Timothy Ferriss's Blog, page 45

Matthew McConaughey on His Success Playbooks, the Powerful Philosophy of Greenlights, and Choosing the Paths Less Traveled (#474)

Illustration via 99designs

“If all we’re doing is asking ourselves questions, but never coming up with an answer, well, that can lead to some very imbalanced insanity at times.”

— Matthew McConaughey

Matthew McConaughey (@McConaughey) is a Texas native and one of Hollywood’s most sought-after leading men. A chance meeting in Austin with casting director and producer Don Phillips led him to director Richard Linklater, who launched the actor’s career in the cult classic Dazed and Confused. Since then, he has won an Academy Award for his portrayal of Ron Woodroof in Dallas Buyers Club, appeared in more than 40 feature films that have grossed more than $1 billion, and has become a producer, director, and philanthropist with his Just Keep Livin’ Foundation—all the while sticking to his Texas roots and “jk livin'” philosophy.

McConaughey also serves as creative director for Wild Turkey and has co-created his own bourbon, Longbranch. He serves as Minister of Culture/M.O.C. for the University of Texas Athletic Department and the Austin FC Soccer Club, where he is part owner. McConaughey will launch his first book, Greenlights, on October 20, 2020. He currently resides in Austin, Texas, with his wife Camilla and their three kids while he is a professor at the University of Texas in Austin.

Please enjoy!

Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Stitcher, Castbox, Google Podcasts, or on your favorite podcast platform.

Brought to you by Wealthfront automated investing, Helix Sleep mattresses, and Magic Spoon cereal.

The transcript of this episode can be found here. Transcripts of all episodes can be found here.

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#474: Matthew McConaughey on His Success Playbooks, The Powerful Philosophy of Greenlights, and Choosing The Paths Less Traveled
https://rss.art19.com/episodes/bf368b25-ad0b-436b-ad4d-7ebc05704ac8.mp3Download

This episode is brought to you by Wealthfront! Wealthfront pioneered the automated investing movement, sometimes referred to as ‘robo-advising,’ and they currently oversee $20 billion of assets for their clients. It takes about three minutes to sign up, and then Wealthfront will build you a globally diversified portfolio of ETFs based on your risk appetite and manage it for you at an incredibly low cost. 

Smart investing should not feel like a rollercoaster ride. Let the professionals do the work for you. Go to Wealthfront.com/Tim and open a Wealthfront account today, and you’ll get your first $5,000 managed for free, for life. Wealthfront will automate your investments for the long term. Get started today at Wealthfront.com/Tim.

This episode is brought to you by Helix Sleep! Helix was selected as the #1 best overall mattress pick of 2020 by GQ magazine, Wired, Apartment Therapy, and many others. With Helix, there’s a specific mattress for each and every body’s unique taste. Just take their quiz—only two minutes to complete—that matches your body type and sleep preferences to the perfect mattress for you. They have a 10-year warranty, and you get to try it out for a hundred nights, risk free. They’ll even pick it up from you if you don’t love it. And now, to my dear listeners, Helix is offering up to 200 dollars off all mattress orders plus two free pillows at HelixSleep.com/Tim.

This episode is brought to you by Magic Spoon cereal! Magic Spoon is a brand-new cereal that is low carb, high protein, and zero sugar. It tastes just like your favorite sugary cereal. Each serving has 12g of protein, 3g of net carbs, 0g of sugar, and only 110 calories. It’s also gluten free, grain free, keto friendly, soy free, and GMO free. And it’s delicious! It comes in your favorite, traditional cereal flavors like Cocoa, Frosted, and Blueberry.

Magic Spoon cereal has received a lot of attention since launching last year. Time magazine included it in their list of Best Inventions of 2019, and Forbes called it “the future of cereal.” My listeners—that’s you—get free shipping and a 100% happiness guarantee when you visit MagicSpoon.com/Tim and use code TIM.

What was your favorite quote or lesson from this episode? Please let me know in the comments.

SCROLL BELOW FOR LINKS AND SHOW NOTES…

Want to hear an episode with a friend Matthew and I have in common? Listen to my most recent conversation with Ryan Holiday in which we discuss using Stoicism to cope with pandemic lockdowns, managing fear when everything seems out of control, fast decisions versus rushed decisions, and much more.

#419: Ryan Holiday — How to Use Stoicism to Choose Alive Time Over Dead Timehttps://rss.art19.com/episodes/cbf0214e-5f23-4032-9a3a-f9ea2d530a02.mp3Download







SELECTED LINKS FROM THE EPISODE



Connect with Matthew McConaughey:

Official Greenlights Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram

Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey Just Keep Livin’ FoundationLongbranch | Wild TurkeyDallas Buyers Club | Prime VideoDazed and Confused | Prime VideoMatthew McConaughey: ‘My Agent Said No to Romcoms. And Then There Was Nothing’ | The GuardianMatthew McConaughey Was Voted ‘Most Handsome’ After Struggles with Acne | HuffPost IndiaThe Greatest Salesman in the World by Og MandinoDelta Tau DeltaThe Road Not Taken by Robert Frost | Poetry FoundationBest of the Goth Kids | South ParkDie Hard | Prime VideoStoicism Resources and Recommendations | tim.blogThe Obstacle Is the Way: The Timeless Art of Turning Trials into Triumph by Ryan HolidaySocratic Dialogue Definition and Examples | ThoughtCo.A Time To Kill | Prime VideoYes, Impostor Syndrome is Real: Here’s How to Deal With It | TimeMatthew McConaughey: My Baby Will Be a Surfer Dude, Too | PeopleHollywood Tried Really Hard to Keep Matthew McConaughey in Rom-Coms | CinemaBlendCreative Artists Agency (CAA)Killer Joe | Prime VideoThe Paperboy | Prime VideoMud | Prime VideoMagic Mike | Prime VideoBernie | Prime VideoTrue Detective: Season 1 | Prime Video



SHOW NOTES



Matthew comes from peddlin’ stock. What did his father peddle, and what is Matthew’s most vivid memory of him? [06:28]How did the thing Matthew’s mother peddled get him involved in a lengthy legal dispute that had the potential to change his family’s fortune? [08:41]Is it true that Matthew’s parents had an unusual marriage history, and that the words “hate” and “can’t” were forbidden in their household? What lesson did young Matthew learn on one occasion when he said “I can’t” to his father? [15:23]Why has The Greatest Salesman in the World by Og Mandino had such an impact on Matthew, and how did he serendipitously happen upon it while studying to be a lawyer? [18:06]Matthew’s 10 goals in life circa 1992, and what he was doing at that point in time. [26:52]What did Matthew mean specifically with goal number five: be an egotistical utilitarian? [31:45]Six: take more risks. Why? [33:42]Why did Matthew start using a diary, and what have been the benefits of doing it for decades? How has its purpose evolved over this span of time? [39:10]Why is Matthew’s new book titled Greenlights? [43:24]A million directions and eight options. Where to go first? Down dirt roads and autobahns, and maybe a footpath of Stoicism. [47:52]Was writing Greenlights in self-prescribed solitary confinement an act of penance? What did the process look like, and how does he address himself when he’s the only one around to talk to? What’s the most important thing to remember when you ask yourself questions? [55:57]The art of running downhill — like when your world’s become inverted by overnight fame and success. [1:00:47]How hard was it for Matthew to start saying “No” to roles he was no longer interested in playing when Hollywood had already typecast him as the rom-com guy — and financially rewarding him accordingly? [1:05:09]What practices helped Matthew get through the 22-month period it took to become “unbranded” as the rom-com guy in the eyes of Hollywood? [1:18:12]What misconceptions does the world have about Matthew that he’d like to clear up? [1:21:30]What would Matthew’s billboard say? [1:27:04]The galvanizing effects of Texas groundwater on optimal storytelling and other parting thoughts. [1:31:00]



PEOPLE MENTIONED



Richard LinklaterRon WoodroofCamila McConaugheyJim McConaugheyKay McConaugheyJerry HarrisCamisa SpringsOg MandinoS.R. BindlerMonnie WillsJohn WayneJesusJosh WaitzkinRobert FrostSergei EisensteinRyan HolidayMike TysonWilliam FriedkinLee DanielsJeff NicholsSteven SoderberghRooster McConaugheyPat McConaugheyMary Karr

Naval Ravikant on Happiness, Reducing Anxiety, Crypto Stablecoins, and Crypto Strategy (#473)

Illustration via 99designs

Proper examination should ruin the life that you’re currently living. It should cause you to leave relationships. It should cause you to reestablish boundaries with family members and with colleagues. It should cause you to quit your job. . . . If it doesn’t do that, it’s not real examination. If it doesn’t come attached with destruction of your current life, then you can’t create the new life in which you will not have the anxiety.

— Naval Ravikant

Naval Ravikant (@naval) is the co-founder and chairman of AngelList. He is an angel investor and has invested in more than 100 companies, including many mega-successes, such as Twitter, Uber, Notion, Opendoor, Postmates, and Wish. You can subscribe to Naval, his podcast on wealth and happiness, on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, or wherever you get your podcasts. You can also find his blog at nav.al.

For more Naval-plus-Tim, check out my wildly popular interview with him from 2015, which was nominated for “Podcast of the Year.”

Please enjoy!

Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Stitcher, Castbox, Google Podcasts, or on your favorite podcast platform.

Brought to you by Wealthfront automated investing, Tonal smart home gym, and ShipStation shipping software. More on all three below. 

The transcript of this episode can be found here. Transcripts of all episodes can be found here.

Listen onApple Podcasts



[image error]Listen onSpotify



[image error]Listen onOvercast


#473: Naval Ravikant on Happiness, Reducing Anxiety, Crypto Stablecoins, and Crypto Strategy
https://rss.art19.com/episodes/3a822b04-2b5b-4eaf-8c82-66d18c2e05a9.mp3Download

This episode is brought to you by Wealthfront! Wealthfront pioneered the automated investing movement, sometimes referred to as ‘robo-advising,’ and they currently oversee $20 billion of assets for their clients. It takes about three minutes to sign up, and then Wealthfront will build you a globally diversified portfolio of ETFs based on your risk appetite and manage it for you at an incredibly low cost. 

Smart investing should not feel like a rollercoaster ride. Let the professionals do the work for you. Go to Wealthfront.com/Tim and open a Wealthfront account today, and you’ll get your first $5,000 managed for free, for life. Wealthfront will automate your investments for the long term. Get started today at Wealthfront.com/Tim.

