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Happiness, 2.09 (V) Week 2 Video 8 - Why flow enhances success

2.09 (V) Week 2 Video 8 - Why flow enhances success

[MUSIC] Ni hao my friend. So happy to see you again. A few videos back, I showed you how the pursuit of superiority can lower your performance. Particularly in intellectual and creative tasks. Amd still many of us feel that it is this need for superiority that is important. Maybe even the most important determinate of success. In reality, the single most important determinate of success is arguably whether you've had a critical mass of Flow-like experiences. Specifically what research shows is that if you have had 10,000 hours or more of Flow-like experiences in a particular domain. Sailing or writing, or managing stocks or meditation, really it doesn't matter what the domain is, you're likely to become an expert in that domain. Look at anyone who's a master at what he or she does. Take Lady Gaga or Aya Raymon or Fela Kuti. Or take Mia Hamm, or Hamid Rodriguez or Brendon McCullum. Or take Steve Jobs and Narain Muti. Doesn't matter what the domain is. In every domain, if you look at the really top performers. You can rest assured that they've spent at least 10,000 hours involved in Flow-like experiences, doing their thing. That's why they're so successful. Not because of the need for superiority. If the need for superiority alone were enough to lead to success, then Michael Jordan, who was famous for being highly competitive. And had a big desire to be the best at whatever he did would have been just as successful in baseball as he was in basketball. As you may know, Jordan wanted to be a pro athlete in baseball in the mid-90s and worked just as hard at it as he did in basketball. But he didn't get anywhere. Why? Because of two things. One his abilities were probably better suited for basketball than they were for baseball. And two he hadn't spent as much time mastering his baseball skills as he did mastering his basketball skills. So the true hero of success is Flow. Or to be more precise, 10,000 hours or more of Flow. Without it, no matter how high your need for superiority is, you're probably not going to succeed. In fact, as we saw earlier from Dan Ariely's findings on how the pressure to perform lowers your performance. The need for superiority is likely to come in the way of your success, rather than boost it. I mentioned some time back that it doesn't matter what the domain is, you can be a master of it with 10,000 hours or more of Flow-like experiences, if you have an inherent talent in it. Let me show you now a video of a master in a somewhat unusual domain, pick pocketing. The gentleman you're about to see, his name is Apollo Robbins. Is so skilled at pick pocketing, that he's often called the world's best pick pocket. Recently, he was invited to give a Ted Talk to exhibit his talent. Here's Apollo Robbins at the TED Talk at Edinburgh, Scotland. » Come on up this way, Joe. Give Joe a round of applause, come on up Joe. Let's play a game. » [APPLAUSE] » Pardon me. I don't think that I need this clicker anymore, you can have that. Thank you very much. Appreciate that. Come on up to the stage, Joe. Let's play a little game. Now, do you have anything in you're front pockets? Money. All right, let's try that [LAUGH]. Can you stand right over this way for me? Turn around and let's see. If I give you something that belongs to me, this is just something I have, a poker chip. Hold out your hand for me. Watch it kind of close. Now this is a task for you to focus on. Now you have your money in your front pocket here? Good. I'm not going to actually put my hand in your pocket. I'm not ready for that kind of commitment. One time a guy had a hole in his pocket and that was rather traumatizing. [LAUGH] I was looking for his wallet and he gave me his phone number. It was a big miscommunication. So let's do this simply. Squeeze your hand. Squeeze it tight. Do you feel the poker chip in your hand? » I do. » Would you be surprised if I could take it out of your hand? Say yes. » Very. » Good. Open your hand. Thank you very much. I'll cheat if you give me a chance. Make it harder for me. Just use your hand. Grab my wrist, but squeeze, squeeze firm. Did you see it go? » No. » Notice not here. Open your hand. See, while we're focussed on the hand, it's setting on your shoulder right now. Go ahead and take it off. Now let's try that again. Hold your hand out flat. Open it up all the way. Put your hand up a little bit higher, but watch it closer, Joe. See, if I did it slowly, it'd be back on your shoulder. » [LAUGH] » Joe, we're going to keep doing this until you catch it. You're going to get it eventually. I have faith in you. Squeeze firm. Squeeze. You're human. You're not slow. It's back on your shoulder. You were focused on your hand, that's why you were distracted. While you were watching this I couldn't quite get your watch off, it was difficult. Yet you had something inside your front pocket, do you remember what it was? » Money? » Check your pocket, see if it's still there. Is it still there? » [LAUGH] » Oh