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After Zerfas persisted a third time, however, my curiosity got the best of me, and I relented. Like those I’d interviewed, I enjoyed thinking of my brain as a machine I could tinker with, and this was an experience I hadn’t tried yet. My goal was simple: I wanted to see what my brain could do.

Manufacturing Bliss

Using colorful anecdotes and brain imagery, Dr. Nardi shares key insights from his lab. Among these insights: how people of different personalities can find and sustain a state of creative flow.

Talks at Google • Neuroscience of Personality | Dario Nardi | Talks at Google

There is a general consensus that optimal functioning of the whole system (whether humans, primates, or machines) requires both stability of goal pursuit in the face of distraction and disruption as well as the capacity for flexibility to adapt and explore the environment.31

Scott Barry Kaufman • Transcend: The New Science of Self-Actualization

K. Anders Ericsson. He was a psychology professor at Florida State University and the author of an article titled “Exceptional Memorizers: Made, Not Born.”

Joshua Foer • Moonwalking with Einstein: The Art and Science of Remembering Everything

Each individual is gifted in a variety of ways. His or her own desires and beliefs activate certain abilities and ignore others.

Jane Roberts • The Nature of the Psyche

"Our conventional sense of self is an illusion; positive emotions, such as compassion and patience, are teachable skills; and the way we think directly influences our experience of the world."

Sam Harriss • Waking Up: A Guide to Spirituality Without Religion

His drive to produce wasn’t inspired by the ego fuel of popular applause but by a wiser instinct that enticed him to see just how much of his creative power he could unlock, no matter how much hardship he had to endure.

Robin Sharma • The 5 AM Club: Own Your Morning. Elevate Your Life.

The most successful people. . . often aren't directly pursuing conventional notions of success. They're working hard and persisting through difficulties because of their internal desire to control their lives, learn about their world, and accomplish something that endures.

Daniel Pink, Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us, p. 60.

It’s no secret that the project has run many highly successful experiments in this area. This appendix contains a chapter excerpted from a short book I’ve written on this topic. If this is an area of interest for you, it can be downloaded from: nonsymbolic.org / how-to-book.