This episode is brought to you by Tonal! Tonal is the world’s most intelligent home gym and personal trainer. It is precision engineered and designed to be the world’s most advanced strength studio. Tonal uses breakthrough technology—like adaptive digital weights and A.I. learning—together with the best experts in resistance training so you get stronger, faster. Every program is personalized to your body using A.I., and smart features check your form in real time, just like a personal trainer.

Try Tonal, the world’s smartest home gym, for 30 days in your home, and if you don’t love it, you can return it for a full refund. Visit Tonal.com for $100 off their smart accessories when you use promo code TIM at checkout.

This episode is brought to you by ShipStation. Do you sell stuff online? Then you know what a pain the shipping process is. ShipStation was created to make your life easier. Whether you’re selling on eBay, Amazon, Shopify, or over 100 other popular selling channels, ShipStation lets you access all of your orders from one simple dashboard, and it works with all of the major shipping carriers, locally and globally, including FedEx, UPS, and USPS. 

Tim Ferriss Show listeners get to try ShipStation free for 60 days by using promo code TIM. There’s no risk, and you can start your free trial without even entering your credit card info. Just visit ShipStation.com, click on the microphone at the top of the homepage, and type in TIM!

What was your favorite quote or lesson from this episode? Please let me know in the comments.

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Want to learn more about cryptocurrency? Listen to the conversation Naval and I had with cryptographer Nick Szabo, in which we discuss the problems cryptocurrencies were designed to solve, wet versus dry code, quantum thought, future occupations, and the existential risks of blockchain governance.

#244: The Quiet Master of Cryptocurrency — Nick Szabohttps://rss.art19.com/episodes/30e669b9-67ac-41e7-b8b0-35ab10ead247.mp3Download







SELECTED LINKS FROM THE EPISODE



Connect with Naval Ravikant:

Website | Twitter

Naval Podcast | Apple PodcastsThe Almanack of Naval Ravikant: A Guide to Wealth and Happiness by Naval Ravikant, Edited by Eric JorgensonAngelListThe Person I Call Most for Startup Advice | The Tim Ferriss Show #97Naval Ravikant on Happiness Hacks and the 5 Chimps Theory | The Tim Ferriss Show #136The Lion of Olympic Weightlifting, 62-Year-Old Jerzy Gregorek (Also Featuring: Naval Ravikant) | The Tim Ferriss Show #228The Quiet Master of Cryptocurrency — Nick Szabo | The Tim Ferriss Show #244Tribe of Mentors — Naval Ravikant, Susan Cain, and Yuval Noah Harari | The Tim Ferriss Show #442Jamie Foxx on Workout Routines, Success Habits, and Untold Hollywood Stories | The Tim Ferriss Show #124“Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman”: Adventures of a Curious Character by Richard P. Feynman“What Do You Care What Other People Think?”: Further Adventures of a Curious Character by Richard P. FeynmanManhattan Project National Historical Park | US National Park ServiceWhat is Science? | Richard Feynman“The Opposite of Education Is Not Ignorance; It Is Education in Social Science.” | Nassim Nicholas Taleb, Twitter“It’s Much Easier to Bullshit at the Macro-Level Than It Is to Bullshit at the Micro-Level.” | Nassim Nicholas Taleb via Naval, TwitterScientific Method | Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyCited Richard Feynman Quotations | WikiquoteRichard Feynman on How His Father Taught Him about What Is Most Important | Brain PickingsGPT-3: A Robot Wrote This Entire Article. Are You Scared Yet, Human? | The GuardianA Brief History of the Grand Unified Theory of Physics | NautilusAn Intuitive Explanation of Solomonoff Induction | Less WrongSolomonoff Prediction and Occam’s Razor | Philosophy of ScienceThe Power of Myth — The Hero’s Adventure with Joseph Campbell and Bill Moyers | The Tim Ferriss Show #456RationalWikiHow to Get Rich (without Getting Lucky) | Naval, TwitterThe Mysterious/Unsolvable Zen Koans – Henry Shukman, Associate Master of Sanbo Zen | The Kevin Rose Show“Understand That Ethical Wealth Creation Is Possible. If You Secretly Despise Wealth, It Will Elude You.” | Naval, Twitter“You’re Not Going to Get Rich Renting Out Your Time. You Must Own Equity, a Piece of a Business, to Gain Your Financial Freedom.” | Naval, TwitterWhy You Should Learn to Code Even if You’re Not an Engineer | The MuseWarren Buffett Spends 8 Hours a Week Playing the ‘Only Game’ at Which He May Be Better than Bill Gates | CNBC MakeIt“Imagine How Effective You Would Be If You Weren’t Anxious All the Time.” | Naval, TwitterThe Evolution of Anxiety: Why We Worry and What to Do About It | James ClearSamurai: A Brief Guide to Samurai Culture | InsideJapan ToursThe Terminator | Prime VideoUnforgiven | Prime VideoPsychedelics — Microdosing, Mind-Enhancing Methods, and More | The Tim Ferriss Show #377TFRH: Meditation, Mindset, and Mastery | The Tim Ferriss Show #201“Meditation: The Art of Doing Nothing” | Naval, TwitterNaval Ravikant on Meditation | TUANVC7 Lessons from My First Week of Meditating an Hour a Day | Niklas Göke, MediumThe Way to Love: The Last Meditations of Anthony de Mello by Anthony de MelloAwareness: The Perils and Opportunities of Reality by Anthony de MelloSiddhartha: A Novel by Hermann HesseVasistha’s Yoga by Swami VenkatesanandaBhagavad Gita: A New Translation by Stephen MitchellTao Te Ching: A New English Version by Lao Tzu and Stephen MitchellThe Untethered Soul: The Journey Beyond Yourself by Michael A. SingerWhat is Inbox Zero? | Flow-eThink on These Things by Jiddu KrishnamurtiThe Book of Life: Daily Meditations with Krishnamurti by Jiddu KrishnamurtiThe Great Challenge by OshoLife Has No Goals, No Purpose by Osho | SoundCloudCounsels and Maxims by Arthur SchopenhauerDirect Truth: Uncompromising, Non-Prescriptive Truths to the Enduring Questions of Life by Kapil GuptaThe Tao of Seneca: Practical Letters from a Stoic Master by SenecaMoral Letters to Lucilius by Seneca | WikisourceCrypto Stablecoins: Choose Between Blowup Risk, Censorship Risk, and Fraud Risk | Naval, TwitterStablecoin Definition | InvestopediaTypes of Cryptocurrencies: Explaining the Major Types of Cryptos | Capital.comWhat Is DeFi? | CoinDeskCoinbaseCoinListComputerized Front Running: Another Goldman-Dominated Fraud | HuffPostFlash Boys: A Wall Street Revolt by Michael LewisSubprime Mortgage Crisis | Federal Reserve HistoryThere Ain’t No Such Thing as a Free Lunch (TANSTAAFL) | InvestopediaCryptos Are Digital Bearer Assets | Ultimate MoneyHow Swiss Bank Accounts Work | The BalanceTrust Makes the Difference Against the Coronavirus | The AtlanticA Primer On Reserve Currencies | InvestopediaWhat is the Gold Standard? | InvestopediaOdds of Monkeys Randomly Typing Hamlet or Shakespeare | The Mary Sue‘I Didn’t Buy It to Sell It. Ever.’ MicroStrategy CEO on Buying $425M of BTC | CoinDeskBitcoin Maximalism | InvestopediaBillionaire Paul Tudor Jones Would Buy More Bitcoin If He Really Understands It, Says Microstrategy CEO | News Bitcoin NewsQuantum Computers and Cryptocurrencies | Binance AcademyCovid-19 Economy Fuels Faith in Crypto: Trust In Bitcoin Over Banks Increased 3X Since 2017 | Bitcoin NewsInvestor Prospects for 2020 and the Wall Street Casino | Forbes“All Self-Help Boils Down to “Choose Long-Term over Short-Term.” | Naval, Twitter“The Modern Devil Is Cheap Dopamine.” | Naval, TwitterCompound Interest Calculator | Investor.gov“The First Rule of Handling Conflict Is: Don’t Hang Around People Who Constantly Engage in Conflict.” | NavalmanackWhat Self-Awareness Really Is (and How to Cultivate It) | Harvard Business Review“The Reason to Win the Game Is So That You Can Be Free of It.” | Naval, Twitter“Not Wanting Something Is as Good as Having It.” | Liad Shababo, TwitterFinite and Infinite Games by James CarseWisdom’s Folly: The Unexamined Life Is Not Worth Living | The Guardian



SHOW NOTES



Does Naval still agree to do this podcast — in spite of declining to appear as a guest on others — in hopes of capturing Podcast of the Year laurels that were snatched from his grasp by Jamie Foxx the first time around? [06:10]Who is the person currently featured in Naval’s Twitter profile, and how has he inspired us (and countless others)? [08:02]Why there’s no such thing as science with a capital S, and what Nassim Taleb recently said about what he considers to be the opposite of education, and what it’s easier to macro than micro. [11:32]The problems that arise — in humans and in AI — when jargon masquerades as knowledge, and where the most practical life lessons are really learned. [17:03]How to get rich (without getting lucky). [24:58]In what ways has Naval’s own journey followed the aforementioned tenets of getting rich without getting lucky, and why are get-rich-quick schemes for losers? [33:27]Where do most of Naval’s personal, pithy tweets take form? Example: “Imagine how effective you would be if you weren’t anxious all the time.” [39:10]How has Naval learned to cope with and take control of his own anxiety? [44:57]What should proper meditation give us the power to do? [48:58]The philosophers Naval reads before he goes to bed. [51:19]How Naval tries to process the thoughts that go through his head when he’s meditating. [52:25]What Naval’s daily meditation practice typically looks like, and why he considers it “sheer joy” even if he can’t explain in words exactly what “it” is. [54:50]Where might someone interested in checking out the philosophy that inspires Naval begin? [57:55]Naval and I agree that the reading of philosophy is especially effective as a way to counter the toxic effects of social media and current events. [59:42]“Crypto stablecoins: choose between blowup risk, censorship risk, and fraud risk.” What does this recent, cryptic tweet from Naval mean, and why does Naval believe that cryptocurrency has the potential to be “a whole new casino that’s better than Wall Street” in decentralized finance? [1:01:57]How might an absolute beginner make an informed entrance into the world of cryptocurrency? [1:10:27]How might cryptocurrency be utilized in the real world for practical purposes like paying rent, buying food, or hiring a contractor to put a new deck on your house? [1:17:12]What does Naval see as the future of cryptocurrency as it gets adopted more and more by mainstream investors? [1:21:46]What does all truly effective self-help boil down to? [1:30:06]If the modern Devil is cheap dopamine, what was the ancient Devil? Some musings on the compound interest of long-term thinking. [1:31:47]Why it’s important to forge relationships with people who don’t make your interactions seem like a job. Or, as the Navalmanack says, “The first rule of handling conflict is: don’t hang around people who constantly engage in conflict.” [1:36:14]The reason to win the game is so that you can be free of it. But what is the game, what does it take to be free from it, and is the key in realizing that not wanting something is as good as having it? [1:40:22]This quote from Richard Feynman reminds me of Naval: “The first principle is that you must not fool yourself, and you are the easiest person to fool.” How does Naval strive to ensure he’s not fooling himself, and what did he learn from a guy named Craig in Thailand about choosing happiness? [1:46:08]Parting thoughts. [1:54:16]



