🔥Flow State or Flatline🔥

Josh, 14 years old, getting ready to do the Mexican Two-Step.

The year was 1995. Coolio was king, CK One was cloudin’ every mall hallway, and I was about to earn a Ph.D. in “flow”—taught by Professor Gilbert. Half Puerto Rican, half Okie, and half outta his damn mind.

He claimed to do construction in Fresno anytime he disappeared—but everyone knew he was just back in the clink. Chain-smoked Camels like he was sponsored, had a gas tank that made triathletes jealous, and made a career outta dissecting young bucks who, by every scientific metric, should’ve whooped him. But Gilbert didn’t do science—he did sweet science.

That night was a fundraiser at the Santa Barbara Elks Lodge. I had my own scrap—TKO in the 2nd. The icing on the cake? The kid I folded had a coach who looked like a D-bol’d-up stepdad in Raiders Zubaz with a mullet, straight off a “shoot fighting” DVD cover. A white trash mobile home menace who went full meltdown mode after the fight—tried to start static with my coach Rudy. Rudy shut it down cold—like a Waffle House short order cook catching a roach with his spatula.

But the real show?

Gilbert vs. Israel.

Gilbert had lapped his prime, smoked a cig at the finish line, and peed on it for good measure. He claimed 28 to impress the gym Latinas, but one of our coaches swore he was pushing 50. Tattoos so faded they looked like coffee stains. Spent more time telling war stories at The Mecca—a bar where molars and morals went to die—than actually training.

Israel?

Young. Sharp. Golden Gloves champ. Talked slick. Walked cocky. He was the club’s golden boy, and this was a sanctioned hit to retire Gilbert permanently.

But Gilbert had other plans.

He told anyone listening—including a bartender, a stray dog, and a dude passed out on a pool table—that he was gonna “open a can of whoop ass” and dump it all over this punk like it was homemade salsa at a Sunday carne asada.

Most folks laughed, figuring he’d get dropped quicker than a soap bar in county.

But his eyes?
Pure, uncut belief.
Somewhere between divine focus and certified lunacy.

When he wasn’t outside huffing unfiltered Camels or telling jokes that’d get you sued today, he was dialed in.

Israel?
Talked big. Looked sharp.
But his bravado smelled like fear, sweat and aftershave.

Fight night came.
Mariachi music thumped.
Tri-tip smoked up the joint.
Veteranos posted up with tall boys, buzzed off Modelo and memories. Someone definitely smuggled in some bootleg tequila.

Israel entered the ring like a cracked-out Sterno bum doing karaoke.

Gilbert?

He floated in like a war-torn matador with a Don Quixote ‘stache and death in his eyes. His robe caught the wind like a cape from God.

Round one? Tight.
Round two? BOOM.
Gilbert unleashed a combo straight from the prison yard and sent Israel to dreamland.

Moral?

Gilbert believed. Gilbert achieved.
Gilbert FLOWED.

When you’re locked in, when you’re fully present, when you say screw the odds and bet it all on yourself—you’re never outta the fight.

If your belief’s bigger than your bullshit…
You’re dangerous.

Flow: Where Skill Meets Swagger

Flow isn’t just some new age psychobabble or academic buzzword. It’s when your mind and body sync up like a street fight and a James Brown groove—total immersion, no drag, no hesitation.

Steven Kotler—Austin cat who studies this stuff—describes it as “those moments of total absorption, when we’re sucked in by the task at hand that seems to either slow down or speed up.”

If you’ve ever lost track of time mid-training, mid-brawl, mid-riff, Or sitting cross-legged like Chuck Norris, who once meditated so deep, four hours passed and he didn’t even realize it. Straight from his book.—congrats, you’ve hit flow. He said flow isn’t about white-knuckling through life. It’s when effort feels effortless, and you’re moving with the current, not swimming upstream with bricks in your boots.

In flow, you’re not chasing the moment—the moment chases you.
It could be a flawless beatdown in the ring…
Banging out an opera at 3am…Running stadiums at the abandoned junior college ’til your legs feel like wet sandbags…
Or speaking in tongues at Pentecostal tent revival.
The common thread? Full submersion. Total present-moment domination.

Great athletes, top-tier musicians, legendary artists—they all hit flow. The ones that don’t? They grind it out, burn out, and never hit their ceiling.

So yeah, flow sounds great… but it ain’t reserved for monks, Mozart, or miracle workers.
It’s not some Ivy League pipe dream—it’s a practice.

