Timothy Ferriss's Blog, page 75
July 23, 2017
When to Quit – Lessons from World-Class Entrepreneurs, Investors, Authors, and More
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“Remember: it’s not a failure until you accept defeat.”
-Debbie Millman
I’m very excited to share this episode. It’s our first “roundtable” approach to discussing a single topic. This came about when I asked 5-Bullet Friday subscribers (sign up here if you’re interested) to send me questions, and one that stuck out was: Where’s the line between stubbornly pursuing an idea that isn’t working and the patience and persistence needed to actually make it work? In other words — when should you give up and quit and when should you push on?
Since this is something I myself have struggled with, I came to the conclusion that I should reach out to people who might have a better answer. So, I sent the question to the following entrepreneurs, authors, and innovators:
Scott Belsky
Seth Godin
James Altucher
Debbie Millman
Adam Robinson
Chase Jarvis
Rhonda Patrick
Their answers are a thorough overview of how to assess your own ideas and opportunities, and determine which ones are worth pursuing. Enjoy!
Listen to it on iTunes.
Stream by clicking here.
Download as an MP3 by right-clicking here and choosing “save as.”
Want to hear my first episode with Debbie Millman? — Listen to this episode, where we discuss how to recover from rejection, how to overcome personal crises of faith, class exercises from her most impactful mentors, and much more. (stream below or right-click here to download):
This podcast is brought to you by Shopify. With the help of Shopify, many readers of my blog — first-time business owners — have ended up making millions of dollars each with their side gigs. Back in 2009, I helped create Shopify’s Build a Business, which is now the world’s largest entrepreneurship competition.
The goal of this competition is to entice would-be entrepreneurs to get off the couch and make things happen, and all you have to do to qualify is open a store on Shopify and start selling. Top sellers in each category then have the exclusive opportunity to learn from mentors and experts like Tony Robbins, Daymond John, Seth Godin, Sir Richard Branson, and me in a location like Necker Island.
Listeners to this show can go to shopify.com/tim to sign up for a free, 30-day trial and gain access to video courses that will help you get started — including “How to Quickly Start a Profitable Dropshipping Store” with Corey Ferreira and some goodies from me. Check it out at shopify.com/tim today!
This podcast is also brought to you by 99Designs, the world’s largest marketplace of graphic designers. I have used them for years to create some amazing designs. When your business needs a logo, website design, business card, or anything you can imagine, check out 99Designs.
I used them to rapid prototype the cover for The Tao of Seneca, and I’ve also had them help with display advertising and illustrations. If you want a more personalized approach, I recommend their 1-on-1 service. You get original designs from designers around the world. The best part? You provide your feedback, and then you end up with a product that you’re happy with or your money back. Click this link and get a free $99 upgrade. Give it a test run…
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 Scott Belsky:
Connect with Seth Godin:
Connect with James Altucher:
Connect with Debbie Millman:
Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Design Matters Podcast
Connect with Adam Robinson:
Connect with Chase Jarvis
Website | CreativeLive | Twitter | YouTube | Facebook | Instagram
Connect with Rhonda Patrick:
Found My Fitness | Podcast | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram
Divestiture Aversion (aka the Endowment Effect)
The Dip: A Little Book That Teaches You When to Quit (and When to Stick) by Seth Godin
Question of the Day (QOD) Podcast
Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner
Stockpickr! Your Source for Stock Ideas
Become An Idea Machine: Because Ideas Are The Currency Of The 21st Century by Claudia Azula Altucher and James Altucher
A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole
The Sunk Cost Fallacy by David McRaney, You Are Not So Smart
The Best Camera Is The One That’s With You: iPhone Photography by Chase Jarvis
Recording Analog Memories in Human Cells by Anne Trafton, MIT News Office
Born for This: How to Find the Work You Were Meant to Do by Chris Guillebeau
1,000 True Fans by Kevin Kelly
Show Notes
Why Scott Belsky stuck with Behance even when it was going through rough patches. [08:41]
Seth Godin thoughts from his bestselling book about quitting. [13:24]
James Altucher tells us why you sometimes want to quit when you’re ahead. [19:53]
Debbie Millman on pursuing dreams over conforming to the comfortable. [38:58]
Adam Robinson ponders the options we all face: to persist, to pivot, or to quit. [47:11]
Chase Jarvis on intuition as the most powerful tool we have as humans and the science behind it. [57:12]
Rhonda Patrick gives us some insight on why making a counterintuitive choice ended up working in her favor. [1:11:19]
People Mentioned
Jerry Seinfeld
Howard Stern
Stephen Dubner
Brian Koppelman
Marina Franklin
AJ Jacobs
Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Leo Tolstoy
W.C. Fields
Rudyard Kipling
Mikhail Baryshnikov
John Kennedy Toole
Thelma Toole
Walker Percy
Gary Vaynerchuk
Mark Cuban
Richard Branson
Chris Guillebeau
Bruce Ames
Kevin Kelly
July 19, 2017
Morning Routines and Strategies
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“Routine, in an intelligent man, is a sign of ambition.”
– W. H. Auden
This is a special episode of the podcast. After more than 200 conversations with the world’s top performers, you start to spot certain patterns. These are the shared habits, hacks, philosophies, and tools that are the common threads of success, happiness, health, and wealth.
These commonalities were the premise of my most recent book, The New York Times #1 bestseller Tools of Titans — a compilation of my favorite lessons, routines, and tips of many of my guests.
In this episode, I’ve gathered some of the best advice about morning routines from:
Jocko Willink
Seth Godin
Jamie Foxx
Scott Adams
Enjoy!
Listen to it on iTunes.
Stream by clicking here.
Download as an MP3 by right-clicking here and choosing “save as.”
Want to hear another episode of featuring multiple guests and their best tips? In this episode, we explore meditation and mindfulness with Chase Jarvis, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sam Harris, and Rainn Wilson (stream below or right-click here to download):
This podcast is brought to you by 99Designs, the world’s largest marketplace of graphic designers. I have used them for years to create some amazing designs. When your business needs a logo, website design, business card, or anything you can imagine, check out 99Designs.