PEOPLE MENTIONED



Jamie FoxxRichard FeynmanDavid DeutschKarl PopperNassim Nicholas TalebAbraham LincolnMichael JordanRay SolomonoffWilliam of OckhamWarren BuffettCharlie MungerMiyamoto MusashiClint EastwoodSocratesAristotleArthur SchopenhauerOsho RajneeshJiddu KrishnamurtiKapil GuptaRupert SpiraAnthony de MelloMichael SingerStephen MitchellNick SzaboWilliam ShakespeareMichael SaylorPaul Tudor JonesJerzy GregorekElon MuskLiad ShababoJames CarseJesusTony Robbins

Books I’ve Loved — Debbie Millman (#472)

Photo by John Madere

Welcome to another episode of The Tim Ferriss Show, where it is my job to sit down with world-class performers of all different types—from startup founders and investors to chess champions to Olympic athletes. This episode, however, is an experiment and part of a shorter series I’m doing called “Books I’ve Loved.” I’ve invited some amazing past guests, close friends, and new faces to share their favorite books—the books that have influenced them, changed them, and transformed them for the better. I hope you pick up one or two new mentors—in the form of books—from this new series and apply the lessons in your own life.

Debbie Millman (@debbiemillman) has been named one of the most creative people in business by Fast Company and one of the most influential designers working today by Graphic Design USA. She is the host of Design Matters—a great show and one of the world’s longest running podcasts. She is also chair of the Masters in Branding Program at the School of Visual Arts in New York City and editorial director of Print magazine.

Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Stitcher, Castbox, Google Podcasts, or on your favorite podcast platform. 

This podcast is brought to you by Audible.

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#454: Books I've Loved — Debbie Millman
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“Books I’ve Loved” on The Tim Ferriss Show is brought to you by Audible. I have used Audible for many years now. I love it. Audible has the largest selection of audiobooks on the planet. I listen when I’m taking walks, I listen while I’m cooking… I listen whenever I can. Audible is offering The Tim Ferriss Show listeners a free audiobook with a 30-day trial membership. Just go to Audible.com/Tim and browse the unmatched selection of audio programs. Then, download your free title and start listening! It’s that easy. Simply go to Audible.com/Tim or text TIM to 500500 to get started today.

SELECTED LINKS FROM THE EPISODE



Connect with Debbie Millman:

Website | Design Matters Podcast | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook

The Little Golden Book of Words by Selma Lola Chambers The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman by Laurence Sterne The Voice That Is Great within Us: American Poetry of the Twentieth Century , edited by Hayden Carruth Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez Tibor Kalman: Perverse Optimist , edited by Peter Hall and Michael Bierut A General Theory of Love by Thomas Lewis, MD, Fari Amini, MD, and Richard Lannon, MD Pattern Recognition by William Gibson Brand Gap: How to Bridge the Distance Between Business Strategy and Design by Marty Neumeier Building Stories by Chris Ware Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body by Roxane Gay

Adam Grant — How to Remember Anything (#471)

Photo by Jack Hamilton on Unsplash.

“Those who can’t remember the past are doomed to miss opportunity.” 

—Adam Grant

Please enjoy this special episode of The Tim Ferriss Show, featuring the superhuman Adam Grant (@AdamMGrant) and his podcast with TED, WorkLife.

Many of you have heard my interview with Adam, which was one of the most popular interviews of 2019. I titled that podcast “The Man Who Does Everything” because Adam seems to accomplish more than the next 10 people combined, and he has built systems and habits that allow him to do this. 

Adam is an expert in how we can find motivation and meaning, and lead more generous and creative lives. He is an organizational psychologist at Wharton, where he has been the top-rated professor for seven straight years. He is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of four books that have been translated into 35 languages: Give and Take, Originals, Option B, and Power Moves. His TED talks have been viewed more than 20 million times. His speaking and consulting clients include Google, the NBA, and the Gates Foundation. He has been recognized as one of the world’s 10 most influential management thinkers, is one of Fortune’s 40 under 40, and a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader. He’s received distinguished scientific achievement awards from the American Psychological Association and the National Science Foundation. It goes on and on. The good news is that this isn’t all freakish genes and good luck; Adam uses uncommon tools and strategies for getting all of this done. You can find our previous episode about this at tim.blog/adamgrant. 

In Adam’s WorkLife podcast, he takes you inside the minds of some of the world’s most unusual professionals to explore the science of making work not suck; put another way, how do you make work actually work for you? 

Adam and I share an intense interest in just how far—and easily—you can train your memory to do things that seem impossible, and I wanted to share with you an episode from Adam’s podcast titled “How to remember anything.” It is highly tactical.

One last thing—for legal reasons, we didn’t have the flexibility to remove any mid-roll ads, so… Accenture, this one’s on me.

Please enjoy the episode! You can subscribe to WorkLife with Adam Grant wherever you get your podcasts.

Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Stitcher, Castbox, Google Podcasts, or on your favorite podcast platform.

This episode is brought to you by “5-Bullet Friday.”  

The transcript of this episode can be found here. Transcripts of all episodes can be found here.

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#471: Adam Grant — How to Remember Anything
https://rss.art19.com/episodes/a05fb521-ac0a-4616-9564-511162658754.mp3Download

This episode is also brought to you by “5-Bullet Friday,” my very own email newsletter, which every Friday features five bullet points of cool things I’ve found that week, including apps, books, documentaries, gadgets, albums, articles, TV shows, new hacks or tricks, and—of course—all sorts of weird stuff I’ve dug up from around the world. 

It’s free, it’s always going to be free, and you can subscribe now at tim.blog/friday.

Want to hear my interview with Adam Grant? Check out our conversation in which we explore the importance of feedback, how Adam gets so much done in a day, his measurements of success, and blind spots vs. bright spots.

#399: Adam Grant — The Man Who Does Everythinghttps://rss.art19.com/episodes/3a024b72-91de-4662-9f21-f98671be23ed.mp3Download

QUESTION OF THE DAY: What was your favorite quote or lesson from this episode? Please let me know in the comments.

SELECTED LINKS FROM THE EPISODE



Connect with Adam Grant:

Website | WorkLife Podcast | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram

Los Angeles RamsRams Head Coach Sean McVayJoshua Foer | WikipediaUSA Memory Championship | WikipediaMoonwalking with Einstein by Joshua FoerCicero | WikipediaGodden and Baddeley’s (1975) study of diversRecall of Briefly Presented Chess Positions and Its Relation to Chess SkillAndrew Hargadon, PhD, Professor of Technology Management, UC DavisOrganizational memory | WikipediaHerman MillerAmy Auscherman, archivist at Herman MillerBen Watson, chief creative officer of Herman Miller

Steven Rinella on Hunting (and Why You Should Care), Reconnecting with Nature, Favorite Trips, and More (#470)

Illustration via 99designs

Ask yourself, when you turn on your faucet and water comes out, where did that water come from? Did it fall as snow, rain? Where was it collected? Is it from an aquifer? What feeds the aquifer? Then ask yourself, when it goes down the drain, what is its path to where it hits the ocean?

— Steven Rinella

Steven Rinella (@MeatEater, @StevenRinella) is the host of the Netflix Originals series MeatEater and The MeatEater Podcast. He’s also the author of seven books dealing with wildlife, conservation, hunting, fishing, and wild foods, including the forthcoming The MeatEater Guide to Wilderness Skills and Survival, coming out on December 1st, 2020.

Please enjoy!

Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Stitcher, Castbox, Google Podcasts, or on your favorite podcast platform.

Brought to you by LinkedIn Jobs hiring platform, FreshBooks cloud-based small business accounting software, and Allform premium sofas. More on all three below. 

The transcript of this episode can be found here. Transcripts of all episodes can be found here.

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#470: Steven Rinella on Hunting (And Why You Should Care), Reconnecting with Nature, Favorite Trips, and Morehttps://rss.art19.com/episodes/efe0c1da-4355-4b8b-9cbe-ea5854c9c27d.mp3Download

This episode is brought to you by LinkedIn Jobs. Whether you are looking to hire now for a critical role or thinking about needs that you may have in the future, LinkedIn Jobs can help. LinkedIn screens candidates for the hard and soft skills you’re looking for and puts your job in front of candidates looking for job opportunities that match what you have to offer.

Using LinkedIn’s active community of more than 690 million professionals worldwide, LinkedIn Jobs can help you find and hire the right person faster. When your business is ready to make that next hire, find the right person with LinkedIn Jobs. You can pay what you want and get $50 off your first job. Just visit LinkedIn.com/Tim.

This episode is brought to you by FreshBooks. I’ve been talking about FreshBooks—an all-in-one invoicing + payments + accounting solution—for years now. Many entrepreneurs, as well as the contractors and freelancers that I work with, use it all the time.

FreshBooks makes it super easy to track things like expenses, project time, and client info, and then merge it all into great-looking invoices. FreshBooks can save users up to 200 hours a year on accounting and bookkeeping tasks. Right now FreshBooks is offering my listeners a free 30-day trial, and no credit card is required. Go to FreshBooks.com/Tim and enter “Tim Ferriss” in the “How did you hear about us?” section!

This episode is brought to you by Allform! If you’ve been listening to the podcast for a while, you’ve probably heard me talk about Helix Sleep mattresses, which I’ve been using since 2017. They just launched a new company called Allform, and they’re making premium, customizable sofas and chairs shipped right to your door — at a fraction of the cost of traditional stores.

