The Art of Impossible: A Peak Performance Primer
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- Create Date：2021-04-04 11:52:52
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Steven Kotler
- ISBN：0062977539
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Summary
Bestselling author and peak performance expert Steven Kotler decodes the secrets of those elite performers—athletes， artists， scientists， CEOs and more—who have changed our definition of the possible， teaching us how we too can stretch far beyond our capabilities， making impossible dreams much more attainable for all of us。
What does it take to accomplish the impossible？ What does it take to shatter our limitations， exceed our expectations， and turn our biggest dreams into our most recent achievements？
We are capable of so much more than we know—that’s the message at the core of The Art of Impossible。 Building upon cutting-edge neuroscience and over twenty years of research， bestselling author， peak performance expert and Executive Director of the Flow Research Collective， Steven Kotler lays out a blueprint for extreme performance improvement。 If you want to aim high， here is the playbook to make it happen！
Inspirational and aspirational， pragmatic and accessible， The Art of Impossible is a life-changing experience disguised as a how-to manual for peak performance that anyone can use to shoot for the stars 。 。 。 space-suit， not included。
What does it take to accomplish the impossible？ What does it take to shatter our limitations， exceed our expectations， and turn our biggest dreams into our most recent achievements？
We are capable of so much more than we know—that’s the message at the core of The Art of Impossible。 Building upon cutting-edge neuroscience and over twenty years of research， bestselling author， peak performance expert and Executive Director of the Flow Research Collective， Steven Kotler lays out a blueprint for extreme performance improvement。 If you want to aim high， here is the playbook to make it happen！
Inspirational and aspirational， pragmatic and accessible， The Art of Impossible is a life-changing experience disguised as a how-to manual for peak performance that anyone can use to shoot for the stars 。 。 。 space-suit， not included。
Reviews
Marycruz Figueroa
，
I would absolutely recommend reading or at least listening to the audio book。 I didn't give it more stars because I was really disinterested in the portions explaining the brain processes， etc。 I'm sure the science is really interesting to some， but I found it really dry。 Some of it， while making me roll my eyes （WHO READS FIVE BOOKS ABOUT MULTIPLE SUBJECTS THEY DON'T UNDERSTAND？？） also actually motivated me to try those things that feel ridiculous and over-the-top （yes， I do have a list of 5 bo I would absolutely recommend reading or at least listening to the audio book。 I didn't give it more stars because I was really disinterested in the portions explaining the brain processes， etc。 I'm sure the science is really interesting to some， but I found it really dry。 Some of it， while making me roll my eyes （WHO READS FIVE BOOKS ABOUT MULTIPLE SUBJECTS THEY DON'T UNDERSTAND？？） also actually motivated me to try those things that feel ridiculous and over-the-top （yes， I do have a list of 5 books a piece that I'm planning to read on three separate subjects now--THANKS， STEVEN -_-）。 It's not called "The Art of Totally Doable" amirite？ :）But for real， if you want some great food for thought， a TON of nuggets in terms of ideas and motivation， check this out！ 。。。more
Allen
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Enjoyed the book。 Some of the science was difficult to get through， but it is a necessary and beneficial aspect。 Hearing about Steven's life was fantastic， I really enjoy his personal anecdotes。 Enjoyed the book。 Some of the science was difficult to get through， but it is a necessary and beneficial aspect。 Hearing about Steven's life was fantastic， I really enjoy his personal anecdotes。 。。。more
Suresh
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What a fantastic book。 Highly recommended
James
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Great consolidation of a number of other books。
beingCristina
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Another great book purely based on science and reputable anecdotes。
Huseyin Tolga
，
Its simply a freeing experience。。。I can only say that ， there is a lot I learned from this book and I am grateful for how everything is authentically and clearly presented。 This is a game changer book for me。。。
Benas Aukstikalnis
