Flow State Mastery: Pro Basketball Player Reveals Peak Performance Secrets | Anže Kos with The Hoopers Network

This is a transcript from Episode 10 of The Franchise Champion Show. Listen to the full episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube.

Alan Regala: Today we're going to continue our topic of using the principles of high-performance training to succeed in business. And we have a very special guest that'll be joining the conversation. Anže Kos, or AK, is a retired Slovenian professional basketball player who played across multiple countries and was named league MVP in Sweden's 21-22 season, where he set a personal scoring record of 51 points in a single game. Amazing. Today he's known as the Flow State Master Coach and founder of Akonique, where he specializes in helping others achieve peak performance and personal development. Welcome to the show, AK.

Anže Kos: Thank you for having me.

Alan: Well, thank you for making the trip all the way from Slovenia. What time is it over there?

Anže: Right now it's 9 PM.

Alan: 9pm, alright. Well, appreciate you joining us and having this nice roaring fire in the background. It looks beautiful and comfortable over there. Super excited to hear more about the Flow State and see how we can apply it to success in franchising. But before we get to that, tell us about your basketball journey.

Anže: Alright, so as far as my basketball journey goes, I started playing when I was in Slovenia, of course, where I was born and raised. And, you know, I soon fell in love with the game and it took me across the Atlantic. I went to the United States, spent time there, played college basketball for about four to five years. And then after that, the first contract I signed professionally was in France. Then I went to multiple countries across Europe. So about seven or eight countries across Europe, and then I finished my career last year when I officially retired when I was playing in China.

Alan: Wow, wow, that's pretty incredible playing in so many different countries and even China. I didn't realize that. What was that like?

Anže: It was - I mean, as far as basketball goes, it was unbelievable. I really enjoyed the atmosphere. I mean, the arenas, packed arenas, and just like amazing treatment. You know, they really treat you like royalty over there. And it was special, you know, it was special. I really felt like all those times training over multiple years, tens of thousands of hours spent into this game, you know, just to play against some top level competition, some ex-NBA players as well. It was really special. So I really enjoyed my time there.

Alan: That's really cool. Wow. Yeah, what an experience. Now, I didn't realize at first, but you actually had opportunities to continue playing, right? You chose to retire to pursue this other path?

Anže: Yeah, pretty much. I was, let's say, 90 percent worn out, I guess, a little bit, you know, physically. Like my body wasn't taking as many hits as it used to before. I needed more time to recover and all that. But I mean, I could still be playing. I was still in great shape and I still had opportunities coming in. It's just like I asked myself: How can I truly serve others from the highest way possible? Is it through playing or is it through something else? And that's where I got the answer, you know, that I should be focusing on this.

Alan: Yeah, yeah, I love it. I mean, that's an amazing way to give back, right? That is such a purposeful thing to do, to be able to help so many other people achieve their dreams in professional basketball and get to that state where they're in the flow state and being able to be at the top of their games. That's an amazing gift you're giving to everyone else. Okay, well, tell us about your company, Akonique, and what do you do at Akonique?

Anže: Alright, pretty much what you said - I call myself a Flow State Master Coach, right? And Akonique is actually an umbrella company for the first brand. The first brand we've developed, or more so the signature program, is called the Hoopers Awakening, where Flow State Mastery meets basketball. And that brand under Akonique is a specific brand that focuses on basketball players only, right? So we help basketball players mentally, emotionally, and spiritually, meaning that we train flow state.

Alan: Okay. Yeah, tell us about the flow state. I'm excited to hear about the flow state. What is the flow state?

Anže: So, you know, basically if you look at us as human beings from the deepest perspective possible, right? We are much more than just a body. We have a body, of course we have a mind, we have a heart, we have a soul. And you know, in order for you to truly access flow state, you have to master all of them, right?

Flow state specifically is the optimal state of human performance. And that is mastered not only through the physical side of the game, but also the mental, emotional, and spiritual side of the game. So if a player truly wants to be the greatest, the best, you know, just like, for example, Kobe Bryant used to teach - it's absolutely necessary you have to train the mental, emotional, and spiritual side of the game and of yourself as well.

Alan: Wow, wow. And what is that like? What does that mean when you're in the flow state as it relates to, let's say basketball?