You can pick your fabric (and they’re all spill, stain, and scratch resistant), the sofa color, the color of the legs, and the sofa size and shape to make sure it’s perfect for you and your home. Allform arrives in just 3–7 days, and you can assemble it yourself in a few minutes—no tools needed. To find your perfect sofa, check out Allform.com/Tim. Allform is offering 20% off all orders to you, my dear listeners, at Allform.com/Tim.

What was your favorite quote or lesson from this episode? Please let me know in the comments.

SCROLL BELOW FOR LINKS AND SHOW NOTES…

Want to hear an episode about wolf restoration efforts? Listen to my conversation with Turner Endangered Species Fund Executive Director Mike Phillips in which we discuss the pros and cons of predator reintroduction, radioactive wolves, the extinction crisis, what conservationists most often get wrong, and much more.

#383: Mike Phillips — How to Save a Specieshttps://rss.art19.com/episodes/b47b8a89-1ce5-41ad-9e39-abeea1e599d6.mp3Download







SELECTED LINKS FROM THE EPISODE



Connect with Steven Rinella:

Website | Facebook | Instagram: @MeatEater / @StevenRinella

The MeatEater Guide to Wilderness Skills and Survival by Steven Rinella (December 2020)MeatEater | NetflixThe MeatEater PodcastWhen I Went Caribou Hunting with Steven on MeatEater | tim.blogThe 4-Hour Chef: The Simple Path to Cooking Like a Pro, Learning Anything, and Living the Good Life by Timothy FerrissLe Guide Culinaire by Auguste EscoffierThe Scavenger’s Guide to Haute Cuisine: How I Spent a Year in the American Wild to Re-create a Feast from the Classic Recipes of French Master Chef Auguste Escoffier by Steven RinellaHunting in Wisconsin | Travel WisconsinHuron-Manistee National Forests | USDADecline In Hunters Threatens How US Pays for Conservation | NPREndangered Species Act | US Fish & Wildlife ServiceDeer Hunter Demography: Projecting Future Deer Hunters in Wisconsin | Applied Population Laboratory, University of Wisconsin in MadisonMigratory Bird Program | US Fish & Wildlife ServiceIt’s a Mistake to Focus Just on Animal Extinctions | The AtlanticCatch-22 by Joseph HellerTurkeys in Traffic – and Bears, Elk and Moose, Oh My! | Great Lakes EchoDucks UnlimitedRocky Mountain Elk FoundationThe National Wild Turkey FederationTrout UnlimitedPETA Finds Itself on Receiving End of Others’ Anger | The New York TimesThe Persuasive Power of the Wolf Lady | The New YorkerMike Phillips — How to Save a Species | The Tim Ferriss Show #383Rocky Mountain Wolf ProjectWolf Restoration at Yellowstone National Park | US National Park ServiceWhy We’re So Divided Over Saving Wolves | National GeographicSpotted Owl Became Symbol in 1990s Controversy | The Seattle TimesWhy Face Masks Became Political in the US | VoxTrue North: Alaska North Slope Caribou | MeatEater TVDEET Is the Most Effective Bug Spray. But Is It Safe? | TimeGrizzly Bear | National Wildlife FederationCaribou (Reindeer) | National GeographicThe Brooks Range | Travel AlaskaThe Revenant | Prime VideoHypothermia Symptoms and Causes | Mayo ClinicHorrible Details of Ted Stevens Crash Emerge | NPRComing into the Country by John McPheeOutdoor ChannelSportsman ChannelSon of the Morning Star: Custer and The Little Bighorn by Evan S. ConnellArctic Dreams by Barry H. LopezBoone: A Biography by Robert MorganStory of the Battle: Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument | US National Park ServiceCondemning Indigenous Hunting Practices: Are We Throwing Stones from Glass Houses? | Sentient MediaOde to the Lowly Tussock | Scientific American Blog NetworkCarharttCumberland Gap National Historical Park | US National Park ServiceAmerican Buffalo: In Search of a Lost Icon by Steven RinellaThe Extermination of the American Bison by William T. Hornaday | Project GutenbergMap Illustrating the Extermination of the American Bison | Library of CongressBison Skulls to be Used for Fertilizer, 1870 | Rare Historical PhotosGettin’ Jiggy by Steven Rinella | Outside OnlineDawn Patrol by Steven Rinella | Outside OnlineFitzcarraldo | Prime VideoBurden of Dreams | Prime VideoA Guide to Hunting Javelina | MeatEater HuntingWhite-Lipped Peccary Species May Be in Steep Decline | The New York TimesThis is Water by David Foster Wallace (Full Transcript and Audio) | Farnam StreetThe Sibley Guide to Birds by David Allen SibleyThe Seasons, the Equinox, and the Solstices | National Weather ServiceStreamflow and the Water Cycle | US Geological SurveyHow Does Garbage End Up in the Ocean? | Gorilla Bins



SHOW NOTES

Note from the editor: Timestamps will be added shortly.

The Anti-Hunter’s First Hunt: How Steven and I first met, and what he and his encyclopedic knowledge did to help me overcome a lifetime of negative association with hunting and hunters.Though he admittedly would have fit my negative stereotype of hunters when he was growing up in the Midwest, how did Steven make the transition into a more conscientious hunter-conservationist?Why Steven finds the decline in hunting and fishing license sales in the United States worrisome — and why even nature lovers who aren’t comfortable with the idea of hunting and fishing should share his concerns.For those in the back, what does “extirpate” mean from a conservation perspective?What is the role of hunters in ensuring prey species remain plentiful, and how do hunters tend to feel about the reintroduction of predator species (like wolves and bears) to environments from which they’ve been extirpated?The problem with conservation efforts that become overly politicized.That time Steven and I were visited by a hungry grizzly bear while caribou hunting in Alaska, and a rundown of some of the other grisly, less cinematic fates faced by people in the wilderness.Son of the Morning Star by Evan S. Connell, Arctic Dreams by Barry Lopez, and Boone by Daniel Morgan: why do these titles top Steven’s list of book recommendations?Acknowledging the devastating damage American hunters have historically wreaked on animal populations in the past — like the once-ubiquitous North American bison.When Steven’s plan A — to become a professional trapper — didn’t quite work out as a career, he had to go with plan B: writer. What was his first piece that sold, and why is he still mad about another piece’s title even 20 years later?Was Steven always an able writer, or was it something he gradually developed when he considered it as his plan B?What would Steven’s approach look like if he were to teach a college-level writing class?What writers craft work of such incredible quality that they inspire a sensation of envy in Steven?With more than 100 episodes of MeatEater under his belt and the travel adventures that made them possible, are there any that stand out as favorites to Steven?In what ways have Steven’s travels expanded his awareness?What would Steven recommend to someone seeking reconnection, engagement, and kinship with nature?Parting thoughts.



PEOPLE MENTIONED



Auguste EscoffierPat DurkinKarin VardamanMike PhillipsDave MechTed StevensJohn McPheeEvan S. ConnellBarry LopezRobert MorganGeorge Armstrong CusterChief GallDan DotyDaniel BooneDavy CrockettWilliam T. HornadayBob HeatonJoan DidionIan FrazierJohn McPheeDavid Foster WallaceWerner HerzogDavid Allen Sibley

Steven Rinella on Hunting (And Why You Should Care), Reconnecting with Nature, Favorite Trips, and More (#470)

Illustration via 99designs

Ask yourself, when you turn on your faucet and water comes out, where did that water come from? Did it fall as snow, rain? Where was it collected? Is it from an aquifer? What feeds the aquifer? Then ask yourself, when it goes down the drain, what is its path to where it hits the ocean?

— Steven Rinella

Steven Rinella (@MeatEater, @StevenRinella) is the host of the Netflix Originals series MeatEater and The MeatEater Podcast. He’s also the author of seven books dealing with wildlife, conservation, hunting, fishing, and wild foods, including the forthcoming The MeatEater Guide to Wilderness Skills and Survival, coming out on December 1st, 2020.

Please enjoy!

Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Stitcher, Castbox, Google Podcasts, or on your favorite podcast platform.

Brought to you by LinkedIn Jobs hiring platform, FreshBooks cloud-based small business accounting software, and Allform premium sofas. More on all three below. 

Listen onApple Podcasts



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#470: Steven Rinella on Hunting (And Why You Should Care), Reconnecting with Nature, Favorite Trips, and More
https://rss.art19.com/episodes/efe0c1da-4355-4b8b-9cbe-ea5854c9c27d.mp3Download

This episode is brought to you by LinkedIn Jobs. Whether you are looking to hire now for a critical role or thinking about needs that you may have in the future, LinkedIn Jobs can help. LinkedIn screens candidates for the hard and soft skills you’re looking for and puts your job in front of candidates looking for job opportunities that match what you have to offer.

Using LinkedIn’s active community of more than 690 million professionals worldwide, LinkedIn Jobs can help you find and hire the right person faster. When your business is ready to make that next hire, find the right person with LinkedIn Jobs. You can pay what you want and get $50 off your first job. Just visit LinkedIn.com/Tim.

This episode is brought to you by FreshBooks. I’ve been talking about FreshBooks—an all-in-one invoicing + payments + accounting solution—for years now. Many entrepreneurs, as well as the contractors and freelancers that I work with, use it all the time.

FreshBooks makes it super easy to track things like expenses, project time, and client info, and then merge it all into great-looking invoices. FreshBooks can save users up to 200 hours a year on accounting and bookkeeping tasks. Right now FreshBooks is offering my listeners a free 30-day trial, and no credit card is required. Go to FreshBooks.com/Tim and enter “Tim Ferriss” in the “How did you hear about us?” section!

This episode is brought to you by Allform! If you’ve been listening to the podcast for a while, you’ve probably heard me talk about Helix Sleep mattresses, which I’ve been using since 2017. They just launched a new company called Allform, and they’re making premium, customizable sofas and chairs shipped right to your door — at a fraction of the cost of traditional stores.

You can pick your fabric (and they’re all spill, stain, and scratch resistant), the sofa color, the color of the legs, and the sofa size and shape to make sure it’s perfect for you and your home. Allform arrives in just 3–7 days, and you can assemble it yourself in a few minutes—no tools needed. To find your perfect sofa, check out Allform.com/Tim. Allform is offering 20% off all orders to you, my dear listeners, at Allform.com/Tim.

