Timothy Ferriss's Blog, page 77
April 11, 2017
Cory Booker — Street Fights, 10-Day Hunger Strikes, and Creative Problem-Solving
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“Don’t feel powerless, ever.”
– Cory Booker
Cory Booker (@corybooker) is an American politician and the junior United States Senator from New Jersey.
I generally have an allergy to politics, but Cory’s story is endlessly fascinating (e.g., he’s faced down death threats from gangs, run into burning buildings, and much more), and we have a few years of history together.
We cover a lot in this wide-ranging catch-up conversation, including his diet, lessons from early mentors and athletics, routines, books that have had an impact, learning how to “street fight” in New Jersey after receiving a Rhodes Scholarship, and much more.
Cory began his political career as a city councilor from 1998 to 2002 in Newark, New Jersey’s largest city. He later served as mayor of Newark, which under his leadership entered its biggest period of economic growth since the 1960s — the first new downtown hotels were constructed in forty years, the first new office towers in twenty.
He then won the Senate Democratic primary in August of 2013, and then won the general election on October 16, 2013, becoming the first African-American U.S. Senator from New Jersey.
Cory is also the author of The New York Times bestseller United: Thoughts on Finding Common Ground and Advancing the Common Good.
I hope you enjoy this conversation 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 a podcast with an influencer in the world of politics? — Listen to my conversation with Ezra Klein. In this episode, we discuss influencing the rules of the game by which this country is run (overall politics — not partisan), how Ezra lost 60 pounds, and his ascension into the ranks of the most respected media companies in the world (stream below or right-click here to download):
This episode is brought to you by Exo Protein. These guys are making protein bars using cricket protein powder. Before you look disgusted, I bet they taste better than any protein bar you’ve ever had before! With recipes that were developed by a three-Michelin-star chef, the bars are paleo-friendly, with no gluten, no grains, no soy, no dairy, and they won’t spike your glycemic response. In fact, they’re less processed than any other protein bars you’ll find.
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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 Cory Booker:
Official Senate Website | Campaign Website | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
United: Thoughts on Finding Common Ground and Advancing the Common Good by Cory Booker
The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich by Timothy Ferriss
The 4-Hour Body: An Uncommon Guide to Rapid Fat Loss, Incredible Sex and Becoming Superhuman by Timothy Ferriss
Tools of Titans: The Tactics, Routines, and Habits of Billionaires, Icons, and World-Class Performers by Timothy Ferriss
Cory’s episode of Finding Your Roots on PBS
Housing Discrimination Based on Race and Disabilities Still Persists by Hope A. Lang
Don’t Believe The Hype by Public Enemy
Cory Booker college football highlights from Stanford’s upset win over Notre Dame in 1990.
The Bridge Peer Counseling Center
“Be kind; everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.”
How Far Apart Are Democrats and Republicans on School Reform? by Michael B. Henderson, Brookings
What My Morning Journal Looks Like
The Tim Ferriss Radio Hour: Meditation, Mindset, and Mastery
Newark Mayor Cory Booker to SNAP Critic: ‘Let’s Try It!’ by Steve Holt, TakePart
Sen. Cory Booker on the Spiritual Dimension of American Politics, The Ezra Klein Show
Real Life Extension: Caloric Restriction or Intermittent Fasting?
Gandhi: An Autobiography – The Story of My Experiments With Truth by Mohandas Karamchand (Mahatma) Gandhi
Utilize the “Steel Man” Tactic to Argue More Effectively by Eric Ravenscraft, Lifehacker
The Origin of Species by Charles Darwin
The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin by Benjamin Franklin
Mark Zuckerberg’s Goal For 2014 Is To Write A Thank-You Note Every Day by Steve Kovach, Business Insider
How to Not Be Evil — Dr. Phil Zimbardo
StarPower — Use & Abuse of Power, Leadership & Diversity
Teach For America
New Jack City
Evicted, Newark’s Mayor Finds Another Blighted Street by Andrew Jacobs, The New York Times
Street Fight, the Oscar-nominated documentary about Cory’s 2002 mayoral campaign.
