Steven Kotler is an American

author In legal discourse, an author is the creator of an original work that has been published, whether that work exists in written, graphic, visual, or recorded form. The act of creating such a work is referred to as authorship. Therefore, a sculpt ...

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

and

entrepreneur Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value in ways that generally entail beyond the minimal amount of risk (assumed by a traditional business), and potentially involving values besides simply economic ones. An entreprene ...

. He is best known for his nonfiction books, including ''

Abundance Abundance may refer to: In science and technology * Abundance (economics), the opposite of scarcities * Abundance (ecology), the relative representation of a species in a community * Abundance, the defining characteristic of abundant numbers * ...

'', ''A Small Furry Prayer'', ''West of Jesus'', '' Bold'', ''The Rise of Superman'' and ''Stealing Fire''.

Early life and education

Kotler was born in

Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

. After attending Orange High School in

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–United States border, Canada–U.S. maritime border ...

, he graduated from the

University of Wisconsin, Madison A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Univ ...

in 1989 with degrees in English and creative writing. In 1993, he received an MA in creative writing from

Johns Hopkins University The Johns Hopkins University (often abbreviated as Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1876 based on the European research institution model, J ...

Career

Kotler’s books and articles often deal with the intersection of

science Science is a systematic discipline that builds and organises knowledge in the form of testable hypotheses and predictions about the universe. Modern science is typically divided into twoor threemajor branches: the natural sciences, which stu ...

and

culture Culture ( ) is a concept that encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, Attitude (psychology), attitudes ...

, and make frequent and extended use of academic work, particularly in the areas of

neuroscience Neuroscience is the scientific study of the nervous system (the brain, spinal cord, and peripheral nervous system), its functions, and its disorders. It is a multidisciplinary science that combines physiology, anatomy, molecular biology, ...

evolutionary theory Evolution is the change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. It occurs when evolutionary processes such as natural selection and genetic drift act on genetic variation, resulting in certai ...

ethology Ethology is a branch of zoology that studies the behavior, behaviour of non-human animals. It has its scientific roots in the work of Charles Darwin and of American and German ornithology, ornithologists of the late 19th and early 20th cen ...

psychopharmacology Psychopharmacology (from Greek ; ; and ) is the scientific study of the effects drugs have on mood, sensation, thinking, behavior, judgment and evaluation, and memory. It is distinguished from neuropsychopharmacology, which emphasizes ...

and

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...

. He has written seven nonfiction books — ''Stealing Fire,

Tomorrowland Tomorrowland may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Tomorrowland (Disney Parks), a theme land at a number of Disney theme parks around the world * Tomorrowland (festival), an annual electronic dance music festival in Boom, Belgium * ''Tom ...

, Bold, The Rise of Superman,'' ''Abundance'', ''A Small Furry Prayer'' and ''West of Jesus —'' and two novels, ''The Angle Quickest for Flight'' and ''Last Tango in Cyberspace.''

A Small Furry Prayer

In 2007, alongside his wife, Joy Nicholson, Kotler co-founded the Rancho de Chihuahua dog sanctuary in Chimayo, New Mexico. Rancho de Chihuahua specializes in

hospice care Hospice care is a type of health care that focuses on the palliation of a terminally ill patient's pain and symptoms and attending to their emotional and spiritual needs at the end of life. Hospice care prioritizes comfort and quality of life b ...

and long term rehabilitation for special-needs dogs. Kotler's experience with Rancho de Chihuahua inspired his 2010 book, ''A Small Furry Prayer: Dog Rescue and the Meaning of Life''. ''A Small Furry Prayer'' was a ''

Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...

'' and ''

SF Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and Michael H. de Young. The ...

'' bestseller.

Abundance

In 2012 Kotler published ''Abundance: The Future Is Better Than You Think'' with

Peter H. Diamandis Peter H. Diamandis ( ; born May 20, 1961) is an American engineer, physician, and entrepreneur. He is best known as the founder and chairman of the XPRIZE Foundation, and the cofounder and executive chairman of Singularity University. He is al ...

. The book revolves around the idea that the world is getting better and in the future most people of the world will have access to clean water, food, energy, health care, education, and everything else that is necessary for a first world standard of living, thanks to technological innovation. The authors argue progress in artificial intelligence, robotics, infinite computing, ubiquitous broadband networks, digital manufacturing, nanomaterials, synthetic biology, and many other growing technologies will enable the human race to make greater gains in the following two decades than in the previous two hundred years. By doing so, the authors suggest humans will have the ability to meet and exceed the basic needs of every man, woman, and child on the planet. ''Abundance'' debuted at #1 on both

Amazon.com Amazon.com, Inc., doing business as Amazon, is an American multinational technology company engaged in e-commerce, cloud computing, online advertising, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence. Founded in 1994 by Jeff Bezos in Bellevu ...

and

Barnes & Noble Barnes & Noble Booksellers is an American bookseller with the largest number of retail outlets in the United States. The company operates approximately 600 retail stores across the United States. Barnes & Noble operates mainly through its B ...

