Timothy Ferriss's Blog, page 63

LeBron James and His Top-Secret Trainer, Mike Mancias (#349)

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Photo by Eric Ray Davidson

“I try to put myself in a mental state of, ‘How do I learn from that defeat? How do I learn from that loss?'” — LeBron James

“Recovery never stops.” — Mike Mancias

This episode represents the first time that LeBron James has been interviewed alongside his very below-the-radar, some might say top-secret, athletic trainer about details of training, recovery, diet, and even how much longer he hopes to play in the NBA.

LeBron James (@KingJames) is widely considered one of the greatest athletes of his generation and regarded by some as the best basketball player of all time. James’ accomplishments on the court include four NBA Most Valuable Players Awards, three NBA Championships and three NBA Finals MVP Awards, two Olympic gold medals, and an NBA scoring title. He is the all-time NBA playoffs scoring leader and has amassed fourteen NBA All-Star game appearances, twelve All-NBA First Team selections, and five All-Defensive First Team honors.

Throughout his career, James has used his platform to inspire and empower others through his LeBron James Family Foundation that supports at-risk students in his hometown earn life-changing educations (culminating in the recent opening of his I PROMISE School); SpringHill Entertainment, the entertainment company he co-founded with Maverick Carter that produces compelling and aspirational content for a cross-cultural audience on a variety of platforms including digital, film, and television; and UNINTERRUPTED, the digital media company he and Carter co-founded that provides athletes a platform to tell their stories.

James’ diverse business portfolio of innovative endorsements and investments has established him as one of the most influential figures in all of sports. James has appeared on Forbes’ list of the world’s most powerful celebrities, TIME’s annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world, and Bloomberg BusinessWeek’s 100 Most Influential People in Sports.

LeBron, along with Arnold Schwarzenegger, Cindy Crawford, and Olympic gold medalist Lindsey Vonn, has founded Ladder, a health and wellness platform and brand launching today. The site, weareladder.com, is a resource for reaching fitness, nutrition, and health goals with tools and scientifically supported insights for addressing any frustrations or roadblocks along the way.

Mike Mancias (@mikemancias1) is LeBron James’ athletic trainer and recovery specialist, a position he’s held for 14 years and counting. A veteran in the world of training professional basketball players, his experience also includes working with NFL, MLB, PGA, and top NCAA athletes. Throughout his tenure with LeBron, Mike has quietly developed a winning human-performance blueprint that encompasses everything from preventative medicine, strength training/rehab, nutrition, and the latest in recovery techniques. Mike’s philosophy is one that is now commonly accepted by many athletes and trainers as the ideal 360-degree approach to wellness and performance. It was through this focus on nutrition to performance and recovery that Mancias aided in developing the Ladder brand and its products.

Originally from Brownsville, Texas, Mancias attended the University of Texas-Pan American and graduated with a degree in Health Education. He is licensed and nationally certified by the Accredited National Athletic Trainers Association and is a 14-year member of The National Basketball Athletic Trainers Association.

Please enjoy this interview with LeBron James and Mike Mancias!

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

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#349: LeBron James and His Top-Secret Trainer, Mike Mancias
https://rss.art19.com/episodes/b97b91ba-c496-46a0-8e2b-08544e9c0f15.mp3Download

Listen to it on Apple Podcasts.
Stream by clicking here.
Download as an MP3 by right-clicking here and choosing “save as.”

Want to hear my first conversation with LeBron’s business partner Arnold Schwarzenegger? — In this episode, we discuss psychological warfare and much more (stream below or right-click here to download):

#60: Tim Ferriss Interviews Arnold Schwarzenegger on Psychological Warfare (And Much More)https://rss.art19.com/episodes/e2ac0ce7-d799-47fd-9276-fbde62440e2a.mp3Download

This episode is brought to you by 99designs. 99designs is the global creative platform that makes it easy for designers and clients to work together. From logos to apps and packaging to books, 99designs is the go-to design resource for any budget. I have used it for years to help with display advertising and illustrations and to rapid prototype the cover for The Tao of Seneca. Whether your business needs a logo, website design, business card, or anything you can imagine, check out 99designs.

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This podcast is also brought to you by Peloton, which has become a staple of my daily routine. I picked up this bike after seeing the success of my friend Kevin Rose, and I’ve been enjoying it more than I ever imagined. Peloton is an indoor cycling bike that brings live studio classes right to your home. No worrying about fitting classes into your busy schedule or making it to a studio with a crazy commute.

New classes are added every day, and this includes options led by elite NYC instructors in your own living room. You can even live stream studio classes taught by the world’s best instructors, or find your favorite class on demand.

Peloton is offering listeners to this show a special offer. Visit onepeloton.com and enter the code TIM at checkout to receive $100 off accessories with your Peloton bike purchase. This is a great way to get in your workouts, or an incredible gift. Again, that’s onepeloton.com and enter the code TIM.

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

Scroll below for links and show notes…

SELECTED LINKS FROM THE EPISODE

Connect with LeBron James:

Website | LeBron James Family Foundation | I PROMISE School | Twitter | Facebook | LeBron James Family Foundation Twitter | LeBron James Family Foundation Facebook | I PROMISE School Instagram | I PROMISE School Twitter

Connect with Mike Mancias:

Twitter | Instagram

Ladder: Life is a Workout
Cleveland Cavaliers
Leadership: In Turbulent Times by Doris Kearns Goodwin
The Man in the Arena by Theodore Roosevelt
Calm — The #1 App for Meditation and Sleep
NormaTecs
Screaming Eagle
Quintarelli
Chateau Mouton Rothschild
Chateau Latour
LeBron James Tattoos by Andrew Howland, Ranker
VersaClimber
Chicago Bulls
Washington Wizards
Top NBA Finals Moments: LeBron James Cramps up, Leaves Game 1 of Finals, NBA.com
What Is NSF Certification?, NSF International
Will LeBron James and His Son Bronny Play in the NBA Together like Ken Griffey, Jr. And His Father Did on the Seattle Mariners? by Davie Dennis, Jr., The Undefeated

SHOW NOTES

How did LeBron and Mike meet? [09:57]
What does Mike do to help LeBron prevent injury and recover between games? Are there any exercises he feels are crucial for injury prevention — or should be avoided as too risky? [11:41]
To what self-care does LeBron attribute his career longevity? [16:11]
Are there any particular leaders LeBron admires or looks to and studies? When did he begin leading? [17:54]
How has LeBron’s mother affected the way he thinks about parenting or being a father? [20:21]
What significance does Theodore Roosevelt’s quote about “The Man in the Arena” have for LeBron? [21:47]
What is Mike’s policy toward sleep as part of the recovery process — or just daily life for anyone from professional athletes to businesspeople? [23:41]
How does LeBron optimize his environment to get a good night’s sleep? [25:36]
What sleep app does LeBron recommend? [27:04]
What has become most important to LeBron from a health or wellness perspective as he’s become older and more seasoned? [27:32]
After experimenting with different diets over the years, what does LeBron’s food intake look like on a typical day currently? [29:04]
What are some of LeBron’s favorite wines? [30:40]
Food and drink that LeBron and Mike avoid. [31:53]
What does Mike put in LeBron’s post game protein shakes? [33:27]
LeBron’s self-talk in preparation for a big game — or after a hard loss. [34:37]
How does LeBron most effectively lead his team when things go sideways and frustration is rampant? [36:45]
What’s in LeBron’s pregame playlist? [38:43]
LeBron explains the meaning behind two of his tattoos. [39:54]
How does Mike support his athletes when they’re going through a difficult time — whether it’s an injury, an unexpected setback, psychologically having trouble contending with someone that has happened — on or off the court? [41:15]
How do Mike and LeBron’s priorities change during the offseason? [42:58]
What are LeBron’s favorite exercises or forms of physical recreation in the offseason? What might these workouts look like? [43:59]
What lessons has Mike learned about working with high caliber athletes from legendary trainer Tim Grover? [45:30]
LeBron and Mike tell us about their new business venture: Ladder. [48:20]
Why is it important that all Ladder products will be NSF (National Sanitation Foundation) certified for sport? [51:21]
Who is involved with Ladder, and what do they bring to the team? [52:56]
With the staggering number of business pitches LeBron gets every week, what makes Ladder important to him? [53:52]
How will Ladder’s website serve athletes and other people looking to get the most from their bodies? [55:57]
How many more years would LeBron like to play basketball? [58:27]
Parting thoughts. [59:25]

PEOPLE MENTIONED

Wilt Chamberlain
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Cindy Crawford
Lindsey Vonn
Banksy
Batman
Doris Kearns Goodwin
Gloria Marie James
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Muhammad Ali
Barack Obama
Theodore Roosevelt
Tim Grover
Michael Jordan
LeBron James, Jr.

Dave Elitch — How to Get Out of Your Own Way (#348)

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Photo by Dan Gillan

“Slow down. Do it again.” — Dave Elitch

Dave Elitch (IG: @daveelitch) first garnered attention with his band Daughters of Mara’s debut album I am Destroyer in 2007, but his time touring with the American progressive rock band The Mars Volta in 2009-2010 is what really put him on the map. He has since worked with Miley Cyrus, Justin Timberlake, M83, The 1975, Juliette Lewis, Big Black Delta, as well as many others.

Dave conducts master-class lectures worldwide and is a regular in the L.A. session scene, including performing on film scores for many major motion pictures. As an educator for the last 20 years, Dave has developed a reputation as the technique/body mechanic specialist who has helped many of the world’s top players and educators overcome physical and mental plateaus at his private studio in Los Angeles. His brand new online course, Getting Out of Your Own Way, is available now at DaveElitch.com (use the code FERRISS at checkout for a 25% off discount).

Please enjoy this episode with Dave Elitch!

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

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#348: Dave Elitch — How to Get Out of Your Own Way
https://rss.art19.com/episodes/c4a6b972-c77a-44ed-a9a5-ecc9d7aaf52b.mp3Download

Listen to it on Apple Podcasts.
Stream by clicking here.
Download as an MP3 by right-clicking here and choosing “save as.”

Further curious about how drummers see the world? You’re not alone! — Make sure to listen to my conversation with Stewart Copeland, drummer for The Police and son of a bona fide CIA operative! (Stream below or right-click here to download):

#262: The CIA, The Police, and Other Adventures from Stewart Copelandhttps://rss.art19.com/episodes/438e7af7-6545-48d1-99a3-f21bc272f2d0.mp3Download

This podcast is brought to you by FreshBooks. FreshBooks is the #1 cloud bookkeeping software, which is used by a ton of the start-ups I advise and many of the contractors I work with. It is the easiest way to send invoices, get paid, track your time, and track your clients.

