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Gnar Country: Growing Old, Staying Rad
The New York Times bestselling author and human performance expert tests his knowledge and theories on his own aging body in a quest to become an expert skier at age fifty-three. Gnar: adjective, short for “gnarly,” def: any environment or situation that is high in perceived risk and high in actual risk. Country: noun, def: any defined territory, landscape or terrain, fictitious or real. Cutting-edge discoveries in embodied cognition, flow science, and network neuroscience have revolutionized how we think about peak performance aging. On paper, these discoveries should allow older athletes to progress in supposedly “impossible” activities like park skiing (think: jumps and tricks.) To see if theory worked in practice, Kotler conducted his own ass-on-the-line experiment in applied neuroscience and later-in-life skill acquisition: He tried to teach an old dog some new tricks. Recently, top pros have been performing well past a previously considered prime: World-class athletes such as Kelly Slater, the greatest surfer of all time, is winning competitions in his fifties; Tom Brady can beat players half his age. But what about the rest of us? Steven Kotler has been studying human performance for thirty years, and taught hundreds of thousands of people at all skill levels, age groups, and walks of life, how to achieve peak performance. Could his own advice work for him? Gnar Country is the chronicle of his experience pushing his own aging body past preconceived limits. It’s a book about goals and grit and progression. It’s an antidote for weariness that is inspiring, practical, and, often hilarious. It is about growing old and staying rad. It’s a feverish reading experience that makes you put down the book, get out there, and move . Whether hurtling down a mountain side, running your first 10K race, or taking your career to new heights, Kotler challenges us to test ourselves, surpass our limits, and achieve our own impossible, whatever it might be. Part personal journey, part science experiment, part how-to guide, Kotler takes us on his punk rock, high-velocity joy-ride for a better life in spite—and often in defiance of—the perceived limitations of the aging human body.
304 pages, Hardcover
Published February 28, 2023
148 people are currently reading
1780 people want to read
About the author
Steven Kotler
34 books1,106 followersSteven Kotler is a New York Times bestselling author, award-winning journalist, and co-founder and director of research for the Flow Genome Project. His books include the non-fiction works "The Rise of Superman," "Abundance," "A Small Furry Prayer" "West of Jesus," and the novel "The Angle Quickest for Flight." His work has been translated into more than 30 languages. His articles have appeared in over 60 publications, including The New York Times Magazine, The Atlantic Monthly, Wired, GQ, Outside, Popular Science, Men's Journal and Discover.
He also writes "Far Frontiers," a blog about technology and innovation for Forbes.com and "The Playing Field," a blog about the science of sport and culture for PsychologyToday.com.
He lives in New Mexico with his wife, the author Joy Nicholson.
He also writes "Far Frontiers," a blog about technology and innovation for Forbes.com and "The Playing Field," a blog about the science of sport and culture for PsychologyToday.com.
He lives in New Mexico with his wife, the author Joy Nicholson.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 44 reviews
March 18, 2023
This book had great accounts of his ski days. I was looking for insights about continuing to rip as you get older, scientific stuff. Stuff I could put into practice. I made it halfway through and gave up. It didn’t seem to be changing from being a ski log. There were a few neuroscience and peak performance words thrown in but not much real info.
That said it got me stoked to return to Kirkwood mountain.
Good book, just not what I expected it to be after hearing him interviewed on the radio.
That said it got me stoked to return to Kirkwood mountain.
Good book, just not what I expected it to be after hearing him interviewed on the radio.
October 19, 2023
More of a journal than a a cohesive book with storytelling. The flow definitely meanders but it's an interesting concept of trying to accomplish something at an age generally accepted as "too old" to try.
I was a bit turned off by the level of risk and irresponsibility on the slopes by the author. Skiing sketchy terrain, ignoring injuries, etc. Came across as more of a feat of stubborn-ness than exercising discipline.
I was a bit turned off by the level of risk and irresponsibility on the slopes by the author. Skiing sketchy terrain, ignoring injuries, etc. Came across as more of a feat of stubborn-ness than exercising discipline.
April 2, 2023
I love Kotler's writing style and research. His work on peak performance has changed my approach to life as a 50-something looking to stay fit and sharp in the back half of life. But Gnar Country, while a good concept, isn't easily accessible for most readers.
