It's the biggest revolution you've never heard of and it's hiding in plain sight. Over the
past decade Silicon Valley executives like Eric Schmidt and Elon Musk special operators like
the Navy SEALs and the Green Berets and maverick scientists like Sasha Shulgin and Amy Cuddy
have turned everything we thought we knew about high performance upside down. Instead of grit
better habits or 10 000 hours these trailblazers have found a surprising shortcut. They're
harnessing rare and controversial states of consciousness to solve critical challenges and
outperform the competition. New York Times bestselling author Steven Kotler and
high-performance expert Jamie Wheal spent four years investigating the leading edges of this
revolution?from the home of SEAL Team Six to the Googleplex the Burning Man festival Richard
Branson's Necker Island Red Bull's training center Nike's innovation team and the United
Nations headquarters. And what they learned was stunning: In their own ways with differing
languages techniques and applications every one of these groups has been quietly seeking the
same thing: the boost in information and inspiration that altered states provide. Today this
revolution is spreading to the mainstream fueling a trillion-dollar underground economy and
forcing us to rethink how we can all lead richer more productive more satisfying lives.
Driven by four accelerating forces?psychology neurobiology technology and pharmacology?we
are gaining access to and insights about some of the most contested and misunderstood terrain
in history. Stealing Fire is a provocative examination of what's actually possible a guidebook
for anyone who wants to radically upgrade their life.