I used them to rapid prototype the cover for The Tao of Seneca, and I’ve also had them help with display advertising and illustrations. If you want a more personalized approach, I recommend their 1-on-1 service. You get original designs from designers around the world. The best part? You provide your feedback, and then you end up with a product that you’re happy with or your money back. Click this link and get a free $99 upgrade. Give it a test run…
This podcast is also 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 Episode
Connect with Jocko Willink:
Echelon Front | Twitter | Facebook
Connect with Seth Godin:
Connect with Jamie Foxx:
Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
Connect with Scott Adams:
Website | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube
Meditation, Mindset, and Mastery
How to Control Stress, Upgrade Your Nutrition, and Build the Mindset of a Gladiator
5 Morning Rituals That Help Me Win The Day
Admiral McRaven’s Life Lesson #1: Make Your Bed
Make Your Bed: Little Things That Can Change Your Life…and Maybe the World by William H. McRaven
What My Morning Journal Looks Like
Tools of Titans: The Tactics, Routines, and Habits of Billionaires, Icons, and World-Class Performers
Priming Exercise with Tony Robbins
Transcendental Meditation
Headspace
Tara Brach’s guided meditations
Morning teas: pu-erh and turmeric ginger
The Five-Minute Journal
Yes, “Coffee Naps” Work. Here’s What You Need to Know. by Emily Siegel, Van Winkle’s
Jocko Willink on Discipline, Leadership, and Overcoming Doubt
The Scariest Navy SEAL Imaginable…And What He Taught Me
Extreme Ownership: How US Navy SEALs Lead and Win by Jocko Willink
Battle of Ramadi
Seth Godin on How to Think Small to Go Big
How Seth Godin Manages His Life — Rules, Principles, and Obsessions
Books by Seth Godin
The altMBA
Seth Godin’s classes at Skillshare
Jamie Foxx on Workout Routines, Success Habits, and Untold Hollywood Stories
Giuseppe Zanotti shoes
Scott Adams: The Man Behind Dilbert
God’s Debris: A Thought Experiment by Scott Adams
Scott’s blog posts on the body model, the six dimensions of humor, and affirmations.
The Far Side by Gary Larson
Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson
Show Notes
Why your morning should have a predictable and scripted sequence. [06:45]
My morning non-negotiables. [07:57]
Jocko Willink’s morning routines and how he structures his ideal day. [10:01]
Who Jocko thinks of when he hears the word “successful.” [15:00]
What are Jocko’s struggles? [17:44]
The first two hours in Seth Godin’s day, and what his typical breakfast looks like. [22:05]
The value of having an office. [25:29]
Seth’s views on educating kids to succeed in the 21st century. [26:40]
“Busy” as a trap, and practices parents can follow to regularly spend quality time with their children. [30:06]
As an educator, here’s Seth’s strategy for retaining online students. [31:34]
Seth on self-discipline. [34:12]
Jamie Foxx’s morning routine doesn’t involve coffee. [36:10]
Advice Jamie would give to his younger self. [39:47]
Jamie’s daughter’s advice to his current self. [46:08]
The structure of Scott Adams’s morning. [47:47]
On clearing and “flooding” the brain and paying attention to what the body model is trying to tell us. [49:26]
Moving art into the domain of craft and understanding the six dimensions of humor. [51:18]
Stories about coincidences and affirmations. [55:07]
People Mentioned
W. H. Auden
William H. McRaven
Tony Robbins
Tara Brach
Sam Harris
Marc Alan Lee
Michael A. Monsoor
Ryan Job
Richard Branson
Helene Godin
Tyrin Turner
Corinne Foxx
George Lopez
Nicole Scherzinger
Tank
Naval Ravikant
July 12, 2017
Inside the World of SuperTraining – Mark Bell
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“Multiply your muscle and multiply your hustle.”
– Mark Bell
Mark Bell (@MarkSmellyBell) is the founder of Super Training Gym in Sacramento, which is often referred to as “the strongest gym in the West.” Prior to opening his own gym, he spent time studying training under the legendary Louie Simmons at Westside Barbell.
Mark is no stranger to the iron. His best “geared lifts” in competition include a 1,025-pound squat (465 kg), an 832-pound bench press (77 kg), and a 738-pound deadlift (335 kg). Mark is also the inventor of the patented Slingshot, a device used to assist in maintaining proper bench press form while also helping use more weight or perform more reps.
Mark now has an entire line of products and is spectacularly successful. In this episode, we cover a lot, including:
Mark’s most important lessons for building strength.
How to avoid injury and breakdown.
Lesser-known training techniques that nearly everyone overlooks.
How Mark became a millionaire by offering his gym memberships for free.
And much, much more.
We recorded this interview while touring his facility in Sacramento, looking at some crazy equipment that you can see by visiting tim.blog/supertraining.
Please enjoy!
Listen to it on iTunes.
Stream by clicking here.
Download as an MP3 by right-clicking here and choosing “save as.”
Want to hear another episode about fitness and strength training? Listen to this interview with Jerzy Gregorek. In this episode, we discuss flexibility, strength, muscle gain, and fat loss at any age (stream below or right-click here to download):
This podcast is brought to you by 99Designs, the world’s largest marketplace of graphic designers. I have used them for years to create some amazing designs. When your business needs a logo, website design, business card, or anything you can imagine, check out 99Designs.
I used them to rapid prototype the cover for The Tao of Seneca, and I’ve also had them help with display advertising and illustrations. If you want a more personalized approach, I recommend their 1-on-1 service. You get original designs from designers around the world. The best part? You provide your feedback, and then you end up with a product that you’re happy with or your money back. Click this link and get a free $99 upgrade. Give it a test run…
This episode is also 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 — such as 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.
LegalZoom is not a law firm, but it does have a network of independent attorneys available in most states who can give you advice on the best way to get started, provide contract reviews, and otherwise help you run your business with complete transparency and up-front pricing. Check out LegalZoom.com and enter promo code TIM at checkout today to save 15% and see how the fine folks there can make life easier for you and your business.