Essentially a journal of a singular ski season from Kotler, the bulk of the text grows weary and dull to anyone who's not a DINK, living their best life in Colorado and top notch west coast ski destinations. I skipped about 70% of the book (the middle) and don't feel like I missed out on anything.
I was hoping for more encouraging chapters and a more analytical approach to Kotler's challenges, written in a way that would motivate others. Unfortunately, the book doesn't deliver those moments, which is fine. However, as someone with no interest I'm skiing, the book landed with the same thud of Kotler's failed tricks.
Essentially a journal of a singular ski season from Kotler, the bulk of the text grows weary and dull to anyone who's not a DINK, living their best life in Colorado and top notch west coast ski destinations. I skipped about 70% of the book (the middle) and don't feel like I missed out on anything.
I was hoping for more encouraging chapters and a more analytical approach to Kotler's challenges, written in a way that would motivate others. Unfortunately, the book doesn't deliver those moments, which is fine. However, as someone with no interest I'm skiing, the book landed with the same thud of Kotler's failed tricks.
April 6, 2023
I had just finished The Impossible First by this same author (amazing book, exciting, great read, highly recommend it) and I thought, maybe this is like a practical how-to-case on how to achieve the impossible: I guess it could be, but it's more of a journal/anecdote about achieving his goal to learn to park ski. I can see how it could be extremely motivational if you ski or practice a similar sport, but I found it hard to translate into my circumstances, since I have never ever skied: I have no real notion what the level of difficulty really is. At the end of the book, in an appendix, Kotler offers 13 rules for doing something like what he writes about, that is, staying rad as you get old. These rules, I think, are a sort of concession for those trying to distill practical knowledge from his anecdote.
March 7, 2023
Great writing and gets into deep details of skiing but how you can push through tough times. Showcases the authors experience and experiment to prove “Being busy isn’t an excuse to not knock off your todo list/plan”
This goes into crazy details of skiing and if you have less or no understanding of it, then avoid this book. You will lose the context especially when this goes into day to day account of how the author’s skiing target went.
But if you are a skiing fan, you may enjoy reading almost a skiing timeline and blog with graceful (peak performance) ageing and motivational view thrown in.
This goes into crazy details of skiing and if you have less or no understanding of it, then avoid this book. You will lose the context especially when this goes into day to day account of how the author’s skiing target went.
But if you are a skiing fan, you may enjoy reading almost a skiing timeline and blog with graceful (peak performance) ageing and motivational view thrown in.
June 2, 2023
The concept is very intriguing, especially after reading the Art of Impossible. It's definitely got me considering my own goals and paths.
June 17, 2023
So good. If you are a skier you will love this book. I am a skier. I loved this book. If you’re not a skier but you’re driven to achieve at everything you do you will love this book. Nice work Steven.
August 18, 2024
A love story to aging or at least a cautionary tale about how to forgo aging gracefully for thriving with age. The first half of the book was just Steven Kotler's training diary as the spent the year of covid training to learn park skiing out on the slopes. The 2nd half of the book was more of what I have come to love and enjoy from him in taking a more meta analysis of how to thrive with aging… all courtesy of flow of course. As a fellow high performing / high achieving persona, I could relate and feel empathy for Kotler when he describes the down feeling of negotiating with success. His drive to achieve and further himself is something I felt for most of my life and can understand how it can become detrimental to mental health (although it does enable healthy aging). When he is in recovery mode that is critical to high performance action sports, I wonder if Kotler can truly approach leisure as Aristotle defined as the most worthy of pursuits… or is leisure purely a goal-directed activity for purposeful recovery for him? I'd love to have a beer and discuss further with him one day, except that he no longer drinks in an effort to stave off the physical downfalls of aging. If only such a discussion over a joint could maintain intellectual rigor.
"Gnar Country is about chasing down big dreams before it's too late to chase down those dreams. Risk is built into that effort. Risk is also a flow trigger, and managing risk is critical to tuning the challenge-skills balance, which is flow's most important trigger. Novelty and unpredictability are also flow triggers, yet our tolerance for novelty and unpredictability is coupled to our tolerance for risk.