Cory Booker’s positions on policies related to drugs and addiction at OnTheIssues.org
Taking It to the Streets by Marc Peyser, Stanford Alumni
The Racist Housing Policy That Made Your Neighborhood by Alexis C. Madrigal, The Atlantic
Toxic Passaic River to Get $1.38 Billion Cleanup Over 10 Years By Noah Remnick and Rick Rojas, The New York Times
Time: The Kalief Browder Story
National Inventory of Collateral Consequences of Conviction
Cory Booker Joins Bernie Sanders in Backing Drug Re-Importation Bill by Ryan Grim, The Huffington Post
Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin
The Appalling Silence of Good People by PJ Mintner, The Huffington Post
QuestBridge
Big Brothers Big Sisters of America
Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson
Living with a SEAL: 31 Days Training with the Toughest Man on the Planet by Jesse Itzler
Parting the Waters: America in the King Years 1954-63 by Taylor Branch
Neil deGrasse Tyson Explains Why We Have Dysfunctional Politicians by Paul Ratner, Big Think
The Theory of Moral Sentiments by Adam Smith
Cory Booker: We Need to Love Each Other by Sara Ashley O’Brien, CNN
Show Notes
Even Cory Booker experiences imposter syndrome. [06:55]
When it comes to parents, Cory feels he “won the lottery.” [08:40]
Lessons Cory learned from his parents about being grateful and paying social debts forward. [10:50]
Cory talks about his college football career. [16:42]
What running a crisis hotline at Stanford taught Cory about empathy, counseling without judgment, and persuasion. [22:06]
Cory’s tactics for defusing tense situations and the importance of relating to our heroes. [29:45]
Cory talks about the benefits of intermittent fasting. [33:48]
How personal experimentation takes us out of our routines and expands our boundaries. [40:05]
On the idea of voluntarily experiencing life in an underprivileged community riddled with violence and drugs. [48:56]
“I’m not here to help; I’m here to learn.” Cory talks about the challenges of trying to make changes in Newark as an outsider. [53:58]
Cory explains the exclusionary policy of “redlining” that created slums, and the challenges these communities still face today. [1:12:06]
On bipartisanship and friendship with Chris Christie. [1:21:15]
What makes someone a good activist? [1:24:15]
“How to Get Straight A’s in College If You’re a Dumb Person” by Cory Booker and Tim Ferriss — coming soon to a bookstore near you! [1:26:45]
Is this podcast really one of the few spaces in America where people of all political persuasions can come together? [1:32:06]
Cory explains what a superfund is, and how it’s a symptom of deeper problems that need to be addressed from both sides of the political aisle. [1:32:39]
On the importance of Americans preserving “an irrational commitment” to one another. [1:36:07]
Even the mayor of Newark doesn’t get to cut in line to vote. [1:37:24]
As overwhelming as we might find the world’s problems, we can’t allow our inability to do everything undermine our determination to do something. [1:38:58]
Cory’s mission statement. [1:42:48]
Being successful at activism is like being successful at anything: start small and build momentum. [1:43:35]
Books Cory has gifted the most. [1:47:03]
A question Cory wishes more people would ask themselves. [1:49:45]
As a man of faith, Cory finds the frontiers of science to be very spiritual — and non-partisan. [1:50:39]
Has capitalism lost its way? [1:53:15]
Parting thoughts and Cory’s ask of the audience. [1:54:32]
People Mentioned
Cary Booker
Carolyn Booker
James Baldwin
Abraham Lincoln
Franklin D. Roosevelt
John F. Crowley
Lou Holtz
George Gipp
Rudy Ruettiger
Todd Lyght
Socrates
Donald Trump
Bryan Johnson
Lyndon B. Johnson
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Santa Claus
Ezra Klein
Dom D’Agostino
Valter Longo
Peter Attia
Mohandas Gandhi
Charles Darwin
Benjamin Franklin
Mark Zuckerberg
Phil Zimbardo
Virginia Jones
Sharpe James
Bryan Callen
Elaine Sewell
James Bevel
Dorothy Cotton
Bull Connor
Barbara Martinez
Kalief Browder
Chris Christie
Maya Angelou
Alice Walker
Toni Morrison
Jeff James
Ronald Reagan
Mitch McConnell
Bernie Sanders
Bryan Stevenson
Jesse Itzler
Taylor Branch
Matthew B. Klapper
Neil deGrasse Tyson
Adam Smith
Bill Bradley
Deb Fischer
Tim Scott
Rand Paul
Frank Hutchins
April 6, 2017
The Tim Ferriss Radio Hour: How to Control Stress, Upgrade Your Nutrition, and Build the Mindset of a Gladiator
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“You want to change your life fast? Then trade your expectation for appreciation; you’ll have a whole new life.”
