The Peak Experiences Formula

I'll suggest to you that there are two different kinds of people...

1. Peak experience junkies - Who need to travel to awesome places, eat at amazing restaurants, have the most interesting friends, hang out at the hottest nightclubs, have an amazing sex life, go snowboarding in Vail and surfing in Bali, along with accomplishing big goals in business to enjoy life. 
2. Amusement junkies - Those who are content with a life of pedestrian pleasures like watching TV, playing video games, scrolling social media, drinking beer, smoking weed, and hanging out with their family and the people they grew up with.

I used to think that anyone could become a peak experience junkie and enjoy a more lively life, but now I'm not sure. I've seen enough people who clung steadfastly to mundane amusement, shying away from the risks that peak experiences entail. However, if you genuinely want more peak experiences in your life there's a formula that I'll break down here...

Hard work X Stress management X Passion for processes X Intentional sacrifice = Peak experiences

Hard work

Of course, there are free peak experiences to be had, but many cost a pretty penny - that ticket to Burning Man, for example. The more economically productive you are the more you can afford unforgettable experiences. But peak experiences can result from hard work outside your 9-5 on some personal pursuit. If you apply ostinato rigor to for, example, cultivating yourself as a Tantric man that's you're going to enjoy some mind-blowing peak sexual experiences. If you're an artist, and you work intensely for weeks or months on a work of art, you'll reach some sublime flowstates, and beholding your finished work will be a peak, certainly. The harder you have to work, the higher the peak!

A literal and figurative peak experience in my life was summiting Vulcan Baru in Panama (where at 6 AM in the morning, you can see both the Pacific and Caribean oceans) and that hike was 12 hours of hard work.

Stress management

Stress management is, I contend, why most people have very few peak experiences. Most people have garbage stress management habits; after a long day of work, they crash on the couch for a beer, a smoke, and/or some processed comfort food to decompress from their day while mesmerized by some mindless entertainment. The harder you work, the more stress management habits you'll need...

• Exercise
•  Mindfulness meditation practice 
• Healthy diet
• Spiritual practice
• Sleep hacking 
• Breathwork
• Reading meaningful books

If you don't make the time to do these kinds of things, you'll need two hours of TV a day, marijuana, video games, or whatever to deal with your stress.

Passion for processes

If you don't devote yourself to things you are passionate about you'll have to spend a lot of money for peak experiences. Read books about your passions and adopt the processes and methodologies of the masters. I'm passionate about writing, so I read Ayn Rand's lesser-known books about writing itself and they made me a better writer.

Get passionate about the process and the payoff in peak experiences will surprise you!

Intentional sacrifice

In a few weeks, my wife and I have a restaurant reservation we have been hotly anticipating for several months at one of those pitch-black dark restaurants. Apparently, it's such a mindblowing experience that you need to book months in advance to get a table (or maybe that's just good marketing on their behalf!) And the multi-course feast awaiting us will not be cheap, in fact, it's going to take a big bite out of our yearly entertainment budget. So we've only dined out once in the past few months. We're choosing the peak once-in-a-lifetime experience of fine dining in the dark over casual dining restaurants a few times a month this year.

Another example, in December of last year I attended this fun "conspiracy theorist" at the best craft brewery in my country. I spared no expense in sampling the awesome artisanal microbrews of tap and it was a memorable night of rousing conversation with new friends. Guess how much beer I've drank since? Not a drop, in fact, I've been no-boozing for 53 days of writing this.

Some might say that pursuing peak experiences is hedonistic, adolescent, and a waste of money...

Even a lively life is 80% Groundhog Day most days of the week, peak experiences are the silver lining that makes all your hard work worth it. Peak experiences make the best stories. Peak experiences usually leave you with some profound lessons about life. Peak experiences define you and teach you things about yourself, or remind you what matters to you. The peak experiences you have with those you most love become unforgettable treasured memories you share.

Want to go deeper down the peak experiences rabbit hole?

Check out my review of The 2AM Principle...