- Risk
- Challenge-skills balance
- Novelty and unpredictability
The superpowers that come with aging are not guaranteed. If we want the decrease in ego and increase in intelligence, empathy, and creativity that become possible in our fifties, we have to clear the three hurdles of adult development - all of which require risk taking.
- By age thirty, we need to solve the crisis of identity.
- By forty, we need to find 'match quality' which is an alignment between who we are - our beliefs, values, skills, and strengths, and what we do for a living.
- By fifty, we need to put down resentments, and forgive those who have done us wrong.
Yet even if we pass through these gateways, we can't access our superpowers if we don't maintain our risk tolerance on the other side." [p168]
5 major intrinsic motivators: curiosity, passion, purpose, autonomy, mastery
3 tiers of goals
1) mission-level: advance the science of peak performance
2) high and hard: learn to park ski
3) clear and daily: ski 16 laps
Four-stage cycle of flow: struggle, release, flow, recovery
Five blue-zone keys to a long happy life:
1) move around a lot
2) de-stress regularly
3) Have robust social ties
4) Eat well
5) Live with passion, purpose, and regular access to flow
Stacked protocols and multi-tool solutions. Stacked protocols = killing 2 birds with one stone. He needs to take his dogs for a walk every day, add a weight vest so he can train simultaneously.
"In study after study, openness to experience is one of the key personality traits that determines the quality of the second half of our life. I was definitely open to the experience of a blunt grab." [p146]
"I had skied nonstop for nearly seven months. I had become addicted to the progress and the regular access to flow that my progress provided. Now that I had stopped skiing, there was little flow, no progress, and too many question of the 'what if' variety." - June 3, 2021 [p148]
After 85 days of skiing (goal was 50 days), Kotler accomplished the 20 tricks on his list. "But I'd done all this and come out the other side and little else changed. I was still me. I was the same damn me that started this quest. The same petty frustrations. The same shallow anxieties. The same flash temper. Why was I even surprised? Most of us arrive in our fifties feeling that the cage has gotten smaller. What's actually shrunk is our mindset. We're in a prison of our own making. Once we discover we can keep on learning later in life, that mindset shifts. The cage vanishes." [p151]
"The limits of my language are the limits of my world" - Ludwig Wittgenstein [p160]
Talking to Laird Hamilton - "I got so addicted to the feeling of success that I kept pushing. I fucked up my knees because, every time I did something I thought was impossible, it was immediately followed by that tug, 'OK what else is possible?' But 'what else is possible' is like the most addictive drug I've ever encountered […] A lot of the stuff I did - even though I pulled it off - it was so scary that I ended up with PTSD. I've never had this kind of success before. I had no idea that success can lead to PTSD […] I'm still negotiating with success." [p173]
Medical techniques to help maintain physical performance while aging:
- PRP - Platelet-rich plasma therapy. Blood drawn then spun in a centrifuge to separate out red blood cells and leave behind platelets, which are then concentrated into plasma. The platelet rich plasma is reinjected to the wound site with a high concentration of your body's own growth factors and cytokines that stimulate healing. After a torn rotator cuff, two weeks after his 2nd PRP treatment he was doing military presses with no pain. 4 weeks after, the tear had shrunk from 1" to 1/4" [p152]
- Stem cell treatment with Dr. Matt Cook - injections of a placental matrix into his knee that sucks up excess fluid and stabilizes the joint to provide a scaffold for new tissue to build on. Then exosomes released by stem cells are injected: nano-scale fat bubbles that contain mRNA. Immediately after the injection, Kotler was able to get up and walk around and feel instantaneous improvement. [p153]
- Marijuana decreases inflammation, deadens pain, and blocks the establishment of long-term fear memories - can help stave off PTSD [p111]
1973 study at NIMH by Gene Cohen: "Rather than a long, slow rot, Cohen discovered, our later years are a new stage of adult development, where three profound and positive changes take place in the brain.
- First, certain genes activate only by experience, which means the brain remodels itself over time, adding depth and wisdom to our personalities as we enter our later years.
- Second, the brain learns to recruit regions underutilized in our earlier years, and this can help compensate for the cognitive decline that comes with age.