-Tony Robbins
Welcome to the second installment of The Tim Ferriss Radio Hour.
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 particular episode, I’ve gathered some of the best advice from past guests about fitness, nutrition, and wellness. This includes conversations with:
General Stanley McChrystal about thriving on one meal per day.
Tony Robbins about morning discipline and routines.
Wim Hof about consciously controlling his autonomic immune system.
Dominic D’Agostino about nutritional strategies for peak performers.
Without further ado, let’s get started. I hope you enjoy this episode of The Tim Ferriss Radio Hour!
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 The Tim Ferriss Radio Hour? 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 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 go to 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.
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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 General Stanley McChrystal:
Connect with Tony Robbins:
Connect with Wim Hof:
Connect with Dr. Dominic D’Agostino:
KetoNutrition.org | Twitter | Facebook |University of South Florida
Episodes with General Stanley McChrystal: General Stan McChrystal on Eating One Meal Per Day, Special Ops, and Mental Toughness and General Stan McChrystal on Anti-War Americans, Pushing Your Limits, and The Three Military Tests You Should Take
Episodes with Tony Robbins: Tony Robbins: How to Suffer Less (and Invest Intelligently), Tony Robbins on How to Resolve Internal Conflict, Tony Robbins On Achievement Versus Fulfillment, Tony Robbins on Morning Routines, Peak Performance, and Mastering Money, and Tony Robbins and Peter Diamandis (XPRIZE) on the Magic of Thinking BIG
Compared with the size of my head, evidence suggests that Tony Robbins has substantial mitts.
Tony recommends cryotherapy products by JUKA, and Cryo Healthcare for people in Los Angeles.
Tony’s breathing routine, courtesy of Fast Company (at about 70:30)
Wim Hof’s appearance on the show: “The Iceman,” Wim Hof
Wim Hof: Farthest Swim under Ice, Guinness World Records
Wim Hof Breaks The World Record in an Ice Bath in New York City
Iceman Wim Hof on Kilimanjaro Summit
The Vice documentary about Wim Hof
Wim Hof the Iceman in Radboud Hospital Research Facility
The Wim Hof Method free three-part video mini class
Episodes with Dominic D’Agostino: Dom D’Agostino on Fasting, Ketosis, and the End of Cancer, Dom D’Agostino — The Power of the Ketogenic Diet, and Dom D’Agostino on Disease Prevention, Cancer, and Living Longer
How the Ketogenic Diet Weakens Cancer Cells by Dr. David Jockers, The Truth About Cancer
Exogenous ketones
Abbott Precision Xtra Glucose Monitor
Dom’s go-to resource for questions about the ketogenic diet
Quest Nutrition MCT (Medium Chain Triglyceride) Powder Oil
Learn more about the modified Atkins Diet and Eric Kossoff at Johns Hopkins.