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The book uses various psychological studies and real-life case studies to show how certain habits， mindsets， and a "flow" state can lead you to great achievements。 After reading the book， I became interested in the topic of "flow" to the point of wanting to read more books about it， which is nice。 I am also considering applying some of the information in the book to my day-to-day life。 So I would say the author explains things rather well， if I can do that。 I can't say that the book is perfect t The book uses various psychological studies and real-life case studies to show how certain habits， mindsets， and a "flow" state can lead you to great achievements。 After reading the book， I became interested in the topic of "flow" to the point of wanting to read more books about it， which is nice。 I am also considering applying some of the information in the book to my day-to-day life。 So I would say the author explains things rather well， if I can do that。 I can't say that the book is perfect though。 * The author uses some very questionable stories to support his arguments sometimes。 Like when he talks about Steven Jobs creating a toilet in one place of the building， so everyone would come and unexpectedly meet and according to the author， this leads to great creativity boost and great Pixar movies。 There was nothing to support his claim and I found it a bit absurd。* When talking about some new idea or psychological phenomena， the author starts telling outdated knowledge as if it's a current understanding。 Then， after some long explanations， he just mentions basically: "oh， so that is an outdated understanding， here is the REAL understanding of scientists about X"。 Makes it really annoying to take notes。 Why not mention it beforehand。 Solid 4/5 。。。more
Glen
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I thoroughly enjoyed listening to the audible version of this book。 **Learn 1 interesting thing about something you are interested in every day。**Spend a minimum of 20- 30 minutes per day on the subject you wish to master。**Set high， hard goals and then chunk those into tasks on your daily list。**Next comes scheduling- focus on 1 step at a time and keep chipping away。**Start your day with 90- 120 minutes of uninterrupted， deep concentration devoted to your hardest and most important tasks。 Focus I thoroughly enjoyed listening to the audible version of this book。 **Learn 1 interesting thing about something you are interested in every day。**Spend a minimum of 20- 30 minutes per day on the subject you wish to master。**Set high， hard goals and then chunk those into tasks on your daily list。**Next comes scheduling- focus on 1 step at a time and keep chipping away。**Start your day with 90- 120 minutes of uninterrupted， deep concentration devoted to your hardest and most important tasks。 Focus on those things， that once completed， will let you feel like you won the day。**Once a week， spend 2-6 hours doing your highest flow activities。 This could be skiing， running， whatever you do that gets you into flow。*Rest/recovery is very important as well but be smart in the activities you choose。 Don't sit in front of the tv with a beer。 Do light yoga， sit in a sauna， soak in a hot-tub and meditate。*Spend at least 1 hour a week training a weakness or train at a time when you feel your worst （train when you at your worst to be your best）。 This helps you develop grit。**Creativity & Mastery should be built into everything you do。**Progress is often invisible， much like compound interest。 Do a little bit each day， every week， and as the years go by， the results end up being massive （but again not always visible in the short term）。 。。。more
Terence Xie
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Maybe the most enlightening part of this book is to use achievements of neuroscience to analyze the positive psychology and peak performance， which disenchant the mess of self-help books。
Mattia
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One of my favorite non-fiction books I've read。 Information-dense yet very readable due to his journalism background。 It's been a while since I've wanted to immediately begin a book again upon finishing it。 I'm glad I bought the hardcover because I'm going to beat this thing up over time！If you're a little wary because you think this will be about sports， or because it seems self-help-y， give it a shot。 If you're interested in flow and optimization and creativity， this book will lay out the newe One of my favorite non-fiction books I've read。 Information-dense yet very readable due to his journalism background。 It's been a while since I've wanted to immediately begin a book again upon finishing it。 I'm glad I bought the hardcover because I'm going to beat this thing up over time！If you're a little wary because you think this will be about sports， or because it seems self-help-y， give it a shot。 If you're interested in flow and optimization and creativity， this book will lay out the newest science without making any single thing sound like a panacea。Engaging， informative， and inspiring！ 。。。more
Masatoshi Nishimura
，