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 Mark Bell:
Super Training Gym | HowMuchYaBench.net | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube
Rust and Iron, Episode 2: Powerlifter Mark Bell
SlingShot
Power Magazine
Bigger, Stronger, Faster
Prescription Thugs
Westside Barbell
Maximal Effort Method — Circa 2009 by Doris Simmons, Westside Barbell
The Repetition Method by Doris Simmons, Westside Barbell
Future Method Bench Press Setup, Rogue Fitness
Stall bars
SlingShot Hip Circle
The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable by Nassim Nicholas Taleb
Fooled by Randomness: The Hidden Role of Chance in Life and in the Markets by Nassim Nicholas Taleb
Fuck Your Elbow, Mark Bell
MIKE O’TREN YOU ARE NO LONGER MY FRIEND!!!, Mark Bell
Trenbolone
COAN The Man, The Myth, The Method: The Life, Times & Training of The Greatest Powerlifter of All-Time by Marty Gallagher
Conventional or Sumo Deadlifts: What Is Best for Your Leverages? Omar Isuf
Ed Coan 887 Deadlift
The Journey of Ed Coan — The Greatest Powerlifter of All Time, Mark Bell
Konstantinovs Deadlift 426 kg (939 lb) Raw, no belt
Hook grip
Strength is Never a Weakness mural at Super Training Gym
Officially Licensed Groucho Marx Glasses
Ribera Steakhouse
HAVYKtriad
Duffalo bar
Geisha Roller (Thompson X-Wife)
Show Notes
Mark talks about his new gym location and his free membership business model. [05:49]
The benefits Mark has enjoyed since making his gym free. [08:53]
What Mark’s gym schedule looks like. [12:50]
Lessons learned from Louie Simmons at Westside Barbell. [14:55]
Advice for new lifters who want to take an “accelerated learning” approach. [21:53]
Five exercises for an athlete of another discipline who is new to powerlifting. [26:46]
Lesser known assistance exercises Mark finds valuable for deadlifts, squats, and bench press. [30:26]
The real value of Mark’s SlingShot (and a few bench press techniques). [33:30]
“Idiot-proofing the bench press.” [38:38]
Helpful bench press tips and warmups. [39:47]
How your warmup can be a diagnostic tool. [41:48]
Mark’s favorite bench press warmup. [45:27]
The background of the “fuck your elbow” shenanigans. [50:59]
The feud vs. Mike O’Hearn. [55:14]
On Ed Coan, “the greatest powerlifter of all time.” [58:45]
Techniques learned from other legendary powerlifters. [1:06:32]
“Strength is never a weakness.” [1:08:59]
Why it’s sometimes dangerous to emulate techniques of top performers. [1:10:35]
As he’s gotten older, has Mark added anything to minimize the likelihood of injury or spinal issues? [1:12:54]
Sometimes sleep is the most important technique. [1:17:11]
The first person who comes to mind when Mark thinks of success. [1:20:16]
The power of not taking oneself too seriously. [1:24:10]
Recent purchases that have had the most positive impact on Mark’s life. [1:25:57]
What would Mark’s billboard say? [1:29:19]
Parting thoughts. [1:32:27]
People Mentioned
Louie Simmons
Mike “Mad Dog” Bell
Chris Bell
Jerzy Gregorek
Muhammad Ali
Nassim Nicholas Taleb
Jake Bell
Mike O’Hearn
Ed Coan
Bill Kazmaier
Dorian Yates
Dmitry Klokov
Konstantin Konstantinovs
Pavel Tsatsouline
Jon Bones Jones
Dan John
Ronnie Coleman
Jesse Burdick
Laird Hamilton
Tim O’Neil
Christopher Sommer
Sheldon Bell
Bo Jackson
Michael Jordan
Rosemary Bell
Groucho Marx
Chris Duffin
Donnie Thompson
Danny DeVito
July 9, 2017
How to Live Without Limits – Kyle Maynard
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“Dreams don’t have to manifest as you imagined. They just have to set you on a path because there is always a way.”
– Kyle Maynard
Kyle Maynard (@kylemaynard) is a motivational speaker, bestselling author, entrepreneur, and ESPY award-winning mixed martial arts athlete, known for becoming the first quadruple amputee to reach the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro and Mount Aconcagua without the aid of prosthetics.
Oprah Winfrey called Kyle “one of the most inspiring young men you will ever hear about.” Arnold Schwarzenegger described him as “the real deal,” “a champion human,” and “one of the most inspiring people” he’s ever met. Even the great Wayne Gretzky has spoken of Kyle’s “greatness.”
Despite being born with a rare condition that left him with arms that end at the elbows and legs that end near his knees, he learned early on with the support of his family to live life independently and without prosthetics. Kyle thrives on physical challenges and, following a few rough middle school football seasons, he went on to become a champion wrestler, CrossFit Certified Instructor and gym owner, competitive MMA/Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu fighter, world record-setting weightlifter, and skilled mountaineer.
This episode comes from my new television show Fear{less}, where I interview world-class performers on stage about how they’ve overcome doubt, conquered fear, and made their toughest decisions. You can watch the entire first episode with illusionist David Blaine for free at att.net/fearless. (To watch all episodes, please visit DIRECTV NOW.)
We recorded three hours of material and only one hour was used for the TV show. This podcast episode is almost entirely new content that didn’t appear on TV.
Enjoy!
Listen to it on iTunes.
Stream by clicking here.
Download as an MP3 by right-clicking here and choosing “save as.”
Want to hear another podcast with an incredibly inspirational person? — Listen to my conversation with Nicholas McCarthy. In this episode, we discuss how to overcome limitations, proving doubters wrong, how to manage ego, and much more. (Stream below or right-click here to download):
This podcast is brought to you by WordPress, my go-to platform for 24/7-supported, zero downtime blogging, writing online, creating websites — everything! I love it to bits, and the lead developer, Matt Mullenweg, has appeared on this podcast many times.
Whether for personal use or business, you’re in good company with WordPress — used by The New Yorker, Jay-Z, FiveThirtyEight, TechCrunch, TED, CNN, and Time, just to name a few. A source at Google told me that WordPress offers “the best out-of-the-box SEO imaginable,” which is probably why it runs nearly 30% of the Internet. Go to WordPress.com/Tim to get 15% off your website today!
This podcast is also brought to you by 99Designs, the world’s largest marketplace of graphic designers. I have used them for years to create some amazing designs. When your business needs a logo, website design, business card, or anything you can imagine, check out 99Designs.
I used them to rapid prototype the cover for The Tao of Seneca, and I’ve also had them help with display advertising and illustrations. If you want a more personalized approach, I recommend their 1-on-1 service. You get original designs from designers around the world. The best part? You provide your feedback, and then you end up with a product that you’re happy with or your money back. Click this link and get a free $99 upgrade. Give it a test run…
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 Kyle Maynard:
Website | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
No Excuses: The True Story of a Congenital Amputee Who Became a Champion in Wrestling and in Life by Kyle Maynard
A Fighting Chance (documentary)
The Karate Kid — Daniel Visits the Cobra Kai Dojo
No Excuses CrossFit
Kyle on Oprah and Larry King Live
Kyle Maynard and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
[Theodore] Roosevelt’s “The Man in the Arena” by Erin McCarthy, Mental Floss
Anton Ego’s final taste in Ratatouille
Kyle’s MMA fight
Serenity Prayer
Walter Reed National Military Medical Center
Dom D’Agostino on Disease Prevention, Cancer, and Living Longer
How Argentina Stole Malbec from France, Vivino
Mission Kilimanjaro Mission Overview
Show Notes
Kyle talks about growing up with three sisters, supportive grandparents, a wrestling father, and a mother who could have run the Cobra Kai Dojo. [08:14]
The most powerful lesson Kyle’s grandmother taught him. [09:37]
Reading people’s eyes as “subtitles.” [11:36]
Is Howard Stern’s indictment of Kyle’s dad. [12:50]
On learning to drive in Atlanta traffic. [13:27]
What drove Kyle toward athletics? [16:26]
Kyle talks about winning GNC’s World’s Strongest Teen in 2009 — and what he wishes he could tell his ten-year-old self. [17:37]
“Stop helping me!” [22:28]
Is anyone really self-made? [23:58]
Getting into Brazilian jiu-jitsu. [24:42]
What Kyle [and I have] learned from being thrown to the Internet wolves. [26:16]
What goes through Kyle’s mind before competing? [30:26]
It’s not about the people who don’t get it; it’s about the people who do get it. [33:34]
How does Kyle stay consistently positive? [35:25]
On wanting to serve after 9/11 and having profound respect for veterans. [38:42]
Is there anything from Kyle’s book that he’d revise? [41:42]
When traveling, what does a workout look like for Kyle? [43:53]
If Kyle had to give a TED Talk on something for which he’s not well known, what would he discuss? [44:47]
How much time elapsed between thinking of climbing Kilimanjaro and actually doing it? [52:45]
People Mentioned
Howard Stern
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Ralph Gracie
Takashi Doscher
Theodore Roosevelt
Anton Ego
Paul Creighton
Forrest Griffin
Mauricio Rua
Walter Reed
Maynard James Keenan
Dominic D’Agostino
Dan Adams
Erik Weihenmayer
Kevin Cherilla
Kristen Sandquist
July 5, 2017
Myers-Briggs, Diet Mistakes, and Immortality
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In this episode, I’m answering your questions. I’m responding to the most upvoted questions from subscribers to 5-Bullet Friday, the newsletter I send out every week. It explores five cool things I’ve found, including apps, books, gadgets, albums, articles, new hacks/tricks, and — of course — all sorts of weird stuff I dig up around the world.