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Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
The Tao of Seneca by Seneca
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
Nonviolent Communication by Marshall B. Rosenberg

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

Scroll below for links and show notes…

SELECTED LINKS FROM THE EPISODE

Connect with Dave Elitch:

Website | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook

Dave’s Getting Out of Your Own Way Course (use the code FERRISS at checkout for a 25% off discount)
I Am Destroyer by Daughters Of Mara
The Mars Volta
M83
The 1975
Big Black Delta
Do Drummers Have Different Brains from the Rest of Us? by Richard Metzger, Dangerous Minds
Dave’s Slow Down/Do It Again T-Shirt
The Anatomy of a Drum Kit, Making Music
Dave Elitch On Having Good Posture, DrumChannel.com
AC/DC
Beginner Drum Lesson: The Money Beat by Chris Atchley
The Mars Volta Goliath Dave Elitch Drum Cam Video
How to Build a Memory Palace, ArtOfMemory.com
Metronome Online
Fear-Setting: The Most Valuable Exercise I Do Every Month by Tim Ferriss, TED 2017
Sam Harris, Ph.D. — How to Master Your Mind, The Tim Ferriss Show (with guided meditation bonus)
Antemasque
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Killer Be Killed
Kelly Starrett and Dr. Justin Mager, The Tim Ferriss Show
The Inner Game of Tennis: The Classic Guide to the Mental Side of Peak Performance by W. Timothy Gallwey
The Inner Game of Music by Barry Green
What is Zen? What is Buddhism?, zen-buddhism.net
The Matrix
4 Ways to Hold a Drumstick, wikiHow
Facing Love Addiction: Giving Yourself the Power to Change the Way You Love by Pia Mellody, Andrea Wells Miller, and J. Keith Miller
The Medium is the Massage: An Inventory of Effects by Marshall McLuhan and Quentin Fiore
Believe by Cher
The Gerbil’s Revenge: Auto-Tune Corrects a Singer’s Pitch. It Also Distorts — a Grand Tradition in Pop. by Sasha Frere-Jones, The New Yorker
Beat Detective, WikiAudio
The Century of the Self
HyperNormalisation
Propaganda by Edward Bernays
Sources of Existential Angst by Brett and Kate McKay, The Art of Manliness
“Man is the only animal for whom his own existence is a problem which he has to solve and from which he cannot escape.” — Erich Fromm
The Smashing Pumpkins
You Want to Climb Mount Everest? Here’s What It Takes by John Branch, The New York Times
Breaking The Habit of Being Yourself: How to Lose Your Mind and Create a New One by Dr. Joe Dispenza
Mindfulness by Ellen J. Langer
Science of Mindlessness and Mindfulness with Ellen Langer and Krista Tippett, On Being
The Secret by Rhonda Byrne
Zero by The Smashing Pumpkins
Bullet with Butterfly Wings by The Smashing Pumpkins
Topo Chico
Brian Eno and Peter Schmidt’s Oblique Strategies, the Original Handwritten Cards by Martin Schneider, Dangerous Minds
Do the Strand by Roxy Music
Ambient 1/Music For Airports by Brian Eno
The Space Between the Notes by Bruce Hembd, Horn Matters
Taxi
Taxi Driver
Arnold Schwarzenegger — A Great Man by Bill Burr
What Is Embouchure? Saxophone Lessons, Howcast
Searching for Bobby Fischer: book and movie
The Art of Learning: An Inner Journey to Optimal Performance by Josh Waitzkin
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, The Tim Ferriss Experiment
Led Zeppelin
John Bonham’s Drum Set Up, JohnBonham.co.uk
Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed
The 4-Hour Body: An Uncommon Guide to Rapid Fat-Loss, Incredible Sex, and Becoming Superhuman by Timothy Ferriss
Open by Andre Agassi
Trolls
The Book of Love
Logan
St. Vincent
Divergent
Insurgent
Zen in the Art of Archery by Eugen Herrigel
Horton Hears a Who! by Dr. Seuss
Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture by Douglas Coupland
Which Writer Coined the Phrase Generation X?, Fun Trivia

Book Recommendations by Dave’s Therapist:

When You Eat at the Refrigerator, Pull Up a Chair: 50 Ways to Feel Thin, Gorgeous, and Happy (When You Feel Anything But) by Geneen Roth and Anne Lamott
To Hell & Back: How to Have Feelings & Stay Sober at the Same Time by Jasmin Rogg
Recovering Spirituality: Achieving Emotional Sobriety in Your Spiritual Practice by Ingrid Mathieu
The Drama of the Gifted Child: The Search for the True Self, Third Edition by Alice Miller
Alcoholics Anonymous by Bill W.
The 7 Systems of Balance: A Natural Prescription for Healthy Living in a Hectic World by Paul Sorgi
Bradshaw On: The Family: A New Way of Creating Solid Self-Esteem by John Bradshaw
Therapy with Single Parents: A Social Constructionist Approach by Joan D Atwood and Frank Genovese
The Anxiety Book: Developing Strength in the Face of Fear by Jonathan Davidson and Henry Dreher
Loving What Is: Four Questions That Can Change Your Life by Byron Katie and Stephen Mitchell
Becoming Your Own Parent: The Solution for Adult Children of Alcoholic and Other Dysfunctional Families by Dennis Wholey

Further Book Recommendations by Dave:

A World Lit Only by Fire: The Medieval Mind and the Renaissance — Portrait of an Age by William Manchester
Man’s Search For Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl
The Brutality of Fact: Interviews with Francis Bacon by David Sylvester
Society of the Spectacle by Guy Debord
The Power of Myth by Joseph Campbell
The Awakening of Intelligence by J. Krishnamurti
The Image: A Guide to Pseudo-Events in America by Daniel J. Boorstin
A Brief History of Everything by Ken Wilber
Tenth of December: Stories by George Saunders
Ways of Seeing by John Berger
Will You Please Be Quiet, Please? by Raymond Carver

SHOW NOTES

Who is Dave, and why is he in my house? [04:28]
“Slow down. Do it again.” [08:49]
How Dave quickly identified and alleviated one of my greatest sources of discomfort behind a drum kit. [10:48]
My first introduction to Dave and his capacity for monster drumming in The Mars Volta, and why he’s known as a bit of a mercenary cleaner on the music industry tour circuit. [13:13]
How does Dave prepare to tour with a band — often on last-minute notice? It’s actually not dissimilar to how I prepare for speeches. [18:55]
What does the day of the first show of a mercenary tour look like for Dave? What advice or rituals does he suggest to others who find themselves facing a similarly stressful trial — musical or otherwise? [31:21]
How mastering or understanding the inner workings of one discipline — whether it’s drumming, tennis, Zen Buddhism, or something else altogether — can extend to solving the problems posed by countless other disciplines. [39:03]
A book exchange that took place between Dave and his therapist. [48:40]
What Marshall McLuhan might have told us about the influence of Auto-Tune on modern music. [50:01]
Who really sculpted our world’s love affair with consumerism: Sigmund Freud’s nephew or Edward Bernays’ uncle? These Adam Curtis documentaries should shed some light on the answer (while blowing a few minds in the process). [55:24]
Visual art, coping with met expectations of success that lead to burnout, and microwave manifestation. [1:03:36]
Oblique Strategies: how Brian Eno and Peter Schmidt can help us reconsider perspective and possibly course correct. [1:17:00]
How has a failure set Dave up for later success — and how did he reframe this failure to recognize it as a runway to that success? [1:25:28]
What makes Dave doubt the choices that led him to where he is today? [1:32:10]
It’s been said by some of Dave’s most well-known students that he excels in teaching patience. Why might drums make this an easier feat than if he taught saxophone? [1:39:50]
What would Dave’s billboard say? [1:44:46]
If Bill Burr doesn’t approach comedy like Sam Kinison, why should he approach drumming like John Bonham? [1:48:11]
Does Dave have any unusual habits or love of weird things — Himalayan or otherwise? [1:50:29]
Dave didn’t begin therapy until he was in his thirties. What made him start, and what keeps him going? [1:52:31]
Dave has contributed to quite a few film scores. What does that process look like from his perspective? [2:02:38]
Book recommendations and final thoughts. [2:04:30]

PEOPLE MENTIONED

Jimmy Chamberlin
Miley Cyrus
Justin Timberlake
Juliette Lewis
Hermann Rorschach
Omar Rodriguez-Lopez
Cicero
Bear Grylls
Sam Harris
Timothy Gallwey
Gautama Buddha
Cedric Bixler Zavala
Flea
Kelly Starrett
Neo
Pia Mellody
Marshall McLuhan
Quentin Fiore
Jerome Agel
Cher
T-Pain
Drake
Spock
Adele
Jack Johnson
Adam Curtis
Edward Bernays
Sigmund Freud
Slavoj Zizek
Erich Fromm
William J. Clinton
Molly
Krista Tippett
Ellen Langer
Maria Bamford
Janet Jackson
Brian Eno
Peter Schmidt
Stacy Jones
George Daniel
Matty Healy
Freddy Sheed
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Franco Columbu
Al Pacino
Robert De Niro
Bill Burr
Michael Jackson
Josh Waitzkin
Bobby Fischer
John Bonham
Sam Kinison
Cheryl Strayed
Andre Agassi
Bill Murray
Douglas Coupland
Mara

Stan Grof, Lessons from ~4,500 LSD Sessions and Beyond (#347)

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Stan Grof (right) with the legendary Albert Hofmann (left), the first person to synthesize LSD.

“I realized people were not having LSD experiences; they were having experiences of themselves. But they were coming from depths that psychoanalysis didn’t know anything about.” — Stanislav Grof

Stanislav Grof, M.D., (stanislavgrof.com) is a psychiatrist with more than 60 years of experience in research of “holotropic” states of consciousness, a large and important subgroup of non-ordinary states that have healing, transformative, and evolutionary potential.

Previously, he was Principal Investigator in a psychedelic research program at the Psychiatric Research Institute in Prague, Czechoslovakia, Chief of Psychiatric Research at the Maryland Psychiatric Research Center, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD, and Scholar-in-Residence at the Esalen Institute in Big Sur, CA.

Currently, Stan is Professor of Psychology at the California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS) in San Francisco, CA, and conducts professional training programs in holotropic breathwork and transpersonal psychology, and gives lectures and seminars worldwide. He is one of the founders and chief theoreticians of transpersonal psychology and the founding president of the International Transpersonal Association (ITA).

His publications include more than 150 articles in professional journals and books like Psychology of the Future, The Cosmic Game, and Holotropic Breathwork, among many others.

In this wide-ranging interview, we cover many topics, including:

Some of his main takeaways after supervising or guiding ~4,500 LSD sessions
The place and role of “wounded healers”
Limitations and uses of traditional psychoanalysis and talk therapy
Holotropic breathwork and some similarities to MDMA
Stories of odd synchronicities and the seemingly impossible
Stan’s strangest personal experiences on psychedelics
What Stan believes humanity most needs to overcome: division and destruction

I hope you’ll enjoy this in-depth conversation with Stan Grof!

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#347: Stan Grof, Lessons from ~4,500 LSD Sessions and Beyond
https://rss.art19.com/episodes/fb3ec3c9-138c-4d97-a371-062fa64b28b7.mp3Download

Listen to it on Apple Podcasts.
Stream by clicking here.
Download as an MP3 by right-clicking here and choosing “save as.”