Anže: I mean, it's essentially - I call it a drug, you know, because it's essentially the best feeling in the world. It's like an ability to stay present, right? It's literally being locked in, fully focused in the present moment. That's what flow state is - that ability to stay present, fully immersed in the rhythm of the game where, you know, shots are automatic. Every decision you make, you're not thinking, you're just completely present, just being in the moment. And that is that optimal state of human performance. So if you can achieve that, it's just unbelievable. You play amazing.

Alan: Yeah, yeah, I've definitely felt that in playing tennis on occasion. Certainly, I wish I could be in that mode all the time. I think obviously everyone wishes they could, but I feel like everything is working together, but the main thing I feel like is I'm not thinking. Like I'm out of my head. So I'm not thinking of what I'm trying to do or what I want to do - it's just being, and everything seems to work together and everything feels smooth and effortless and it just goes by. I guess effortless is the way that I tend to think about it. Things are doing what I want them to do effortlessly without me having to try to control anything mentally. Does that sound right?

Anže: 100%, 100%, you know. And it's like something that you surrender into, you know. Flow state comes to you - you can't force it, right? You can't force the game. Essentially many times, you know, when things don't go your way, whether you're playing basketball or something else, players try to force their way into the game, but that's not how flow state works. Flow state comes to you. And it's truly possible - it's a skill, it's truly possible to train it.

Alan: Yeah, I really love that term, flow state. I mean, it really resonates with me. And I think for a lot of people, even those that don't play sports, but they're doing other things, including stuff that's related to running a business, I think it still translates over to other areas of your life where, again, it feels like you're not having to overthink but you're just kind of doing and you're being. I'm curious to know if you feel like other areas, maybe in your life outside of basketball - obviously within basketball it's great and I want to get more into this and how you train with people - but other areas of your life that you feel like you can apply the flow state?

Anže: Yes, I mean, certainly, you know, training flow state, training the mental, emotional, spiritual side, it allows you to maneuver through life with much more ease because there's so many things that are included, you know, and that connects with also how I train players. It's that ability to stay present. You have to learn how to truly surrender, whether that's basketball or life, right? You have to learn how to deal with your emotions. You have to understand your identity, you know, just the growth mindset, success, what it means to be successful. The leadership aspect - I mean, flow state and leadership, that goes hand in hand. Foundation, that structure - you have to build a strong foundation in order for you to even be able to access flow state. And at the end of it comes mastery, where you truly become master of it and you can consistently tap into that state literally at a flick of the button.

Alan: Wow, wow. Well, it sounds like to master this, it's going to take a bit more than just one podcast episode here. But I'd love to give people kind of a taste of what that looks like from how you work, let's say with your basketball clients, as far as teaching them the process of getting to that state. What are some of those foundational elements, for example, that you start with?

Anže: Yeah, I just mentioned them in a way, right? I have eight different keys that I go by and they are all equally important to master flow state. The thing is that my players - if I may say that way, my players are physically like 0.0001% of the world. They are professionals, they are committed to the game. So physically they are taken care of, right?

What I do with them is specific sets of exercises that master that mental, emotional, spiritual side. I mean, if you want to know the exercises, we could be talking in here for hours because there's plenty of things we do inside. But essentially, you know, if I just touch on some basic ones - there are specifically made and tailored meditations. So meditation is a big tool that we use inside. There are exercises like building your alter ego. There is the ability to channel your emotions. So we go through building anchors, you know, so that when you are on the court, when those emotional - not outbursts, but more so emotional strong moments come up - you need to learn how to channel that energy.

Because essentially emotions are energy. It's like an extra battery you have. And as an athlete, if you learn how to channel that into the game, it's like an extra battery that helps you perform better. So those are some of the things that we do inside. But this is a very, very small percentage, if that makes sense.

Alan: Sure. Okay, so that one struck a chord with me and I'm sure a lot of people can relate to, especially my tennis friends and myself sometimes. But specifically, there's one I would love to get your - maybe we can go through an example of. When things come up, you make a mistake or someone makes an error, I miss a shot I should have easily made to win the match, let's say, or win the set or whatever, but I'm still playing and it's super frustrating. How do you - maybe if you could just start with one small example - help someone with controlling that mental state where they want to get super frustrated or they are frustrated and they're starting to get mad before things blow up. How does someone get calm, get that control over their emotions? And this could relate to business as well when things blow up. In the business world, you get an upset client, something of that nature. So I can see this applying to that as well. Is there an example maybe you could go through of a meditation or just a tip on this one specific thing?