- Third, the brain's information processing capacities reach their greatest density and height between ages sixty and eighty, allowing the two hemispheres of the brain to work together like never before.
These neurobiological changes unlock three types of thinking that are mostly inaccessible before our fifties. More importantly, all three types of thinking continue to improve with age, as long as we continue to cultivate creativity:
1) Relativistic Thinking: we learn to better synthesize disparate views. We learn that there are few absolute truths, mostly relative truths, and that black-and-white thinking is a folly of youth.
2) Nondualistic Thinking: we learn to consider opposing views without judgment. We learn to see both sides of the same coin. We learn empathy.
3) Systematic Thinking: we learn to think big picture. We learn how to see the forest through the trees. We learn to think divergently.
Rules for his experiment:
1) Always follow the rules
a. Take choice off the table and remove emotions from decision making
2) If Ryan can do it, so can I, thus I must… aka find a training partner you can trust
3) If Ryan can do it, so can I - unless three criteria are present… aka be aggressive but not stupid
a. If I am feeling too much fear
b. Don't execute if exhausted
i. Flow is required for challenges. Do not do a challenge in the wrong mindstate… you need to get into flow before the challenge, not expect to come out of it in flow or hit it mid-challenge.
c. Slow/steady-improvement
4) See the line, ski the line… aka trust your neurochemistry
5) Figure out who you are and how you like to learn, don't waver
a. Introvert = out of sight
6) Never stop at the top… aka hesitation is never your friend
a. Hesitation opens the door to fear. Anxiety produces adrenaline which burns calories and saps energy levels
7) If you can't keep up, I can't ski with you… aka flow first, friends second
a. Otherwise we are just standing in each other's way and blocking flow - that's not how friends treat each other
8) Emotions are tools
a. Anger - testosterone
b. Dopamine is key to flow
9) Never waste a flow state
a. To remain the zone, the PFC must stay offline. No phone, alerts, email, talking business
10) Train like a pro, recover like a pro
a. Five major categories of athletic performance: strength, stamina, agility, balance, flexibility
11) Grit is the last resort
a. Relying on grit is a recipe for burnout
b. Conserve fuel for when you need it, do not waste it when other options are available
12) Get paid to grow old
a. Stradivarius made his 2 most famous violins at 92yrs old in 1736
b. Expertise makes us resistant to cognitive decline… fragility and risk aversion are choices
c. Creativity, intelligence, empathy, wisdom - should CEO's be purposely targeting those over 50?
13) Consider the gnar… aka action sports as anti-aging medicines
"Gnar Country is about chasing down big dreams before it's too late to chase down those dreams. Risk is built into that effort. Risk is also a flow trigger, and managing risk is critical to tuning the challenge-skills balance, which is flow's most important trigger. Novelty and unpredictability are also flow triggers, yet our tolerance for novelty and unpredictability is coupled to our tolerance for risk.
- Risk
- Challenge-skills balance
- Novelty and unpredictability
The superpowers that come with aging are not guaranteed. If we want the decrease in ego and increase in intelligence, empathy, and creativity that become possible in our fifties, we have to clear the three hurdles of adult development - all of which require risk taking.
- By age thirty, we need to solve the crisis of identity.
- By forty, we need to find 'match quality' which is an alignment between who we are - our beliefs, values, skills, and strengths, and what we do for a living.
- By fifty, we need to put down resentments, and forgive those who have done us wrong.
Yet even if we pass through these gateways, we can't access our superpowers if we don't maintain our risk tolerance on the other side." [p168]
5 major intrinsic motivators: curiosity, passion, purpose, autonomy, mastery
3 tiers of goals
1) mission-level: advance the science of peak performance
2) high and hard: learn to park ski
3) clear and daily: ski 16 laps
Four-stage cycle of flow: struggle, release, flow, recovery
Five blue-zone keys to a long happy life:
1) move around a lot
2) de-stress regularly
3) Have robust social ties
4) Eat well
5) Live with passion, purpose, and regular access to flow
Stacked protocols and multi-tool solutions. Stacked protocols = killing 2 birds with one stone. He needs to take his dogs for a walk every day, add a weight vest so he can train simultaneously.