Get in flow with one of Josh’s Programs HERE

Challenge Yourself (Within Reason)

If the task’s too easy, you get bored. If it’s too hard, you drown. But when the challenge is just a hair above your current skill level—that’s when flow hits like nitrous in a street race.

Look, if you can’t sling used cars at a buy-here-pay-here lot, you’ve got no business trying to sell mansions in Beverly Hills. That Isn’t a challenge—that’s a delusional fantasy.

Flip it the other way:
Say you’re a powerlifter dialed in for a 600-pound deadlift on your third attempt. But to win? You need 622. That’s not reckless—that’s rising to the occasion.

Same deal in the ring.
You’re a solid state-level Golden Gloves boxer? Start sparring with national-level guys. Let ‘em push you. Let ‘em test you. Do it again and again, and next thing you know—you belong there.

Stretch your limits without snapping ‘em. That’s how confidence becomes earned, and success becomes expected.

Engage in the Present

When I’m writing or programming for clients, my phone’s not just muted—it’s outta the room. No texts, no Instagram rabbit holes. Why? Because doing great work demands full presence, not half-hearted multitasking and dopamine scraps.

Wanna train presence?
Go squat heavy.
Go spar someone trying to knock your head off.
Run hard intervals where your lungs feel like they’re filled with hot coals.

You won’t be thinking about celebrity gossip or what HOA Karen commented on your post. When you’re training with true intensity, you’re locked in—because you have no other option.

Don’t coast through the process with your eyes on the prize. If you’re not fully engaged in the moment, the end result will taste like cardboard.

Socrates said, “No man has the right to be an amateur in the matter of physical training…”
He wasn’t just talking physiques.
He was talking about the art of showing up—completely.

Set Clear-Cut Goals

Man is a goal-seeking missile—wired that way by his Creator.

“Lose weight” isn’t a goal. That’s a wish.
“Drop 25 pounds” or “Get to 8% body fat on a DEXA in 4 months”? Now we’re talking.

Don’t lie to yourself with vague dreams. You’re not gonna “someday” write that book, ride bulls, or bench 400 without setting a real deadline. A goal without a deadline is just mental masturbation.

Set clear goals. Stamp a date on it. Then go public.

Tell your coach, your crew, or even the cashier at Allsup’s.
Because unless you’re a known flake, most folks don’t like declaring something out loud just to eat crow later.

Deadlines turn daydreams into destiny.
And public pressure? That’s jet fuel for follow-through.

Build a Feedback System

Vladimir Lenin was a terrible person but the reason he succeeded in establishing communism in the USSR was Lenin knew his time was short.  Doctors told him very early on he would die young, so he used his short time on earth to maximally promote his agenda.

Many jobs and activities have built-in immediate feedback systems: the bodybuilder feels a great pump while training and the penile enlargement surgeon that accidentally short changes a patient immediately realizes this little mistake.

With sales, writing and advertising, the feedback is not always immediate.  The salesman may not sell anything today but may have made 15 new contacts via a networking event, is that a failure?  Absolutely not! The salesman can objectively set goals at these types of events to make five new contacts and speak to five people about the product, something tangible and quantitative.

A writer may not see the end product but can make a goal to write two pages.

When feedback is not immediate, some helpful tools to make it that way are:

•    Impose Deadlines- I often work with a timer on!  Make deadlines for yourself, such as contact three new leads by 1 PM.

•    Make to-do lists- Be specific; starting an article is not specific, finishing three paragraphs is.  Eating better is not specific, have 12 ounces of lean meat by 1 PM is.

•    Regular Check-ins– If you do not have a mentor or coach, find someone to partner with and offer each other feedback on your work, be it writing or evaluating a workout protocol or technique.

Honest feedback drastically reduces the chance of failure!

Final Thoughts

Gilbert didn’t win that fight because he cut down from two packs to one of Camel Unfiltereds. He won because when that bell rang, time disappeared. Watching him dismantle Israel wasn’t just a fight—it was damn near poetry in motion.

That’s flow.

The optimal state where time fades, distractions vanish, and execution takes over.
This ain’t just theory from a tweed-jacket professor—it’s real, and it’s repeatable.

What you just read?
It’s the tip of the iceberg.
But these strategies have helped me—and a whole crew of lifters, fighters, and high performers—get into flow more often, for longer stretches.

Get focused. Get present. Get challenged. Get feedback. Then get dangerous!