Show Notes
General Stanley McChrystal’s background, his one-meal-a-day regimen, and how I use intermittent fasting in my own life. [06:06]
Why does General McChrystal only eat one meal a day? [09:28]
General McChrystal’s former Aide-de-Camp Chris Fussell explains why his old boss’s diet isn’t for everyone. [11:24]
What exercises does General McChrystal include in his daily workout, and why? [13:39]
On the importance of working out daily as a leader in the military. [16:56]
An introduction to Tony Robbins and the idea of state priming. [18:54]
Tony’s morning routine and diet. [21:04]
Tony explains how cryotherapy helps mitigate the wear and tear of his active lifestyle. [23:14]
Tony’s daily priming ritual. [27:35]
On Wim Hof and his many qualifications for being called “the Iceman.” How his breathing methods have given me seemingly superhuman abilities (and the caution you should exercise if you choose to try them yourself). [33:59]
Wim’s first world record and his most challenging cold exposures. [36:13]
How does Wim deal with unexpected situations? [38:20]
How Wim controlled stress hormones and his autonomic immune response — and was able to teach others to do the same in well under a week. [40:22]
How Wim gets his trainees into a gladiator mindset. [44:15]
An introduction to Dr. Dominic D’Agostino and the ketogenic diet. [53:30]
What is ketosis? [57:16]
The implications of fasting, nutritional ketosis, and/or exogenous ketones for preventing/mitigating the onset of neurodegenerative diseases. [58:33]
Thoughts on getting big and strong while in a state of ketosis. [1:06:10]
People Mentioned
General Stanley McChrystal
Tony Robbins
Wim Hof
Dominic D’Agostino
Robert Gates
Abu Musab al-Zarqawi
Art De Vany
Ori Hofmekler
Walter Voegtlin
Loren Cordain
Chris Fussell
Rick Rubin
Sage Robbins
Oprah Winfrey
Russell Simmons
Ray Dalio
Laird Hamilton
Tim Noakes
David Blaine
Stephen D. Phinney
Eric Kossoff
March 30, 2017
How to Be Creative Like a Motherf*cker — Cheryl Strayed
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“One of the scariest things in our lives is actually doing what we know we want to do.”
– Cheryl Strayed
If you’re interested in the creative process of a famed author, jumpstarting your own creation, note taking, list making, or simply handling hard emotions, this episode is for you. Recorded in front of a 2,000-plus person crowd at SXSW in Austin, Texas, this one was a blast.
My guest is Cheryl Strayed (@CherylStrayed), author of the #1 New York Times bestselling memoir Wild, the New York Times bestsellers Tiny Beautiful Things and Brave Enough, and the novel Torch. Her books have been translated into forty languages around the world. Wild was chosen by Oprah Winfrey as her inaugural selection for Oprah’s Book Club 2.0 and was made into an Oscar-nominated film starring Reese Witherspoon and Laura Dern.
Strayed’s essays have been published in The Best American Essays, The New York Times, The Washington Post Magazine, Vogue, Salon, The Sun, Tin House, and elsewhere. Strayed is the co-host, along with Steve Almond, of the WBUR podcast Dear Sugar Radio, which originated with her popular Dear Sugar advice column. She lives in Portland, Oregon.
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 a bestselling author? — Listen to my interview with Brené Brown. In this episode, we discuss vulnerability, schools of philosophy, and creating a home run TED Talk (stream below or right-click here to download):
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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 Cheryl Strayed:
Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Dear Sugar Radio
Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed
Wild (the movie with Reese Witherspoon and Laura Dern)
Tiny Beautiful Things: Advice on Love and Life from Dear Sugar by Cheryl Strayed
Brave Enough by Cheryl Strayed
Torch by Cheryl Strayed
Johnny Got His Gun by Dalton Trumbo
Cheryl’s Dear Sugar advice column
Dear Sugar, the Rumpus Advice Column #48: Write Like a Motherfucker
The 4-Hour Chef: The Simple Path to Cooking Like a Pro, Learning Anything, and Living the Good Life by Timothy Ferriss
The ‘Painful Personal Toll Lung Cancer Has Taken on My Life’ by Cheryl Strayed, The Huffington Post
Memento mori: “Remember that you must die.”