"In study after study, openness to experience is one of the key personality traits that determines the quality of the second half of our life. I was definitely open to the experience of a blunt grab." [p146]
"I had skied nonstop for nearly seven months. I had become addicted to the progress and the regular access to flow that my progress provided. Now that I had stopped skiing, there was little flow, no progress, and too many question of the 'what if' variety." - June 3, 2021 [p148]
After 85 days of skiing (goal was 50 days), Kotler accomplished the 20 tricks on his list. "But I'd done all this and come out the other side and little else changed. I was still me. I was the same damn me that started this quest. The same petty frustrations. The same shallow anxieties. The same flash temper. Why was I even surprised? Most of us arrive in our fifties feeling that the cage has gotten smaller. What's actually shrunk is our mindset. We're in a prison of our own making. Once we discover we can keep on learning later in life, that mindset shifts. The cage vanishes." [p151]
"The limits of my language are the limits of my world" - Ludwig Wittgenstein [p160]
Talking to Laird Hamilton - "I got so addicted to the feeling of success that I kept pushing. I fucked up my knees because, every time I did something I thought was impossible, it was immediately followed by that tug, 'OK what else is possible?' But 'what else is possible' is like the most addictive drug I've ever encountered […] A lot of the stuff I did - even though I pulled it off - it was so scary that I ended up with PTSD. I've never had this kind of success before. I had no idea that success can lead to PTSD […] I'm still negotiating with success." [p173]
Medical techniques to help maintain physical performance while aging:
- PRP - Platelet-rich plasma therapy. Blood drawn then spun in a centrifuge to separate out red blood cells and leave behind platelets, which are then concentrated into plasma. The platelet rich plasma is reinjected to the wound site with a high concentration of your body's own growth factors and cytokines that stimulate healing. After a torn rotator cuff, two weeks after his 2nd PRP treatment he was doing military presses with no pain. 4 weeks after, the tear had shrunk from 1" to 1/4" [p152]
- Stem cell treatment with Dr. Matt Cook - injections of a placental matrix into his knee that sucks up excess fluid and stabilizes the joint to provide a scaffold for new tissue to build on. Then exosomes released by stem cells are injected: nano-scale fat bubbles that contain mRNA. Immediately after the injection, Kotler was able to get up and walk around and feel instantaneous improvement. [p153]
- Marijuana decreases inflammation, deadens pain, and blocks the establishment of long-term fear memories - can help stave off PTSD [p111]
1973 study at NIMH by Gene Cohen: "Rather than a long, slow rot, Cohen discovered, our later years are a new stage of adult development, where three profound and positive changes take place in the brain.
- First, certain genes activate only by experience, which means the brain remodels itself over time, adding depth and wisdom to our personalities as we enter our later years.
- Second, the brain learns to recruit regions underutilized in our earlier years, and this can help compensate for the cognitive decline that comes with age.
- Third, the brain's information processing capacities reach their greatest density and height between ages sixty and eighty, allowing the two hemispheres of the brain to work together like never before.
These neurobiological changes unlock three types of thinking that are mostly inaccessible before our fifties. More importantly, all three types of thinking continue to improve with age, as long as we continue to cultivate creativity:
1) Relativistic Thinking: we learn to better synthesize disparate views. We learn that there are few absolute truths, mostly relative truths, and that black-and-white thinking is a folly of youth.
2) Nondualistic Thinking: we learn to consider opposing views without judgment. We learn to see both sides of the same coin. We learn empathy.
3) Systematic Thinking: we learn to think big picture. We learn how to see the forest through the trees. We learn to think divergently.
Rules for his experiment:
1) Always follow the rules
a. Take choice off the table and remove emotions from decision making
2) If Ryan can do it, so can I, thus I must… aka find a training partner you can trust
3) If Ryan can do it, so can I - unless three criteria are present… aka be aggressive but not stupid
a. If I am feeling too much fear
b. Don't execute if exhausted
i. Flow is required for challenges. Do not do a challenge in the wrong mindstate… you need to get into flow before the challenge, not expect to come out of it in flow or hit it mid-challenge.
