Stealing Fire: How Silicon Valley, the Navy SEALs, and Maverick Scientists Are Revolutionizing the Way We Live and Work
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- Create Date：2021-08-11 09:56:07
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Steven Kotler
- ISBN：0062429663
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Summary
NATIONAL BESTSELLER
“A mind-blowing tour along the path from sex and drugs to R&D。” - Financial Times
It’s the biggest revolution you’ve never heard of， and it’s hiding in plain sight。 Over the past decade， Silicon Valley executives like Eric Schmidt and Elon Musk， Special Operators like the Navy SEALs and the Green Berets， and maverick scientists like Sasha Shulgin and Amy Cuddy have turned everything we thought we knew about high performance upside down。 Instead of grit， better habits， or 10，000 hours， these trailblazers have found a surprising short cut。 They're harnessing rare and controversial states of consciousness to solve critical challenges and outperform the competition。
New York Times bestselling author Steven Kotler and high performance expert Jamie Wheal spent four years investigating the leading edges of this revolution—from the home of SEAL Team Six to the Googleplex， the Burning Man festival， Richard Branson’s Necker Island， Red Bull’s training center， Nike’s innovation team， and the United Nations’ Headquarters。 And what they learned was stunning: In their own ways， with differing languages， techniques， and applications， every one of these groups has been quietly seeking the same thing: the boost in information and inspiration that altered states provide。
Today， this revolution is spreading to the mainstream， fueling a trillion dollar underground economy and forcing us to rethink how we can all lead richer， more productive， more satisfying lives。 Driven by four accelerating forces—psychology， neurobiology， technology and pharmacology—we are gaining access to and insights about some of the most contested and misunderstood terrain in history。 Stealing Fire is a provocative examination of what’s actually possible; a guidebook for anyone who wants to radically upgrade their life。
“A mind-blowing tour along the path from sex and drugs to R&D。” - Financial Times
It’s the biggest revolution you’ve never heard of， and it’s hiding in plain sight。 Over the past decade， Silicon Valley executives like Eric Schmidt and Elon Musk， Special Operators like the Navy SEALs and the Green Berets， and maverick scientists like Sasha Shulgin and Amy Cuddy have turned everything we thought we knew about high performance upside down。 Instead of grit， better habits， or 10，000 hours， these trailblazers have found a surprising short cut。 They're harnessing rare and controversial states of consciousness to solve critical challenges and outperform the competition。
New York Times bestselling author Steven Kotler and high performance expert Jamie Wheal spent four years investigating the leading edges of this revolution—from the home of SEAL Team Six to the Googleplex， the Burning Man festival， Richard Branson’s Necker Island， Red Bull’s training center， Nike’s innovation team， and the United Nations’ Headquarters。 And what they learned was stunning: In their own ways， with differing languages， techniques， and applications， every one of these groups has been quietly seeking the same thing: the boost in information and inspiration that altered states provide。
Today， this revolution is spreading to the mainstream， fueling a trillion dollar underground economy and forcing us to rethink how we can all lead richer， more productive， more satisfying lives。 Driven by four accelerating forces—psychology， neurobiology， technology and pharmacology—we are gaining access to and insights about some of the most contested and misunderstood terrain in history。 Stealing Fire is a provocative examination of what’s actually possible; a guidebook for anyone who wants to radically upgrade their life。
Reviews
Spavlovcik
，
This was a very interesting， anecdotal book about utilizing altered states of consciousness such as flow and psychedelics。 It made me wonder how I still haven’t attended Burning Man。
Ivan P
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The first impression was: it's shallow。 Second: just a couple of interesting facts。 Later I realized that the topic is very sensitive， and authors have to balance on a thin line。 This book is an invitation to think about its main idea。 Nice one。 The first impression was: it's shallow。 Second: just a couple of interesting facts。 Later I realized that the topic is very sensitive， and authors have to balance on a thin line。 This book is an invitation to think about its main idea。 Nice one。 。。。more
Jared Rosner
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This book cites Amy Cuddy’s power pose research， which has been largely debunked， and then seemingly tries to cover itself by claiming there is a lot of follow up work to be done there， while leaving in its statements on power posing as a key piece of research。 Highly questionable journalistic integrity。
Andrew Shanks
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Very interesting ideas and makes me want to try some mind altering techniques in my learning。
Hippie Critical
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A lot of cool and entertaining stories about how great altered states are with very little practical advice on how to access them （besides through drugs， attending Burning Man， or skydiving simulation machines）。
Ami Punki