Anže: Well, if we go into that specific thing you ask for, that's more so where you are performing. Obviously meditation is something that prepares you for it and you can't meditate while you're playing or when you're doing something business-wise. But if we go specifically to an on-court situation, let's say you're playing and you commit a turnover, like you make a bad turnover, a bad play, you know, and then coach starts yelling at you, you get frustrated, the crowd is getting into it. Maybe someone's watching you there and you feel embarrassed. You know, there's all these emotions that might come up and that's where channels or anchors come in handy, right?

So for example, if those shadow emotions, as I like to call them - because there's no positive or negative emotions. I mean, you can use those expressions, but I feel like all emotions are powerful as long as you know how to use them, right? So for example, let's say frustration and embarrassment comes up - those are what I call shadow emotions. You have an anchor. For example, I would make a turnover or I would miss a wide open layup. And as soon as I got a little bit emotional about it, I would literally flick my head, you know, just like a little bit. So that I have an anchor that brings me back to the present moment.

You know, some people blow on their fingertips. Some people have a word they say. For example, I even had a word like "back to the game, back to the game." I would just say that to myself a couple of times and it would bring me back to the present moment. And the more you do that every time those shadow emotions come up, the easier it is for you to get back to the present moment and get back to the game instead of allowing those emotions to consume you.

Alan: That makes a lot of sense. And so it sounds like the training that happens, obviously, are things you want to do outside of the game so that you're prepared mentally. So hopefully you don't get into those situations if you're in the right state. But there are things you can do, like the anchoring, it sounds like, where you can plan ahead so that if they do come up, you can get back, you know, get reset and not explode.

Anže: Yeah, 100% you know. And I'll tell you something that most players don't know - it's one thing for you to build anchors for shadow emotions, but you also need them for light emotions. For those positive emotions. Because the thing is that you're likely to be consumed by either, right? So for example, people think that hyping up yourself and going crazy and super excited and yelling - that's also not emotional intelligence. Because when you're playing, if you do that, you know, emotions can consume you.

So even when you're excited, when you feel joy, when you feel passion and you want to express it - all those things that people do more often than not in the game consume them. So you also have to have channels for those, you know. And for example, one common one that Kobe Bryant always used to do every time he would make a big shot and those positive light emotions came up - he would do the fist, you know. The fist is the channel. That is a channel for you to channel all these emotions that come up to an anchor rather than yelling out there and going all crazy because that eventually leads to losing focus and being out of the present moment which you don't want.

Alan: Got it, got it. Okay, so just as with the shadow emotions, you need to temper the light emotions as well and make sure you're not going on either extreme so that you're staying in the present. That's great. Yeah, Kobe's a great example. On the tennis side of things, I think of someone like Roger Federer who, at least in his adulthood, in his prime, was just so mellow and even keel, you know, throughout the match, whether he was winning or losing, but you don't see huge fluctuations in getting mad at himself and yelling or getting too hyped up, you know, on the other end. That's great. That's very cool.

You know, the purpose of this is really to learn more about the flow state and these things that you're talking about and trying to figure out what can we apply from this into the world of business and life, right? There are so many things that cross over and when running a business, there's lots of things that happen and I think there's a lot of potential, it seems like, for the emotions to really go way up and way down, especially when they're down. I mean, that's the most difficult part. Are there specific things, I guess, in your world when you're training for Flow State Mastery - are there specific areas of that that you believe are more applicable, I guess, to someone that wants to apply this towards a business?

Anže: That's a great question. That's a great question. I mean, I feel like literally each of these keys has its own purpose and each of these keys I mentioned before are same applicable to the game of basketball as they are to business, you know. Because for example, let's focus on another one. Like right now we were talking about emotions. Let's focus on leadership, you know. Leadership is such a big quality to have, but you have to understand what leadership is all about. You have to embody leadership. You have to learn how to be of service to other people, how to uplift others, how to focus on everybody else, not yourself, right?