What was your favorite quote or lesson from this episode? Please let me know in the comments.

SCROLL BELOW FOR LINKS AND SHOW NOTES…

Want to hear an episode about wolf restoration efforts? Listen to my conversation with Turner Endangered Species Fund Executive Director Mike Phillips in which we discuss the pros and cons of predator reintroduction, radioactive wolves, the extinction crisis, what conservationists most often get wrong, and much more.

#383: Mike Phillips — How to Save a Specieshttps://rss.art19.com/episodes/b47b8a89-1ce5-41ad-9e39-abeea1e599d6.mp3Download







SELECTED LINKS FROM THE EPISODE



Connect with Steven Rinella:

Website | Facebook | Instagram: @MeatEater / @StevenRinella

The MeatEater Guide to Wilderness Skills and Survival by Steven Rinella (December 2020)MeatEater | NetflixThe MeatEater PodcastWhen I Went Caribou Hunting with Steven on MeatEater | tim.blogThe 4-Hour Chef: The Simple Path to Cooking Like a Pro, Learning Anything, and Living the Good Life by Timothy FerrissLe Guide Culinaire by Auguste EscoffierThe Scavenger’s Guide to Haute Cuisine: How I Spent a Year in the American Wild to Re-create a Feast from the Classic Recipes of French Master Chef Auguste Escoffier by Steven RinellaHunting in Wisconsin | Travel WisconsinHuron-Manistee National Forests | USDADecline In Hunters Threatens How US Pays for Conservation | NPREndangered Species Act | US Fish & Wildlife ServiceDeer Hunter Demography: Projecting Future Deer Hunters in Wisconsin | Applied Population Laboratory, University of Wisconsin in MadisonMigratory Bird Program | US Fish & Wildlife ServiceIt’s a Mistake to Focus Just on Animal Extinctions | The AtlanticCatch-22 by Joseph HellerTurkeys in Traffic – and Bears, Elk and Moose, Oh My! | Great Lakes EchoDucks UnlimitedRocky Mountain Elk FoundationThe National Wild Turkey FederationTrout UnlimitedPETA Finds Itself on Receiving End of Others’ Anger | The New York TimesThe Persuasive Power of the Wolf Lady | The New YorkerMike Phillips — How to Save a Species | The Tim Ferriss Show #383Rocky Mountain Wolf ProjectWolf Restoration at Yellowstone National Park | US National Park ServiceWhy We’re So Divided Over Saving Wolves | National GeographicSpotted Owl Became Symbol in 1990s Controversy | The Seattle TimesWhy Face Masks Became Political in the US | VoxTrue North: Alaska North Slope Caribou | MeatEater TVDEET Is the Most Effective Bug Spray. But Is It Safe? | TimeGrizzly Bear | National Wildlife FederationCaribou (Reindeer) | National GeographicThe Brooks Range | Travel AlaskaThe Revenant | Prime VideoHypothermia Symptoms and Causes | Mayo ClinicHorrible Details of Ted Stevens Crash Emerge | NPRComing into the Country by John McPheeOutdoor ChannelSportsman ChannelSon of the Morning Star: Custer and The Little Bighorn by Evan S. ConnellArctic Dreams by Barry H. LopezBoone: A Biography by Robert MorganStory of the Battle: Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument | US National Park ServiceCondemning Indigenous Hunting Practices: Are We Throwing Stones from Glass Houses? | Sentient MediaOde to the Lowly Tussock | Scientific American Blog NetworkCarharttCumberland Gap National Historical Park | US National Park ServiceAmerican Buffalo: In Search of a Lost Icon by Steven RinellaThe Extermination of the American Bison by William T. Hornaday | Project GutenbergMap Illustrating the Extermination of the American Bison | Library of CongressBison Skulls to be Used for Fertilizer, 1870 | Rare Historical PhotosGettin’ Jiggy by Steven Rinella | Outside OnlineDawn Patrol by Steven Rinella | Outside OnlineFitzcarraldo | Prime VideoBurden of Dreams | Prime VideoA Guide to Hunting Javelina | MeatEater HuntingWhite-Lipped Peccary Species May Be in Steep Decline | The New York TimesThis is Water by David Foster Wallace (Full Transcript and Audio) | Farnam StreetThe Sibley Guide to Birds by David Allen SibleyThe Seasons, the Equinox, and the Solstices | National Weather ServiceStreamflow and the Water Cycle | US Geological SurveyHow Does Garbage End Up in the Ocean? | Gorilla Bins



SHOW NOTES

Note from the editor: Timestamps will be added shortly.

The Anti-Hunter’s First Hunt: How Steven and I first met, and what he and his encyclopedic knowledge did to help me overcome a lifetime of negative association with hunting and hunters.Though he admittedly would have fit my negative stereotype of hunters when he was growing up in the Midwest, how did Steven make the transition into a more conscientious hunter-conservationist?Why Steven finds the decline in hunting and fishing license sales in the United States worrisome — and why even nature lovers who aren’t comfortable with the idea of hunting and fishing should share his concerns.For those in the back, what does “extirpate” mean from a conservation perspective?What is the role of hunters in ensuring prey species remain plentiful, and how do hunters tend to feel about the reintroduction of predator species (like wolves and bears) to environments from which they’ve been extirpated?The problem with conservation efforts that become overly politicized.That time Steven and I were visited by a hungry grizzly bear while caribou hunting in Alaska, and a rundown of some of the other grisly, less cinematic fates faced by people in the wilderness.Son of the Morning Star by Evan S. Connell, Arctic Dreams by Barry Lopez, and Boone by Daniel Morgan: why do these titles top Steven’s list of book recommendations?Acknowledging the devastating damage American hunters have historically wreaked on animal populations in the past — like the once-ubiquitous North American bison.When Steven’s plan A — to become a professional trapper — didn’t quite work out as a career, he had to go with plan B: writer. What was his first piece that sold, and why is he still mad about another piece’s title even 20 years later?Was Steven always an able writer, or was it something he gradually developed when he considered it as his plan B?What would Steven’s approach look like if he were to teach a college-level writing class?What writers craft work of such incredible quality that they inspire a sensation of envy in Steven?With more than 100 episodes of MeatEater under his belt and the travel adventures that made them possible, are there any that stand out as favorites to Steven?In what ways have Steven’s travels expanded his awareness?What would Steven recommend to someone seeking reconnection, engagement, and kinship with nature?Parting thoughts.



PEOPLE MENTIONED



Auguste EscoffierPat DurkinKarin VardamanMike PhillipsDave MechTed StevensJohn McPheeEvan S. ConnellBarry LopezRobert MorganGeorge Armstrong CusterChief GallDan DotyDaniel BooneDavy CrockettWilliam T. HornadayBob HeatonJoan DidionIan FrazierJohn McPheeDavid Foster WallaceWerner HerzogDavid Allen Sibley

Dr. Mark Plotkin on Ethnobotany, Real vs. Fake Shamans, Hallucinogens, and the Dalai Lamas of South America (#469)

Dr. Mark Plotkin with a Waura shaman, Xingu, Brazil

“Hallucinogens are vegetal scalpels, and scalpels can heal you and scalpels can hurt you. They are the vegetal or fungal two-edged swords.”

— Dr. Mark Plotkin

Dr. Mark Plotkin (@DocMarkPlotkin) is an ethnobotanist who serves as president of the Amazon Conservation Team, which has partnered with 55 tribes to map and improve management and protection of 80 million acres of ancestral rainforests. Educated at Harvard, Yale, and Tufts, Plotkin has since spent much of the past four decades studying the shamans and healing plants of tropical America from Mexico to Argentina, although much of his work focuses on the rainforests of the northeast Amazon. He is best known to the general public as the author of the book Tales of a Shaman’s Apprentice, one of the most popular books about the rainforest. His new book from Oxford Press is The Amazon: What Everyone Needs to Know.

His upcoming podcast series is titled Plants of the Gods: Hallucinogens: Culture, Conservation, History and Healing, and it will be coming out in late October. More information will be available on Mark’s website.

Please enjoy!

Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Stitcher, Castbox, Google Podcasts, or on your favorite podcast platform.

Brought to you by Wondery Plus, Four Sigmatic, and Theragun. More on all three below. 

Listen onApple Podcasts



[image error]Listen onSpotify



[image error]Listen onOvercast


#469: Dr. Mark Plotkin on Ethnobotany, Real vs. Fake Shamans, Hallucinogens, and the Dalai Lamas of South America
https://rss.art19.com/episodes/53ff9b3d-96ca-40bb-b3c8-58d34ccb1936.mp3Download

This episode is brought to you by Wondery Plus! People always ask me what podcasts I listen to, and the truth is… I don’t listen to many, given all the projects I’m working on. One exception is Business Wars from the podcast network Wondery. One great way to listen to it is with a Wondery Plus membership, which allows you to enjoy Business Wars one week before the episodes are available anywhere else and ad free.

Check out  Wondery Plus  today with this exclusive offer for listeners of this podcast:  get 25% off a one-year membership at WonderyPlus.com/Tim .

This podcast is brought to you by Four Sigmatic and their delicious mushroom coffee, featuring lion’s mane and Chaga. It tastes like coffee, but there are only 40 milligrams of caffeine, so it has less than half of what you would find in a regular cup of coffee. I do not get any jitters, acid reflux, or any type of stomach burn. It’s organic and keto friendly, plus every single batch is third-party lab tested.

You can try it right now by going to FourSigmatic.com/Tim and using the code TIM. You will receive up to 39% off on the lion’s mane coffee bundle.  Simply visit FourSigmatic.com/Tim. If you are in the experimental mindset, I do not think you’ll be disappointed. 

This episode is brought to you by Theragun! Theragun is my go-to solution for recovery and restoration. It’s a famous, handheld percussive therapy device that releases your deepest muscle tension. I own two Theraguns, and my girlfriend and I use them every day after workouts and before bed. The all-new Gen 4 Theragun has a proprietary brushless motor that’s surprisingly quiet. It’s easy to use and about as quiet as an electric toothbrush.

Go to  Theragun.com/TIM  right now and get your Gen 4 Theragun today, starting at only $199.

What was your favorite quote or lesson from this episode? Please let me know in the comments.

SCROLL BELOW FOR LINKS AND SHOW NOTES…

Want to hear another episode with someone seeking to understand humanity’s relationship with the natural world’s unknown variables? Listen to my conversation with Paul Stamets, an intellectual and industry leader in the habitat, medicinal use, and production of fungi.