's bestseller lists, and at #2 on the ''New York Times'' bestseller list. It remained on the NYT bestseller list for nine weeks. Abundance was voted one of the "Top 5 Must Read Business Books of the Year" by ''

Fortune Magazine ''Fortune'' (stylized in all caps) is an American global business magazine headquartered in New York City. It is published by Fortune Media Group Holdings, a global business media company. The publication was founded by Henry Luce in 1929. T ...

''.

The Rise of Superman

In 2014, Kotler announced ''The Rise of Superman: Decoding the Science of Ultimate Human Performance.'' The book explores the state of consciousness known as "flow", an optimal state in which humans perform and feel their best. The book includes examples from adventure athletes including big wave surfer

Laird Hamilton Laird John Hamilton (né Zerfas; born March 2, 1964) is an American big wave surfing, big-wave surfer, co-inventor of tow-in surfing, and an occasional fashion and action-sports model and actor. He is married to Gabrielle Reece, a former professi ...

, skater

Danny Way Danny Way (born April 15, 1974) is an American professional Skateboarding, skateboarder. He was awarded Thrasher (magazine), ''Thrasher'' magazine's "Skater of the Year" award twice. He is known for extreme stunts, such as jumping into a skatebo ...

and big mountain snowboarders

Travis Rice Travis Rice (born October 9, 1982) is an American professional snowboarding, snowboarder. He is #13 on ''Snowboarder'' magazine's list of the 20 most influential snowboarders of the last 20 years.

and Jeremy Jones. ''The Rise of Superman'' explains how extreme athletes are accelerating their flow states to perform better and how people can use the same tactics to accelerate performance in everyday tasks.

Bold

In February 2015, Kotler published '' Bold: How to Go Big, Create Wealth, and Impact the World'', his second book with Peter Diamandis.Broughton, Philip Delve
Go Big Or Go Home
''Wall Street Journal''. May 7, 2015 The book discusses the exponential advancement of technology and teaches entrepreneurs how to thrive in such an environment by being nimble and resilient.Wadhwa, Vive
Book review: Peter Diamandis’s ‘Bold’ a reminder of how entrepreneurs will control the world’s fate
''Washington Post''. May 7, 2015 ''Bold'' debuted on the ''New York Times'' bestseller list and remained on the list for six weeks, reaching #6 overall. It was named one of the top 25 books read by

corporate America ''Corporate America'' is the fifth studio album by American hard rock band Boston, released in 2002. It is the first album to feature band members Anton Cosmo and Kimberley Dahme, the last album released in vocalist Brad Delp's lifetime (though ...

in 2015.

Stealing Fire

Kotler, alongside Jamie Wheal, co-authored ''Stealing Fire'', which brings to light a trillion-dollar economy that has gone unnoticed and unnamed for centuries. The book introduces real-life examples of "flow states" and the neuroscience that all humans are gifted with to unlock our hidden potential. The authors discuss how "ecstatis" is applied in every industry, the evolution of its research and how it is revolutionizing our world.

Bibliography

Nonfiction

*''West of Jesus: Surfing, Science and the Origin of Belief'', 2006 *''A Small, Furry Prayer: Dog Rescue and the Meaning of Life'', 2010 *'' Abundance: The Future Is Better Than You Think'', 2012, co-authored with

*''The Rise of Superman: Decoding the Science of Ultimate Human Performance'', 2014 *'' Bold: How to Go Big, Create Wealth, and Impact the World'', 2015, co-authored with

*'' Tomorrowland: Our Journey from Science Fiction to Science Fact'', 2015Tomorrowland: Our Journey From Science Fiction To Science Fact

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...

*''Stealing Fire: How Silicon Valley, the Navy SEALs, and Maverick Scientists Are Revolutionizing the Way We Live and Work'', co-authored with Jamie Wheal, 2017 *''The Art of Impossible: A Peak Performance Primer'', 2021

Novels

* ''The Angle Quickest for Flight'', 1999 * ''Last Tango in Cyberspace'', 2019 * ''The Devil's Dictionary'', 2022

References

External links

Steven Kotler
Personal web page
Rancho de Chihuahua
Steven Kotler's dog sanctuary
Amazon author’s page

Michael Krasny’s KQED Forum
June 11, 2006 interview with Steven Kotler {{DEFAULTSORT:Kotler, Steven Journalists from Illinois Living people American non-fiction writers Writers from Chicago 1967 births