It’s free, it’s always going to be free, and if you want to check it out, you can go here: tim.blog/friday.
If you’re a longtime listener to this podcast, you’ll find at least one or two actionable pieces of information here. Enjoy!
Listen to it on iTunes.
Stream by clicking here.
Download as an MP3 by right-clicking here and choosing “save as.”
Want to hear another Q&A episode? — Listen to this episode where I answer questions drunk. We discuss tantric sex, how I view and organize my various income streams, marketing yourself in job interviews, and much, much more (stream below or right-click here to download):
This podcast is brought to you by Audible. I have used Audible for years, and I love audiobooks. I have two to recommend:
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
Vagabonding by Rolf Potts
All you need to do to get your free 30-day Audible trial is visit Audible.com/Tim. Choose one of the above books, or choose any of the endless options they offer. That could be a book, a newspaper, a magazine, or even a class. It’s that easy. Go to Audible.com/Tim and get started today. Enjoy.
This podcast is also 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, and 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 Episode
Subscribe to 5-Bullet Friday: tim.blog/friday
Myers-Briggs Type Indicator
Tao Te Ching by Lao Tsu
Tools of Titans: The Tactics, Routines, and Habits of Billionaires, Icons, and World-Class Performers by Tim Ferriss
If… (Questions For The Game of Life) by Evelyn McFarlane and James Saywell
Gravitas: The Little Box of Big Questions
The School of Life — Know Yourself Prompt Cards
The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich by Timothy Ferriss
Filling the Void: Thoughts on Learning and Karma
The 4-Hour Body: An Uncommon Guide to Rapid Fat Loss, Incredible Sex and Becoming Superhuman by Timothy Ferriss
How to Lose 100 Pounds on The Slow-Carb Diet — Real Pics and Stories
Tools of Titans — A Few Goodies from the Cutting Room Floor
Shopify in Montreal
Total Immersion: How I Learned to Swim Effortlessly in 10 Days and You Can Too
Fear{less} with Tim Ferriss
The World’s Healthiest 75-Year-Old Man by Susan Casey, Esquire
My Life Extension Pilgrimage to Easter Island
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
The Five-Minute Journal
The Tail End by Tim Urban, Wait But Why
Marc Andreessen — Lessons, Predictions, and Recommendations from an Icon
Derek Sivers Distilled
The Crossroads of Should and Must: Find and Follow Your Passion by Elle Luna
The Top 5 Reasons to Be a Jack of All Trades
My adventures in Yabusame
Bad Decisions Make Good Stories shirt
Accelerated Learning and Mentors — My Personal Story
What is Hedonic Adaptation and How Can it Turn You Into a Sucka? by Mr. Money Mustache
The Jar of Awesome and Celebrating Small Wins with CreativeLive
The 4-Hour Chef: The Simple Path to Cooking Like a Pro, Learning Anything, and Living the Good Life by Timothy Ferriss
Fear-Setting: The Most Valuable Exercise I Do Every Month
Toastmasters
Your Memory: How It Works and How to Improve It by Kenneth L. Higbee Ph.D.
Ed Cooke, Grandmaster of Memory, on Mental Performance, Imagination, and Productive Mischief
Moonwalking with Einstein: The Art and Science of Remembering Everything by Joshua Foer
How to Become More Confident — Lay Down on the Street for 30 Seconds by Till H. Grofl
Noah Kagan’s Coffee Challenge Helps You Get Over Fear by Alyson Shontell, Business Insider
Show Notes
How do I feel about personality metrics such as Myers-Briggs, and what’s my type? [05:09]
Ways I study questions to prompt introspection. [05:49]
What are the most common misconceptions people have about my work or philosophy? [08:00]
What missed the cut for Tools of Titans? [12:35]
What I think about before putting anything out into the world. [15:12]
What do I see myself doing when I reach old age, and would I take immortality if it became medically available? [20:30]
What is my current view on balancing future focus goals and enjoying the present moment? [26:28]
Why I don’t say to go after your “vision” or “passion” — and what I prefer instead. [30:49]
Why I endorse being a jack of all trades. [34:16]
What is my self-talk in difficult situations? [37:41]
How many guests do I think would be where they are now if they followed their own advice to their younger selves? [42:43]
Memory retention, 80/20 breakdown, and training advice for students preparing to take a big test. [46:47]
Effective ways to cultivate higher confidence. [54:09]
Subscribe to 5-Bullet Friday if you want to ask me questions for the next round [1:00:49]
People Mentioned
Alain de Botton
Mr. Money Mustache
Naval Ravikant
Kevin Rose
David Blaine
Laird Hamilton
Don Wildman
Art De Vany
Jerzy Gregorek
Gabrielle Reece
Cato
Seneca
Methuselah
Bill Gates
Tim Urban
Marc Andreessen
Derek Sivers
Josh Waitzkin
Scott Adams
Cus D’Amato
Mike Tyson
Matt Mullenweg
Ed Cooke
Till H. Gross
Noah Kagan
June 28, 2017
How to Make a Difference and Find Your Purpose — Blake Mycoskie
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“You can’t lose everything when what you care about are the people and the memories you have.”
– Blake Mycoskie
This episode of the podcast features Blake Mycoskie (@blakemycoskie).
Blake is the Founder and Chief Shoe Giver of TOMS, and the person behind the One for One® business model, which helps a person in need with every product purchased.
This simple idea has grown into a global movement: TOMS Shoes has provided more than 60 million pairs of shoes to children since 2006, TOMS Eyewear has restored sight to more than 400,000 people since 2011, and TOMS Roasting Company has helped provide over 335,000 weeks of safe water since launching in 2014. In 2015, TOMS Bag Collection was founded with the mission to help provide training for skilled birth attendants and distribute birth kits containing items that help women safely deliver babies. As of 2016, TOMS has supported safe birth services for more than 25,000 mothers.
In this episode we cover:
Early entrepreneurial ventures
The power of journaling
How “the stool analogy” changed Blake’s life
Lessons from Ben Franklin
And much, much more…
This episode comes from my new television show Fear(less), where I interview world-class performers on stage about how they’ve overcome doubt, conquered fear, and made their toughest decisions. You can watch the entire first episode with illusionist David Blaine for free at att.net/fearless. (To watch all episodes, please visit DIRECTV NOW).
