1: We are chasing the impossible. Peak performance is our goal.

Step one: Align our intrinsic motivators: curiosity, passion, purpose, autonomy, and mastery.

Step two: Layer in our goals.  

The final piece of the puzzle? Seven daily practices and six weekly practices. These are our non-negotiables. 

“If we want to sustain peak performance long enough to accomplish the impossible—whatever that is for us—we’re going to need to weave these items … continue reading

1: Our goal?    Peak performance.

In the final chapter of The Art of Impossible, Steven Kotler gives us “a meta-strategy for consistent peak performance.” 

There are steps to this process, and we must follow the steps in a specific order.

We begin by aligning our intrinsic drivers or motivators: curiosity, passion, purpose, autonomy, and mastery.  

Steven writes: “Because of the nature of intrinsic motivation, we have to start … continue reading

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.

One of my goals this year is to get better at time blocking.

I first learned about time blocking many years ago when I had the opportunity to participate in the … 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: 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: There were two teams of lumberjacks.  

“Some were told to work smart and fast, but no pressure, do your best,” writes Steven Kotler in The Art of Impossible: A Peak Performance Primer.

“Others were given quotas. This much wood for a good week of work, this much wood for a great week,” he writes. 

“It’s important to note that there was zero financial reward given for meeting these … continue reading

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.

This week, we’ve been exploring some of the powerful lessons from Steven Kotler’s wonderful book The Art of Impossible.

If we want to “chase the impossible” in our … continue reading

1: The answer: Yes.

It’s what scientists call “flow” or the flow state.

Flow is defined as “an optimal state of consciousness where we feel our best and perform our best,” Steven Kotler writes in his powerful book The Art of the Impossible.  

“More specifically, the term refers to those moments of rapt attention and total absorption when we get so focused on the task at hand that everything … continue reading

1: Psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi discovered something fascinating.

The people who score the highest for overall well-being and life satisfaction are those with the most “flow” in their lives.

So, what exactly is flow?

Mihaly began studying high performance in the 1970s. He traveled “around the world asking tens of thousands of people about the times in their life when they felt their best and performed their best,” Steven Kotler writes … continue reading

1: Author Steven Kotler was on a quest. 

As a self-described “science guy,” he wanted to understand the “semi-mystical” experiences he was having while surfing.

Experiences that were literally bringing him back to life. At age 30, he contracted Lyme disease and was barely able to function for one hour a day.

Yesterday, we looked at the incredible recovery he experienced after he started surfing.

Steven wanted to decode … continue reading