Death Over Dinner
The Pacific Crest Trail
Citizen: An American Lyric by Claudia Rankine
Lives of Girls and Women: A Novel by Alice Munro
New and Selected Poems, Volume One by Mary Oliver
The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing by Marie Kondo
Oprah Meets Cheryl Strayed for the First Time, Oprah Winfrey Network
Tools of Titans: The Tactics, Routines, and Habits of Billionaires, Icons, and World-Class Performers by Tim Ferriss
Show Notes
A listener asks Cheryl: “What’s it like to know Tiny Beautiful Things saved lives — including mine?” [07:09]
Books are Cheryl’s religion. [08:27]
Cheryl describes her necklace and its significance. [12:29]
As a mother, how does Cheryl balance the need to nurture a sense of security for her children while encouraging them to go on their own quests of self-discovery? [14:17]
Quotes that have most resonated with readers and fans. [17:05]
Write like a motherfucker. [19:28]
Associating words like humility, acceptance, and surrender with strength and power. [20:21]
What is Cheryl’s writing process? [22:37]
As a self-described “binge” writer, what does a day blocked for writing look like? [26:41]
Writing from personal experiences can dig up painful memories, but so does therapy. [31:26]
Prompts Cheryl has found to produce the most interesting writing from her students. [36:26]
Mechanisms, tricks, or habits Cheryl uses if she’s obstructed by writer’s block. [38:33]
Cheryl has said she thinks of mortality daily. What triggers these thoughts, and what do they motivate her to do — or prevent her from doing? [41:12]
On coping with her mother’s death and recognizing mortality as an inevitability rather than a tragedy. [46:22]
What was Cheryl’s process for answering questions for her Dear Sugar columns, and did she ever get questions she didn’t feel equipped to answer? [48:52]
Helping someone in need process an unanswerable question. [50:53]
Overcoming a difficult challenge — and uncovering clear truths — by making a list. [52:15]
The generosity of doing what we want to do. [56:02]
Cheryl is known for giving advice; who does she reach out to when she needs answers? [1:01:04]
On marriage: why did Cheryl stray? [1:05:05]
What would Cheryl say to someone hiking the Pacific Crest Trail today? [1:06:59]
Cheryl believes in restrospective fun — it’s the terrible things that happen when traveling that make the best stories for later. [1:08:13]
I believe in anticipatory fun — eighty percent of the enjoyment I get is planning and looking forward to travel. [1:10:16]
One to three books Cheryl would give to graduating students. [1:11:43]
Who or what comes to mind when Cheryl hears the word “successful?” [1:14:50]
Something Cheryl is currently trying to improve in her life. [1:16:22]
A purchase under $100 that had the most positive impact on Cheryl’s life. [1:17:40]
On the merits of learning by failure in the arts — but what often gets lost in translation. [1:21:08]
“Surrender to your own mediocrity.” [1:27:12]
Advice Cheryl would have for someone else whose memoirs were being made into a movie. [1:30:09]
Cheryl tells us her story about meeting Oprah for the first time. [1:33:13]
Cheryl closes with a writing project for us. [1:36:06]
People Mentioned
Oprah Winfrey
Reese Witherspoon
Laura Dern
Dalton Trumbo
Carver Strayed Lindstrom
David Foster Wallace
Leo Tolstoy
Po Bronson
Bobbi Lambrecht
Marco Littig
Brian Lindstrom
Claudia Rankine
Alice Munro
Mary Oliver
Nick Hornby
Ronald Nyland
March 25, 2017
The Secrets, Tactics, and Creative Processes of High Performers and Achievers — Debbie Millman
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“No amount of money, no amount of security is ever going to give you the sense that this is the right time.”