Because good leaders are those that uplift others, that serve others. You know, so a lot of times, especially in the game of basketball, and I'm thinking business is no different - people think, look, I'm just going to focus on myself, you know, just on my own well-being, my own statistics, my own game so that I play well. But that's not what leadership is all about. As a leader, you have to put others in front of yourself, right? And you are given the leadership status to the degree that you're willing to transcend your own needs for the needs of the group, of the team, whether that's in business or that's in the game of basketball. And those leaders that truly embody that - I am telling you like from my own story, I was chosen to be a captain of a certain team that I didn't expect it, but it was just unbelievable to me because I was a foreigner and foreigners are not usually expected to be the captains because, you know, unless you play there for many years. But they chose me to be the captain, you know, and I didn't expect it, but it was just such an unbelievable honor.

And in my heart, it was all about how can I serve these guys? How can I help them be better? And it showed. They trusted me, they always asked me for advice, they came to me to speak about whatever they wanted to speak about, whether that's life or basketball. And it's the most beautiful thing in the world, but you have to understand what leadership is all about.

Alan: Yeah, that's beautiful. That's great. I think that is a perfect example, leadership. I mean, wow, what better example to use for business. So tell me about how do you go about helping someone out with the leadership? And I'm sure there's lots of steps and it takes time and whatnot, but give us some examples of how you might work with someone to improve their leadership skills.

Anže: Right, so at first what I do, just like with all these different pieces of the puzzle I mentioned with these eight keys, the first thing I do is to bring an awareness to the players. So the first thing we do is a little bit of knowledge. Understanding what leadership is, understanding how to serve, how to - I go into different principles of leadership just for them to understand what it means to be a leader. I'm talking about with the mind.

Once you understand that, pretty much as with each of my keys, each of these weekly topics we do in a way, after that you go into practical application because without applied knowledge there's no real results. So you can have all the knowledge in the world, but if you don't apply it, there's nothing. So when it comes to leadership...

Alan: Yeah, learn by doing. Learn by doing. You gotta do it, right?

Anže: Learn by doing, right? Exactly. So leadership, for example, one of the exercises I have my players do is get into a habit of doing one thing, either for your teammate, for your coach, for your family, for your friends, or anyone, any stranger you meet - one good thing, one service for another human being without expecting anything in return.

Alan: I love it. I love it. Okay.

Alan: Well, that's great. That's great. I mean, that is very easily applicable, something that can be done by anybody, right? So that's a really good one. And it makes a lot of sense. I think for one, obviously the serving part, doing it, helping others, whether it's your team. And I like the idea of, you even said your coach, right? It's not just the people that are under you or colleagues here, but even people above you and just anywhere. And then I guess the key there is not expecting anything in return, right? Not just doing this for praise.

Anže: Yeah, that's a big quality because there is this notion or this intention where players do certain things to get something back. So, I don't know, for example, I go to practice and I am trying to work hard just so I play, just so I get a lot of minutes or that I get praise from the coach or that I sign a professional contract or that I get something in return. And more often than not, when we do something for someone else, we expect that they're going to at least say thank you, you know. Which is - I mean, it's nothing wrong with someone saying thank you back. It shows that they are appreciative. But at the same time, true leadership is about unconditional love, right?

If you look at the biggest examples in the world of the deepest leaders in the world - Nelson Mandela comes to mind, Martin Luther King, Jesus - just these examples of people who sacrificed, who really embodied their purpose and really led with that unconditional love of not expecting anything in return, but giving all the love to others. So that is something a good leader does for sure.

Alan: Well, that's great. All right. So that's a good tip. I think anybody can start practicing today. Now you mentioned something else that struck a chord with me, which is really - you mentioned people that embody their purpose. Tell me about that and if that's something that you go over with your clients, your students as well.

Anže: Yes, definitely. That's a big topic we have inside. It's not just people that go through the program. We actually do this together. We have a community of players, the most committed players in the world. It's amazing how we help one another grow as men and women. And it's just amazing to be a part of people that care, a part of a family that cares for one another.

Yeah, so when we talk about purpose, big topic. People often ask, you know, what about - of course my purpose right now is to play basketball, but purpose can change, right? We always evolve our purpose through our lifetime. And one of the biggest tips that I give to my players is I always tell them, all you have to do is follow your curiosities.