Want to hear another episode that explores science and psychedelics? — Listen to my conversation with Paul Stamets, an intellectual and industry leader in the habitat, medicinal use, and production of fungi. Stream below or right-click here to download.

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

This episode is brought to you by Peloton, which has become a staple of my daily routine. I picked up this bike after seeing the success of my friend Kevin Rose, and I’ve been enjoying it more than I ever imagined. Peloton is an indoor cycling bike that brings live studio classes right to your home. No worrying about fitting classes into your busy schedule or making it to a studio with a crazy commute.

New classes are added every day, and this includes options led by elite NYC instructors in your own living room. You can even live stream studio classes taught by the world’s best instructors, or find your favorite class on demand.

Peloton is offering listeners to this show a special offer. Visit onepeloton.com and enter the code TIM at checkout to receive $100 off accessories with your Peloton bike purchase. This is a great way to get in your workouts or an incredible gift. Again, that’s onepeloton.com and enter the code TIM.

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

Scroll below for links and show notes…

SELECTED LINKS FROM THE EPISODE

Connect with Stanislav Grof:

Website | Grof Transpersonal Training | California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS) | International Transpersonal Association (ITA)

Psychology of the Future: Lessons from Modern Consciousness Research by Stanislav Grof
The Cosmic Game: Explorations of the Frontiers of Human Consciousness by Stanislav Grof
Holotropic Breathwork: A New Approach to Self-Exploration and Therapy by Stanislav Grof
Other books by Stanislav Grof
California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS)
International Transpersonal Association (ITA)
What is LSD? by L. Anderson, PharmD, Drugs.com
‘Apparently Useless’: The Accidental Discovery of LSD by Tom Shroder, The Atlantic
Dimethyltryptamine Experiments with Psychotics by Zoltan Boszormenyi and Stephen Szara, Journal of Mental Science
DMT Research from 1956 to the Edge of Time by Andrew R. Gallimore and David P. Luke, Reality Sandwich
5-MeO-DMT: What You Need to Know by Seth Fitzgerald, The Drug Classroom
Psychotomimetic Effects of PCP, LSD, and Ecstasy: Pharmacological Models of Schizophrenia? by Vibeke Sorensen Catts and Stanley V. Catts
The Consciousness Research of Stanislav Grof: A Cosmic Portal Beyond Individuality by Donna A. Dryer and

Richard Yensen, Textbook of Transpersonal Psychiatry and Psychology
Serotonin: Functions, Side Effects, and More by Annamarya Scaccia, Healthline
Electroencephalogram (EEG), Johns Hopkins Medicine
Hiroshima Atomic Bomb (1945): A Day That Shook the World, British Pathe
What Does Dharmakaya Mean? by Barbara O’Brien, ThoughtCo.
The Tibetan Book of the Dead (Bardo Thodol) by Padmasambhava
Savikalpa, Nirvikalpa, and Sahaja Samadhi by Sri Chinmoy, Earth-Bound Journey and Heaven-Bound Journey
Kensho, Wikipedia
Satori, Wikipedia
Maya, Wikipedia
What is Reality?: The New Map of Cosmos, Consciousness, and Existence by Ervin Laszlo
Holotropic States by Alex Paterson, Esolibris
They Saw Earth From Space. Here’s How It Changed Them. by Nadia Drake, National Geographic
The Rites of Passage by Arnold van Gennep
The Eleusinian Mysteries: The Rites of Demeter by Joshua J. Mark, Ancient History Encyclopedia
What Are the Differences Between the Teachings of Zen and Theravada Buddhism?, Quora
Chinese Esoteric Buddhism, Wikipedia
Hesychasm by Kevin Knight, New Advent
Saying the Jesus Prayer by Dr. Albert S. Rossi, St. Vladimir’s Seminary
What Are the Spiritual Exercises?, Ignatian Spirituality
A Collection of Esoteric and Cabalistic Exercises for Self Protection by Marcia L. Pickands, The Psychic Self-Defence Personal Training Manual
Psychoactive Plants Lecture Notes, Department of Plant Biology, University of Maryland
Ibogaine and Iboga by Seth Fitzgerald, The Drug Classroom
Psilocin and Psilocybin by Seth Fitzgerald, The Drug Classroom
The Ayahuasca Boom in the U.S. by Ariel Levy, The New Yorker
The Hazy History of Bufo Toad Venom Smoking, Tryptamine Palace
The Toad and the Jaguar: A Field Report of Underground Research on a Visionary Medicine: Bufo Alvarius and 5-Methoxy-Dimethyltryptamine by Ralph Metzner
When the Impossible Happens by Stanislav Grof
Church of the Toad of Light on Facebook
Esalen
International Transpersonal Conference
Realms of the Human Unconscious: Observations from LSD Research by Stanislav Grof
Michael Pollan — Exploring The New Science of Psychedelics, The Tim Ferris Show Episode 313
Psycholytic and Psychedelic Therapy Research 1931-1995: A Complete International Bibliography compiled by Torsten Passie
This Is My Attempt at Explaining Grof’s COEX Systems Theory, Presented in LSD: Doorway to the Numinous by JwJesso, Reddit
LSD: Doorway to the Numinous: The Groundbreaking Psychedelic Research into Realms of the Human Unconscious by Stanislav Grof
What is the Collective Unconscious? by Daryl Sharp, Jung Lexicon, via Frith Luton
Spring Grove Experiment, Wikipedia
Suicide Survivors: A Follow-up Study of Persons Who Survived Jumping from the Golden Gate and San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridges by David H. Rosen, MD, Western Journal of Medicine
Where Are They Now?: The Fate of Suicide Attempt Survivors by Stacey Freedenthal, PhD, LCSW, Speaking of Suicide
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition: DSM-5
Dementia Praecox and Paraphrenia by Emil Kraepelin
Neo-Kraepelinian Divergences from Kraepelin: What Are They and Why They Matter by Lindsay Hoeschen, Portland State University
The Psychoanalytic Theory of Neurosis by Otto Fenichel, M.D.
Oedipus Complex: One of Freud’s Most Controversial Ideas by Kendra Cherry, Verywell Mind
Personal Unconscious, Wikipedia
Lessons Learned from Huston Smith’s Exploration of Religious Experience by Don Lattin, Religion News Service
God in a Pill? Meher Baba on L.S.D. and The High Roads via Wikipedia
Mysticism Sacred and Profane by Robert Charles Zaehner
Makyo, Wikipedia
1962 Good Friday Experiment, MAPS
Siddha Yoga
Shaivite Hinduism, Patheos
From Ganja to God by Geetanjali Joshi Mishra, Beatdom
What Is Bhang and How Is It Made?, RQS
Hashish vs. Marijuana, Sunrise House
The Essential Guide to Datura, The Third Wave
The Secret of the Soma Plant, American Institute of Vedic Studies
The Rig Veda
The Texts of Kashmir Shaivism, The Siddha Yoga Teachings
Shiva Sutras of Vasugupta, Wikipedia
The Dance of Synchronicity and Unexpected Meaning by Cynthia Cavalli, PhD, Fielding Graduate University
The Way of the Animal Powers (The Historical Atlas of World Mythology, Vol. 1) by Joseph Campbell
The Mantis and the San by Chrigi in Africa, Ranger of the San Clan
The Lost World of the Kalahari by Laurens van der Post
Ammonite from Mt. Everest Base Camp, The Fossil Forum
4 Bizarre Out-Of-Body Experiences That Turned Into Case Studies by Laura Martisiute, ATI
9 Things to Know About Ladino by Sarah Aroeste, My Jewish Learning
Spiritual Emergence Network (SEN)
On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres by Nicolaus Copernicus
Paradisia and Dominatia: Science and the Developing World by Michael J. Moravcsik and John M. Ziman, Foreign Affairs
Atman and Brahman by Beverlee Jill Carroll, World Religions
Zhangzi’s (Chuang-Tzu’s) Butterfly Dream Parable by Elizabeth Reninger, ThoughtCo.
The Structure of Scientific Revolutions by Thomas S. Kuhn
The Chemical Revolution of Antoine-Laurent Lavoisier, National Historic Chemical Landmarks
Seeking the Magic Mushroom by R. Gordon Wasson, LIFE Magazine
The Road to Eleusis: Unveiling the Secret of the Mysteries by R. Gordon Wasson and Albert Hofmann
Kykeon by Joshua J. Mark, Ancient History Encyclopedia
Peyote and the Native American Church by Catherine Beyer, ThoughtCo.

SHOW NOTES

How did Stan first become interested in psychedelics, and what application was he hoping it could serve? [8:32]
In how many LSD sessions does Stan estimate he’s been involved, and what accounts for his initial conclusion that it would change psychiatry and psychology? [13:18]
When did Stan have his first personal experience with LSD, what were the conditions like, and how did it change his career path from that point forward? [18:45]
Why we don’t always have the right words on hand to describe psychedelic experiences. [21:40]
After more than six decades studying non-ordinary states of consciousness, how does Stan view consciousness today (in comparison to some other equally controversial views)? [25:22]
Why does Stan prefer the term non-ordinary states of consciousness to altered states, what are holotropic states of consciousness, and how have human beings operated in these states over the course of history? [28:26]
Stan’s thoughts on 5-MeO-DMT (methoxy DMT) and the psychedelic venom of the Bufo alvarius toad — which gave him “by far, the most powerful psychedelic experience” he’s ever had. [37:43]
Stan elaborates on his famous statement that “Psychedelics, used responsibly and with proper caution, would be for psychiatry what the microscope is for biology and medicine or the telescope is for astronomy,” and how he feels about the relevance of traditional psychoanalysis or psychotherapy in combination with some of these psychedelic compounds. [44:42]
What would Stan’s ideal experiential, psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy look like? [56:10]
Stan points out that there are non-pharmacological ways to achieve holotropic states — such as holotropic breathing, which I can confirm actually works. [56:57]
What substances, dosages, and frequency would psychedelic assistance take under Stan’s guidance? [58:52]
Exploring the neglect of etiology in modern psychology and how Stan would correct this problem. [1:03:30]
What makes the difference between someone emerging from a psychedelic state profoundly transformed or just experiencing it as a casual tourist with no persistent change of perspective? [1:08:47]
Stan talks about his experiences with Siddha Yoga founder Swami Muktananda. [1:18:07]
The reasons Stan wrote When the Impossible Happens, the stories surrounding this time in his life, and an explanation of synchronocity. [1:25:17]
On out of body experiences and a moving example of how unorthodox psychiatry helped someone overcome depression in a surprising way. [1:36:32]
What psychedelic at what dose is most similar to the effects or the experience of holotropic breathwork? [1:44:34]
Does the common psychedelic phenomenon of encountering entities seemingly separate from the person in such a state carry over to breathwork? Has Stan encountered these entities during his own experiences? [1:45:49]
What are Stan’s thoughts on microdosing, and what has he experienced at the tail end of high-dosage sessions? [1:51:18]
What constitutes a “spiritual emergency,” and are there any differences between a naturally occuring spiritual emergency like schizophrenia or one precipitated by psychedelics? Can any good come from a bad trip? [1:55:15]
What might treatment for someone experiencing a psychotic break look like in a hypothetical alternate world where the collective unconscious is recognized by psychologists and psychiatrists? [1:59:25]
From his first psychedelic experience to now, how has Stan’s concept of the inner world changed over the past 60 years? [2:04:36]
Is there any particular synchronicity or experience in any of the holotropic states that Stan has experienced that he finds the hardest to explain or the most unusual/remarkable? [2:08:42]
If Stan were a young scientist starting out today and all compounds could be legally studied, what would his focus be? [2:16:33]
At age 87, how does Stan stay sharper and more energetic than a lot of people in their 20s? [2:23:34]
What does Stan think humanity needs most of all right now? [2:27:46]
One final story: a lesson in forgiveness. [2:31:16]
Parting thoughts. [2:40:59]

