Steven Kotler

Understanding flow and peak performance

• What flow actually is from a neurobiological perspective

• Why flow follows focus, and the 28 triggers that bring us into the present moment

• The different forms of flow: individual, interpersonal, group, and communitas

• Why flow operates on a four-stage cycle and why we can’t be in flow all the time

Chasing flow vs. working with it

• The danger of using risk as a flow trigger

• How novelty and creativity create safer, more sustainable pathways into flow

• Why action sports athletes often break things chasing that feeling

• How micro-changes—like interpreting terrain creatively—can upgrade performance without increasing danger

Recovery, afterglow, and the science of the comedown

• What happens in the brain after a massive flow state

• Why a big flow day almost guarantees a low-performance day right after

• The neurochemical crash that mimics the comedown of recreational drugs

• How to use healthy recovery habits to lessen the cost of flow

Steven's journey through illness

• Steven recounts the years when Lyme disease left him unable to walk across a room

• The suicidal moment when he believed he’d become a lifelong burden

• The friend who insisted he go surfing and the wave that triggered a full-blown, mystical macro-flow state

• How repeated exposure to flow helped reboot his immune system and rebuild his life

• What neuro-immunology reveals about the connection between flow, healing, and homeostasis

Flow, longevity, and life design

• Why immersion in nature is one of the most potent flow triggers

• The role of action sports and outdoor movement in mental health and aging

• Why walking, even slowly, is medicine for the nervous system and the brain

• How Steven teaches older adults to park-ski using creativity instead of risk

Transformative insights

• Flow is trainable; with the right structure, most people can increase flow by 70–80% within eight weeks.

• Recovery is a grit skill. High performers burn out not from doing too much, but from never shutting down.

• Creativity microdosing between tasks keeps us in flow and prevents ego spikes that knock us out of it.

• Tragedy can be a teleportation chamber. Sometimes the hardest experiences become the doorway to the life we wanted but couldn’t reach on our own.

• Movement + nature = neurobiological reset. Just 20 minutes outdoors begins to flush stress hormones and restore baseline balance.

Vulnerable moments

• Steven shares in detail the physical and psychological collapse brought on by Lyme disease.

• Rebecca reflects on her traumatic brain injury and how losing access to movement shook her identity.

• Both discuss the terrifying experience of losing cognitive function and the slow rebuild back to themselves.

• Steven opens up about the friends who walked him around the block when he couldn’t walk on his own.

• Rebecca recalls calling Steven in desperation during her recovery and how his advice helped guide her back.

Practical wisdom

• How to recognize the difference between microflow and macroflow

• Why doodling, sketching, and five minutes of creative play resets the brain

• How to transition between tasks without waking up the ego

• Why meditation isn’t about quieting the mind, but practicing returning

• Why clear goals are a flow trigger and a cue for when to stop working for the day

• How sauna, reading, breathwork, and small rituals can switch the nervous system from drive to recovery

• The importance of training your brain before you "inflict yourself on your relationships"

Personal growth themes

• Steven’s evolution from punk-rock misfit to leading voice in applied performance neuroscience

• Rebecca’s rediscovery of writing and art during her concussion recovery and the reminder to keep creativity in her life even when sport returns

• The lifelong pull of curiosity as a survival mechanism and a drive toward mastery

• Embracing novelty, humility, and the willingness to start over again and again