Steven Kotler

Author, journalist, co-founder and director of the Flow Genome Project.

Steven Kotler is a New York Times bestselling author, award-winning journalist, and cofounder and director of research for the Flow Genome Project. His books include The Rise of Superman, Abundance, A Small, Furry Prayer, West of Jesus, and The Angle Quickest for Flight. His work has been translated into thirty languages and his articles have appeared in more than seventy publications, including New York Times Magazine, Atlantic Monthly, Wired, and Forbes.

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The Rise of Superman

Decoding the Science of Ultimate Human Performance

by Steven Kotler

The Rise of Superman. What an awesome title and vision. Steven Kotler is one of the world’s leading authorities on the science of flow. He created the Flow Genome Project that is all about “decoding the peak performance state of flow.” (<—Awesome.) In this book we take a peak at how we can get our greatness on. Big Ideas include a quick look at flow and how to hack it, achieving mastery sans misery, using fear as a compass and how to do the impossible.

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Peak Performance & Spartan Training

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The Rise of Superyou
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Introducing a New Mantra: “No Pressure, No Diamonds.”

Steven Kotler wrote a great book called The Rise of Superman. In it, he challenges some myths of mastery—telling us that it’s not so much about having the right DNA or the willpower to delay gratification for 10,000 hours. For this +1, I want to share my favorite piece of wisdom from my interview...

+1 inspired by Note: The Rise of Superman

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Making the Impossible Possible
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How to Make It What’s for Breakfast in X Tomorrows

As we’ve discussed, Steven Kotler wrote The Rise of Superman. His “No pressure, no diamonds” mantra goes through my head at least a few times a week. No pressure, no diamonds. No pressure, no diamonds. No pressure, no diamonds. <- Love that. Today we’re going to talk a little more about the Ri...

+1 inspired by Note: The Rise of Superman

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Modern Hērō & Peak Performance

Best of Optimize compound courage Growth Mental Toughness modern-hero Peak Performance Work

Flow Junkies
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How to Attain Superyou Mastery Sans Misery

In our last +1, we made our plans to enjoy doing the impossible together over breakfast in the not-too-distant future after following a nice little aggregation and compounding of a bunch of little +4% gains. Today we’re going to talk about the fact that, as Steven says, we can achieve that mastery “s...

+1 inspired by Note: The Rise of Superman

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Peak Performance & Purpose

big-picture Flow Mastery Peak Performance purpose soul Spirit

How to Make a Pearl
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To Go with our Diamonds

One of our very first +1s was on a brilliant line from Steven Kotler. At the end of our interview about his great book The Rise of Superman, I asked him what one piece of wisdom he’d share with someone passionate about (and committed to!) Optimizing their lives so they could actualize their potential. ...

+1 inspired by Note: The Rise of Superman

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Sand on Paper Applied to Your Life

In our last +1, we talked about how to make a pearl. Recall that the first step was to introduce an “irritant.” We connected that gem origin story to another: No pressure, no diamonds. We could say: No sand, no pearl. (And/or: No irritant, no pearl!!) Today I’d like to spend a little more time talk...

+1 inspired by Note: The Rise of Superman

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Conquering Fear & Modern Hērō

Actualization big-picture conquering-fear Grit Growth modern-hero Work

Hedonic Eudaimonia
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A Close Relative of Flow Junkies

Yesterday afternoon I was having my last meal of the day at 3:15pm (go glymph!!) before my 3:30 physical therapy appointment with the wonderful Dr. Julie. I was looking at the mountain and reflecting on how good I felt after a day filled with 4.75 hours of Deep Work Flow. Then I smiled as I thought about...

+1 inspired by Note: The Rise of Superman

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Modern Hērō & Peak Performance

big-picture Eudaimonia Flow focus modern-hero Peak Performance soul Spirit

Clark Kent’s Changing Room
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The Flow Telephone Booth

Continuing our brief foray through Jim Kwik’s brain and book, let’s talk about the power of getting into Flow. Jim tells us that being able to flip the switch and drop into a powerful Flow state is one of the keys to tapping into our (Limitless!!) superpowers. He quotes Steven Kotler in The Rise of S...

+1 inspired by Note: The Rise of Superman

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Energy & Productivity

Deep Work Energy Flow focus productivity Work

Astonishing Connection
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And How to Create It

In our last +1, we talked about how to tap into our Flow Superpowers. We referenced Steven Kotler’s gem from The Rise of Superman and then connected that to our (always evolving) Astonishing Productivity equation. Recall: When we get our Energy x Focus x W.I.N. mojo Optimized, we can crank out a TON of...

+1 inspired by Note: The Rise of Superman

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Love & Productivity

Love presence productivity relationships Spirit technology

Steven Kotler

Author, journalist, co-founder and director of the Flow Genome Project.

PhilosophersNotes on Steven Kotler's Books All PhilosophersNotes

The Rise of Superman

Decoding the Science of Ultimate Human Performance

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The Rise of Superyou
#21

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Introducing a New Mantra: “No Pressure, No Diamonds.”

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How to Make It What’s for Breakfast in X Tomorrows

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How to Attain Superyou Mastery Sans Misery

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To Go with our Diamonds

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Sand on Paper Applied to Your Life

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A Close Relative of Flow Junkies

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The Flow Telephone Booth

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And How to Create It

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Steven Kotler

Author, journalist, co-founder and director of the Flow Genome Project.

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The Rise of Superyou #21 Get instant access to all +1's! Join nearly 10,000 members in the 1,000-Day Epic Optimizing Challenge and start optimizing your life today. Join Now

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Astonishing Connection #1186 Get instant access to all +1's! Join nearly 10,000 members in the 1,000-Day Epic Optimizing Challenge and start optimizing your life today. Join Now

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The Rise of Superyou
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Making the Impossible Possible
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Flow Junkies
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How to Make a Pearl
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How to Make Grit
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Hedonic Eudaimonia
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Clark Kent’s Changing Room
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Astonishing Connection
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