PEOPLE MENTIONED

Jack Kornfield
Albert Hoffman
George Roubicek
Hanscarl Leuner
Stephen Szara
Zoltan Boszormenyi
Ervin Laszlo
Stuart Hameroff
Kary B. Mullis
Francis Crick
Steve Jobs
Charlie Tart
Arnold van Gennep
Isis
Osiris
Inanna
Dumuzi
Xibalba
Gautama Buddha
Jesus
St. Ignatius of Loyola
Ralph Metzner
Michael Pollan
Sigmund Freud
Carl Gustav Jung
Christina Grof
Adolf Hitler
David H. Rosen
Emil Kraepelin
Otto Fenichel
Joseph Campbell
Huston Smith
Meher Baba
Robert Charles Zaehner
Walter N. Pahnke
Swami Muktananda
Ram Dass
Werner Erhard
Shiva
Fritjof Capra
Laurens van der Post
Wolfgang Pauli
Confucius
Pachamama
Joseph Stalin
Nicolaus Copernicus
Chuang-Tzu
Doug Engelbart
Thomas S. Kuhn
John Dalton
Antoine Lavoisier
Isaac Newton
Albert Einstein
Gregory Bateson
Alfred Korzybski
Eleusis
Plato
Aristotle
Cicero
Pindaros
R. Gordon Wasson
Carl A.P. Ruck
Ken Godfrey
Robert Leihy
Helen Bonny
Walter Houston Clark

James Cameron and Suzy Amis Cameron — How to Think Big, Start Small, and Change the World (#346)

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“Hope is not a strategy. Luck is not a factor. Fear is not an option.” — James Cameron

James Cameron (@jimcameron) is a filmmaker and deep sea explorer. He is writer, director and producer of The Terminator, Aliens, The Abyss, Terminator 2, True Lies, Titanic, and Avatar. Both Titanic And Avatar (the highest grossing film of all time) won the Golden Globe for Best Director and Best Picture and were nominated for a record number of awards. Cameron was also at the vanguard of the 3D renaissance, developing cutting edge 3D camera systems. As an explorer, in 2012, Cameron set the world’s solo deep diving record of 35,787′ in the Challenger Deep in a vehicle of his own design.

A dedicated environmentalist, Cameron founded The Avatar Alliance Foundation to take action on climate change, energy policy, deforestation, indigenous rights, ocean conservation, and sustainable agriculture.

He is currently in production on Avatar 2, 3, 4, and 5.

Suzy Amis Cameron (@suzymusing) is a noted environmental advocate, mother of five, and the author of OMD: The Simple, Plant-Based Program to Save Your Health, Save Your Waistline, and Save the Planet and the founder of the OMD Movement, a multi-pronged effort to transform eating habits and the food system. She is also a founder of Plant Power Task Force, focused on showing the impact of animal agriculture on climate change and the environment, founded in 2012 with her husband James Cameron and Craig McCaw. In 2005, she founded MUSE School, the first school in the country to be 100% solar powered with zero waste and a 100% organic, plant-based lunch program. Additionally, she is a founder of Verdient Foods, Cameron Family Farms, Food Forest Organics, and Red Carpet Green Dress. As an actor she has been featured in more than 25 films, including The Usual Suspects and Titanic.

I thought this episode would be a good opportunity to give some air time to discussion of plant-based diets, but even if you disagree with the idea of plant-based diets, I suggest listening for at least three reasons: One, there’s plenty of non-plant talk. Two, as an exercise in patience. I do my best to expose people to different perspectives, and this is no exception. Three, OMD (One Meal Per Day) is worth learning about to understand the discipline that goes into conscious eating and habit formation.

Also not to be missed, James mentions in the full audio that unlike on previous films he didn’t get sick during the simultaneous filming of Avatar 2 and 3, which is astonishing considering, as he put it, that “they [meaning all staff] know coming in when they sign up that it’s going to be the most difficult production in human history.” So how did he do it? He credits it to his new routine, including a plant-based diet, supplements, exercise, etc. I asked him for a sample day, which he provided. You can find James’s super dialed-in daily routine for Avatar 2 and 3 at tim.blog/jamescameron.

Please enjoy!

P.S. And if you want to hear more from Suzy and James, you can find below two bonus episodes published on the Tribe of Mentors podcast.

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#346: James Cameron and Suzy Amis Cameron — How to Think Big, Start Small, and Change the World
https://rss.art19.com/episodes/9f0f3327-7275-424f-84bf-30821cc6e347.mp3Download

Listen to it on Apple Podcasts.
Stream by clicking here.
Download as an MP3 by right-clicking here and choosing “save as.”

Listen to the full set of questions and answers on the Tribe of Mentors podcast: 

James Cameron & Suzy Amis Cameron (Uncut)https://rss.art19.com/episodes/37ed3f9f-29b8-438d-99b1-0c61e96379ff.mp3Download

Listen to the short episode on the Tribe of Mentors podcast, which features Suzy and James’s favorite failures, bad advice they hear, as well as they are favorite and most gifted books: 

James Cameron & Suzy Amis Cameron — Favorite Failures, Bad Advice, and Most Gifted Bookshttps://rss.art19.com/episodes/46e4cff9-7b9c-4eb4-ae2f-3a67342340ad.mp3Download

This podcast is brought to you by Four Sigmatic. I reached out to these Finnish entrepreneurs after a very talented acrobat introduced me to one of their products, which blew my mind (in the best way possible). It is mushroom coffee featuring 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 put me on fire for an entire day, and I only had half of the packet.

People are always asking me what I use for cognitive enhancement right now — this is the answer. You can try it right now by going to foursigmatic.com/tim and using the code Tim to get 20 percent off your first order. If you are in the experimental mindset, I do not think you’ll be disappointed.

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

Scroll below for links and show notes…

SELECTED LINKS FROM THE EPISODES

Connect with James Cameron:

Twitter

Connect with Suzy Amis Cameron:

OMD for the Planet | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook

OMD: The Simple, Plant-Based Program to Save Your Health, Save Your Waistline, and Save the Planet by Suzy Amis Cameron and Dean Ornish
Tribe of Mentors: Short Life Advice from the Best in the World by Timothy Ferriss
Avatar
Titanic
The 4-Hour Body: An Uncommon Guide to Rapid Fat-Loss, Incredible Sex, and Becoming Superhuman by Timothy Ferriss
The China Study: The Most Comprehensive Study of Nutrition Ever Conducted and the Startling Implications for Diet, Weight Loss, and Long-Term Health by T. Colin Campbell and Thomas M. Campbell II
The Forks Over Knives Plan: How to Transition to the Life-Saving, Whole-Food, Plant-Based Diet by Alona Pulde and Matthew Lederman
The Cheese Trap: How Breaking a Surprising Addiction Will Help You Lose Weight, Gain Energy, and Get Healthy by Neal D. Barnard and Marilu Henner
Miyoko’s Kitchen
Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari
Thrive: The Third Metric to Redefining Success and Creating a Life of Well-Being, Wisdom, and Wonder by Arianna Huffington
The Abyss
MUSE School
eCornell
The Game Changers
Verdient
A Personal Testimony Of The Migrant Caravan by Laura Beltr·n Villamizar and Veronica G. Cardenas, NPR
Planet Has Only until 2030 to Stem Catastrophic Climate Change, Experts Warn by Brandon Miller and Jay Croft, CNN
James’ Daily Routine

SHORT [TFS] SHOW NOTES

When the Camerons feel overwhelmed or unfocused or have lost their focus temporarily, what do they do? What questions do they ask themselves? [10:32]
What would their billboard say? [17:57]
What are the Camerons currently most excited about? [24:27]
A request, ask or suggestion for the listeners of this podcast. [27:18]

FULL EPISODE [TOM] SHOW NOTES

Influential books the Camerons have given most as gifts. [08:18]
Favorite failures. [14:22]
Bad recommendations heard often in their areas of expertise. [25:06]
What new belief, behavior, or habit has most improved their lives? [32:41]
When the Camerons feel overwhelmed or unfocused or have lost their focus temporarily, what do they do? What questions do they ask themselves? [36:26]
What would their billboard say? [43:50]
What are the Camerons currently most excited about? [50:21]
A request, ask or suggestion for the listeners of this podcast. [53:12]

SHORT [TOM] SHOW NOTES

Favorite failures. [08:27]
Bad recommendations heard often in their areas of expertise. [19:10]
Influential books the Camerons have given most as gifts. [26:38]

PEOPLE MENTIONED

Craig McCaw
Scott Jurek
Jonathan Sacks
Sam Harris
Dr. Neal Barnard
Arianna Huffington
Rebecca Amis
Jeff King
Louie Psihoyos
Allan Savory

Avatar Director James Cameron’s Daily Routine for Endurance and Stamina (Plus: James’s Smoothie Recipe)

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Note from the editor: This post accompanies the recent episodes of The Tim Ferriss Show and the Tribe of Mentors podcasts featuring Suzy Amis Cameron and James Cameron. It explores James’s daily routine, which he credits for providing him with endurance and stamina during the back to back production of Avatar 2 and 3. As he explains, “I’ve never done a year of production in my life. Titanic took six months to shoot. And we just finished a year because we did Avatar 2 and Avatar 3 back to back. And that was one solid year of production. And I’m feeling great, whereas before, I’d be completely burned out after a six-month shoot and require a month to recover.” As a bonus, you will also find James’s green smoothie recipe. Please enjoy! 

James Cameron (@jimcameron) is a filmmaker and deep sea explorer. He is writer, director and producer of The Terminator, Aliens, The Abyss, Terminator 2, True Lies, Titanic, and Avatar. Both Titanic and Avatar (the highest grossing film of all time) won the Golden Globe for Best Director and Best Picture and were nominated for a record number of awards. Cameron was also at the vanguard of the 3D renaissance, developing cutting edge 3D camera systems. As an explorer, in 2012, Cameron set the world’s solo deep diving record of 35,787’ in the Challenger Deep in a vehicle of his own design.

