1: Getting better at getting better is what RiseWithDrew is all about.

Monday through Thursday, we explore ideas from authors, thought leaders, and exemplary organizations. On Friday, I share something about myself or what we are working on at PCI.

Until recently, scientists believed that extrinsic motivators were more powerful than intrinsic drivers.

“Extrinsic drivers are rewards that are external to ourselves,” Steven Kotler writes in his book The … continue reading

1: This week, we’ve been doing a deep dive into peak performance. We must get into a flow state to perform at the highest levels.

We do so by engaging flow triggers, including autonomy, the curiosity-passion-purpose triad, complete concentration, the challenge-skills balance, clear goals, and immediate feedback.

All of these are internal flow triggers. They arise from within us.

However, there are also external flow triggers, Steven Kotler writes in … continue reading

1: To achieve peak performance, we must enter what scientists call the flow state.  

Otherwise known as “Being in the zone” or a “Runner’s High.” That feeling of “Being unconscious.”

Yesterday, we looked at three triggers that help us access the flow state: Autonomy, the curiosity-passion-purpose triad, and complete concentration, as outlined by Steven Kotler in his brilliant book, The Art of Impossible: A Peak Performance Primer.

Our next … continue reading

1: Perhaps we’ve been there. 

A “peak experience.” Sometimes called “Being in the Zone” or a “Runner’s High.” That feeling of “being unconscious.”

The scientists call it “flow,” or being in a “flow state.”

It’s the mental state when we are fully immersed. Energetically focused. Total concentration. Complete absorption. Time seems to melt away. 

Being in flow is one of the secrets to peak performance. So, if we want to … continue reading

1: Under normal conditions, we only use a small portion of our brain, say 10 percent.

So, when we achieve peak performance, also known as flow, it must be because we use more of our brain. Right?

“Turns out, we had it exactly backward,” Steven Kotler writes in The Art of Impossible: A Peak Performance Primer.

“The prefrontal cortex is a powerful place,” he writes. “It’s the seat of … continue reading

1: New year. New us. 

That’s a possibility. But what precisely are we going to do differently?

One of my big learnings last year was around the power of intrinsic motivators. 

We often set goals where our reward is getting a promotion or a raise. Or being recognized for winning a game. These are examples of extrinsic motivators. Things outside of us. 

There’s nothing wrong with extrinsic motivation. But the … continue reading

1: “What do you want to be doing in your later decades?”

“What is your plan for the rest of your life?” 

These are the questions Dr. Peter Attia asks his clients to answer in his terrific book Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity. 

He wants them to reflect.  To sketch out their future. 

Most of us have watched our parents or grandparents getting older.  Beginning in their … continue reading

“Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.” -Sun Tzu

1: To live longer, healthier lives, we must understand the difference between strategy and tactics, Dr. Peter Attia writes in his book Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity.

To explain the difference, Peter references one of the most celebrated boxing matches of all time: Muhammad Ali versus George Foreman.

Called the “Rumble in the Jungle,” the fight occurred in … continue reading

1: Lifespan is a straightforward concept. It’s how long we will live. 

“Lifespan deals with death, which is binary: we’re alive, and then we’re dead. It’s final,” Dr. Peter Attia writes in his book Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity.

But before we die, sometimes many years before, “most people suffer through a period of decline,” Peter writes, that “is like dying in slow motion.”

Which is where … continue reading

When Dr. Peter Attia introduces his patients to his approach to medicine, he talks about icebergs.

“Specifically, the ones that ended the first and final voyage of the Titanic,” he writes in his terrific book Outlive.

At 9:30 p.m. on that fatal night, the immense ocean liner received an urgent message from another ship that it was sailing into an ice field. 

The message was ignored. 

“More than an … continue reading