Steven lays out very clearly of the stages you go through in becoming an expert。 It's a great update to the book Deep Work on the topic of work performance。 Just to get up to date knowledge of what flow is， the book is worth reading。 It suppresses the prefrontal cortex which is responsible for logical decision making， future planning， and executive attention。 In exchange， in a flow mode， we get hyper attention， creativity， and risk-taking behavior full of dopamine kick。 Our work involves in a co Steven lays out very clearly of the stages you go through in becoming an expert。 It's a great update to the book Deep Work on the topic of work performance。 Just to get up to date knowledge of what flow is， the book is worth reading。 It suppresses the prefrontal cortex which is responsible for logical decision making， future planning， and executive attention。 In exchange， in a flow mode， we get hyper attention， creativity， and risk-taking behavior full of dopamine kick。 Our work involves in a constant switch back and forth in those states。The writing is very down to earth self-help， explaining what you need to do day to day。 For example， you need to read 5 books just to start having the right framework to talk with experts with the right question and start building the gap in expert knowledge。 He also tries to chime in any neurochemicals such as dopamine， norepinephrine， and oxytocyn whenever applicable， which certainly helps us understand better。The book overall is well organized。 The conclusion sums up the 4 stages of flow cycle。 I appreciate that he talks enough about struggles and frustration that is involved in the beginning of any learning， which can be only persisted by motivation and grit he says。 And that's why he starts off the book talking precisely of the two。 That's a perfect comeback。 I personally think much is lacking today is that prefrontal cortex than the flow （ie: think of visionary。 They are all learning quickly while thinking in a long term。 That seems to me more about maximizing prefrontal cortex than the feel-good flow）。I took off one star because he seems sometimes overboard with his self-help claim。 For example:"It （Active listening） automatically activates curiosity， releasing a little dopamine and norepinephrine into our system。 These chemicals heighten attention， prime learning， and give us the best chance of using what we’re hearing to find connections with older ideas - thus creating conditions for pattern recognition。"That statement sounds all so magically good right？ I wanted to read the literature myself， but nothing came up on Google results in relation to active listening and norepinephrine。 So I had to discount his credibility around neuroscience a little bit。 。。。more
☘Misericordia☘ ⚡ϟ⚡⛈⚡☁ ❇️❤❣
，
The drivers:- curiousity，- passion，- purpose，- autonomy- mastery。A great passion recipe:Q:Start by writing down twenty-five things you’re curious about。 。。。Hunt for intersections 。。。 By stacking motivations， that is， layering curiosity atop curiosity atop curiosity， we’re increasing drive but not effort。 This is what happens when our own internal biology does the heavy lifting for us。 You’ll work harder， but you won’t notice the work。 Also， because dopamine provides a host of additional cognitiv The drivers:- curiousity，- passion，- purpose，- autonomy- mastery。A great passion recipe:Q:Start by writing down twenty-five things you’re curious about。 。。。Hunt for intersections 。。。 By stacking motivations， that is， layering curiosity atop curiosity atop curiosity， we’re increasing drive but not effort。 This is what happens when our own internal biology does the heavy lifting for us。 You’ll work harder， but you won’t notice the work。 Also， because dopamine provides a host of additional cognitive benefits—amplified focus， better learning， faster pattern recognition—you’ll also work smarter。 These are two more reasons why stalking the impossible might be a little easier than you suspected。 。。。Play in the intersections 。。。 The goal is to feed those curiosities a little bit at a time， and feed them on a daily basis。 This slow-growth strategy takes advantage of the brain’s inherent learning software。6 When you advance your knowledge a little bit at a time， you’re giving your adaptive unconscious a chance to process that information。 In the study of creativity， this process is known as “incubation。” What’s actually happening is pattern recognition。 。。。to increase your chances of making those connections， pay attention to two sets of details: both the history of the subject and the technical language used to describe that subject。。。。Once the brain constructs that narrative， it functions like a giant Christmas tree。 All the little details you learn along the way are the ornaments。 But having this big tree—this overarching structure—makes those ornaments easier to hang。 You don’t have to work as hard to remember them。 This historical narrative becomes a de facto memory palace， allowing you to take a brand-new piece of information and correctly slot it into its exact right place。 If we construct that narrative， we’ll see learning rates increase and time to mastery decrease。 （c）Q:Neurobiologically， purpose alters the brain。 It decreases the reactivity of the amygdala， decreases the volume of the medial temporal cortex， and increases the volume of the right insular cortex。 A less reactive amygdala translates to less stress and greater resilience。 The medial temporal cortex is involved in many aspects of perception， suggesting that having a purpose alters the way the brain filters incoming information， while a larger right insular cortex has been shown to protect against depression and correlate with a significant number of well-being measures。 （c）Q:But don’t expect this to happen quickly， and find stopgap measures in the interim。 I was a bartender for the first decade of my writing career， which allowed me the time to develop my craft without the terror of having to pay my bills off the results。 This was critical to my success。 （c） 。。。more
