Rian Doris, co-Founder & COO, Flow Research Collective
Rian Doris is the co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer of the Flow Research Collective, studying, deconstructing and training peak performance and flow states for leaders.
Alongside 8X Nationally Best-Selling Author Steven Kotler (one of the world’s leading speakers, researchers and authors in neuroscience and peak performance), Rian has drawn from his own personal challenges with mental health and performance to create the science-based approach in their research and training.
I’m especially thrilled to have connected with Rian and the Flow Research Collective because they are boosting the evolution of leadership by training leaders to understand their own brains on a neurobiological, psychological and chemical level.
Rian shares an abundance of useful resources in this conversation, linked below, but most notably, be sure to check out his TEDx Talk, Why Hustle Doesn’t Lead to Success. It’s a goodie:)
Recognitions:
Co-Founder & COO, Flow Research Collective
TEDx Talk:
Topics discussed in this conversation include:
Rian’s background and a childhood dealing with a head injury growing up in Ireland
Motivation and interest in personal development, philosophy, consciousness, flow states and peak performance
Rian’s educational background in Philosophy and Masters Degree in Applied Neuroscience
Thought leaders who brought mindfulness to the west:
(all of you interested in this conversation should read this book!)
Steven Kotler’s rigorous scientific approach to flow
How Rian went from an admiring fan to business partner with Steven Kotler
How Rian’s struggles with mental health and performance due to his brain injury has helped him understand and connect to the work at the Flow Research Collective so deeply
What is “Flow”?
How flow effects performance, wellbeing, creativity, learning, happiness, etc.
Martin Seligman, father of positive psychology
Training consciousness shifts into flow
22 Flow Triggers to access flow states
Certain activities that inherently induce flow
Best strategies to remove blockers before building triggers
Rian’s personal flow triggers and strategies for eliminating distraction
“Knowledge Work” – flow follows focus
“Flow Hygiene” – priming your system - how nutrition, exercise, sleep and general wellness influence flow states
Social support is as crucial as food physiologically and psychologically
How business leaders can utilize flow states to increase performance or maximize their impact
Mihai Csikszentmihalyi – “The Godfather of Flow Psychology”
Group Flow:
“Yes, and….”
Vulnerability
Risk
Familiarity
Equal Participation
Shared Goals
Close Listening
Efficient Operations
The dark side of flow
Flow Strategy: identifying your process of getting into flow
Hacks for professionals working from home
Dropping cognitive load
Environmental boundaries vs time boundaries
Transition Rituals
Breathwork vs Mindfulness
Rian explains why hustle doesn’t lead to success from the perspective of effort and productivity
Maximizing output from the least amount of input – “doing more with less”
Strategic timing
Delegating effectively
Elimination
Rian’s definition of success and how he measures himself on success
How Rian sees the world evolving 10 years from now and how he sees himself contributing to it
Valuable advice from Rian for entrepreneurs and professionals
What happens in the brain during sleep
Dr. Andrew Huberman – Board of Directors, Flow Research Collective
Yoga Nidra for sleep
Bio:
Rian Doris is the Co-Founder & COO at the Flow Research Collective, a research and training institute focused on decoding the neuroscience of flow states and training leaders to achieve peak performance.
Rian lives at the intersection of entrepreneurship and academia—from starting his first business at age 18 to studying Philosophy in Trinity College Dublin and an MSc in Applied Neuroscience at King's College, London.
On the academic side, Rian has lead research initiatives with Imperial College London, University of Southern California, the University of Zurich and Deloitte.
On the entrepreneurial side, Rian has worked intimately with numerous world-leading experts in peak performance such as Keith Ferrazzi, Dr. Dan Siegel, and Steven Kotler, his partner at Flow Research Collective.
Rian has been featured in Fast Company, Forbes, TedX and Big Think.