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Cool informations to know whilst keeping in mind that some things are easier if you’re born and live in 1st world countries ;）
Kimball
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The first part of this book was really good and so was the last part but the middle was just like ehhh， not really practical。 This book is a blend of Dave Asprey and Michael Pollan's life philosophies。 Notes:A good part of what we are habitually doing online is to forget ourselves for a moment rather than to inform ourselves for the long haul。 We are chasing these things to get out of our head。 It costs roughly 25，000 dollars to turn a average person into a US Marine like me。 And Navy SEALs cost The first part of this book was really good and so was the last part but the middle was just like ehhh， not really practical。 This book is a blend of Dave Asprey and Michael Pollan's life philosophies。 Notes:A good part of what we are habitually doing online is to forget ourselves for a moment rather than to inform ourselves for the long haul。 We are chasing these things to get out of our head。 It costs roughly 25，000 dollars to turn a average person into a US Marine like me。 And Navy SEALs costs about 500，000 dollars each。 It costs about a million dollars to keep a frog man out in the field。 What looks inevitable in hindsight looks invisible in foresight。 The food industry hijacked us with salts， fats， and sweets。 In the Olden Days people would only have sweets a few weeks a year doing various seasons or if they found a rare honeycomb。 Fats were only found in nuts and meats。 www。stealingfirebook。com/downloads 。。。more
Andrew Brady
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Maybe 3。5 stars。 I'm very mixed about it， I liked the Rise of Superman， by Steven Kotler。 I felt like he has been to close to the problem for to long and is grasping for everything in this one。 Maybe 3。5 stars。 I'm very mixed about it， I liked the Rise of Superman， by Steven Kotler。 I felt like he has been to close to the problem for to long and is grasping for everything in this one。 。。。more
Matthew Vasko
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Lots of studies referenced that will be good to refer back to， but the end of the book feels redundant。
Stephanie Hummingbird
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2。5 for me， in audiobook form。 Normally I love audiobooks and can be very engrossed in all sorts of topics， and while this was interesting， at the conclusions of anecdotes there wasn't a whole lot of substance。 There was a lot of tiptoeing about the lines of saying don't do too much or you DIE but if you do nothing you're WASTING YOUR LIFE （great dichotomy for someone with existential anxiety and depression lol）。 I think the parts I appreciated most were acknowledgements of how messed up our pri 2。5 for me， in audiobook form。 Normally I love audiobooks and can be very engrossed in all sorts of topics， and while this was interesting， at the conclusions of anecdotes there wasn't a whole lot of substance。 There was a lot of tiptoeing about the lines of saying don't do too much or you DIE but if you do nothing you're WASTING YOUR LIFE （great dichotomy for someone with existential anxiety and depression lol）。 I think the parts I appreciated most were acknowledgements of how messed up our priorities and rigors as a society， mostly in the frame of Western culture， are in this era。 The contrast because acceptable and unacceptable addictions， the bravado of overworking yourself - all things i agree with。 A lot of the other info felt like heading jumping after reading the abstract of a scientific article and moving on without a lot of context or applicability to anything else。 Overall I think other folks with meh reviews of the book have said it better than I， but on the whole I must agree with was lackluster for me。 。。。more
Orlando
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3 stars This book can be a little controversial due to the nature of itself but the main idea is: Altered states of consciousness and it gives it in three categories: Mystical states which we can enter by practice meditationFlow which， as it names indicates， is movement or pyshical activities andPsychedelic and nothing more obvious than。。。。 drugs <--- this is the controversial part of the book， it does suggest to try them and also gives a lot of example of people that do it and are very creative 3 stars This book can be a little controversial due to the nature of itself but the main idea is: Altered states of consciousness and it gives it in three categories: Mystical states which we can enter by practice meditationFlow which， as it names indicates， is movement or pyshical activities andPsychedelic and nothing more obvious than。。。。 drugs <--- this is the controversial part of the book， it does suggest to try them and also gives a lot of example of people that do it and are very creative BUT （and before anyone takes advice from here and goes to buy some drugs） it says that it should be in MICRODOSING personal note: maybe a little of a chicken but this part is non negotiable for me， I will not try drugs and that is why I consider it controversial But。。。 what is an alternate of consciousness and how to identify it， well， simple it will have 4 feelings: selfessness， timelessness， effortlessness and richness。 Finally the book is full of examples and stories about how organizations， entrepeneurs and people in general are using this states to te reach peak performance。 。。。more
David Parker