c. Slow/steady-improvement
4) See the line, ski the line… aka trust your neurochemistry
5) Figure out who you are and how you like to learn, don't waver
a. Introvert = out of sight
6) Never stop at the top… aka hesitation is never your friend
a. Hesitation opens the door to fear. Anxiety produces adrenaline which burns calories and saps energy levels
7) If you can't keep up, I can't ski with you… aka flow first, friends second
a. Otherwise we are just standing in each other's way and blocking flow - that's not how friends treat each other
8) Emotions are tools
a. Anger - testosterone
b. Dopamine is key to flow
9) Never waste a flow state
a. To remain the zone, the PFC must stay offline. No phone, alerts, email, talking business
10) Train like a pro, recover like a pro
a. Five major categories of athletic performance: strength, stamina, agility, balance, flexibility
11) Grit is the last resort
a. Relying on grit is a recipe for burnout
b. Conserve fuel for when you need it, do not waste it when other options are available
12) Get paid to grow old
a. Stradivarius made his 2 most famous violins at 92yrs old in 1736
b. Expertise makes us resistant to cognitive decline… fragility and risk aversion are choices
c. Creativity, intelligence, empathy, wisdom - should CEO's be purposely targeting those over 50?
13) Consider the gnar… aka action sports as anti-aging medicines
Read
April 18, 2023Excellent read re: skiing and cutting edge findings in Flow and the ability of humans to keep learning through all stages of life!
June 26, 2023
Basically this guy's skiing journal where he claims to have the secret to learning new skills. Spoiler alert! They are, develop a training routine, work hard, and practice.... I was hoping he would provide value after the journal entries but that turned into an advert for his previous books. The writing was fine.
April 28, 2023
Not worth my time
Apparently I missed the point, if I wanted to read about a grown man bragging about his skiing abilities I would have bought a ski magazine. As for the rules, I have read several other books with more and I believe better advise.
Apparently I missed the point, if I wanted to read about a grown man bragging about his skiing abilities I would have bought a ski magazine. As for the rules, I have read several other books with more and I believe better advise.
July 17, 2023
HELLZ YEAH - are you over 50 and determined to NOT let it all be downhill* from here, read this book. Are you concerned that your bad assery is bound to decline just because that's what you've seen, heard and believe - this is your book!
I am very interested in neuroscience and aging and (well I am interested in a lot of things) but Steven Kotler, King of Flow... or at least Prince or Chancellor (hi Cal Newport) has really captured some very interesting learning here through his experiment in Park Skiing - Fear not, that is the origin of the experiment and not required for benefits. The meat and the learnings are here for all of us who have long ago hit middle age and are facing .... gulp ... geezerville. I am NOT going - do you hear me! The path isn't easy, but hell, nothing worth having is easy - so buckle up you 80's and 90's ragers - there's an alternative to fading gently into the night, and this rowdy romp shares an exciting alternative.
*see that pun there LOL
I am very interested in neuroscience and aging and (well I am interested in a lot of things) but Steven Kotler, King of Flow... or at least Prince or Chancellor (hi Cal Newport) has really captured some very interesting learning here through his experiment in Park Skiing - Fear not, that is the origin of the experiment and not required for benefits. The meat and the learnings are here for all of us who have long ago hit middle age and are facing .... gulp ... geezerville. I am NOT going - do you hear me! The path isn't easy, but hell, nothing worth having is easy - so buckle up you 80's and 90's ragers - there's an alternative to fading gently into the night, and this rowdy romp shares an exciting alternative.
*see that pun there LOL
June 1, 2023
An inspiring story about pursuing flow through extreme sports during mid-life, with lots of science based research to support the author's claims about the benefits of pursuing flow to increase peak performance aging. Lots of good information in this book. The author is very regimented in his approach to pursuing pleasure and flow through skiing, and pushes his body through some pretty rough patches and injuries. This book is very specific to skiing, as it focuses mainly on the author's 80+ outings in one season while learning to park ski, and uses a lot of ski terminology. As someone who loves to ski, extreme sports, and is interested in flow states and peak performance aging, this book was great for me. But if you don't fall into one of those categories of interest, I wouldn't recommend it for you.
February 6, 2024
If you're a fifty-something expert skier with an over-the-top fitness obsession who's still got unhealthy bitterness levels for being the last kid picked team sports, then, sorry, but I don't think I want to ride the next chairlift up with you. But I do have a book recommendation for you! It's Steven Kotler's "Gnar Country."