A dedicated environmentalist, Cameron founded the Avatar Alliance Foundation to take action on climate change, energy policy, deforestation, indigenous rights, ocean conservation and sustainable agriculture.

He is currently in production on Avatar 2, 3, 4 and 5.

***

Here is a typical day of Jim’s regime:

— 05:00 — pre-workout — green smoothie (spinach, apple, orange, banana — heavy on the spinach, and you can see the recipe below)

— 06:00 — 1 hour workout — usually kickboxing, yoga or light weight training with high intensity intervals

— 07:30 — breakfast — sometimes tofu “scrambled eggs” or a quesadilla made with plant-cheese, sometimes red beans and rice — always a protein shake made with fruit, nut butters, pea protein — use this to wash down supplements (hemp oil capsules, MSM for supple joints, vitamin D) — B12 is a sublingual tablet — and a cup of Oolong tea

— 11:00 — mid morning snack of fresh fruit (grapes, watermelon, berries) on set

— 13:30 — lunch — bowl of soup plus any one of the scores of great lunch dishes prepared by Brad and Sandy, our vegan chefs at the studio — mexican fiesta, Indian, thai, Italian (pasta, pizza, lasagna), burgers (Beyond or Hungry Planet) — these are comfort food dishes with a conscience

— 16:30 — mid afternoon — a green salad, on set

— 20:00 — dinner — a very light meal, sometimes a plant-based burger, sometimes just some humus and pita and a handful of olives, sometimes an avocado chopped up with salsa — plus always a glass of wine for stress reduction

Doug McMillon — CEO of Walmart (#345)

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Doug McMillon (IG: @dougmcmillon) is president and chief executive officer of Walmart, a company that, if it were a country, would be the 25th largest economy in the world. Walmart serves 265 million customers weekly in 27 countries across more than 11,000 stores and online, and the company employs roughly 2.2 million associates worldwide, which would equate to the second largest army in the world (behind China) if it were tasked with defending that 25th largest economy.

75 percent of Walmart’s store management team began as hourly associates, and Doug is no exception. He started out in 1984 as a summer associate in the Walmart distribution center, and in 1990 while pursuing his MBA, he rejoined the company as an assistant manager in Tulsa before moving to merchandising as a buyer trainee. He worked his way up, and from 2005 to 2009 he served as president and CEO of Sam’s Club (owned and operated by Walmart) with sales of more than $46 billion annually during his tenure.

From February of 2009 to 2014, Doug served as president and CEO of Walmart International, a fast-growing segment of Walmart’s overall operations. He has served on the board of directors for Walmart since 2013 and is currently the chair of the executive and global compensation committees. In addition, he serves on the board of directors of the Consumer Goods Forum, the US-China Business Council and Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art. He also serves on the executive committee of the Business Roundtable and the advisory board of the Tsinghua University School of Economics and Management in Beijing, China.

This episode was recorded live at the Heartland Summit in Bentonville, AR, surrounded by the jaw-droppingly mind-blowing Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art. Please enjoy!

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#345: Doug McMillon — CEO of Walmart
https://rss.art19.com/episodes/ab7bddda-b5ee-4b51-9bd8-5b872c8201e8.mp3Download

Listen to it on Apple Podcasts.
Stream by clicking here.
Download as an MP3 by right-clicking here and choosing “save as.”

Want to hear another episode with a fascinating leader? — Listen to my conversation with former Home Depot CEO and current Crazy Good Turns producer Frank Blake. (Stream below or right-click here to download):

#303: How to Do Crazy Good Turns — Frank Blakehttps://rss.art19.com/episodes/fca950ee-8c1b-4aab-b230-7983c8fcbd7a.mp3Download

This episode is brought to you by LinkedIn and its job recruitment platform, which offers a smarter system for the hiring process. If you’ve ever hired anyone (or attempted to), you know finding the right people can be difficult. If you don’t have a direct referral from someone you trust, you’re left to use job boards that don’t offer any real-world networking approach.

LinkedIn, as the world’s largest professional network — used by more than 70 percent of the US workforce — has a built-in ecosystem that allows you to not only search for employees, but also interact with them, their connections, and their former employers and colleagues in a way that closely mimics real-life communication. Visit LinkedIn.com/Tim and get $50 off toward your first job post!

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

Scroll below for links and show notes…

SELECTED LINKS FROM THE EPISODE

Connect with Doug McMillon:

Instagram | Facebook | LinkedIn

Walmart
Sam’s Club
Heartland Summit
Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art
Bike Trails of Bentonville, AR
Baitmate
Supply-Chain Partnership between P&G and Wal-Mart by Michael Grean and Michael J. Shaw, E-Business Management
Team of Teams: New Rules of Engagement for a Complex World by General Stanley McChrystal
The Everything Store: Jeff Bezos and the Age of Amazon by Brad Stone
Principles: Life and Work by Ray Dalio
Nextdoor
The Walmart Digital Museum
Martha’s Place Buffet
Reddit
Target
Dollar General
Things Are Bad at Sears. They’re Worse at Kmart by Chris Isidore, CNN Business
Walmart’s Jet is now selling Bonobos and Nike by Hayley Peterson, Business Insider
Walmart Completes Its $16 Billion Acquisition of Flipkart by Jon Russell, TechCrunch
Treasure Hunt at Sam’s Club! by Dearest Lulu, YouTube
Now at Sam’s Club: A $2.7 Million Dollar Plane by Michael Kanellos, CNET
Anatomy of Houston’s $200 Hamburger by Marcy de Luna, Zagat
The Wall Street Journal
The One Year Uncommon Life Daily Challenge by Tony Dungy and Nathan Whitaker
Squawk Box, CNBC
The New York Times
Arkansas Razorbacks
The Birkman Method
Tostitos Sensations Red Chile & Lime Tortilla Chips, Taquitos.net

SHOW NOTES

Doug shares his Baitmate story. [08:26]
Doug trained as a buyer in an era when his word and a handshake was as good as a contract. [11:36]
Influential books Doug recommends. [13:22]
As a voracious reader, how does Doug discover and decide what books are added to his knee-high “to read” stack? [16:08]
How is virtual reality employed in the training of associates? [18:31]
Does Doug have any quotes or reminders built into his daily life that help keep him on track? [20:57]
Why does Doug keep a list of the top 10 retailers of the last five decades on his phone? [23:27]
Knowing that openness to change is a prerequisite to initiating change doesn’t always make the decision to lean into such a change easy. What have been some of Doug’s most difficult decisions? [26:33]
What helps Doug find the clarity to make such difficult decisions when anxiety might otherwise bring them to an impasse? [29:17]
While the acquisition of Flipkart may seem like a decision that doesn’t make much short-term sense, why does Doug believe in it for the long haul? [30:16]
What are “treasure hunt items” at Sam’s Club? [33:13]
Where did Doug’s competetive streak originate, and is his reputation for being “poised and calm” from nature or nurture? [36:05]
Just how competetive is Doug? [37:40]
Doug’s morning routines and rituals — with a Tim Ferriss Show exclusive: breakfast! [38:40]
What does the structure of Doug’s typical week look like? Does he have typical weeks? Years? [40:04]
With such a busy schedule, how does Doug take care of himself and manage his time in a way that keeps him from burning out? [43:15]
What usually takes the place of a scheduled day when Doug has to call a fire break? [44:22]
What does it look like for Doug to sit down and think during one of these fire breaks? And does he take these breaks alone or with others? [45:33]
What new belief or habit has most improved Doug’s life? [47:45]
What led to this capacity for change? [49:19]
Aside from fire breaks, is there anything else that helps Doug cope with the feeling of being overwhelmed? [51:02]
100 million favorite failures and one pep talk. [52:57]
What would Doug’s billboard say? [56:46]

PEOPLE MENTIONED

Sam Walton
Stan McChrystal
Brett Biggs
Ray Dalio
Greg Penner
Greg Foran
Judith McKenna
Ivanka Trump
Martha Hawkins
Alexis Ohanian
Andy Dunn
Laura McMillon
Morris McMillon
Peter Thiel
Tony Dungy
Lou Holtz
Shaquille O’Neal
Mike Duke
Marc Lore

Jim Walton
Bill Fields
Darth Vader

A.J. Jacobs — 10 Strategies to Be Happier Through Gratitude (#344)

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Photo by Lem Lattimer

“Paradoxically but wonderfully, focusing on someone else’s happiness will actually make you happier.” — A.J. Jacobs

A.J. Jacobs (@ajjacobs) takes over the show for a special episode. A.J. is a kindred guinea pig of self-experimentation who chronicles his shenanigans in books that seem to keep winding up as New York Times best sellers. The Know-It-All was about his quest to learn everything in the world. In The Year of Living Biblically, he tried to follow all the rules of the Bible as literally as possible. Drop Dead Healthy followed his well- (and ill-) advised experiments to become the healthiest person alive. My Life as an Experiment is about exactly what it sounds like, and It’s All Relative aimed to connect all of humanity in one family tree.

His latest book, Thanks a Thousand: A Gratitude Journey, chronicles his journey around the world to personally thank everyone along the supply chain who makes his morning cup of coffee a possibility: the farmer of the coffee beans, the barista, the designer of the logo for the coffee, the truck driver who transported the coffee beans, the guy who painted the yellow lines on the road so the truck wouldn’t veer into traffic, the inventor of the cardboard sleeve that goes around the coffee cup (aka the paper zarf) so you don’t burn your fingers, and on and on.

In this episode, A.J. will be taking us through 10 strategies for being happier through gratitude in these stressful times and his agreement to do so just builds upon the gratitude I already have for this man. I hope you enjoy, and if you benefit in some way from these strategies, please feel free to reach out and thank him.

Bonus: if you pre-order his latest book or let him know how much you’ve appreciated his earlier work, he may even personally thank you back with a handwritten card (details found here)!

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#344: A.J. Jacobs — 10 Strategies to Be Happier Through Gratitude
https://rss.art19.com/episodes/c33ccd44-41f1-411e-8d4c-0ee743dfad5e.mp3Download

Listen to it on Apple Podcasts.
Stream by clicking here.
Download as an MP3 by right-clicking here and choosing “save as.”

Want to learn more about A.J.’s creative process? — Listen to my interview with him in which we explore his experiments, tipping points in his life, how he learned to love marketing and much more! (Stream below or right-click here to download):

#211: A.J. Jacobs: Self-Experimenter Extraordinairehttps://rss.art19.com/episodes/30f9ac28-33fa-4d51-88fd-bc493f10626a.mp3Download

This episode is brought to you by Charlotte’s Web, which makes a CBD oil, a hemp extract, that has become one of my go-to tools. Charlotte’s Web won’t get you high, but it does have some pretty powerful benefits, and it works with your body’s existing endocannabinoid system. Some of the most common uses are for relief from everyday stressors, help in supporting restful sleep, and to bring about a sense of calm and focus.

