1: The answer is simpler than we think.

“When researchers talk about creativity,” Steven Kotler writes in The Art of Impossible: A Peak Performance Primer, “one of the most frequent topics of conversation is the phenomenon is known as insight.”

So what exactly is insight? 

“The experience of sudden comprehension,” he writes, “that aha moment when we get a joke, solve a puzzle, or resolve an ambiguous situation.”

The … continue reading

1: The rowing team from Great Britain had not won an Olympic gold medal since 1912. 

“By all measures, they didn’t have a good rowing program,” Dan Sullivan and Ben Hardy write in their book The Gap and The Gain: The High Achiever’s Guide to Happiness, Confidence, and Success.

Then everything changed. 

During the training for the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, the members of the British rowing team began … continue reading

1: Author Steven Kotler has spent over thirty years as a journalist. 

One of the job requirements? Become a “semi-expert” on new topics. Fast.

This week we are doing a deep dive into learning. 

Over the years, Steven has developed “Five Not-So-Easy Steps” for learning almost anything. 

Yesterday, we looked at step one: Read five books.

“Once we’re done reading those five books, our notebooks should be filled with … continue reading

1: “When do I feel like I know enough about a subject to write about that subject for a major magazine or newspaper?” was the question author and journalist Steven Kotler was asked by a college student while riding a mountain biking chairlift in northern New Mexico.

In Steven’s case, he had worked for over a hundred different publications over the past thirty years. He’s covered “everything from hard science … continue reading

1: “Consistent peak performance requires constant learning,” Steven Kotler writes in The Art of Impossible: A Peak Performance Primer. 

Our goal? Learn how to learn faster. 

But how?

“Learning is an invisible skill,” Steven writes. “For the most part, we’re bad until we’re better.”

Of course, we can decide to learn something and then double down and demonstrate the grit and persistence to stay with it.

But how do … continue reading

1: The answer?

Self-coaching. Then, coaching others to coach themselves. Who coach others to coach themselves.  

I learned about self-coaching from my friend, mentor, and coach, Dr. Danny Friedland, who passed away 18 months ago after a year-long battle with brain cancer. He wrote a brilliant book Leading Well from Within.

So far this week, we’ve examined the power of: (1) asking questions and (2) starting with purpose… continue reading

1: It starts with intention, writes Dr. Daniel Friedland in his brilliant book Leading Well from Within.

Not expectation.

What’s the difference?

Expectation is outside in. Intention is inside out.  

2: We understand intention through the lens of purpose. Why is this important? What difference do we make? Who am I here for?

When we ask ourselves these questions (as coaches self-coaching ourselves), we tap into the depth and … continue reading

1: What makes a great coach great?

Being an effective coach is not about becoming indispensable. If our goal is to elevate the leadership capacity across the organization, we do so by learning to coach ourselves. And then coach others to coach themselves.  

I learned about self-coaching from my friend, mentor, and coach, Dr. Danny Friedland, who passed away 18 months ago after a year-long battle with brain cancer. … continue reading

1: So, what exactly is leadership anyway?

Let’s skip all the boring textbook definitions. In one ear, out the other…

Not management. Not being a manager. That’s an important skill. But management is not leadership.

Ready?  

Leadership is about the ability to influence others.

I like this definition of leadership because it’s simple.  

And, true.  

Think about it at a gut level. Whom do we consider a leader in our … continue reading