On the plus side, Steven is an engaging writer. But this book is little more than a dressed-up ski journal with some pseudoscience thrown in to dress it up. It makes for a weird and wearying cocktail of park trick references ("nose butter 360"), hustle culture type goal setting ("wake at 3 am!", "walk your dog wearing a weighted vest!"), and dopamine, dopamine, dopamine.
Ultimately I just don't know if this book will resonate with a reader unless you fit into a pretty narrow demographic. But the relative few in that demographic will love it!
On the plus side, Steven is an engaging writer. But this book is little more than a dressed-up ski journal with some pseudoscience thrown in to dress it up. It makes for a weird and wearying cocktail of park trick references ("nose butter 360"), hustle culture type goal setting ("wake at 3 am!", "walk your dog wearing a weighted vest!"), and dopamine, dopamine, dopamine.
Ultimately I just don't know if this book will resonate with a reader unless you fit into a pretty narrow demographic. But the relative few in that demographic will love it!
September 28, 2024
I wanted to like this book. After hearing the author interviewed on a podcast, I was intrigued to learn more about peak-performance in aging. So I picked up a copy.
To be fair, there was warning that one would be reading a lot about skiing. This was definitely true. However, I didn’t think the lessons that one could take from it would be left to the very end. And once I got there, I still found myself struggling to make application to my own life, particularly outside of context of sport.
That said, the stories of the training were entertaining, even for someone who knows nothing about skiing. And I am intrigued enough to add his first book on peak performance on my list to read.
To be fair, there was warning that one would be reading a lot about skiing. This was definitely true. However, I didn’t think the lessons that one could take from it would be left to the very end. And once I got there, I still found myself struggling to make application to my own life, particularly outside of context of sport.
That said, the stories of the training were entertaining, even for someone who knows nothing about skiing. And I am intrigued enough to add his first book on peak performance on my list to read.
September 21, 2025
A book about defying decline and chasing flow well into our fifties and beyond.
Kotler uses skiing as his canvas, but the lessons apply to any passion that demands focus, creativity, and risk. He argues that aging can unlock new superpowers—wisdom, perspective, and resilience—if we keep training our bodies and minds like pros.
Personally, I found the endless ski jargon tedious, but the core message hit home: midlife isn’t the beginning of the end, it’s an invitation to keep pushing limits. Perfect for anyone 50+ who refuses to coast.
Kotler uses skiing as his canvas, but the lessons apply to any passion that demands focus, creativity, and risk. He argues that aging can unlock new superpowers—wisdom, perspective, and resilience—if we keep training our bodies and minds like pros.
Personally, I found the endless ski jargon tedious, but the core message hit home: midlife isn’t the beginning of the end, it’s an invitation to keep pushing limits. Perfect for anyone 50+ who refuses to coast.
March 18, 2023
I’ve listened to this book twice now.
1. Because I’m an avid skier of steep slopes
2. Because I’m an avid fan of Mr. Kotler… prior to knowing he knew what Priors were.
3. Because the content both challenges and inspires me… in particular as a 51 yr old steep skiing, downhill mtn biking, dirt bike riding dude.
If you tick one or more of the above boxes yourself then you’re a prime candidate for this book.
1. Because I’m an avid skier of steep slopes
2. Because I’m an avid fan of Mr. Kotler… prior to knowing he knew what Priors were.
3. Because the content both challenges and inspires me… in particular as a 51 yr old steep skiing, downhill mtn biking, dirt bike riding dude.
If you tick one or more of the above boxes yourself then you’re a prime candidate for this book.
March 28, 2023
I love Steven Kotler's work, and have been through his training with the Flow Research Collective. This book is a great n of 1 experiment initially of what is possible in taking on a high risk high skill sport at an age where most people are slowing down and getting "comfortable". Its inspiring for those of us in a later stage of life, and so valuable for younger people in how to prepare to be rad later on.
April 10, 2023
I have no interest in skiing but I really enjoyed this book. The author comes across as so authentic about his feelings an worries and the style in which the book is written really appeals to me. There were some laugh out loud moments.