Visit cwhemp.com/tim to take a quick quiz, which will determine the best product for your lifestyle. Charlotte’s Web is also offering listeners of this podcast 10% off with discount code TIM.

This podcast is also brought to you by Peloton, which has become a staple of my daily routine. I picked up this bike after seeing the success of my friend Kevin Rose, and I’ve been enjoying it more than I ever imagined. Peloton is an indoor cycling bike that brings live studio classes right to your home. No worrying about fitting classes into your busy schedule or making it to a studio with a crazy commute.

New classes are added every day, and this includes options led by elite NYC instructors in your own living room. You can even live stream studio classes taught by the world’s best instructors, or find your favorite class on demand.

Peloton is offering listeners to this show a special offer. Visit onepeloton.com and enter the code TIM at checkout to receive $100 off accessories with your Peloton bike purchase. This is a great way to get in your workouts, or an incredible gift. Again, that’s onepeloton.com and enter the code TIM.

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

Scroll below for links and show notes…

SELECTED LINKS FROM THE EPISODE

Connect with A.J. Jacobs:

Website | Twitter | Facebook

Thanks a Thousand: A Gratitude Journey by A.J. Jacobs
A.J. Jacobs: Self-Experimenter Extraordinaire, The Tim Ferriss Show Episode 211
What do you call a coffee cup sleeve?
Want to be Happy? Be Grateful. by David Steindl-Rastat, TED Global 2013
The Year of Living Biblically: One Man’s Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible by A.J. Jacobs
The Bible
My Outsourced Life by A.J. Jacobs, Esquire
The 4-Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferriss
A.J. Jacobs Traveled the World to Thank Everyone Who Helped Make His Cup of Joe by Cindy Sher, The Times of Israel
Joe Coffee Company
Choose to Be Grateful. It Will Make You Happier. by Arthur C. Brooks, The New York Times
What Is Savoring — and Why Is It the Key to Happiness? By Tchiki Davis, Ph.D., Psychology Today
Smell, Slurp, Savor: How Experts Taste Coffee, Starbucks Coffee
The Story Behind the Sistine Chapel’s Stunning Ceiling by Michelangelo by Kelly Richman-Abdou, My Modern Met
It’s All Relative: Adventures Up and Down the World’s Family Tree by A.J. Jacobs
Colombia La Familia Guarnizo, Joe Coffee Company
“When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the universe.” — John Muir
Watch: The Influence of One Cleaner at NASA in 1960 by Stefan Werc, Fed Manager
Effective Altruism
Radical Life-Extension Is Not Around the Corner by Michael Shermer, Scientific American
Memento Mori: The Reminder We All Desperately Need, The Daily Stoic
The Know-It-All: One Man’s Humble Quest to Become the Smartest Person in the World by A.J. Jacobs
Bite Down on a Stick: The History of Anesthesia by Esther Inglis-Arkell, io9
Enlightenment Now: The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism, and Progress by Steven Pinker
Adulteration of Coffee Act 1718
The Pure Food and Drug Act, US House of Representatives
A Redesigned Coffee Lid That Totally Changes the Drinking Experience by Liz Stinson, Wired
The Viora Lid
Sign up to get a handwritten thank you card from A.J. here.
You Should Actually Send That Thank You Note You’ve Been Meaning to Write by Heather Murphy, The New York Times
A Little Thanks Goes a Long Way: Explaining Why Gratitude Expressions Motivate Prosocial Behavior by Adam M. Grant and Francesca Gino, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
Study: We All Underestimate the Power of a Thank-You Note by Monica Torres, Ladders
Habitat for Humanity
NYC’s Reservoir System
Dispensers for Safe Water

SHOW NOTES

A.J. Jacobs explains the premise of his new book, Thanks a Thousand, details a few of his previous adventures for the uninitiated, and shares his 10 strategies for being happier in these super stressful times. [06:02]
“So it is not happiness that makes us grateful. It’s gratefulness that makes us happy.” -David Steindl-Rast [Ed. Note: A.J. admits after recording the episode that he confused David Rendall with David Steindl-Rast while recording this episode, and adds: “Thanks to David Rendell and David Steindl-Rast for their (hopeful) forgiveness.”] [08:58]
Strategy #1: Declare War on the Negative Bias. [14:19]
Strategy #2: The Art of Savoring. [19:34]
Strategy #3: Practice Six Degrees of Thankfulness. [23:23]
Strategy #4: Don’t Forget You’re Going to Die. [28:40]
Strategy #5: Using Gratitude to Fall Asleep. [31:20]
Strategy #6: Thou Shalt Not Have Nostalgia. [32:20]
Strategy #7: Try to Discover the Hidden Masterpieces All Around You. [35:42]
Strategy #8: Go Analog. [37:32]
Strategy #9: Fake It until You Feel It. [41:05]
Strategy #10: Use Gratitude as a Spark to Action. [42:20]

PEOPLE MENTIONED

David Rendall
David Steindl-Rast
Larry David
Fred Rogers
Ted Kaczynski
Ed Kaufmann
Michelangelo
Sister Sledge
Barack Obama
John Muir
John F. Kennedy
Will MacAskill
Epicurus
Steven Pinker
Theodore Roosevelt
Doug Fleming
Elon Musk
Millard Fuller

Seth Godin on How to Say “No,” Market Like a Professional, and Win at Life (#343)

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Photo by Brian Bloom

“Price is a story.” — Seth Godin

Seth Godin (@thisissethsblog, seths.blog) is the author of 18 bestselling books that have been translated into more than 35 languages. He was inducted into the Direct Marketing Hall of Fame in 2013 and has founded several companies, including Yoyodyne and Squidoo. His blog (which you can find by typing “Seth” into Google) is one of the most popular in the world.

Seth writes about marketing, strategic quitting, leadership, the way ideas spread, and challenging the status quo in all areas.

His books include Linchpin, Tribes, The Dip, and Purple Cow, among others, and Seth’s newest book is This Is Marketing: You Can’t Be Seen Until You Learn to See. You can find out more at seths.blog/tim (tim = This Is Marketing, not my name), where you will also find a free PDF excerpt from the book and related videos.

Last but not least, Seth is the founder of the altMBA, an intense four-week online leadership and management workshop. Find out more at altmba.com.

In this episode, we explore many topics, including:

How Seth deals with overwhelm
How Seth chooses projects
How to say “no” to the unimportant and set boundaries
Long work vs. hard work
The world’s worst boss
How to find your “smallest viable audience”
Non-marketing books that are master classes in great marketing
Crafting April Fool’s jokes
And much, much more…

Enjoy!

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#343: Seth Godin on How to Say “No,” Market Like a Professional, and Win at Life
https://rss.art19.com/episodes/f90ab568-0eb2-4724-8b22-3d08685cf062.mp3Download

Listen to it on Apple Podcasts.
Stream by clicking here.
Download as an MP3 by right-clicking here and choosing “save as.”

Want to hear another amazing conversation with someone who leads from a place of service? Listen to my interview with Catherine Hoke, a friend Seth and I share who is helping the incarcerated turn their lives around through entrepreneurship. (Stream below or right-click here to download):

#293: Catherine Hoke — The Master of Second Chanceshttps://rss.art19.com/episodes/da5e12e0-b238-46fe-b407-7a75de5b1853.mp3Download

This episode is brought to you exclusively by LinkedIn Marketing Solutions, the go-to tool for B2B marketers and advertisers who want to drive brand awareness, generate leads, or build long-term relationships that result in real business impact.

With a community of more than 575 million professionals, LinkedIn is gigantic, but it can be hyper-specific. You have access to a diverse group of people all searching for things they need to grow professionally, and four out of five users are decision-makers at their companies — so you can build relationships that really matter and drive your business objectives forward. LinkedIn has the marketing tools to help you target your customers with precision, right down to job title, company name, industry, and more. Why spray and pray with your marketing dollars when you can be surgical? To redeem your free $100 LinkedIn ad credit and launch your first campaign, go to LinkedIn.com/TFS!

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

Scroll below for links and show notes…

SELECTED LINKS FROM THE EPISODE

Connect with Seth Godin:

Website | Seth’s Blog | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | altMBA | The Marketing Seminar

This Is Marketing: You Can’t Be Seen Until You Learn to See  by Seth Godin
1,000 True Fans by Kevin Kelly, The Technium
Won’t You Be My Neighbor?
Wired
Fast Company
Adobe Photoshop
Macromedia FreeHand
The World’s Worst Boss by Seth Godin, Seth’s Blog
Stone Age Economics by Marshall Sahlins
Hard Work vs. Long Work by Seth Godin, Seth’s Blog
Fiverr
Medium
Davos
TED
TextExpander
Get What You Deserve by Jay Levinson and Seth Godin
Marketing Myopia by Theodore Levitt, Harvard Business Review
Marketing: An Introduction by Gary Armstrong and Philip Kotler
Penguin Magic
charity: water
noma
elBulli
2001: A Space Odyssey
Apple
Uber
Supreme
Franklin Barbecue
100 Secrets of the Art World: Everything You Always Wanted to Know from Artists, Collectors and Curators, but Were Afraid to Ask by Thomas Girst and Magnus Resch
Trans-Pecos Festival of Music + Love
A City Dweller’s Guide to Marfa, Texas by Steff Yotka, Vogue
The Grand Illusion: The Real Tim Ferriss Speaks, tim.blog
Happy Japanese April Fool’s Day!, tim.blog
The EU’s Copyright Plans Will Let Anyone Mass-Censor the Internet by Cory Doctorow, Boing Boing
Thirst: A Story of Redemption, Compassion, and a Mission to Bring Clean Water to the World by Scott Harrison
A Second Chance: For You, For Me, And For The Rest Of Us by Catherine Hoke
Walk in Their Shoes: Can One Person Change the World? by Jim Ziolkowski and James S. Hirsch
The Blue Sweater: Bridging the Gap Between Rich and Poor in an Interconnected World by Jacqueline Novogratz
Meaningful Work: A Quest to Do Great Business, Find Your Calling, and Feed Your Soul by Shawn Askinosie and Lawren Askinosie