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I wanted to like this book but it's an incoherent mess。 I wanted to like this book but it's an incoherent mess。 。。。more
Sophie Schoy
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I love reading about interesting studies， and this book is full of them！ Stealing Fire gave me a glance into the groundbreaking work going on to enable people to enter life-altering Flow or Enlightened states quicker， easier， and safer。 My excitement was a bit dampened by the frustration that a lot of this incredible technology is still not readily available to the average person。 However， if you are interested in boosting your productivity， personal development， and experiencing out-of-body sta I love reading about interesting studies， and this book is full of them！ Stealing Fire gave me a glance into the groundbreaking work going on to enable people to enter life-altering Flow or Enlightened states quicker， easier， and safer。 My excitement was a bit dampened by the frustration that a lot of this incredible technology is still not readily available to the average person。 However， if you are interested in boosting your productivity， personal development， and experiencing out-of-body states， this book will get you excited for the near future。 You can also expect to be challenged in your beliefs on the topic of psychedelics。 。。。more
Paul Eberhart
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Solid read; Kotler provides great insight into human performance。
Johns
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Sort of writing we've come to expect from Lefty druggies who function partially impaired in a misty mental haze of one illegal substance or another。 Rambling pronouncements here; not worth further consideration。 Sort of writing we've come to expect from Lefty druggies who function partially impaired in a misty mental haze of one illegal substance or another。 Rambling pronouncements here; not worth further consideration。 。。。more
J R Howie
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Insightful if you’re 40+ and have lived a sheltered life
Ravi
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Great read。 Interesting。 Especially to know the areas companies explore in order to improve performance。 I suppose we will end up living life as recommended by our ancestors who must have had the secret code we are in search of。
David Lacourt
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Je m’attendais à un manuel pratique pour atteindre différents états de conscience mais au final c’est plus un aperçu général qui fait converger différentes disciplines a priori sans liens。 Comme tout livre c’est plus une histoire à prendre avec du recul que la vérité ultime。 Les annexes semblent bien fournies ce qui semble démontrer une vraie recherche。Certains chapitres semblent dire « essaies la drogue ！ » ou bien « si tu participes pas a Burning Man tu as raté ta vie » … mais c’est intéressan Je m’attendais à un manuel pratique pour atteindre différents états de conscience mais au final c’est plus un aperçu général qui fait converger différentes disciplines a priori sans liens。 Comme tout livre c’est plus une histoire à prendre avec du recul que la vérité ultime。 Les annexes semblent bien fournies ce qui semble démontrer une vraie recherche。Certains chapitres semblent dire « essaies la drogue ！ » ou bien « si tu participes pas a Burning Man tu as raté ta vie » … mais c’est intéressant de voir cette poursuite ecstatique émerger un peu partout et devenir de plus en plus accessible。Bref， ça m’a motivé à reprendre la méditation :-D à défaut des autres trucs coûteux ou illégaux ！ 。。。more
Word Muncher
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After the first few chapters and a couple of aha moments， this book becomes pretty repetitive。 I did enjoy a few fun facts but couldn't finish the book。 After the first few chapters and a couple of aha moments， this book becomes pretty repetitive。 I did enjoy a few fun facts but couldn't finish the book。 。。。more
Leanna
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I had a difficult time getting through this book even though it had interesting stories of people reaching this phenomenal altered state of selflessness， timelessness， yada yada （can't remember all of the things）。 There is something about the way that it is written that reminds me of a diet book （many， many chapters on people singing the praises of losing weight on a specific plan， but what you need to do to reach the goal is not necessarily a desirable one - or you need to purchase something to I had a difficult time getting through this book even though it had interesting stories of people reaching this phenomenal altered state of selflessness， timelessness， yada yada （can't remember all of the things）。 There is something about the way that it is written that reminds me of a diet book （many， many chapters on people singing the praises of losing weight on a specific plan， but what you need to do to reach the goal is not necessarily a desirable one - or you need to purchase something to get there） 。。。more
Sebastian Vaisov
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Not bad， found some new things for myself， but overall the book feels like long pitch for authors project
Vivekanand Mishra
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An important piece of literature in the new Red Religion delivered in the Blue Church fashion。
Bruno Gurgel