We recorded three hours of material and only one hour was used for the TV show. This podcast episode is almost entirely new content that didn’t appear on TV.
Enjoy!
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Listen to it on iTunes.
Stream by clicking here.
Download as an MP3 by right-clicking here and choosing “save as.”
Want to hear another podcast with a guest from Fearless? — Listen to this episode with David Blaine where we discuss illusion, taking risks, and the art of positive mindset (stream below or right-click here to download):
This episode is brought to you by Inktel. Ever since I wrote The 4-Hour Workweek, I’ve been frequently asked about how I choose to delegate tasks. At the root of many of my decisions is a simple question: “How can I invest money to improve my quality of life?” Or, “how can I spend moderate money to save significant time?”
Inktel is one of those investments. It is a turnkey solution for all of your customer care needs. Its team answers more than one million customer service requests each year. It can also interact with your customers across all platforms, including email, phone, social media, text, and chat.
Inktel removes the logistics and headache of customer communication, allowing you to grow your business by focusing on your strengths. And as a listener of this podcast, you can get up to $10,000 off your start-up fees and costs waived by visiting inktel.com/tim. That’s inktel.com/tim.
This podcast is also brought to you by 99Designs, the world’s largest marketplace of graphic designers. I have used them for years to create some amazing designs. When your business needs a logo, website design, business card, or anything you can imagine, check out 99Designs.
I used them to rapid prototype the cover for The Tao of Seneca, and I’ve also had them help with display advertising and illustrations. If you want a more personalized approach, I recommend their 1-on-1 service. You get original designs from designers around the world. The best part? You provide your feedback, and then you end up with a product that you’re happy with or your money back. Click this link and get a free $99 upgrade. Give it a test run…
QUESTION 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 Blake Mycoskie:
Pappadeaux Seafood Kitchen
The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron
King of Clubs: Grow Rich in More Than Money by Robert H.Dedman
Wit and Wisdom from Poor Richard’s Almanack by Benjamin Franklin
Moral Letters to Lucilius XVIII: On Festivals and Fasting
The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich by Timothy Ferriss
Blake and Paige on The Amazing Race 2
How to Live Like a Rock Star (or Tango Star) in Buenos Aires…
How I Did It: The Toms Story by Blake Mycoskie, Entrepreneur
Co-Founder Alejo Nitti Talks About the Beginnings of TOMS
The Lowly Alpargata Steps Forward by Jennifer Irwin, The New York Times
How I Built It: Reef’s Fernando Aguerre with Colleen DeBaise, WSJ
Show Notes
Who here owns shoes? [04:42]
How did Blake’s mom and dad differ in parenting styles? [05:59]
What was Blake’s first entrepreneurial experience? [08:39]
The importance of journaling. [15:35]
What Blake learned from a local eccentric businessman and philanthropist. [19:20]
How Ben Franklin has influenced the way TOMS does business. [21:50]
How Blake’s dad reacted when he told him he was dropping out of college to pursue his own business. [24:45]
An aspiring entrepreneur’s recipe for disaster. [27:33]
The TOMS origin story — how it came about when Blake was trying to take a vacation from business. [31:04]
How the women in Blake’s life proved to him that TOMS was a viable business model. [41:31]
TOMS went from a goal of breaking even to turning high profits. [45:19]
When deciding on a company name, why did Blake settle on TOMS? [46:47]
On growing organically vs. raising venture capital. [50:12]
The first time Blake encountered a wildly enthusiastic stranger wearing TOMS in the wild. [51:33]
Advice for aspiring manufacturers? [1:00:48]
On not getting stuck in the rut of a costly lifestyle over building real relationships. [1:03:21]
People Mentioned
Pam Mycoskie
Mike Mycoskie
Paige Mycoskie
Tyler Mycoskie
Julia Cameron
Brian Koppelman
David Levien
Bob Dedman
Benjamin Franklin
Seneca
Lucilius Junior
Kevin Kelly
Jack Welch
Alejo Nitti
Sean Scott
Fernando Aguerre
Santiago Aguerre
June 25, 2017
The 10 Commandments of Startup Success with Reid Hoffman
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“Hard work isn’t enough, and more work is never the real answer.”
– Reid Hoffman
In this special episode, we explore the “10 Commandments for Startup Success” as taught by the one and only Reid Hoffman (LinkedIn, Twitter). Reid has been on the show before, and he is often referred to as “The Oracle of Silicon Valley” by tech insiders, who look at his company-building and investing track record (which includes Facebook, Airbnb, Zynga, Flickr, and more) with awe.
Reid is Co-Founder of LinkedIn, which has more than 300 million users and sold to Microsoft for $26.2B. Prior to that, he was Executive Vice President at PayPal, which was purchased by eBay for $1.5 billion. At PayPal, he was nicknamed “firefighter-in-chief” by CEO Peter Thiel. Noted venture capitalist David Sze says of Reid, “[he] is arguably the most successful angel investor in the past decade.” They are now both partners at Greylock Partners, a top-tier venture capital firm.
The “10 Commandments” in this episode are drawn from the entire first season of Masters of Scale, one of my favorite podcasts, also hosted by Reid. But that’s not all… there is plenty of new footage, including 6-10 new questions posed by yours truly to Reid, some of my own startup observations, and lots of great cutting-room floor material from people like Brian Chesky (Airbnb) and Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook).
On Masters of Scale, Reid shares his theories on how companies scale from zero to a gazillion, and he explores them with famous founders. It’s one of the few podcasts that has a permanent home on my phone.
I hope you enjoy this one as much as I did!
Listen to it on iTunes.
Stream by clicking here.
Download as an MP3 by right-clicking here and choosing “save as.”
Want to hear another podcast featuring Reid Hoffman? — Listen to this prior conversation. In this episode, we discuss the habits and behaviors of highly successful people, using board games to develop strategy, the 3 types of CEOs, best lessons from his network, and much, much more (stream below or right-click here to download):
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.
This podcast is also brought to you by Headspace, the world’s most popular meditation app (with more than four million users). It’s used in more than 150 countries, and many of my closest friends swear by it. Try Headspace’s free Take10 program — 10 minutes of guided meditation a day for 10 days. It’s like a warm bath for your mind. Meditation doesn’t need to be complicated or expensive, and it’s had a huge impact on my life. Try Headspace for free for a few days and see what I mean.
