Steven Kotler is the Executive Director of the Flow Research Collective and one of the world’s leading experts on high performance. The New York Times bestselling author of Stealing Fire and The Rise of Superman, Kotler shows companies how to unlock their potential and level up their game like never before. On this episode, Steven decodes the science of flow—an optimal state of consciousness where we feel our best and perform our best. We dig into the science of human performance, how to achieve flow, and what it all means for your own life.
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Show Notes
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- How much of peak performance is mental? (1:48)
- Biology scales. Peak performance is getting your biology to work for you. (2:35)
- What does it take to do the impossible? Why Steven started studying human performance (3:44)
- How surfing helped Steven overcome Lyme disease (5:40)
- Studying flow through the lens of action sport athletes (8:04)
- The neuroscience of peak performance (12:35)
- The benefits of flow (14:55)
- The definition of flow and the 4 stages of the flow experience (17:45)
- What triggers flow (24:15)
- The basics of positive psychology for leaders (25:30)
- The one thing you should do to amplify the amount of flow in your life (28:31)
- The importance of doing the things that trigger flow (34:14)
- The future is faster than you think (39:07)
Resources / People Mentioned
- The Flow Research Collective
- Stealing Fire by Steven Kotler
- The Rise of Superman by Steven Kotler
- Abundance by Steven Kotler
- Bold by Steven Kotler
- The Future Is Faster Than You Think by Steven Kotler
- Michael Gervais, high performance psychologist
- X Games
- Gravity Games
- Lyme Disease
- Laird Hamilton, surfer
- Ken Ravizza, sports psychologist
- McKinsey: Increasing the “meaning quotient” of work
- Herb Benson, Harvard
- Chris Peterson, psychologist
- Teresa Amabile, Harvard
- Take the flow blocker quiz
- Get a free peak performance consult
- The User Illusion by Tor Norretranders
- The Song of The Dodo by David Quammen
- William James, psychologist
- Peter Diamandis, Executive Chairman of the X Prize Foundation
Recommended For You
Did you enjoy this episode? Then listen to:
- Kelly McGonigal on How To Make Stress Your Friend
- Daniel Pink on The Science of Peak Performance
- Chris Baréz-Brown on Unleashing Your Creative Potential
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