that's where it was. Go ahead and put it away, we're just shopping. This trick's more about the timing really. I'm going to try to push it inside your hand. Put your other hand on top for me, would you. [LAUGH] It's amazingly obvious now isn't it? It looks a lot like the watch I was wearing, doesn't it? [LAUGH] » As you can tell from the video, Apollo is amazing at what he does. But he didn't develop his skills overnight. By the time he gave the Ted Talk, he had been practicing pickpocketing or the set of skills associated with it for over 20 years. So if you're really interested in big success for something, whatever it is, except perhaps drinking beer or being a couch potato. You would be much better off figuring out how you are going to get to spend 10,000 hours or more in Flow-like states rather than in seeking superiority. 10,000 hours, by the way, translates roughly into ten years, so it's not easy becoming a master at something but I think it's well worth the effort. Because mastery, as I mentioned in an earlier video, is one of our most important goals. And so when this goal is fulfilled, we are bound to feel happy. So, to summarize the discussion from the last video and this one, Flow enhances happiness levels for three reasons. First, Flow states are inherently enjoyable. Second, we become more charismatic and likeable when we exhibit Flow. And finally, Flow helps us progress towards mastery. And because Flow leads us to mastery, it not only enhances happiness levels, it also enhances our chances of success. Because the best way to succeed at something is to master it. The question of course is how do you figure out what to be a master at. Most of us, when we are kids, seem to know what we want to do when we grow up. We have a dream, example to be a carpenter, or in my case to be a train driver. But in the process of growing up, we lose sight of our passion and end up taking a practical job. A job that will pay the bills and put bread on the table, but a job in which our heart is not into it. And an unfortunate consequence of this is that life loses it's thrill and excitement. We've become automatons. Working in jobs that we don't find meaningful and engaging. » Nuts coming through on bench five. Attention Foreman. [MUSIC] » The truth is we can't be fully happy unless we experience Flow on a regular basis. And we can't experience Flow on a regular basis unless we're doing something that we find really enjoyable and challenging at the right level. So in the next video, I'm going to give you some practical tips on how to get Flow back into your life. See you in the next video. [MUSIC]


2.09 (V) Week 2 Video 8 - Why flow enhances success

[MUSIC] Ni hao my friend. So happy to see you again. A few videos back, I showed you how the pursuit of superiority can lower your performance. Particularly in intellectual and creative tasks. Amd still many of us feel that it is this need for superiority that is important. Maybe even the most important determinate of success. In reality, the single most important determinate of success is arguably whether you've had a critical mass of Flow-like experiences. Specifically what research shows is that if you have had 10,000 hours or more of Flow-like experiences in a particular domain. Sailing or writing, or managing stocks or meditation, really it doesn't matter what the domain is, you're likely to become an expert in that domain. Look at anyone who's a master at what he or she does. Take Lady Gaga or Aya Raymon or Fela Kuti. Or take Mia Hamm, or Hamid Rodriguez or Brendon McCullum. Or take Steve Jobs and Narain Muti. Doesn't matter what the domain is. In every domain, if you look at the really top performers. You can rest assured that they've spent at least 10,000 hours involved in Flow-like experiences, doing their thing. That's why they're so successful. Not because of the need for superiority. If the need for superiority alone were enough to lead to success, then Michael Jordan, who was famous for being highly competitive. And had a big desire to be the best at whatever he did would have been just as successful in baseball as he was in basketball. As you may know, Jordan wanted to be a pro athlete in baseball in the mid-90s and worked just as hard at it as he did in basketball. But he didn't get anywhere. Why? Because of two things. One his abilities were probably better suited for basketball than they were for baseball. And two he hadn't spent as much time mastering his baseball skills as he did mastering his basketball skills. So the true hero of success is Flow. Or to be more precise, 10,000 hours or more of Flow. Without it, no matter how high your need for superiority is, you're probably not going to succeed. In fact, as we saw earlier from Dan Ariely's findings on how the pressure to perform lowers your performance. The need for superiority is likely to come in the way of your success, rather than boost it. I mentioned some time back that it doesn't matter what the domain is, you can be a master of it with 10,000 hours or more of Flow-like experiences, if you have an inherent talent in it. Let me show you now a video