentors like Joe Leffler.
volunteer_activism ADVICE
Finding Purpose
Find your purpose by identifying the intersection of your curiosities and coupling them with a cause greater than yourself.
This leads to focus, a key component of flow and peak performance.
insights INSIGHT
Flow and Recovery
Flow isn't a binary state; it's a four-stage cycle requiring active recovery.
Peak performers prioritize recovery to avoid burnout and maintain high flow states.
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The Art of Learning takes readers through Josh Waitzkin’s unique journey to excellence in both chess and Tai Chi Chuan. The book explains how a well-thought-out, principled approach to learning separates success from failure. Waitzkin discusses how achievement is a function of a lifestyle that fuels a creative, resilient growth process. He shares his methods for systematically triggering intuitive breakthroughs, honing techniques, and mastering performance psychology. The book also emphasizes the importance of embracing defeat, making mistakes work for you, and turning weaknesses into strengths. It is divided into sections that cover his rise in chess, his transition to Tai Chi, and the similarities in preparation and execution between the two disciplines.
The Art of Impossible
Steven Kotler
BOLD
HOW TO GO BIG, CREATE WEALTH AND IMPACT THE WORLD
Peter H. Diamandis
BOLD is a how-to guide that arms entrepreneurs, activists, and leaders with the tools to positively impact the lives of billions while achieving their biggest dreams. The book is divided into three parts: Part One focuses on exponential technologies disrupting Fortune 500 companies; Part Two explores the psychological aspects of bold thinking, including insights from billionaires like Larry Page, Elon Musk, and Jeff Bezos; and Part Three discusses best practices such as incentive competitions, crowdfunding campaigns, and community building.
Range
Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World
David Epstein
In this book, David Epstein examines the success of generalists in various fields, including sports, arts, music, invention, forecasting, and science. He argues that generalists, who often find their path late and juggle multiple interests, are more creative, agile, and able to make connections that specialists cannot. Epstein uses stories and research studies to show that wide sampling and late specialization can be more valuable than early specialization, especially in complex and unpredictable environments. He also discusses the distinction between 'kind' and 'wicked' learning environments and the importance of balancing specialization with range for long-term success[2][4][5].
Steven first appeared on the podcast on episode #43 where we cover much of his backstory but on this episode Steven discusses his new book THE ART OF IMPOSSIBLE which delves into how to decode motivation, learning, creativity, and flow—previously thought of as unteachable skills.
Drawing on his two decades of experience, cutting-edge neuroscience research, and interviews with elite performers, on this episode Kotler distills insights he uses to educate over a thousand people a month—including executives at Fortune 100 companies, Olympian athletes, and members of the US special forces.
What Got You There with Sean DeLaney 