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 Reid Hoffman:
Masters of Scale | LinkedIn | Greylock Partners | Twitter
Reid’s last appearance on this podcast: The Oracle of Silicon Valley, Reid Hoffman (Plus: Michael McCullough)
Dan Carlin’s Hardcore History
The Joe Rogan Experience
5-Bullet Friday
The Muse
Bevel Shave System
Global Citizen Year
Y Combinator
Stripe
My angel investments
Uber
Eight Years after Eve.Com Collapsed, a Founder Returns to the Game with Minted by Dan Kaplan, VentureBeat
Idealab
Etsy
Kickstarter
10,000 Hours with Reid Hoffman: What I Learned by Ben Casnocha
Foot Faults and the Rage They Can Cause by Greg Bishop, The New York Times
Shopify
The Rome of Augustus, Harvard University
OODA loop
SoftBank
Ocean Spray
Google’s Best New Innovation: Rules Around ‘20% Time’ by Kathy Gersch, Forbes
Pure Software
Musk Launches Company to Pursue ‘Neural Lace’ Brain-Interface Technology, Kurzweil Accelerating Intelligence
The original Netflix culture deck post at SlideShare
The Hero’s Journey: Joseph Campbell on His Life and Work (The Collected Works of Joseph Campbell) by Joseph Campbell
Endeavor
Cemex
America’s Silent Jewish Majority: ‘If I Am Only For Myself, Then Who Am I?’ by Jeffrey E. Schwarz, Huffpost
The Start-up of You: Adapt to the Future, Invest in Yourself, and Transform Your Career by Reid Hoffman and Ben Casnocha
The Alliance: Managing Talent in the Networked Age by Reid Hoffman and Ben Casnocha
The Seventh Sense: Power, Fortune, and Survival in the Age of Networks by Joshua Cooper Ramo
The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari
Reid Hoffman Could Spend Hundreds of Millions to Fix Some of the Country’s Biggest Political Problems by Tony Romm, Recode
Moringa Leaf Powder
How Linkedin’s Reid Hoffman Jumped off a Cliff and Built an Airplane by Drake Baer, FastCompany
The Unemployed Philosophers Guild
Show Notes
Commandment 1: Expect rejection. [09:14]
Commandment 2: Hire like your life depends on it. It does. [19:26]
Commandment 3: In order to scale, you have to do things that don’t scale. [25:37]
Commandment 4: Raise more money than you think you need — potentially a lot more. [36:18]
Commandment 5: Release your products early enough that they can still embarrass you. Imperfect is perfect. [44:45]
Commandment 6: Decide. Decide. Decide. [1:00:16]
Commandment 7: Be prepared to both make and break plans. [1:03:13]
Commandment 8: Don’t tell your employees how to innovate. [1:07:21]
Commandment 9: To create a winning company culture, make sure every employee owns it. [01:12:32]
Commandment 10: Have grit and stick with your hero’s journey. [1:23:22]
Bonus Commandment 11: Pay it forward. Use the momentum of your own success to move the success of others. [1:26:03]
What would Reid’s billboard say? [1:29:25]
Books most gifted and influential. [1:29:48]
What has Reid changed his mind about in the last few years? [01:30:52]
Recent purchase of a hundred dollars or less that has had the most positive impact on Reid’s life. [1:32:09]
Advice for a college senior about to enter the “real” world. [1:32:36]
Reid’s advice for a thirty-year-old version of himself. [1:33:15]
Favorite failures? [1:33:58]
The worst advice Reid hears commonly dispensed in his field. [1:34:54]
What’s an unusual habit or an absurd thing that Reid loves? [1:35:56]
Rules or criteria that lead to a “yes” from Reid. [1:36:40]
People Mentioned
Dan Carlin
Joe Rogan
Brian Chesky
Peter Thiel
David Sze
Mark Zuckerberg
Reed Hastings
Mark Pincus
Sheryl Sandberg
Kathryn Minshew
Tristan Walker
Dan Kedmey
Abby Falik
Eric Schmidt
Larry Page
Sergey Brin
David Fischer
Paul Graham
Joe Gebbia
Sam Altman
Garrett Camp
Travis Kalanick
Mariam Naficy
Bill Gross
Ben Casnocha
Augustus Caesar
Tom Cruise
Marc Andreessen
Margaret Heffernan
Elon Musk
Indiana Jones
Linda Rottenberg
Pedro Aspe
Lorenzo Zambrano
Carlos Slim
Emilio Azcarraga Jean
Hillel the Elder
Joshua Cooper Ramo
J.R.R. Tolkien
Cheryl Strayed
Plato
June 20, 2017
Cool Tools for Travel – Tim Ferriss and Kevin Kelly
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Kevin Kelly (@kevin2kelly) might be the real-life Most Interesting Man In The World. I’ve always wanted to travel with him, and we recently headed to Uzbekistan together. This episode covers some of our favorite travel tools.
Kevin is Senior Maverick at Wired Magazine, which he co-founded in 1993. He also co-founded the All Species Foundation, a non-profit aimed at cataloging and identifying every living species on earth. In his spare time, he writes bestselling books, co-founded The Rosetta Project, which is building an archive of all documented human language, and serves on the board of The Long Now Foundation. As part of The Long Now Foundation, he’s investigating how to revive and restore endangered or extinct species, including the Wooly Mammoth.
His newest critically acclaimed book is The Inevitable: Understanding the 12 Technological Forces That Will Shape Our Future. As journalist David Pogue has said: “Anyone can claim to be a prophet, a fortune teller, or a futurist, and plenty of people do. What makes Kevin Kelly different is that he’s right…”
This episode touches on a lot of cool stuff, and we had a blast recording it in the back of a car in the mountains. Enjoy!
Listen to it on iTunes.
Stream by clicking here.
Download as an MP3 by right-clicking here and choosing “save as.”
Want to hear my earlier conversations with Kevin Kelly, in which we discuss population implosions, The Long Now Foundation, organizational methods for learning, and much more? — Listen to them here (stream below or right-click to download part 1 | part 2 | part 3):
This podcast is brought to you by WordPress, my go-to platform for 24/7-supported, zero downtime blogging, writing online, creating websites — everything! I love it to bits, and the lead developer, Matt Mullenweg, has appeared on this podcast many times.
Whether for personal use or business, you’re in good company with WordPress — used by The New Yorker, Jay Z, FiveThirtyEight, TechCrunch, TED, CNN, and Time, just to name a few. A source at Google told me that WordPress offers “the best out-of-the-box SEO imaginable,” which is probably why it runs nearly 30% of the Internet. Go to WordPress.com/Tim to get 15% off your website today!
This podcast is also brought to you by TrunkClub. I hate shopping with a passion. And honestly, I’m not good at it, which means I end up looking like I’m colorblind or homeless. Enter TrunkClub, which provides you with your own personal stylist and makes it easier than ever to shop for clothes that look great on your body. Just go to trunkclub.com/tim and answer a few questions, and then you’ll be sent a trunk full of awesome clothes. They base this on your sizes, preferences, etc. The trunk is then delivered free of charge both ways, so you only pay for clothes that you keep. If you keep none, it costs you nothing. To get started, check it out at trunkclub.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 Kevin Kelly:
Website | Twitter | Facebook |
The Inevitable: Understanding the 12 Technological Forces That Will Shape Our Future by Kevin Kelly
Kevin’s first appearance on The Tim Ferriss Show, his second, and third.
