1: If we are hunting high achievement (and we are), “motivation is what gets you into the game, but learning is what keeps you there,” Steven Kotler writes in The Art of Impossible: A Peak Performance Primer.
Steven cites psychologist Gary Klein’s classic book on decision-making, Sources of Power, which identifies eight specific types of knowledge “that are visible to experts yet invisible to everyone else.”
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1: “My best friend, Michael Wharton, ran track in high school,” Steven Kotler writes in The Art of Impossible: A Peak Performance Primer.
Michael’s coach had unusual protocols. “When they went out for long runs, whenever they encountered a hill, the team had to shift their focus entirely to core running skills: long strides, strong arms, high kicks. Note the focus wasn’t on speed or acceleration, it was on … continue reading
1: The default mode for peak performers is not recovery, rest, and relaxation.
“If momentum matters most, sitting still feels like laziness,” Steven Kotler writes in The Art of Impossible: A Peak Performance Primer. “And the more aligned with passion and purpose we become, the more ‘wasteful’ time off starts to feel.”
Yet, we need to prioritize recovery to avoid burnout.
“Burnout is identified by three symptoms: exhaustion, depression, … continue reading
1: The answer, according to one of the world’s leading experts on human performance?
Learning to be at our best when we are at our worst.
“And you have to train this kind of grit on its own, as a separate skill, But if we can do this, what we discover is real power. There’s real power there—and it’s power we probably didn’t know we had.” Steven Kotler writes in … continue reading
1: “Early-stage passion doesn’t look like late-stage passion,” Steven Kotler writes in The Art of Impossible: A Peak Performance Primer.
Imagine LeBron James as “a little kid standing in front of a big hoop, trying to get his shots to drop,” Steven writes. “On the front end, passion is nothing more than the overlap of multiple curiosities coupled to a few wins.”
Sure, to be passionate, we want to … continue reading
1: Grit is “the intersection of passion and perseverance,” University of Pennsylvania psychologist Angela Duckworth tells us.
Scottish philosopher Thomas Carlyle’s observation three hundred years ago is even simpler: “No pressure, no diamonds.”
We all know the path to consistent high performance is a bumpy road with many rocks, boulders, and unexpected hairpin turns.
In his book, The Art of Impossible, author Steven Kotler identifies three indigents required for … continue reading
1: The trial is beginning. The defense attorney rises to give their opening statement.
They begin by mentioning everything their client is accused of. They list out all the weaknesses of their case.
Why?
The technique is called “taking the sting out,” Chris Voss writes in Never Split the Difference: Negotiating As If Your Life Depended On It.
And it applies to more than just the court of law.
To prepare … continue reading
1: The experienced fundraiser was perplexed.
A fundraising executive with the Girl Scouts, she had developed a successful system to connect with donors. “She’d invite a potential donor to her office, serve a few Girl Scouts cookies, walk her through an album of heartwarming snapshots and handwritten letters from projects that matched the [donor’s] profile, and then collect a check when the donor’s eyes lit up,” Chris Voss writes in … continue reading
What is the FBI’s “most potent” negotiating tool?
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.
In recent weeks, we’ve been exploring ideas and best practices to become a better negotiator, from the FBI’s lead hostage negotiator, … continue reading
1: What do Marcus Aurelius, Cato, Seneca, Thomas Jefferson, James Stockdale, Epictetus, Theodore Roosevelt, and George Washington have in common?
“They explicitly practiced and studied Stoicism,” writes Ryan Holiday in The Obstacle Is the Way: The Timeless Art of Turning Trials into Triumph. “We know this for a fact.”
What exactly does it mean to be a stoic?
Philosopher and writer Nassim Nicholas Taleb defines a Stoic as someone … continue reading