#340: Paul Stamets — How Mushrooms Can Save You and (Perhaps) the Worldhttps://rss.art19.com/episodes/a347d207-3697-4540-a7fd-5f5344067421.mp3Download







SELECTED LINKS FROM THE EPISODE



Connect with Dr. Mark Plotkin:

Website | Amazon Conservation Team | Twitter | Facebook

Tales of a Shaman’s Apprentice: An Ethnobotanist Searches for New Medicines in the Amazon Rain Forest by Mark J. PlotkinThe Amazon: What Everyone Needs to Know by Mark J. PlotkinThe Amazonian Travels of Richard Evans Schultes | The Amazon Conservation TeamThese 100-Year-Old Glass Flowers Are So Accurate, They Rival the Real Thing | ArtsyThe World’s Largest Psychedelic Research Center | The Tim Ferriss Show #385What Is Ayahuasca? Experience, Benefits, and Side Effects | HealthlineMedical Benefits of Magic Mushrooms | HealthlinePlants of the Gods: Their Sacred, Healing, and Hallucinogenic Powers by Richard Evans Schultes, Albert Hofmann, and Christian RätschEthnobotany: A Living Science for Alleviating Human Suffering | Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative MedicineThe Lost Amazon: The Pioneering Expeditions of Richard Evans Schultes by Wade Davis and Richard Evans SchultesThe Yucuna Indians (or Yukuna) | Laurent FontaineFrench Guiana, South America | Lonely PlanetSong of Myself, 51 by Walt Whitman | Academy of American PoetsIndiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark | Prime VideoMedicine Man | Prime VideoUse of Curanderismo in a Public Health Care System | JAMA Internal MedicinePeople in the Amazon Rainforest | Mongabay | The New York TimesMark Plotkin: What the People of the Amazon Know That You Don’t | TED 2014Ayurveda: A Brief Introduction and Guide | The Ayurvedic InstituteThe Iconic Electric Eel Is Actually Three Species | The AtlanticAmazon Tragedy Repeats Itself as Brazil Rainforest Goes Up in Smoke | The GuardianAmazon River Dolphin | Whale and Dolphin ConservationPink River Dolphins Of The Amazon Rainforest’s Hunting Secret | BBC EarthThe International Ecotourism SocietyWhat Is Yopo? | Zamnesia BlogThe Yanomami: An Isolated Yet Imperiled Amazon Tribe | The Washington PostPaint It, Black by The Rolling StonesA Forgotten Adventure With a Telepathic Tribe | National GeographicMatsés | WikipediaThis Amazonian Tree Frog’s Poison Has Become Part of the Latest Supercleanse Trend | ABC NewsTapirs | National GeographicThe Use of the Genus Virola as a Hallucinogen In South America | Ethnobotanical LeafletsAnadenanthera Colubrina | WikipediaBurning ManShamanism | WikipediaAyahuasca: Shamanism Shared Across Cultures | Cultural SurvivalMichael Pollan — Exploring The New Science of Psychedelics | The Tim Ferriss Show #313Michael Pollan — Exploring the Frontiers of Psychedelics | The Tim Ferriss Show #365How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of Psychedelics Teaches Us About Consciousness, Dying, Addiction, Depression, and Transcendence by Michael PollanCanadian Lynched in Peru After Being Accused of Shaman’s Death | The GuardianSurvey of Subjective “God Encounter Experiences” | Roland Griffiths, PLOS OneChiric Sanango | Gastro ObscuraDraculin, Stroke Drug from Vampire Bats, Moves Closer to Circulation | Discover MagazineWorld Wildlife FundFrom Snake Venom to Ace Inhibitor — The Discovery and Rise of Captopril | The Pharmaceutical JournalThe Flying Death and Other Adventures in Anesthesia | Brought to LightSouth America’s Inca Civilization Was Better at Skull Surgery than Civil War Doctors | ScienceShaman and Apprentice Program | GlobalGivingIndians Are Key to Rainforest Conservation Efforts Says Renowned Ethnobotanist | MongabayACT Raises $35,000 for The Trio Indian Shaman’s Encyclopedia | Amazon Conservation TeamACT President Dr. Mark Plotkin Speaks with Members of the Trio Tribe in Suriname | ACT United States7 Proven Health Benefits of Brazil Nuts | HealthlineCOVID-19 Fears Grow for Indigenous South Americans as Yanomami Teen Tests Positive | The GuardianMaroon Communities in the Americas | Slavery and RemembranceRoots: The Complete Miniseries | Prime VideoTop 10 Rainforest Aphrodisiacs | ListverseHow I Discovered Viagra | Cosmos MagazineLandmark Agreement Between Samoa and UC Berkeley Could Help Search for Aids Cure | UC Berkeley NewsEnsuring Equitable Benefits: The Falealupo Covenant and the Isolation of Anti-Viral Drug Prostratin from a Samoan Medicinal Plant | Pharmaceutical BiologyJaguar Health: Plant-Based Prescription MedicinesA Novel Extract SB-300 from the Stem Bark Latex of Croton Lechleri Inhibits CTFR-Mediated Chloride Secretion in Human Colonic Epithelial Cells | Journal of EthnopharmacologyAkurio People | WikipediaCoronavirus and Conservation: Preventing the Next Pandemic | Mark Plotkin, Los Angeles Review of BooksHow a West African Shaman Helped My Schizophrenic Son in a Way Western Medicine Couldn’t | The Washington PostWhat Colombia’s Kogi People Can Teach Us About the Environment | The GuardianBellavista No More: Peru’s Infamous Wildlife Market Reduced to Rubble | Mongabay‘Wet Markets’ Launched the Coronavirus. Here’s What You Need to Know. | National GeographicKumbaya: History of an Old Song | Folklife TodayList of Viral Hemorrhagic Fevers (VHFs) | CDCSkoll FoundationUnited Nations Conference on Environment and Development (Earth Summit) | BritannicaGeorge Bush, Sr. at Rio Earth Summit | C-SPAN.orgCuban Leader Fidel Castro Speech at Rio Environmental Conference | Educational Video GroupJacques Cousteau Criticizes Nations for Ignoring Environmental Dangers | UPIForging a New, Bipartisan Environmental Movement | Newt Gingrich and Terry L. Maple, Issues in Science and TechnologyMazatec Perspectives on the Globalization of Psilocybin Mushrooms | ChacrunaShipibo-Konibo Indigenous Culture | PeruNorth.com6 Modern Societies Where Women Rule | Mental FlossXingu Peoples | WikipediaWayana | Indigenous Peoples in BrazilThe Wai Wai Tribe | Guyana Then And NowEvidence of Yanomami ‘Violence’ Relies on False Data, New Paper Reveals | Survival InternationalBlack Lives Matter



SHOW NOTES

Note from the editor: Timestamps will be added shortly.

Who is Richard Evans Schultes, how does his story cross paths with Mark’s, and what is ethnobotany?When and how did Mark’s interest in ethnobotany begin? When was the moment he knew he was hooked?What was the next step for Mark in making a career out of this interest?In what way was Schultes a “trickster” in the shamanic tradition, and was he the template for Indiana Jones?There are between three- to five-hundred indigenous cultures in the Amazon, with an equally diverse array of healing traditions. Here’s how a shaman in the northeastern part of the Amazon cured Mark’s foot pain instantly when no one else could.What does Mark see as the “holes” in Western medicine’s understanding?On electric eels, pink dolphins, fires in the Amazon, and an urgency to protect the unknown before we destroy it forever — whether or not it has practical applications.Ayahuasca may get all the hype, but it’s only used by a small percentage of shamans in the Amazon. Mark talks about hallucinogenic frogs used for hunting magic and a psychedelic snuff called yopo.Mark considers yopo his favorite Amazonian hallucinogen, but how does it compare to ayahuasca?To Mark, what qualifies someone as a “shaman?”What has compelled Mark’s 87 experiences with ayahuasca? What’s to be learned beyond the first few times of trying it?What are the risks of doing ayahuasca and other Amazon-derived hallucinogens? Aren’t they all natural and harmless?That time Mark got bitten by a vampire bat and bled like a stuck pig thanks to an anticoagulant in its saliva called — no kidding — draculin.How the Amazon Conservation Team’s Shaman’s Apprentice clinics aim to preserve knowledge of obscure compounds (and their sources) when traditions are eclipsed by the temptations of the outside world for younger people among indigenous populations.How Mark and his team have used technology to help the indigenous people of the Amazon protect their land, resources, health, and culture rather than entice them away from them.What Mark did to illustrate for the chief of a tribe the importance of keeping a written record of their collective knowledge for future generations, and why he insists on leaving it untranslated from their native language.When Western expertise insisted that there was no such thing as a male aphrodisiac, but shamans in the Amazon knew otherwise.Do indigenous tribes ever profit from introducing their knowledge of preciously guarded compounds to the outside world?Mark details two common failures in sustainable development, and one success story.Is there anything in Mark’s experience in the Amazon that might help prevent future pandemics? What do the people who live there and in other remote areas know that we in the West haven’t seemed to wrap our heads around?What official policies would Mark like to see put in place to protect the world’s remaining wildlife, natural resources, and indigenous people?Does Mark see the Amazon rainforest as a glass that’s half-empty, or half-full?As a boundary walker who’s been good at finding common ground between disparate causes, what does Mark see as the way toward bipartisan support for the Amazon Conservation Team’s mission?How common are matriarchal societies and female shaman among the Amazon’s indigenous people?Among tribes with which Mark has spent time, how often are hallucinogens used specifically for hunting and/or warfare?How can those of us in the West who benefit from compounds derived from the Amazon ensure they’re sourced responsibly and not being outright stolen from the people who live there without any type of reciprocation? How can we help people who don’t necessarily benefit from just having a bunch of money thrown at their problems?Mark shares the story of how a shaman healed one of his old wounds 13 years ago with no recurrence — where Western physicians had only failed before.Parting thoughts.