– Debbie Millman
This is round two for Debbie Millman, whose first interview on this show quickly became one of the most downloaded episodes of all time (listen to it here).
Graphic Design USA has named Debbie Millman (@debbiemillman) “one of the most influential designers working today.” She is also the founder and host of Design Matters, the world’s first and longest-running podcast about design, where she’s interviewed nearly 300 design luminaries and cultural commentators including Massimo Vignelli and Milton Glaser.
Debbie’s done it all. Her artwork has been exhibited around the world. She’s designed everything from wrapping paper to beach towels, greeting cards to playing cards, notebooks to t-shirts, and Star Wars merchandise to global Burger King rebrands.
Debbie is the President Emeritus of AIGA (one of only five women to hold the position in the organization’s one-hundred-year history), the editorial and creative director of Print magazine, and the author of six books. In 2009, Debbie co-founded (with Steven Heller) the world’s first masters program in branding at the School of Visual Arts in New York City, which has received international acclaim.
This time around, Debbie answers the most popular questions submitted by you, the listeners. Topics include:
How to turn down stability for opportunity.
How Debbie made the leap and continues to try new things.
How to outsmart the competition in any job.
The future of graphic design.
Debbie’s own personal creative process.
The most valuable lessons Debbie has learned about designing an ideal life for herself.
Here’s Debbie Millman’s round two. 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):
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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 Debbie Millman:
Twitter | Website | Facebook | Instagram | Design Matters Podcast
How to Design a Life — Debbie Millman (Debbie’s first appearance on this show.)
Books by Debbie Millman
Why Everyone from Beethoven, Goethe, Dickens, Darwin to Steve Jobs Took Long Walks and Why You Should Too by Andrew Tate, Canva
Debbie’s Design Matters interview with Dani Shapiro
Debbie’s Design Matters interview with Su Mathews Hale
Afraid of Being ‘Found Out?’ How to Overcome Impostor Syndrome by Margie Warrell, Forbes
The Masters in Branding program at the School of Visual Arts
Sleep for Success: Creativity and the Neuroscience of Slumber by Joanne Cantor Ph.D, Psychology Today
Fast Times at Ridgemont High
Elf
Friends of the High Line
Ulysses by James Joyce
Show Notes
What if, while writing out what life will look like in ten years (Debbie’s exercise from the first episode), multiple potential lives emerge? How do you choose the best one? [06:57]
Is there a right time to turn down stability for opportunity? [08:27]
How can someone avoid becoming a commodity and stand out in a ruthlessly competitive market? [13:23]
The future is not specific to — or barred from — any discipline. [15:14]
How can we prevent ourselves from being paralyzed by the act of creation — especially when we feel like our work pales in comparison to the work of others? [15:34]
How does Debbie cope with imposter syndrome? [18:03]
What’s the one thing you want more than anything that you’re willing to sacrifice everything else to get? [18:40]
What is Debbie’s creative process? [20:37]
The intentional first impression. [22:23]
How does Debbie ensure a healthy balance between work and play? [29:26]
Debbie’s favorite visual artists? [33:10]
Common threads Debbie has noticed in her interviews with creative high achievers. [33:24]
What are the qualities of a good design student? [34:51]
Who’s the first person to come to mind when Debbie hears the word “successful?” [35:23]
Something Debbie believes that other people think is insane. [36:02]
Favorite documentary or movie. [36:32]
Morning rituals: her first sixty minutes of the day. [36:59]
Obsessions explored on evenings and weekends. [37:31]
Best investment of time, money, energy, or other resources. [37:52]
Notable quotes Debbie lives by or thinks of often. [38:43]
What would Debbie’s billboard say? [39:26]
What advice would Debbie give her younger self? [40:43]
People Mentioned
Massimo Vignelli
Milton Glaser
Seth Godin
Dani Shapiro
Su Mathews Hale
David Bowie
Steven Heller
Malcolm Gladwell
Jean-Michel Basquiat
Deborah Kass
Woody Allen
Jeff Spicoli
James Joyce
March 19, 2017
Ricardo Semler — The Seven-Day Weekend and How to Break the Rules
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“If you are giving back, it’s because you’ve taken too much.”