Alan: I love it. I love it. Follow your curiosities. That's great. That says two things to me. So one, it says to be curious, which I think a lot of people lose as they get older in life. I feel like as children, we are naturally curious. And then somehow along the road, I don't know what it is, but it just seems to kind of go away. People start focusing on other things and they kind of lose that curiosity. Maybe they become more judgmental and instead of being curious about things they start to judge things. I don't know. So that's great. I love that part of it. And then to follow it is not just to be curious but to actually pursue it. That's wonderful. I love it.

Anže: Yes, yes, you know. And it's funny because I always tell like, look, life is always showing you the way, you know. Whether you want to call it the universe, life, God - I mean, whatever name you want to use - but there's always signs, right? If you just listen to it, if you just follow what you're curious about, what you're passionate about, what you enjoy doing. At the end of the day, this is literally life showing you the way. This is the direction you're supposed to go. And the funny part is that pretty much everybody in this community is passionate about the game of basketball. But if you continue following your curiosities, then life will open all the doors, all the right doors that you need.

Alan: Yeah, I think that's great. Yeah, and it translates directly into business again, being curious. Whether it's being curious about your customers, your clients - on the sales side of things, I think that's one of the most powerful ways to connect with clients, is just to be curious, ask questions, and that's how you start to get to know your clients. Because they start to talk and tell you about themselves and the more curious you are, the more curious you are about your clients, the more they speak and the more you get to learn about them and just the better the connection's there.

And really the same goes with marketing, being curious about what's the best way of finding people, of attracting my target demographic. What's the best way to get in front of people? I think that curiosity just really goes a long way. And it also opens the door to problem solving as well. When you're asking those questions, it also goes along with how can I - you start that curiosity about how you can solve a problem, how you can figure things out instead of making statements like "I can't" or making excuses or whatnot and getting into that kind of mindset where there's - the curiosity really just opens the door for those possibilities. I love that.

Alan: So tell me, like, who do you work with? Do you work with people everywhere in the world or just, you know, professionals only? Tell me about that.

Anže: See, right now the focus is again on basketball, right? The vision for Akonique is to be the biggest worldwide brand for flow state mastery. And that's through all sports, you know, the world of sports. But right now the focus is on basketball and with basketball players, we have pretty much - majority of our clients, players are professionals. You know, there are some late high school players, there's some college players, but majority are professionals. Professionals from playing in low to mid major to high level teams all the way up to Euroleague and even NBA. So we have a range of players in a range of ages, but the common thing is that they are all fully committed to the game of basketball.

Alan: That's really cool, I love it. And I love that you're focused on basketball. Clearly that's your expertise and your background. And I also love that you've got that vision for the future to include all sports because it really is so applicable to every sport. That's amazing. So tell me about how you work with people. Is this something that obviously you can do virtually if you're working with people all over the world? And is it like really one-on-one or you have a program? What does that look like?

Anže: Yeah, so we have two options, right? So one option is a more virtual one. So it's like an online program, pre-recorded program that helps players. I spent a lot of hours doing that and it's very neatly put together. It's about eight to 10 weeks that it takes to go over that. And you get access to that program for life, you know, and pretty much be a part of our community for life. So that is one option because again, it depends. We have players who are just starting their pro career. Some are a bit younger financially. It's not that secure yet.

But then those players that earn very high figures most often - we also offer this to them, but most often they want to work one-on-one. And for that one-on-one, there are sessions online and in person, right? So I fly out to their games and see them play in person. And we have different steps we do to secure that we give them the best possible service. And of course, that one's a bit more personalized because it's one-on-one and you either get to work with me or with another coach who's a part of our company right now.

Alan: Cool, cool, that's awesome. So how can people get a hold of you if they're interested in joining one of your programs?

Anže: Yeah, so we just created, we just updated a website. It's called thehoopersawakening.com. So thehoopersawakening.com is where you can get all the information and read all about it. And yeah, reach out to us.

Alan: Excellent. Very cool, very cool. I will certainly put a link in the show notes as well, if anyone wants to check that out. Well, thank you so much for the enlightening conversation, AK. I'm excited for you and the growth of your business and all of your clients that are going to be benefiting from this. And I look forward to seeing you again soon.

Anže: Thank you so much, Alan. Thank you for the invitation.

Alan: Yeah, no problem. Take care.

Anže: Bye bye.