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 Rise of Superyou and how to make the impossible possible.
In his great book, Steven uses extreme sports athletes to demonstrate how to accelerate our performance gains. Quick context: The things snowboarders and skateboarders and other extreme athletes can do today were literally IMPOSSIBLE not too long ago.
Steven walks us through how, by consistently pushing ourselves JUST outside our comfort zone, we can make the impossible possible.
He says it’s all about finding the sweet spot just outside of our comfort zone. Right at the edge of Csikszentmihalyi‘s Flow channel where our skills meet our challenges.
He tells us we don’t need to go NUTS and try to do the impossible tomorrow. We just need to go SLIGHTLY outside our current capacities. A 4% stretch to be precise.
And then do it again tomorrow. And the day after that. And the day after that. And…
Specifically, he says: “If we want to achieve the kinds of accelerated performance we’re seeing in action and adventure sports, then it’s 4 percent plus 4 percent plus 4 percent, day after day, week after week, months into years into careers. This is the road to real magic. Follow this path long enough, and not only does impossible becomes possible, it becomes what’s next—like eating breakfast, like another day at the office.”
Imagine that.
4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%. 4%.
Tiny little gains aggregated and compounded over an extended period of time and…
Voila!!
The impossible becomes possible.
It’s what’s for breakfast.
Just another day at the office style.
That’s Today’s +4%.
How will you stretch yourself 4% today? (And tomorrow. And…)
I look forward to enjoying our Breakfast of Superheroes together in the not-too-distant future, my friend.
Unlock this Heroic +1 (and over 1,000 more)!
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