1: DO THE HARD THING reads the sign above author Steven Kotler‘s desk.

Yes, the phrase is “a great reminder to attack life’s challenges,” but that’s not the point, he writes in The Art of the Impossible.

Its “real function is much smaller: It’s to remind me to do one extra item on my to-do list before I take my first break,” he writes.  

“If my day’s first … continue reading

1: When we reflect on our lives, what are our proudest accomplishments?  Steven Kotler asks in The Art of Impossible: A Peak Performance Primer.

“Now think about how hard we worked to accomplish them.  Sure, everybody gets lucky a few times.  There’s always a handful of occasions when you get exactly what you want without having to work very hard to achieve it,” he observes.

“But are those the memories that … continue reading