Wired Magazine
Learn more about the All Species Foundation
The Rosetta Project
The Long Now Foundation
The Tien Shan Mountains, Encyclopaedia Britannica
Uzbekistan, Lonely Planet
Nau Vice II Blazer
Logitech Keys-To-Go Ultra-Portable Stand-Alone Keyboard
Mack’s Pillow Soft Silicone Earplugs
Cabeau Evolution Memory Foam Travel Neck Pillow
Apnea Trainer by Jan Luther
myTracks GPS Logger by Dirk Stichling
A compact umbrella with top spray-painted silver to reflect the sun
My most recent TED Talk: Why You Should Define Your Fears Instead of Your Goals (and if you’re interested, here’s my last one).
I’ll be making the written and illustrated version of The Tao of Seneca available for free soon; in the meantime, here’s the audiobook version.
Yellowtec USA YT5040 iXM Handheld Recorder with Dynamic Omnidirectional Mic Head
Rode iXY Recording Microphone for iPhone/iPad
Show Notes
We cross a pass in the Tian Shan mountains at two thousand meters; Kevin explains the relative geography of Uzbekistan. [07:46]
My first cool tool [08:34]
My second cool tool [13:46]
My third cool tool [16:19]
My fourth cool tool [18:58]
An app I use a lot when traveling [22:00]
An app Kevin uses often [24:14]
Kevin’s Cool Tool [26:36]
What I’m up to next. [28:52]
What Kevin’s up to now. [30:32]
A final, bonus cool tool [31:35]
People Mentioned
Matt Mullenweg
David Pogue
Seneca
Tools of Titans — A Few Goodies from the Cutting Room Floor
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This post contains a few things that didn’t make it into Tools of Titans (#1 NYT), pulled from more than 300 cuts.
Please excuse casual grammar. This is how all people sound in-person, even uber-smart ones. The below quotes weren’t copyedited for the book, as they didn’t make it in (though every person did), so any typos are mine. Bolding is also mine.
Hope you enjoy!
NAVAL RAVIKANT
*What are the things that you look for in founders, or the red flags that disqualify an investment or a founder.
“Number one, intelligence; you’ve got to be smart, which means you have to know what you’re doing, to some level. That’s a fuzzy thing but you talk to people and you kind of get a sense of do they know what they’re doing or not. Do they have insight, do they have specific knowledge? Have they thought about the problem deeply? It’s not about the age. It’s not how many years they’ve spent but just how deep is their understanding of what they’re about to do.”
“So intelligence is key. Energy, because being a founder is brutally difficult. It takes a long time and in the long run, the people who succeed are just the ones who persevere. So if someone runs out of energy or if they’re doing this in some hesitating, preliminary way where they’re looking for constant positive feedback, or if they’re easily thrown off course, then they’re not going to make it to the end, especially in the highly competitive startup context.”
“And finally is integrity. Because if you have someone who is high intelligence and high energy but they’re low integrity, what you’ve got is a hard working, smart crook. Especially in the startup world, things are very dynamic, they’re very fast moving. People are very independent. So if somebody wants to screw you over, they will find a way to do it. Fundamentally, ethics and integrity are what you do despite the money. If being ethical were profitable, everybody would do it. So what you’re looking for is a core sense of values that rises above and beyond the pure financial incentives.”
Here are the full episodes with Naval:
The Person I Call Most for Startup Advice (this episode was voted by ProductHunt as the #2 podcast episode of 2015, beaten out only by my episode with Jamie Foxx)
Naval Ravikant on Happiness Hacks and the 5 Chimps Theory
WHITNEY CUMMINGS
*Who are some of the most underrated comedians?
“Sebastian Maniscalco”
“Jerrod Carmichael is great.”
“Natasha Leggero is very funny. Tig Notaro, I’m sure you guys all know her by now. Chris D’Elia, I’m a fan. You probably already know him.”
“Neil Brennan, co-creator of the Chappelle Show with Dave Chappelle, has now started doing standup and is super incisive and funny.”
Here are the full episodes with Whitney:
Whitney Cummings on Turning Pain Into Creativity
AMANDA PALMER
*Edit down & simplify
“And the true beauty of making a good TED talk or a good book is that you edit down, and you distill…”
“And then the goal was: how do we take this story that took a minute and a half to tell, which I thought I had got it as far down as possible, and condense it into 20 seconds? Literally, what words, what single words could we use to convey that whole sentence?”
“With a single anecdote or a single detail, they emotionally take you right there, and they don’t need to say anymore, and they can get on to the next thing.”
“The best art is about economy. [..] the artist who’s just trying to do everything winds up unable to express whatever it is that’s of importance.”
“It was the ability to pare down to the impactful detail. And that’s just true in art, as in life, for sure.”
Here is the full episode with Amanda:
Amanda Palmer on How to Fight, Meditate, and Make Good Art
MATT MULLENWEG
*Don’t B.S. — tell the truth
“I find the smartest guys in the world, and when you get to the very top echelon, they have perfect B.S. detectors. It’s much better to say ‘I don’t know’ than to try to make up an answer to something you don’t actually know. It’s kind of refreshing, actually, that just honesty and transparency are – even when you’re raising north of a billion dollars – the best policy.”
Here are the full episodes with Matt:
Matt Mullenweg on Polyphasic Sleep, Tequila, and Building Billion-Dollar Companies
Matt Mullenweg: Characteristics and Practices of Successful Entrepreneurs
The Random Show Threesome — Tim Ferriss, Kevin Rose, and Matt Mullenweg
JOSH WAITZKIN
*Keystone habits recommended by Josh
“First of all, meditation, when we’re speaking about this theme of cognitive biases or basically observing your mental directions the moment that they set in. Meditation is as deep and as powerful a tool as I could possibly describe. Maybe six or seven years ago, when I was first talking about meditation with guys in the finance world [Editor: he coaches some of the best-performing hedge hedge fund managers of all time], it seemed like some woo-woo strange thing for them to take on. But as more and more people are integrating it into their process, you wouldn’t believe how many of the most powerful players in the world are meditating very deeply.”
Related:
“It’s one thing to learn skills, but the higher artist has to learn themes or meta-themes that will ultimately, spontaneously tap into the internalization of hundreds of what I would call ‘local habits.’ If you’re practicing quality, you’re deepening the muscle of quality and you’re also focusing the unconscious on that complexity, which we then tap first thing in the mornings [by journaling upon waking].”
[Editor’s note — But to make journaling work, you need to let problems go earlier in the day.] From later in that conversation:
“The very core idea is: when you go home, as best you can, unless you’re red-hot inspired, release your mind from the work. It’s very important to give your stress a recovery. [As a] core habit, you want to be turning it on and turning it off.”
“And you can teach people that turning it off is a huge part of teaching them to turn it on much more intensely. [Editor: Josh works with some of the top athletes in the world, like Marcelo Garcia in jiu-jitsu] Stress and recovery workouts, interval training, and meditation together are beautiful habits to develop to cultivate the art of turning it on and turning it off.”