SHOW NOTES

How does Seth deal with the sense of being overwhelmed? [05:35]
Get rid of these four things in your life and see how many hours per day you free up. [09:02]
What usually triggers Seth’s overwhelm and how he combats it. [10:18]
The almost mic-drop blog post Seth wrote about the world’s worst boss that led to his altMBA. [11:22]
As “the CEO of you,” does the way Seth accepts or declines his own involvement in projects apply to your own situation? [14:18]
How Seth sometimes still falls prey to making bad decisions about his time — and why he doesn’t stress too much about it. [15:27]
What’s the difference between long work and hard work? [17:59]
Examples of times Seth has chosen what seems like risky hard work over long work. [19:48]
What gave Seth the conviction to build the altMBA way back in the beginning? [21:34]
What did Seth take away from a three-day sabbatical in the desert? [26:22]
How does Seth train himself to take self-imposed deadlines and other feats of immense willpower seriously? [27:13]
Why does Seth believe that authenticity is overrated — and what’s better? [29:28]
On the lizard brain and overcoming the fear of saying “no.” [30:54]
A hack for quickly and politely explaining why you’re saying “no” to someone without wasting time and effort in each instance. [34:50]
Some of Seth’s (and Josh Waitzkin’s) consistent rules regarding what others can expect from him and how much they should pay — or not pay — for his services. [36:29]
Price is a story: Seth’s suggestion for any freelancer who wants to avoid frustration over long (not hard) work. [42:32]
What’s Seth’s policy for writing book blurbs? [45:40]
Seth explains why he wrote his latest book, what he hopes it will accomplish, and why you’re never really selling a quarter-inch drill bit. [49:24]
What does Seth mean when he mentions “the smallest viable audience,” and why is it important? [53:57]
How do you resist the temptation to make everyone your customer and focus on defining who your smallest viable audience might be? [55:38]
Highly niche businesses of which Seth is particularly fond, and how they set themselves apart. [58:52]
The importance of smallest viable audience as it relates to charging appropriately. [1:02:42]
What is the three-sentence marketing promise template, and why is it important in better securing the smallest viable audience? [1:08:08]
How Apple, Uber, Amazon, Airbnb, and other companies hook people into using their products and services in spite of not being completely unique in what they’re actually offering. [1:10:10]
The yo-yo union: how Supreme can make people line up to buy $3 shirts for $45, and why people stand outside Franklin Barbeque for hours before opening time every day. [1:12:45]
Two things to understand about ethically giving people what they want — even if it feels like you’re cheating. [1:17:48]
Why the world remembers Jackson Pollock more than his brother Charles. [1:19:10]
What does it mean to market to the most important person? [1:24:01]
How does one develop self-compassion and a feeling of sufficiency that allows them to empathize with — and market to — that “most important” person? [1:25:42]
According to Seth, I was responsible for the single best-written April Fool’s joke on the Internet. Here it is. [1:28:08]
We reflect on one of Seth’s April Fool’s jokes and the notion that someone can ever run out of ideas. [1:31:16]
The “but” versus “and.” [1:35:34]
Current events, book recommendations, and parting thoughts. [1:36:57]

PEOPLE MENTIONED

Kevin Kelly
Fred Rogers
Marshall Sahlins
Neil Gaiman
Josh Kaufman
Steven Pressfield
Ivan Pavlov
Zig Ziglar
Josh Waitzkin
Milton Glaser
Jay Levinson
Tom Peters
Ted Levitt
Philip Kotler
Kim Kardashian
Scott Harrison
Stanley Kubrick
Tim Cook
Steve Jobs
Jackson Pollock
Charles Pollock
Thomas Hart Benton
Eric Clapton
Jeff Koons
Rosamund Zander
Cory Doctorow
Catherine Hoke
Jim Ziolkowski
Jacqueline Novogratz
Shawn Askinosie

Sam Harris, Ph.D. — How to Master Your Mind (#342)

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Photo by Christopher Michel

“The goal of meditation is to uncover a form of wellbeing that is inherent to the nature of our minds.” — Sam Harris

Sam Harris (@SamHarrisOrg) received a degree in philosophy from Stanford University and a Ph.D in neuroscience from UCLA. Sam is the host of the Waking Up podcast, and he is the author of multiple books including The End of Faith, Letter to a Christian Nation, The Moral Landscape, Free Will, Lying, Waking Up, and Islam and the Future of Tolerance (with Maajid Nawaz).

This experimental episode came about because a few months back Sam asked me to be a beta tester for his Waking Up meditation app that he was creating at the time. It was recently released, and I highly recommend it. I anticipated it would be good because Sam’s work is always good, and he’s one of those rare humans who seems to think and speak in finished prose, and he has a voice that can very easily lull you into a semi-psychedelic state while you are completely sober. You’ll hear what I mean soon.

Sam has a unique combination of experiences and areas of expertise, and his approach is that of a logical progression of layering on different types of training for learning the skill of meditation. In this episode, Sam will discuss his experiences with MDMA, his spiritual exploration, contact with so-called gurus, duality versus non-duality, and lots more. If you want to dive right into a beginner level guided meditation, skip to [52:32].

Make sure to check out the bonus episode (also found on this page) if you enjoy what you find here and want to jump straight to the guided meditations. The bonus episode also features additional content from Sam not found in the longer episode. Enjoy!

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#342: Sam Harris, Ph.D. — How to Master Your Mind
https://rss.art19.com/episodes/68f17387-c3a7-48c4-8d2e-7326283fa300.mp3Download

Listen to it on Apple Podcasts.
Stream by clicking here.
Download as an MP3 by right-clicking here and choosing “save as.”

Here is the companion episode if you want to jump directly to the guided meditations from Sam:

BONUS: Sam Harris Guided Meditations and Lessonshttps://rss.art19.com/episodes/8c683309-a02f-4e88-a6ac-072fb72e58c2.mp3Download

This episode is brought to you by LegalZoom. I’ve used this service for many of my businesses, as have quite a few of the icons on this podcast including Automattic CEO Matt Mullenweg of WordPress fame.

LegalZoom is a reliable resource that more than a million people have already trusted for everything from setting up wills, proper trademark searches, forming LLCs, setting up non-profits, or finding simple cease-and-desist letter templates.

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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, inevitably, Athletic Greens. It is my all-in-one nutritional insurance. I recommended it in The 4-Hour Body and did not get paid to do so. As a listener of The Tim Ferriss Show, you will receive a one-off supply of 20 free Athletic Greens Travel Packs, valued at $99.95. To order yours, visit AthleticGreens.com/Tim.

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

Scroll below for links and show notes…

SELECTED LINKS FROM THE EPISODE

Connect with Sam Harris:

Website | Waking Up (app) | Waking Up (podcast) | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube

Sam Harris, PhD on Spirituality, Neuroscience, Meditation, and More, The Tim Ferriss Show Episode 14
Sam Harris on Daily Routines, The Trolley Scenario, and 5 Books Everyone Should Read, The Tim Ferriss Show Episode 87
Books by Sam Harris
Oak for Meditation and Breathing
Calm: The #1 App for Meditation and Sleep
Headspace: Meditation and Mindfulness Made Simple
10% Happier
Waking Up: A Guide to Spirituality Without Religion by Sam Harris
Drugs and the Meaning of Life, Waking Up Episode 1
Battle of Shiloh Facts & Summary, American Battlefield Trust
A New View of the Battle of Gallipoli, One of the Bloodiest Conflicts of World War I by Joshua Hammer, Smithsonian
MDMA: Effects, Hazards & Extent of Use by L. Anderson, PharmD, Drugs.com
The Bible
The Quran
The Beatles in India: 16 Things You Didn’t Know by David Chiu, Rolling Stone
Vipassana Meditation
Dzogchen
Advaita Vedanta, Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy
Theravada Buddhism, BBC
The Path of Purification: Visuddhimagga by Acaeiya Buddhaghosa
Nirvana (or Nibbana)
Rigpa
Who Are the Tibetan Lamas?, Slate
The figure from Waking Up for finding your blind spot.
Elon Musk Reveals Plan to Put 1 Million People on Mars by Laurie Vazquez, Big Think
On Having No Head: Zen and the Rediscovery of the Obvious by Douglas Harding
“The unexamined life is not worth living.” -Socrates

SHOW NOTES

What you can expect from this episode (and why you probably shouldn’t listen to it while you’re driving a car). [07:21]
The Waking Up course app differs from other meditation apps. [08:39]
Sam’s background, and the journey his first foray into psychedelics would set in motion. [09:22]
Sam explains his views on religion and profound experiences some would call “spiritual” — which he set out to explore after that first experience with MDMA. [19:46]
Gradual versus sudden notions of realization or awakening, enlightenment versus cessation, and the distinction between meditation and psychedelics as tools. [22:09]
The meeting that led to a switch in Sam’s perspective on meditation after lengthy attempts for enlightenment proved unsuccessful. [31:05]
The dangers of guru Poonjaji’s “all or nothing” approach, the main difference between Advaita and Dzogchen teachings, and what it took to unravel one fellow student’s apparently confirmed enlightenment. [37:12]
Exploring Dzogchen and the context behind Sam’s current view of meditation. [42:32]
Perceiving the optic blind spot: the difference between being utterly misled by false information, being nudged in the general direction, and being precisely guided by an expert. [45:42]
One does not simply drop out of Stanford: Sam returns to college after 11 years away and finds himself uniquely qualified to unite his philosophical, scientific, and secular perspective with meditation. [50:24]
Why Sam believes the Waking Up course app and its guided meditations will benefit beginning and veteran meditators alike. [51:38]
Sam shares a 10-minute guided meditation from the course designed for a relative beginner to the practice of mindfulness. [52:32]
Sam shares a lesson from the course on the topic of death. [1:03:24]
Sam shares a lesson on the mystery of being. [1:10:33]
A 12-minute guided meditation from a little later in the course. [1:19:54]
Parting thoughts. [1:33:49]

BONUS EPISODE NOTES

Day 2 guided meditation. [00:56]
Day 17 guided meditation. [11:23]
Day 31 guided meditation. [25:13]
Why does Sam think you should meditate? [35:17]

PEOPLE MENTIONED

Kevin Rose
Peter Attia
Dan Harris
Joseph Goldstein
Dionysus
Jesus
Siddhartha Gautama (The Buddha)
Lao-Tzu
Sayadaw U Pandita
Buddhaghosa
Mahasi Sayadaw
H.W.L. Poonja
Ramana Maharshi
Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche
Rip Van Winkle
Socrates
Bertrand Russell
Winston Churchill
Cleopatra
Walter Benjamin
Douglas Harding
Eric Weinstein
Will MacAskill
Jocko Willink
Plato

Nick Kokonas — How to Apply World-Class Creativity to Business, Art, and Life (#341)

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“I just look at some things and go, “Why is that? Why does it work that way?” Oftentimes, the people most entrenched in a system have no idea why.”

— Nick Kokonas

Nick Kokonas (IG: @nkokonas, TW: @NickKokonas) is the co-owner and co-founder of The Alinea Group of restaurants, which includes Alinea, Next, The Aviary, Roister, and The Aviary NYC. He is also the founder and CEO of Tock, Inc, a reservations and CRM system for restaurants with more than 2.5M diners and clients in more than 20 countries.

Alinea has been named the Best Restaurant in America and Best Restaurant in The World by organizations and lists as diverse as The James Beard Foundation, World’s 50 Best, TripAdvisor, Yelp, Gourmet Magazine, and Elite Traveler. His restaurants have won nearly every accolade afforded to them.

Nick has been a subversive entrepreneur and angel investor since 1996. He spent a decade as a derivatives trader, has co-written three books, and believes in radical transparency in markets and business. His latest effort is The Aviary Cocktail Book, which is perhaps the most gorgeous book I’ve ever seen. It is self-published, has already pre-sold nearly $1M in copies, and is being released and shipped in October of 2018.

