Sometimes an outsider can offer a game-changing take on a tried-and-true process. When it comes to performance, that person is Idan Ravin, author of the bestselling book, The Hoops Whisperer: On the Courts and Inside the Heads of Basketball's Best Players.

Over the course of his career, Idan has worked with athletes like Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Kevin Durant, and Steph Curry. Though he never played for or coached a professional basketball team, his outsider status coupled with his passion for learning and performance science, have made him a one-of-a-kind teacher.

In this interview we discuss:

How some of the most impactful teachers can come from unexpected places
How his outsider status and commitment to self-teaching made him the incredible teacher he is today
Why teaching young people served him well in teaching professional basketball players
The importance of seeing people for who they can be vs who they are not
Why seeing what others never notice in performance is akin to the approach a plastic surgeon takes
How high performing athletes can lose their love of the game and why Idan works so hard to recapture it
Why he combines high intensity with sensory overload approaches to improve performance
Why learning requires the comfort of safe spaces where we can make mistakes
Why learning also requires the discomfort that comes with stretching ourselves to gain new skills
The humility and modesty that comes with being vulnerable in our learning
How rewiring our brains takes time, can be incremental, and is often far from linear
Why he wants to redefine the word selfish to include reaching for something because you have earned it through self-reliance and responsibility
Why the best teachers help us gain the skills we need and then support us in ways we express them
Why he believes dreams are a luxury while faith is something you can control and act on
The meaningful exchange that can take place when we teach and learn from those we teach
The importance of taking action to achieve our goals
How some of the most credentialed and strongly affiliated individuals can also be the least knowledgeable when it comes to learning and performance

Links to Topics Mentioned in the Podcast

Carmelo Anthony

New York Knicks

Nike commercial

Peak by Anders Ericsson

Adam Levine

The Voice

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