PEOPLE MENTIONED



Richard Evans SchultesTim PlowmanWade DavisAlan GinsburgE.O. WilsonAlbert HofmannChristian RätschLouis PasteurWalt WhitmanIndiana JonesSean ConneryCarl LinnaeusAlessandro VoltaNapoleon ChagnonLoren McIntyrePeter GormanMalcolm XTarzanJimmy CarterDon LaureanoJean-Claude Van DammeMichael PollanRoland GriffithsPaul CoxSteven KingDalai LamaCoyoteRavenJeff SkollTeddy RooseveltRichard NixonGeorge H.W. BushFidel Castro

Books I’ve Loved — Cal Fussman (#468)

Welcome to another episode of The Tim Ferriss Show, where it is my job to sit down with world-class performers of all different types—from startup founders and investors to chess champions to Olympic athletes. This episode, however, is an experiment and part of a shorter series I’m doing called “Books I’ve Loved.” I’ve invited some amazing past guests, close friends, and new faces to share their favorite books—the books that have influenced them, changed them, and transformed them for the better. I hope you pick up one or two new mentors—in the form of books—from this new series and apply the lessons in your own life.

Cal Fussman (@calfussman) is a New York Times bestselling author, longtime Esquire writer, and the host of the podcast Big Questions with Cal Fussman.

Cal has transformed oral history into an art form, conducting probing interviews with the icons who’ve shaped the last 50 years of world history: Mikhail Gorbachev, Jimmy Carter, Ted Kennedy, Jeff Bezos, Richard Branson, Jack Welch, Robert DeNiro, Clint Eastwood, Bruce Springsteen, Dr. Dre, Quincy Jones, Woody Allen, Barbara Walters, Pelé, Yao Ming, Serena Williams, John Wooden, Muhammad Ali, and countless others.

Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Stitcher, Castbox, Google Podcasts, or on your favorite podcast platform. 

This podcast is brought to you by Audible.

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#468: Books I've Loved — Cal Fussman
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This episode is brought to you by Audible. I have used Audible for many years now. I love it. Audible has the largest selection of audiobooks on the planet. I listen when I’m taking walks, I listen while I’m cooking… I listen whenever I can. Audible is offering The Tim Ferriss Show listeners a free audiobook with a 30-day trial membership. Just go to Audible.com/Tim and browse the unmatched selection of audio programs. Then, download your free title and start listening! It’s that easy. Simply go to Audible.com/Tim or text TIM to 500500 to get started today.

SELECTED LINKS FROM THE EPISODE

Connect with Cal Fussman:

Website | Twitter | Instagram | Podcast

The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo

Spark Joy: An Illustrated Masterclass on the Art of Organizing and Tidying Up by Marie Kondo

Dustin Yellin on Making Art, Weaving Madness, and Forging Your Own Path (#467)

Illustration via 99designs

“I don’t worry about inspiration as much as system overload.”

— Dustin Yellin

Dustin Yellin (@dustinyellin) is an artist who lives in Brooklyn, New York, and is the founder and director of Pioneer Works, a multidisciplinary cultural center in Red Hook, Brooklyn, that builds community through the arts and sciences to create an open and inspired world. He and his incredible work have been featured by media and organizations including the New York Times, Artforum, Vanity Fair, and TED.

Drawing on both modernism and the sacred tradition of Hinterglas painting, Yellin primarily works through a unique form of three-dimensional photomontage, in which paint and images clipped from various print media are embedded within laminated glass sheets to form grand pictographic allegories, which Dustin calls “frozen cinema.” These totemic and kaleidoscopic works often plumb the history and fate of human consciousness within the Anthropocene.

Dustin’s art has been exhibited at or with the Amorepacific Museum, Brooklyn Museum, City Museum, Colección Solo, Corning Museum of Glass, The Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Museo Del Palacio de Bellas Artes, SCAD Museum of Art, Tacoma Museum, and Creative Time, among many others. He holds an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from the Savannah College of Art and Design.

Please enjoy!

P.S. See the slideshow below for some of his incredible work. All images are courtesy of the artist and are shared with permission.

Dustin Yellin, Studio Installation, View I 2020Dustin Yellin, Studio Installation, View II (2020)Dustin Yellin, Studio Installation, View III (2020)Dustin Yellin, Politics of Eternity Installation, View (2020)Dustin Yellin, Politics of Eternity, Detail IDustin Yellin, Lincoln Center Installation, View I (2015)

Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Stitcher, Castbox, Google Podcasts, or on your favorite podcast platform.

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#467: Dustin Yellin on Making Art, Weaving Madness, and Forging Your Own Path
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What was your favorite quote or lesson from this episode? Please let me know in the comments.

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Want to hear an episode with another artist/explorer who also believes in collaboration over competition? Be sure to listen to my conversation with David Yarrow in which we discuss breaching great white sharks, being spat on by John McEnroe, FIGJAM, ghost towns, capturing Diego Maradona in his element, and much more.

#443: David Yarrow on Art, Markets, Business, and Combining It Allhttps://rss.art19.com/episodes/a1132668-dd2b-45be-8ea0-a08ad284800f.mp3Download







SELECTED LINKS FROM THE EPISODE



Connect with Dustin Yellin:

Website | Pioneer Works | Instagram

SwatchNew Zealand | HitchwikiLed ZeppelinPink FloydWoodstockMagic Mushrooms in Thailand | Jones Around the WorldPicasso Baby (A Performance Art Film) by Jay-Z | Universal MusicTelluride, COLSD (Acid) | Drugs.comKetamine | Drugs.comAltered States | Prime VideoFloating in the Dead Sea | DeadSea.comSensory Deprivation Tank Benefits, Effects, and Risks | Medical News TodayHandycam | WikipediaAbstract Expressionism | The Metropolitan Museum of ArtBBar and GrillSpy Bar Reunion | Guest of a GuestGraham Duncan — Talent Is the Best Asset Class | The Tim Ferriss Show #362The Seven Daughters of Eve: The Science That Reveals Our Genetic Ancestry by Bryan SykesThe Crack-Up (Video) | Dustin YellinThe Crack-Up by F. Scott FitzgeraldChelsea Piers Golf ClubBelvedere Castle | Central Park Conservancy13 Things to Know Before Visiting Bocas Del Toro, Panama | Hippie In HeelsThe Doors of Perception by Aldous HuxleyDustin Yellin’s Art Factory in Brooklyn Aims to Be a Cultural Utopia | Vanity FairBooks by Tom ReissDustin Yellin’s Modern Community-Building | The New York TimesFitzcarraldo | Prime VideoBad Boy Bubby | Prime VideoThe Color of Pomegranates (English Subtitled) | Prime VideoBeing There | Prime VideoHarold and Maude | Prime VideoSculpting in Time: Tarkovsky the Great Russian Filmmaker Discusses His Art by Andrey TarkovskyBurden of Dreams | Prime VideoMania vs. Hypomania: What’s the Difference? | HealthlineSizzler Family RestaurantsThe Basics of LiDAR: Light Detection and Ranging | NSF NEONPsychogeographies | Dustin YellinTerra Cotta Soldiers on the March | Smithsonian MagazineAbout Emperor Qin’s Terra Cotta Army | National GeographicStar Wars: The Real Reason Han Solo Was Frozen In Carbonite | Screen RantJoseph Cornell: Pioneer of Assemblage Art | Royal Academy of ArtsNeuroscience as Neuroart | American ScientistAlex Gendler: The Myth of Sisyphus | TED-EdBrain PickingsThe Tail End | Wait But WhyThe Test of a First-Rate Intelligence is the Ability to Hold Two Opposed Ideas in the Mind at the Same Time | Quote InvestigatorImagine the End of the Oil Supertanker Era | ReutersHow Arup Became the Go-To Firm for the Most Ambitious Projects of Our Time | Metropolis



SHOW NOTES

Note from the editor: Timestamps will be added shortly.

Why did self-described late-bloomer Dustin go hitchhiking around New Zealand, Australia, and Thailand after dropping out of high school, and what did it expose him to for the first time in his life?Where did Dustin get his entrepreneurial hustle?Who was the mad physicist Dustin met upon returning to Colorado from his travels abroad, and what did he learn from him?How did Dustin start creating his own art, and what has he gotten from the process? In what ways do science and art connect for him?How did Dustin’s Altered States-adjacent experiences in Colorado lead him to New York City, and how did he make ends meet once there?How Dustin’s natural hustle inspired marketing his art like “a plague” to turn it into a viable source of income over time.On The Crack-Up and Dustin’s need to rescue Zelda Fitzgerald.Was Dustin’s Crack-Up-documented psychotic break precipitated by something specific, and has he ever gone so far to the shore of chaos and psychosis that he’s scared himself?In Dustin’s estimation, what makes a good storyteller, and who does he consider to be outstanding in this field?Has Dustin found anything outside of hallucinogens to widen his mind’s aperture to perceiving more of the hidden world?How has Dustin been lucky enough to not only survive, but thrive while tapping into the sometimes life-threatening currents of chaos?What are the creative benefits of working from an anti-competitive angle, and what does this look like in the real world?Why doesn’t Dustin worry about finding inspiration — and what does he feel is a more valid concern?How does Dustin alleviate the effects of system overload?Dustin is a film buff. Here are some of his top recommendations.What is Pioneer Works, and how has it evolved over time to become what it is today?How did Dustin secure the massive funding needed to grow Pioneer Works beyond its “original shithole” beginnings?Dustin is a manic artist, but is he also a manic business manager? Maybe the secret is in thinking of Pioneer Works as a piece of art.What keeps Dustin tethered to the aim of progress — especially when he’s feeling a bit overwhelmed?How did Dustin make the transition from being an artist who would give away his art for “exposure” to an artist who can sell his art for enough to take everyone he knows to Sizzler thousands of times over?The three questions Dustin asks himself about any new piece of art he creates.What are psychogeographies, and what styles and trials led to their creation?What are some of the common mistakes Dustin sees aspiring artists making?What would Dustin do if he found himself and his studio suddenly bankrupt?Dustin describes his newest, almost-bankrupting creation: The Politics Of Eternity.Exploring how the death of one of Dustin’s mentors affected the course of his life, and what we might gain by examining our own thoughts on death.A question on the lighter side: how did Dustin end up dancing in a Jay-Z video?What would Dustin’s billboard say?What’s Dustin’s current project — involving a supertanker — about?What does Dustin see as the value in making a daily effort to wake up with a mental blank slate? Does he find it intimidating, overwhelming, invigorating, or something else?Parting thoughts.