Brandon
，
This was just the book I needed right now。 I listened to it on audible and it is one of the few books I have listened to and thought， I wish I had the hardcopy of the book too， and I think I will buy it too， just to have some of the ideas to be able to reference in the future。As it states at the end of the book， most of the ideas are not revolutionary， but when you put small victories together over weeks， months， and years， you really start to make the impossible possible。 Not easy， but worth th This was just the book I needed right now。 I listened to it on audible and it is one of the few books I have listened to and thought， I wish I had the hardcopy of the book too， and I think I will buy it too， just to have some of the ideas to be able to reference in the future。As it states at the end of the book， most of the ideas are not revolutionary， but when you put small victories together over weeks， months， and years， you really start to make the impossible possible。 Not easy， but worth the effort in my opinion。 。。。more
Amar
，
The only Self Help Book you will ever need。
Rodrigo Herrera
，
Great insights。
Teegan
，
Well- researched， interesting， practical
Jamie D。
，
I have ready Steven Kotlers other books and really liked them。 This one did not disappoint。 Kotler explains concrete plans for utilizing "flow" for achieving high performance。 The writing is concise and interesting。 I would certainly read this one again。 I have ready Steven Kotlers other books and really liked them。 This one did not disappoint。 Kotler explains concrete plans for utilizing "flow" for achieving high performance。 The writing is concise and interesting。 I would certainly read this one again。 。。。more
Katiana
，
I would like to reread this in a year or so。
Fabio Noronha
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If you enjoy Tim Ferriss books， you will also enjoy this one。 Bending more to the scientific basis of Flow， presents a blueprint to achieve peak performance。
Bianca （theperksofbeingbianca）
，
That was really good。 I will definitely go back to it。It really made me want to read Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience; it's mentioned quite some times and it sounds amazing。 That was really good。 I will definitely go back to it。It really made me want to read Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience; it's mentioned quite some times and it sounds amazing。 。。。more
Nick
，
Facile
Benjamin
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A lot of this book could be described as "how to be Steven Kotler"， honestly not something I'm particularly interested in。 I was underwhelmed by his writing， which undercuts the book's message a bit as it is the author's personal example of peak performance。 I also don't see what the neurobiological approach adds to a purely psychological one。 Still， the concepts the book introduces are useful， and I found myself thinking of them and trying to put them into practice。 So overall， I'm happy I read A lot of this book could be described as "how to be Steven Kotler"， honestly not something I'm particularly interested in。 I was underwhelmed by his writing， which undercuts the book's message a bit as it is the author's personal example of peak performance。 I also don't see what the neurobiological approach adds to a purely psychological one。 Still， the concepts the book introduces are useful， and I found myself thinking of them and trying to put them into practice。 So overall， I'm happy I read it。 。。。more
GARY
，
Amazing book really informative。 You can tell the author spent years studying principles of success， flow， mastery and pursuing the question， what makes a good life。 Great book will read more from this author
Paul Eberhart
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This is a good extension adding detail and depth from Stealing Fire and Rise of Superman。 I wish I could live up to the expectation he sets in his books。
Ryan
，
There is enough content here that I need to read this book several times to absorb it all。 A great mix of practicality and science to achieve big things。
Patricia Romboletti
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Lots of good information， but I found it to be just a bit hard to digest it all。
Bryson Fico
，
Inspirational and user friendly key to unlocking one's potential in any field to become a top performed - a life changing read。 Inspirational and user friendly key to unlocking one's potential in any field to become a top performed - a life changing read。 。。。more
Rishabh Srivastava
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I would’ve loved this 10 years ago， but with the benefit of more experience — just couldn’t take it as seriously。 It talks a lot about PASSION and MOTIVATION and EXCEPTIONAL PEOPLE CHANGING THE WORLD。 But is light on substance。 Reads more like a self-help book than one about performance Peak （Anders）， Deep Work （Newport）， Endure （Hutchinson）， Flow， and The Sports Gene （Epstein） are all much better if you’re looking for something more meaty and actionable
Wendy
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