“Cultivating real passion isn’t an overnight process. It’s not enough to play around in the spots where multiple curiosities intersect. Certainly, there’s some emotional energy at those intersections. Sure, the neurochemistry beneath this energy helps transform curiosity into passion. But to really light that fire and ensure you’re on the right track, you’re going to need to amplify that passion with a series of “public successes.” A public success is nothing more than positive feedback from others. Any kind of social reinforcement increases feel-good neurochemistry, which increases motivation.12 Positive attention from others causes the brain to release more dopamine than we get from passion alone.”
―
Steven Kotler,
The Art of Impossible: A Peak Performance Primer