PEOPLE MENTIONED



Jackie YellinAdam TromblyNikola TeslaBuckminster FullerPablo NerudaFyodor DostoyevskyWilliam HurtJohn LillyAndy WarholPablo PicassoHenri MatisseGraham DuncanZelda FitzgeraldScott FitzgeraldEveEdmund WilsonHaruki MurakamiAldous HuxleyTom ReissWerner HerzogSergei ParajanovHal AshbyClaude ChabrolStanley KubrickAndrey TarkovskyLes BlankGabriel FlorenzJanna LevinTommy MartinezTiffanie HarrisDaniel KentMaria PopovaHan SoloAgnes MartinJoseph CornellSisyphusBjarke Ingels

Richard Koch on Mastering the 80/20 Principle, Achieving Unreasonable Success, and the Art of Gambling (#466)

Photo by Daniel Park

“If you don’t know what you’re doing, you can be very creative about it.”

— Richard Koch

Richard Koch (@RichardKoch8020) is an entrepreneur, investor, former strategy consultant, and author of several books on business and ideas, including four on how to apply the 80/20 principle in all walks of life.

His investments have grown at 22 percent compounded annually over 37 years and have included Filofax, Plymouth Gin, Belgo, Betfair (the world’s largest betting exchange), FanDuel, and Auto1. He has worked for Boston Consulting Group and was a partner at Bain & Co. before joining Jim Lawrence and Iain Evans to start LEK, which expanded from three to 350 professionals during the six years Richard was there.

In 1997, Richard’s book The 80/20 Principle reinterpreted the Pareto Rule, which states that most results come from a small minority of causes, and extended it beyond its well-known application in business into personal life, happiness, and success. The book, substantially updated in 2017, has sold more than a million copies, been translated into roughly 40 languages, and become a business classic. It was named by GQ magazine as one of the top 25 business books of all time.

His new book, published on August 13, 2020, and available in the US in December, is Unreasonable Success and How to Achieve it. In it, Richard charts a new map of success, which he says can propel anyone to new heights of accomplishment. High success, he says, does not require genius, consistency, all-round ability, a safe pair of hands, or even basic competence—but it does require the nine key attitudes and strategies he has identified.

Please enjoy!

Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Stitcher, Castbox, Google Podcasts, or on your favorite podcast platform.

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#466: Richard Koch on Mastering the 80/20 Principle, Achieving Unreasonable Success, and The Art of Gambling
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This podcast is also brought to you by Athletic Greens. I get asked all the time, “If you could only use one supplement, what would it be?” My answer is usually Athletic Greens, my all-in-one nutritional insurance. I recommended it in The 4-Hour Body in 2010 and did not get paid to do so. I do my best with nutrient-dense meals, of course, but AG further covers my bases with vitamins, minerals, and whole-food-sourced micronutrients that support gut health and the immune system. 

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What was your favorite quote or lesson from this episode? Please let me know in the comments.

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Want to hear another episode with an investor who has a unique perspective on the world? Listen to my conversation with Howard Marks, in which we discuss unintended consequences, the state of the COVID-19 economy, higher-signal sources of information, crowded versus uncrowded opportunities, and much more.

#431: Howard Marks on the US Dollar, Three Ways to Add Defense, and Good Questionshttps://rss.art19.com/episodes/679391c5-c2db-4640-af95-710dc3afd09e.mp3Download







SELECTED LINKS FROM THE EPISODE



Connect with Richard Koch:

Website | Twitter

Unreasonable Success and How to Achieve It by Richard KochThe 80/20 Principle: The Secret to Achieving More with Less by Richard KochWindsor CastleDavid Bowie 2002 Interview with Michael Parkinson | YouTubeBodleian Libraries | University of OxfordCours d’Économie Politique. Professé a l’Université de Lausanne. by Vilfredo Pareto | AbeBooks | InvestopediaInterview: Richard Koch, Author of The 80/20 Principle | Boing BoingLenin, Stalin, and Hitler: The Age of Social Catastrophe by Robert GellatelyBetfairBoston Consulting Group (BCG)The Star Principle: How It Can Make You Rich by Richard KochCVC May Bid for Gambling Firm Betfair | The GuardianL.E.K. ConsultingHorse Racing Cards, Results & Betting | Racing PostApple’s Segmentation Strategy, and the Folly of Conventional Wisdom | O’Reilly RadarPrice Simplifying Vs. Proposition Simplifying: Understanding Your Options by Richard Koch | Entrepreneur“Up or Out” Policy: What It’s Like to be Pushed Out Of McKinsey, BCG, or Bain | CaseCoachComputacenterBain & CompanyGoldman SachsHeadhunter | InvestopediaWhat Is the Growth Share Matrix? | BCGComparison and Usage of the Boston Consulting Portfolio and the McKinsey-Portfolio | Hochschule AalenVanderbilt UniversityThe Boston Consulting Group on Strategy: Classic Concepts and New Perspectives Edited by Carl W. Stern, George Stalk, Jr., and Michael S. DeimlerGood Strategy, Bad Strategy: The Difference and Why It Matters by Richard RumeltFinancial Times Guide to Strategy: How to Create, Pursue and Deliver a Winning Strategy by Richard KochRichard Koch: $100 Million Net Worth Without 80-Hour Workweeks | Mergers and InquisitionsThe Financial Times Guide to Management and Finance: An A-Z of Tools, Terms and Techniques by Richard KochManaging Without Management : A Post-Management Manifesto for Business Simplicity by Richard KochThe ‘Law’ That Explains Why You Can’t Get Anything Done | BBC WorklifeDavid Yarrow on Art, Markets, Business, and Combining It All | The Tim Ferriss Show #443Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience by Mihaly CsikszentmihalyiWhat My Morning Journal Looks Like | tim.blogThe Artist’s Way Morning Pages Journal: A Companion Volume to the Artist’s Way by Julia CameronOutliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm GladwellForget Liverpool. Hamburg, Germany, Made the Beatles into the Band They Became | Los Angeles TimesBoris Johnson’s Plan to Get Brexit Done and ‘Hang the Consequences’ | Foreign PolicyBob Dylan Meets Woody Guthrie, January 29, 1961 | Music History CalendarSong to Woody by Bob DylanBlowin’ in the Wind by Bob DylanJeff Bezos In 1999 on Amazon’s Plans Before the Dotcom Crash | CNBCA Short History of the Falklands War | Imperial War MuseumsLenin’s Brother: The Origins of the October Revolution | Foreign AffairsHow Walt Disney Funded His Dream by Richard Koch | HuffPostPlane Crazy 1928 Sound Cartoon | Walt Disney Animation Studios5 Facts You May Not Know About Disney and Dali’s Lost Project ‘Destino’ | Park West GalleryIn Search of Excellence: Lessons from America’s Best-Run Companies by Tom Peters and Robert H. Waterman, Jr.Who Were the Mensheviks and Bolsheviks? | ThoughtCo.Antifragile: Things That Gain from Disorder by Nassim Nicholas TalebChurchill the Failure: The Paradoxical Truth About the Best and Worst Leaders | ForbesReality Distortion Field | WikipediaA Visit to Robben Island, the Brutal Prison that Held Mandela, Is Haunting and Inspiring | Smithsonian Magazine



SHOW NOTES

Note from the editor: Timestamps will be added shortly.

Richard begins with a non-story story involving wines and spirits, chat show reinvention, Michael Parkinson, Windsor Castle, and David Bowie.Why I’ve made the rare exception for Richard with my “I don’t give quotes for books” policy.What secrets were revealed to Richard in Oxford’s Bodleian Libraries?What’s Richard’s own peculiar talent, and how did he discover it?How is it possible for Richard to be somewhat hopeless with numbers, yet have such a good investing track record? Here’s where the star principle comes into play.How did Richard decide on a bet size of $1.5 million in a certain investment?In his book The Star Principle, what does it mean when a business can “segment itself?”What are the principles that govern the constitution of Richard’s own portfolio?Richard fills us on the circumstances surrounding his firing from BCG and what happened afterward when he met Bill Bain.What is the growth share matrix (aka the Boston box)?What did Bain and Company appreciate about Richard that was not appreciated at BCG?What was the result of being asked to behave like a partner at Bain and Company nine months before Richard could officially be announced as one?What has Richard picked up from the book Perspectives on Strategy by BCG that makes it a recommended read? What are some additional titles that make the cut?Why does Richard consider principles better than knowledge, and how did his book The 80/20 Principle come to be?What makes Richard most happy? How does he ensure he’s allocating his time and energy appropriately to optimize that happiness?The two types of journaling I enjoy compared to Richard’s journaling style.Who has more fun in life: adventurers or controllers?What was the spark that prompted Richard to write his new book, Unreasonable Success and How to Achieve It?How does Richard define success, and what are the nine landmarks he’s found present in 20 people he considers successful?Landmark one: self-belief (and what you might do if you lack it).Landmark two: Olympian expectations.Landmark three: transforming experiences. (And if someone hasn’t had a transforming experience, is it possible to engineer one?)Landmark four: one breakthrough achievement (and how this differs from the other landmarks).Landmark five: make your own trail.Landmark six: find and drive your personal vehicle.Landmark seven: thrive on setbacks.Landmark eight: acquire unique intuition.Landmark nine: distort reality.How do these landmarks often reinforce one another?What Nelson Mandela did to acquire unique intuition during what could have been the bleakest time in his life.The annual question Richard asks himself in lieu of committing to new year’s resolutions.Parting thoughts.



PEOPLE MENTIONED



Michael ParkinsonDavid BowieVilfredo ParetoAdolf HitlerVladimir LeninJoseph StalinAntony BallAdrian MitchellPhil HulmeRoy BarberEgon ZehnderBruce HendersonBill BainRalph WillardMitt RomneyFred ReichheldMark AllenRichard BurtonNicholas BrealeyNorthcote ParkinsonMihaly CsikszentmihalyiBob DylanOtto von BismarckWinston ChurchillHerb AsquithMalcolm GladwellJohn LennonBill GatesJeff BezosMarie CurieLeonardo da VinciWalt DisneyAlbert EinsteinViktor FranklSigmund FreudAlfred AdlerJohn Maynard KeynesMadonnaNelson MandelaJ.K. RowlingHelena RubinsteinPaul of TarsusJesusMargaret ThatcherBoris JohnsonHarry PotterWoody GuthrieDavid ShawLeopoldo GaltieriAleksandr UlyanovMickey MouseSalvador DaliTom PetersRobert H. Waterman, Jr.Snow WhiteDonald DuckNassim Nicholas TalebSteve JobsBob IgerTobi LütkeP.W. BothaF.W. de Klerk