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

by Steven Kotler

Close listening

Always say yes,

The goal here is the momentum, togetherness, and innovation that comes from ceaselessly amplifying each other’s ideas and actions.

chockablock

social triggers.

close listening, shared goals, ego blending, and good communication

familiarity and always say yes—our

And even pulling a few triggers can bring big results.

SOCIAL SUPPORT

Powell’s innovation

social bonding neurochemicals

dopamine and norepinephrine,

endor...

group flow is egalitarian:

Neurochemicals

Group flow

“communitas”—that

deep solidarity and togetherness that results from shared trans...

‘Did that happen? Did you feel that too?’ That matters. It’s proof, but proof you can’t really talk about, proof that there aren’t words for, like a big, shared secret.”

More acceleration comes from the social support that solidarity provides.

inertia.

clandestine

creativity.

Every time we have a creative insight and share it with the world, we come up against some very primal terrors: fear of failure, fear of the unknown, fear of social ridicule, fear of loss of resources (time, money, access, etc.). There’s significant risk involved in every step of this process.

risk taking and pattern recognition—and this means dopamine.

it also tightens focus, drives us into the now, and, thus, speeds entrance into flow.

“when you can’t proceed on automatic pilot, that’s when flow shows up. That’s creativity to a T.

flow’s baseline brain-wave pattern of low

alpha/high theta also boosts creativity.

reciprocity.

He gave his life so that, maybe, we could reinvent ours.

couloir

They would use a small plane to hunt a high cirque rising from a flat plain

But I got to see up close the incredibly powerful effect Shane had on people. Most people are so afraid of dying they

never live. Shane lived his life to the fullest. He lived thousands of lifetimes and changed thousands of lives.

On the eleventh day, just as they were about to run out of food, the storm cleared. Blue skies and big-mountains.

“It’s a really ascetic line,”

Scientists who study human motivation have lately learned that after basic survival needs have been met, the combination of autonomy (the desire to direct your own life), mastery (the desire to learn, explore, and be creative), and purpose (the desire to matter, to contribute to the world) are our most powerful intrinsic drivers—the three things that motivate us most.

platitudes,

there’s a dark night of the flow. In Christian mystical traditions, once you’ve experienced the grace of God, the ‘dark night of the soul’

How many people have stopped playing guitar, writing poetry, or painting watercolors—activities packed with flow triggers—because these are also activities that do not squarely fit into culturally acceptable responsibility categories like “career” or “children”?

If we are hunting the highest version of ourselves, then we need to turn work into play and not the other way round. Unless we invert this equation, much of our capacity for intrinsic motivation starts to shut down. We lose touch with our passion and become less than what we could be and that feeling never really goes away.

Squaw Valley psychiatrist Dr. Robb Gaffney (Scott’s brother, who McConkey once called the best “nonpro” skier in the world)

esoteric

flow’s tendency toward disruption is the reason it could be considered a “left-hand path.”

A “right-hand path” is a path of orthodoxy. It’s cut, dry, and filled w...

Lao Tzu, founder of Taoism, warned that a left-hand path is best never begun, and once begun, must absolutely be finished.

hedonic instincts;

deep need for autonomy,

beyond common ken;