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Nice book to make us think outside of the box。 Now I can justify my willingness to go to burning man with science。。。。 Brilliant！ Great reading。
Mark
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Great book one of my favorites。 Finished may 7th 2021
Samantha
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A bit too convoluted。 I found it hard to find a common thread through the book， though I could find nuggets of interest or good insight here and there。 Also， the Navy SEAL， maverick scientist， Silicon Valley references in the title seem "clickbaity" to be honest。。。while these topics are covered， would the book have been better off focusing on the research in the area rather than being gimmicky？ Probably yes。 A bit too convoluted。 I found it hard to find a common thread through the book， though I could find nuggets of interest or good insight here and there。 Also， the Navy SEAL， maverick scientist， Silicon Valley references in the title seem "clickbaity" to be honest。。。while these topics are covered， would the book have been better off focusing on the research in the area rather than being gimmicky？ Probably yes。 。。。more
Manoj Somasundaram
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This book really changed a lot for me。 It's a perspective that I never knew existed，a this "underground" community of people chasing the elusive state of "ek-stasis" of "oneness" of "no mind" of "flow"。 The authors go through a thrilling tale of the ancient greeeks to the modern day spec ops navy seals， to burning man and silicon valley。 There are a lot of ideas in this book that might test your beliefs， but I feel the end result is truly worth it。 Highly recommend the book。 Cool little tidbits: This book really changed a lot for me。 It's a perspective that I never knew existed，a this "underground" community of people chasing the elusive state of "ek-stasis" of "oneness" of "no mind" of "flow"。 The authors go through a thrilling tale of the ancient greeeks to the modern day spec ops navy seals， to burning man and silicon valley。 There are a lot of ideas in this book that might test your beliefs， but I feel the end result is truly worth it。 Highly recommend the book。 Cool little tidbits: - Globally we spend $4 trillion on activities to get us out of our heads and try to get into "ecstasis"。 - There are biofeedback technologies that you can utilize by wearing some tech on your head with electrodes coming off of it I believe that will help guide you to the state of zen monks and you can in months do what it takes monks multiple years to accomplish。 - Soldiers able to learn 4-5x as fast when submerged in isolation deprivation tanks and are single minded given the information they have to focus on with biofeedback devices and instruments to help them get into flow state。 - Flow leads to more efficiency and effectiveness in the work place。 - The US Navy Seal program spends millions of dollars each year to try to expensively sort out people who can not only handle the stress of being a navy seal op， but also if they can "merge" with the group and be one mind。 Group flow。 。。。more
Hassan Alsheikh
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I would read again。 It moved something in me。 Especially the last chapters。
David Basora
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This is a weird book， in that the information they lay out is interesting and surprising; in concept this could be game changing for humanity as a whole if everyone recognized and embraced how to unlock their hidden potential on a consistent basis。 However， what is billed as a how-to guide about finding constant bliss or creating massively efficient productivity is more of a humblebrag about how the authors are privy to the secrets of those with the means to do this most effectively， and a warni This is a weird book， in that the information they lay out is interesting and surprising; in concept this could be game changing for humanity as a whole if everyone recognized and embraced how to unlock their hidden potential on a consistent basis。 However， what is billed as a how-to guide about finding constant bliss or creating massively efficient productivity is more of a humblebrag about how the authors are privy to the secrets of those with the means to do this most effectively， and a warning that it is easy to make chasing this dream dangerous。 Which， I think I already knew based on how much sex and drugs are involved in explaining esctasis。 Even though it is conceivable to gain instant access to a flow state to think more clearly or get work done faster by doing some of the things in this book， or looking forward to some kind of psychedelic research breakthrough that gives you peak performance in a pill; I feel like humanity has demonstrated we couldn't handle such a gift as a society。 I found this very interesting， but I think it's a money grab to bill it as something the average person can make full use out of without making a mess of their life。 I am happy reaching flow when I can through music， roller blading， gaming， and fun times with friends。 I am convinced I get somewhere close to those experiences described in the book when I am hanging out or playing a game with those I am closest to， and 5 hours feels like 1 hour。 I will just have to figure out a better plan for getting into a flow at work。 。。。more
Steven Perry
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Had some interesting parts。 Enjoyed the first part and the experiments but last half to third of the book fell flat for me。 Just not what I expected overall。
Cheri Lantz
，