of a master in a somewhat unusual domain, pick pocketing. The gentleman you're about to see, his name is Apollo Robbins. Is so skilled at pick pocketing, that he's often called the world's best pick pocket. Recently, he was invited to give a Ted Talk to exhibit his talent. Here's Apollo Robbins at the TED Talk at Edinburgh, Scotland. » Come on up this way, Joe. Give Joe a round of applause, come on up Joe. Let's play a game. » [APPLAUSE] » Pardon me. I don't think that I need this clicker anymore, you can have that. Thank you very much. Appreciate that. Come on up to the stage, Joe. Let's play a little game. Now, do you have anything in you're front pockets? Money. All right, let's try that [LAUGH]. Can you stand right over this way for me? Turn around and let's see. If I give you something that belongs to me, this is just something I have, a poker chip. Hold out your hand for me. Watch it kind of close. Now this is a task for you to focus on. Now you have your money in your front pocket here? Good. I'm not going to actually put my hand in your pocket. I'm not ready for that kind of commitment. One time a guy had a hole in his pocket and that was rather traumatizing. [LAUGH] I was looking for his wallet and he gave me his phone number. It was a big miscommunication. So let's do this simply. Squeeze your hand. Squeeze it tight. Do you feel the poker chip in your hand? » I do. » Would you be surprised if I could take it out of your hand? Say yes. » Very. » Good. Open your hand. Thank you very much. I'll cheat if you give me a chance. Make it harder for me. Just use your hand. Grab my wrist, but squeeze, squeeze firm. Did you see it go? » No. » Notice not here. Open your hand. See, while we're focussed on the hand, it's setting on your shoulder right now. Go ahead and take it off. Now let's try that again. Hold your hand out flat. Open it up all the way. Put your hand up a little bit higher, but watch it closer, Joe. See, if I did it slowly, it'd be back on your shoulder. » [LAUGH] » Joe, we're going to keep doing this until you catch it. You're going to get it eventually. I have faith in you. Squeeze firm. Squeeze. You're human. You're not slow. It's back on your shoulder. You were focused on your hand, that's why you were distracted. While you were watching this I couldn't quite get your watch off, it was difficult. Yet you had something inside your front pocket, do you remember what it was? » Money? » Check your pocket, see if it's still there. Is it still there? » [LAUGH] » Oh that's where it was. Go ahead and put it away, we're just shopping. This trick's more about the timing really. I'm going to try to push it inside your hand. Put your other hand on top for me, would you. [LAUGH] It's amazingly obvious now isn't it? It looks a lot like the watch I was wearing, doesn't it? [LAUGH] » As you can tell from the video, Apollo is amazing at what he does. But he didn't develop his skills overnight. By the time he gave the Ted Talk, he had been practicing pickpocketing or the set of skills associated with it for over 20 years. So if you're really interested in big success for something, whatever it is, except perhaps drinking beer or being a couch potato. You would be much better off figuring out how you are going to get to spend 10,000 hours or more in Flow-like states rather than in seeking superiority. 10,000 hours, by the way, translates roughly into ten years, so it's not easy becoming a master at something but I think it's well worth the effort. Because mastery, as I mentioned in an earlier video, is one of our most important goals. And so when this goal is fulfilled, we are bound to feel happy. So, to summarize the discussion from the last video and this one, Flow enhances happiness levels for three reasons. First, Flow states are inherently enjoyable. Second, we become more charismatic and likeable when we exhibit Flow. And finally, Flow helps us progress towards mastery. And because Flow leads us to mastery, it not only enhances happiness levels, it also enhances our chances of success. Because the best way to succeed at something is to master it. The question of course is how do you figure out what to be a master at. Most of us, when we are kids, seem to know what we want to do when we grow up. We have a dream, example to be a carpenter, or in my case to be a train driver. But in the process of growing up, we lose sight of our passion and end up taking a practical job. A job that will pay the bills and put bread on the table, but a job in which our heart is not into it. And an unfortunate consequence of this is that life loses it's thrill and excitement. We've become automatons. Working in jobs that we don't find meaningful and engaging. » Nuts coming through on bench five. Attention Foreman. [MUSIC] » The truth is we can't be fully happy unless we experience Flow on a regular basis. And we can't experience Flow on a regular basis unless we're doing something that we find really enjoyable and challenging at the right level. So in the next video, I'm going to give you some practical tips on how to get Flow back into your life. See you in the next video. [MUSIC]