The Rise of Superman: Decoding the Science of Ultimate Human Performance

by Steven Kotler

The greatest athletes aren’t interested in the greatest risks. I mean, sometimes they’re taken, sometimes not, but those physical risks are a by-product of a much deeper desire to take creative risks.

In action and adventure sports, creativity is always the point.”

Most people are so afraid of dying they never live.

Fully alive and deeply committed is a risky business. Once you strip away the platitudes, a life of passion and purpose will always cost, as T. S. Eliot reminds us, “Not less than everything.”

once we can actually see ourselves doing the impossible, our chances of pulling it off increase significantly.

learning the impossible is possible augments our ability to see ourselves doing the impossible, which triggers a systemic change in the body and the brain, which closes the gap between fantasy and reality.

when we do actually execute on our vision — i.e., attempt the impossible — we’re far more likely to find ourselves in the zone during that attempt and far more likely to perform properly as a result.

Isaac Newton wasn’t wrong. We all see farther by standing on the shoulders of giants.

In an environment of turbulent change, as de Geus famously wrote: “The ability to learn faster than your competitors is the only sustainable competitive advantage.”