We’ve been trying to get this interview going ever since Nick was of immense help to me for The 4-Hour Chef, so I hope you enjoy this as much as I did. We talk about much more than the restaurant business, including philosophy, derivatives trading, favorite books, and how Nick tends to break every industry he enters in the most productive way possible! Enjoy!

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#341: Nick Kokonas — How to Apply World-Class Creativity to Business, Art, and Life
https://rss.art19.com/episodes/c23d1aee-571f-4e87-ae41-4026a5a5e92d.mp3Download

Listen to it on Apple Podcasts.
Stream by clicking here.
Download as an MP3 by right-clicking here and choosing “save as.”

Want to hear another episode with someone else who understands the most interesting way to do something isn’t always the easiest? — Listen to this episode with Astro Teller, CEO of X on moonshot thinking, mutilated checkerboards, “safety third,” and much more. (Stream below or right-click here to download.):

#309: Astro Teller, CEO of X – How to Think 10x Biggerhttps://rss.art19.com/episodes/a125690b-22e8-4d37-ae6a-f136c1df2cc0.mp3Download

This episode is brought to you by 99designs, the global creative platform that makes it easy for designers and clients to work together. From logos to apps and packaging to books, 99designs is the go-to design resource for any budget.

Right now, my listeners can get 50 dollars off a logo and brand identity package from 99designs, plus a free upgrade that lets you promote your project on the platform (an additional 99 dollar value), by visiting 99designs/Tim50.

This episode is also brought to you by Charlotte’s Web, which makes a CBD oil, a hemp extract, that has become one of my go-to tools. Charlotte’s Web won’t get you high, but it does have some pretty powerful benefits, and it works with your body’s existing endocannabinoid system. Some of the most common uses are for relief from everyday stressors, help in supporting restful sleep, and to bring about a sense of calm and focus.

Visit cwhemp.com/tim to take a quick quiz, which will determine the best product for your lifestyle. Charlotte’s Web is also offering listeners of this podcast 10% off with discount code TIM.

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

Scroll below for links and show notes…

SELECTED LINKS FROM THE EPISODE

Connect with Nick Kokonas:

The Alinea Group | Tock | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook

The Aviary Cocktail Book
Life, on the Line: A Chef’s Story of Chasing Greatness, Facing Death, and Redefining the Way We Eat by Grant Achatz and Nick Kokonas
The 4-Hour Chef: The Simple Path to Cooking Like a Pro, Learning Anything, and Living the Good Life by Timothy Ferriss
The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine by Michael Lewis
Wall Street
How to Turn Failure into Success, The Tim Ferriss Show
Colgate University
A River Runs Through It
Chicago Mercantile Exchange
Chicago Research and Trading Group
The Socratic Method, The University of Chicago Law School
The Problems of Philosophy by Bertrand Russell
Bertrand Russell on Ludwig Wittgenstein
The Nature of Things by Lucretius
The Swerve: How the World Became Modern by Stephen Greenblatt
MIT OpenCourseWare | Free Online Course Materials
Lord of the Flies by William Golding
Hand Signal Galleries, Trading Pit History
First Options
Option Theory, Investopedia
The Wolf Of Wall Street
Chicago Board of Trade
20 Years Already? Alan Greenspan and the ‘Irrational Exuberance’ Flop, MarketWatch
Standard Operating Procedure (SOP)
Asymmetrical Risk/Reward, Asymmetry Observations
Fooled by Randomness: The Hidden Role of Chance in Life and in the Markets by Nassim Nicholas Taleb
The Black Swan: Second Edition: The Impact of the Highly Improbable by Nassim Nicholas Taleb
Dumb and Dumber ‘So You’re Telling Me There’s a Chance?’
Long Lost Lamented Restaurants Power Hour: Trio by Jeffy Mai, Eater Chicago
Blue Trout and Black Truffles: The Peregrinations of an Epicure by Joseph Wechsberg
The Great History of Fernand Point and La Pyramide, Vienne Condrieu Tourisme
eGullet Forums
Alinea
Crucial Detail
Bocuse d’Or
Chef’s Table with Grant (Volume 2, Episode 1)
The Aviary
Husk
Sean Brock’s Opening Day Review of Alinea, eGullet
Chartres Cathedral
Alinea — The Business Plan
The French Laundry
Alinea is the Best Restaurant in Chicago, Chicago Magazine
A Man of Taste: A Chef with Cancer Fights to save His Tongue. by D.T. Max, The New Yorker
Next
Dinner: The Toughest Ticket in Town by Brett Martin, GQ
Next: Paris 1906 by Adam Goldberg, A Life Worth Eating
When Paris Flooded, 1910, Rare Historical Photos
OpenTable
Rackspace
Marimekko Chart — A Complete Guide, FusionCharts
How to Make a Marimekko Chart (Video), MekkoGraphics
Poor Charlie’s Almanack: The Wit and Wisdom of Charles T. Munger by Charles T. Munger
The Boring Company
U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission
War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
About the Best Sellers, The New York Times
Weta Workshop
Pixar
Industrial Light and Magic
The Alinea Project
Peychaud’s Bitters

SHOW NOTES

Is pressure Nick’s default setting, or are the risks the world perceives he takes somewhat of an illusion? [09:35]
How do behavioral economics and Nobel Prize-winning investor Richard Thaler fit into Nick’s way of doing things? [12:35]
How did Nick make the transit from philosophy to finance, and does he feel philosophy was an asset to what came later? [14:55]
Why did a legendary philosophy professor at Colgate give Nick’s classmates 15-page assignments while capping his limit at three pages? [16:21]
What was Nick’s introduction to the world of trading at a time when his future father-in-law was predicting he’d become an intellectual bum, and why did he have to dumb down the academics on his rÈsumÈ to get a clerk job on the Merc floor? [18:12]
Why is it common for philosophy majors to become traders? [21:03]
Why Nick is glad he didn’t pursue an MBA in 1992. [22:00]
Going back to Nick’s professor at Colgate, why does he think he was singled out from his peers? [23:48]
Books and other resources Nick recommends for aspiring entrepreneurs who don’t have the benefit of a philosophy background (or a tough professor to keep them grounded). [28:15]
Did Nick find that being a clerk on the floor of the Merc was everything he dreamed it could be? [33:48]
How Nick followed his entrepreneurial father’s model for owning his own situation when entering the world of trading, and found someone who was doing business in a way no one else was doing it. [36:10]
Why did Nick leave his mentor after a year and start his own company? [40:53]
How did Nick and his employees train to quicken their mental agility required for trading? [42:34]
The formative moment when Nick realized he could thrive in the trading environment. [45:31]
Resources and books Nick recommends to anyone who wants to learn to become a better investor. [46:21]
When it comes to taking investment risks these days, Nick seeks out the “high, small hoops.” [48:22]
Averages can be misleading. Do so many businesses fail because the model is difficult, or because too few do enough due diligence before diving into the fray? [52:00]
At what point did Nick decide to leave trading and get into the restaurant business — in spite of being warned of the high failure rate to be found there? [55:15]
The dinner and conversation that led to Nick teaming up with Grant Achatz — even though they didn’t really know each other very well by that point — and the decisions they made together along the way. [1:00:18]
Out of so many equally risky and exciting options, why did Nick pick opening a restaurant as his next “thing?” [1:07:17]
How does Nick spot talent early in others that most people are late to notice? [1:10:23]
Why do restaurants have candles, why do fancy restaurants have white tablecloths, and other questions that Nick and Grant have pondered. [1:14:22]
Incidentally, a now-famous chef was Alinea’s first customer. [1:17:25]
Nick and Grant would never let an architect or designer shoot down their ideas just because the way things have always been done happen to be practical. [1:18:39]
As someone who had never run a restaurant before, how did Nick contribute to the business effectively without simply falling into the role of financial donor dilettante? [1:19:29]
Why was Nick “horrified” when Alinea won Best Restaurant in America from Gourmet magazine in 2006? [1:23:24]
Grant was diagnosed with stage IV cancer and given six months to live — so of course he and Nick wrote a book and worked on revolutionizing the way their industry handled reservations while supervising a dwindling staff. [1:24:51]
Sometimes a PoS really is a PoS. Nick explains how reservations have been traditionally booked in the restaurant industry and what he’s done to improve upon this in ways that go beyond holding a table. [1:29:29]
Partner bickering at a time-traveling press dinner and using austere minimalism to avoid Next becoming the Disneyland of cuisine. [1:39:51]
Dealing with reservation software problems seven hours before the first dinner and the novelty of variable price points based on the day of the week. [1:44:58]
The moment a bearded, unwashed, and somewhat slightly dazed Nick was able to say “This is the best thing I’ve ever built.” [1:47:44]
Why the rewards of such a reservation system were worth their asymmetric risks on several levels. [1:51:02]
Marimekko charts can be used to instantly see anything from how much your restaurant’s sending to the fishmonger every month to what the ROI of sponsoring a podcast might be. [1:55:15]
The next industry Nick wants to disrupt? Truffles. Here’s why. [2:00:41]
How does Nick choose the black boxes worth trying to illuminate and examine, and what role do his more ambitious employees play in bringing them to light? [2:04:24]
On the confining self-selection of roles many people fall into on the job (for better or for worse), and how Nick’s hiring process is different today than it was 20 years ago. [2:10:31]
Nick deals with a lot of email. What systems does he have in place to help him cope? [2:16:41]
Social media can be hard to keep up with, but we both agree it’s important to demonstrate that we’re paying attention by engaging when possible — even if we can’t respond to it all. [2:22:49]
What “puzzle” filters and other mini-hurdles in correspondence accomplish. [2:24:06]
We compare notes about the somewhat slimy similarities between the music and publishing industries. [2:26:02]
Another black box: the agency problem. [2:35:25]
On the Hembergers and The Alinea Project, and the upcoming Aviary Book being released independently. [2:41:23]
A little cocktail talk. [2:48:37]
Books Nick has gifted most, and how he personalizes the gifts he gives. [2:53:47]
What would Nick’s billboard say? [2:55:44]
Parting thoughts. [2:57:34]

PEOPLE MENTIONED

Grant Achatz
Richard Thaler
Jerome Balmuth
Bertrand Russell
Ludwig Wittgenstein
Friedrich Nietzsche
Rene Descartes
Lucretius
Dagmara Kokonas
Jim Hanson
Nassim Taleb
Howard Marks
Jim Carrey
Captain America
Gordon Ramsay
Martin Kastner
Thomas Keller
Daniel Boulud
Sean Brock
Ruth Reichl
Auguste Escoffier
Stephen Bernacki
Charlie Munger
Warren Buffett
Elon Musk
Jason Fried
Brian Fitzpatrick
Aaron Wehner
Allen Hemberger
Sarah Hemberger
Eric Jeffus