“And then, thematically, this ties back into this internal proactive orientation, building a daily architecture which is around understanding your creative process as opposed to reacting to things, feeling guilty that you’re not working, really teaching people to tap into their internal compass.”
Here are the full episodes with Josh:
Josh Waitzkin, The Prodigy Returns
Becoming the Best Version of You
RAMIT SETHI
“Well, one of my general life philosophies is do not try to be 40 before you are 40. It is funny how many of us we want to jump ahead and do all of these really sophisticated things, and I am no exception. Every time I start something new, I want to jump to what all the best people in the world are doing and try to copy them. But, of course, you have to go through the pain and the fire to be able to get there…”
Here are the full episodes with Ramit:
Ramit Sethi on Persuasion and Turning a Blog Into a Multi-Million-Dollar Business
How Creatives Should Negotiate
Becoming the Best Version of You
June 14, 2017
Maximizing Strength, Improving Mindset, and Becoming the World’s Fittest Man – Jason Khalipa
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“Be easy. Life is good.”
– Jason Khalipa
Jason Khalipa (@jasonkhalipa IG, Twitter) is one of the fittest men in the world – a title that was officially his when he won the CrossFit Games in 2008. He is an 8-time CrossFit Games competitor, a 3-time Team USA CrossFit member, and — among other athletic feats — he has deadlifted 550 pounds, squatted 450 pounds, and performed 64 pullups at a bodyweight of 210 pounds.
This podcast also has a bunch of video bonuses and tutorials from Jason, which you can find at youtube.com/timferriss.
Beyond sports, Jason is also a successful entrepreneur. He is the founder and CEO of NC Fit, which has more than 20 locations in 8 different cities. And he is the co-founder of “Box to Business,” a non-profit that helps gyms become profitable businesses. Jason uses the proceeds from “Box to Business” to help fight pediatric cancer.
In this episode, we cover a lot of cool stuff, including:
His training and diet
The hardest workouts he’s ever performed
The mentor who taught him how to sell anything
How he and his family has coped with his daughter’s battle with cancer
How he’s navigated going from competitive athlete to business owner
And much, much more
I hope you enjoy the episode as much as much as I did, and don’t forget to see the bonus videos at youtube.com/timferriss.
Listen to it on iTunes.
Stream by clicking here.
Download as an MP3 by right-clicking here and choosing “save as.”
Want to hear another episode about building muscle and strength? — Listen to this interview with Charles Poliquin. In this episode, we discuss, muscle-building techniques, how to become stronger, warmup routines, why people struggle to lose fat, and more (stream below or right-click here to download):
This episode is brought to you by Inktel. Ever since I wrote The 4-Hour Workweek, I’ve been frequently asked about how I choose to delegate tasks. At the root of many of my decisions is a simple question: “How can I invest money to improve my quality of life?” Or “how can I spend moderate money to save significant time?”
Inktel is one of those investments. They are a turnkey solution for all of your customer care needs. Their team answers more than 1 million customer service requests each year. They can also interact with your customers across all platforms, including email, phone, social media, text, and chat.
Inktel removes the logistics and headache of customer communication, allowing you to grow your business by focusing on your strengths. And as a listener of this podcast, you can get up to $10,000 off your start-up fees and costs waived by visiting inktel.com/tim. That’s inktel.com/tim.
This episode is also 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 — such as 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.
LegalZoom is not a law firm, but it does have a network of independent attorneys available in most states who can give you advice on the best way to get started, provide contract reviews, and otherwise help you run your business with complete transparency and up-front pricing. Check out LegalZoom.com and enter promo code TIM at checkout today to save 15% and see how the fine folks there can make life easier for you and your business.
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 Jason Khalipa:
Website | NC Fit | Box to Business | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube
CrossFit Games
2008 CrossFit Games
CrossFit WOD: Fran by Will Lanier, Men’s Fitness
“Fight Gone Bad” CrossFit WOD Demo via WODwell
Coach.me
RISE Challenge via NC Fit
Jason Khalipa Teaching a Basic Snatch
Thoracic Extension with Kelly Starrett via MobilityWOD
Progenex
How to Win at the Sport of Business: If I Can Do It, You Can Do It by Mark Cuban
CrossFit Star Faces Daughter’s Leukemia by Using His Celebrity Status for Greater Good by Stacy Finz, Lucille Packard Children’s Hospital
The AMRAP Mentality by Jason Khalipa
AMRAP Mindset with Jason Khalipa
Western Digital
Show Notes
What did Jason have for breakfast today? [02:04]
What were the advantages Jason had (at his peak) for standing out in CrossFit? [03:18]
Tests Jason would use to gauge a CrossFit beginner’s fitness. [05:12]
What is a “fight gone bad” workout? [05:56]
What advice would Jason give to an accomplished athlete who wants to start their own gym or fitness line? [11:25]
Most important decisions Jason made when preparing to start his business. [13:26]
How did Jason initially get his mentor to spend time with him? [15:20]
What was Jason’s “why” when he began competing in the CrossFit Games? [16:04]
What triggered Jason’s course correction from slacking class clown to driven fitness magnate? [18:08]
How might one of Jason’s NC Fit coaches create a new CrossFit program? [22:13]
How does Jason safely introduce Olympic lifting in a CrossFit beginner’s routine? [24:05]
Advice for someone entering CrossFit with bad thoracic mobility. [25:07]
How did Jason build his aerobic capacity with Chris Hinshaw without sacrificing his size or strength? [26:10]
What did Jason’s nutrition look like at the peak of his training? Did he have any go-to supplements? [27:34]
What does Jason picture his workout to be when he hits sixty? [29:21]
Where does Jason see room for improvement in his own routine now? [30:08]
Jason talks about the components of a good marriage, and how his daughter Ava’s leukemia diagnosis has affected the family. [31:13]
What practices and routines help Jason’s family through Ava’s treatment? [35:36]
Advice for parents receiving such a diagnosis for their child. [37:03]
What is the AMRAP mentality? [38:26]
Jason explains his goals for operating a service-based fitness business. [42:37]
What advice would Jason give his 2008 CrossFit Games champion self? [43:39]
How does Jason quantify balance in his work and personal life? [44:52]
Favorite book. [46:55]
Morning rituals and daily routines. [47:27]
Wearing so many hats, does Jason ever have difficulty sleeping? [49:43]
Does Jason have any wind-down routines or bedtime rituals? [50:35]
Who does Jason go to for business advice? [51:07]
What makes a good salesperson? [53:06]
What does a good “smile and dial” sales call sound like for Jason? [54:10]
What kind of facility tour translates into a sale? [54:53]
What would Jason’s billboard say? [56:24]
People Mentioned
B.J. Penn
Greg Glassman
Ralph Gracie
Kelly Starrett
Chris Hinshaw
Mark Cuban
Ava Khalipa
Ashley Khalipa
Paul Gomez
Mike Cordano
Jerry Kagele
Joe Gigantino
Jarett Perelmutter
Mark Bell
