Stealing Fire
Steven Kotler, Jamie Wheal
5 mins
3 key insights
Visual, audio & text
Stealing Fire is a deep dive into harnessing the power of altered states by using psychology, neurobiology, technology, and pharmacology to help us live richer, happier lives.
Stealing Fire
Stealing Fire
by Steven Kotler
Overview
For many Americans, there never seem to be enough hours in the day. Yet occasionally, we are struck with a few hours of feeling 'in the zone' – a phenomenon researchers call 'ecstasis' where creativity seems to flow without limit. How can we reach this high-productivity state – and can we do so on command?
Steven Kotler and Jamie Wheal have teamed up to tackle the pursuit of ecstasis in their Pulitzer Prize-nominated book, Stealing Fire. Kotler, an award-winning journalist and nine-time bestselling author, is one of the world's leading experts on human performance, while Wheal is the founder of the Flow Genome Project, which builds world-class training programs. This book explores the four driving forces behind ecstasis, illustrating how highly successful people have harnessed it to their advantage to lead richer, more satisfying lives.
Favorite quote
The conscious mind is a potent tool, but it's slow, and can manage only a small amount of information at once. ... In ecstasis, the conscious mind takes a break, and the subconscious takes over.
- Steven Kotler and Jamie Wheal
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