This is also a book about hope if you are over 50 (as I am) - if you put the work in it's not necessarily all downhill from here and you don't have to become a skier either.
This is also a book about hope if you are over 50 (as I am) - if you put the work in it's not necessarily all downhill from here and you don't have to become a skier either.
April 17, 2023
I might be biased because I read this while recovering from a season-ending ruptured pectoralis major, but I really enjoyed this book.
It actually lifted me up and gave me a bit more hope for the off-season and next season as an over-40 wannabe ski-bum facing the realities of aging in what is technically an extreme sport.
I particularly enjoyed the quantification and scientific basis of the project and hope to apply the principles to my own recovery and next season.
It actually lifted me up and gave me a bit more hope for the off-season and next season as an over-40 wannabe ski-bum facing the realities of aging in what is technically an extreme sport.
I particularly enjoyed the quantification and scientific basis of the project and hope to apply the principles to my own recovery and next season.
May 19, 2023
This is the story of a middle age man who wanted to become an expert skier. It’s like a mini blog of his story. If you are a I think you will love this book. But as someone who does not Ski, I lost interest and the terms made my eyes glaze over. I think it’s great he did this and that photos were incorporated but it didn’t work for me.
https://theworldisabookandiamitsreade...
https://theworldisabookandiamitsreade...
May 20, 2024
This was a weird book. On the one hand, as promised in the first chapter - it was a LOT about the super technical details of skiing. I don’t ski. On the other hand it was about growing up (I do grow up) and extreme sports (which I used to do but no longer). For me it was mostly around change, accepting and embracing it but even more - pushing for it.
So while it was supposed to be boring - it wasn’t. I can’t say it’s the best book I’ve read - but I liked it.
So while it was supposed to be boring - it wasn’t. I can’t say it’s the best book I’ve read - but I liked it.
March 23, 2023
Too many life stories about skiing
For those who are not interested in skiing the book will be a bit boring. There are interesting and useful points but the noise to signal ratio is too big. In general, I expected much more from this book after podcasts with Steven and previous books.
For those who are not interested in skiing the book will be a bit boring. There are interesting and useful points but the noise to signal ratio is too big. In general, I expected much more from this book after podcasts with Steven and previous books.
March 24, 2023
Kotler is usually one of go to authors.
Perhaps I had the wrong pre-conception this would give insights/direction of pushing the limits as the body time clock continues to roll.
Instead its about skiiing, skiiing and er Steven pursuit and love of skiing.
Still enjoyable, but not my first reccomendation.
Perhaps I had the wrong pre-conception this would give insights/direction of pushing the limits as the body time clock continues to roll.
Instead its about skiiing, skiiing and er Steven pursuit and love of skiing.
Still enjoyable, but not my first reccomendation.
April 19, 2023
Feels like the notes for a good paper rather than a book. I love the concept but hearing about him speak about it on podcasts is more entertaining than reading endless journal entries. It felt like I needed to have read some of his other books prior to this to get a full understanding.
June 19, 2023
Great book on aging. I’m not a skier, though reading about his experience kind of makes me want to be one. Overall, I thought it was a little too much ski detail. The last chapter summed the important info up well.
July 9, 2023
This is a great companion to the Art of the Impossible. It’s a first person account of an experiment to gain strength, agility, and flexibility, while acquiring new skills and increasing your tolerance for risk.
August 1, 2023
This is essentially Steven Kotler's pandemic ski diary.
I like skiing but not this much.
More than 95% of this book is minutiae about skiing.
There are some interesting flow principles peppered in between and an appendix with some rules. Otherwise, it was really hard to get through.
I like skiing but not this much.
More than 95% of this book is minutiae about skiing.
There are some interesting flow principles peppered in between and an appendix with some rules. Otherwise, it was really hard to get through.
August 16, 2023
Even though I don't ski, it was very easy to take learning and flow principles from the entries in this book. I had no idea flow state could help with injury recovery. The last few pages of the rules section has alot of gold in them. Definitely a reference book for me.
November 22, 2023
Most of it was annoying, bragadocious names of different kinds of freestyle ski maneuvers. "... and then I did a backward coozy dippidy do off a rad gnarly nook." There was some good info on pushing the boundaries after 50 in the last chapter and the afterword.
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