– Ricardo Semler
Ricardo Semler (@ricardosemler) is the former CEO of Semco Partners, a Brazilian company best known perhaps for its radical form of industrial democracy and corporate re-engineering.
During his leadership, Semco grew from four million in 1982 to two hundred and twelve million in 2003. His innovative — but very controversial — business management policies have attracted widespread interest from all over the world.
He is the best-selling author of Maverick: The Success Story Behind the World’s Most Unusual Workplace and The Seven-Day Weekend: A Better Way to Work in the 21st Century (not to be confused with another book titled in an admittedly similar fashion).
Ricardo recently started a podcast called LeadWise, where he has conversations with leaders about “challenging assumptions and changing how we live and work.”
Entrepreneurship and education are just two of the topics discussed in this wide-ranging conversation. I hope you enjoy my conversation with Ricardo Semler 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 episode with a successful entrepreneur influenced by Ricardo Semler? — Listen to this interview with David Heinemeier Hansson (DHH), which has already been downloaded nearly 1.5 million times. In this episode, DHH shares his thoughts on the power of being outspoken, running a profitable business without venture capital, Stoic philosophy, and much more (stream below or right-click here to download):
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.
FreshBooks tells you when your clients have viewed your invoices, helps you customize your invoices, track your hours, automatically organize your receipts, have late payment reminders sent automatically and much more.
Right now you can get a free month of complete and unrestricted use. You do not need a credit card for the trial. To claim your free month and see how the brand new Freshbooks can change your business, go to FreshBooks.com/Tim and enter “Tim” in the “how did you hear about us” section.
This podcast is also brought to you by Wealthfront. Wealthfront is a massively disruptive (in a good way) set-it-and-forget-it investing service, led by technologists from places like Apple and world-famous investors. It has exploded in popularity in the last two years and now has more than $5B under management. In fact, some of my good investor friends in Silicon Valley have millions of their own money in Wealthfront. Why? Because you can get services previously limited to the ultra-wealthy and only pay pennies on the dollar for them, and it’s all through smarter software instead of retail locations and bloated sales teams.
Check out wealthfront.com/tim, take their risk assessment quiz, which only takes 2-5 minutes, and they’ll show you — for free — exactly the portfolio they’d put you in. If you want to just take their advice and do it yourself, you can. Or, as I would, you can set it and forget it. Well worth a few minutes: wealthfront.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 Ricardo Semler:
Website | Twitter | LinkedIn | LeadWise Podcast | LeadWise at Twitter | LeadWise at Facebook
The Seven-Day Weekend: A Better Way to Work in the 21st Century by Ricardo Semler
My homemade index (page 1
and page 2) from The Seven-Day Weekend
The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich by Timothy Ferriss
Maverick: The Success Story Behind the World’s Most Unusual Workplace by Ricardo Semler
David “DHH” Heinemeier Hansson: The Power of Being Outspoken (You may remember DHH talking about Ricardo and his influence.)
Semco Partners
MIT Sloan School of Management
The Travels of Marco Polo by Marco Polo and Peter Harris
Parables and Paradoxes by Franz Kafka
Synchronicity: An Acausal Connecting Principle by C.G. Jung and R.F.C. Hull
The Complete Works of Henry David Thoreau: Canoeing in the Wilderness, Walden, Walking, Civil Disobedience and More by Henry David Thoreau
Before the Law by Franz Kafka
Dune by Frank Herbert
Zorba the Greek by Nikos Kazantzakis
De Divina Proportione (On the Divine Proportion) by Luca Pacioli and Leonardo da Vinci
Ricardo’s TED Talk: How to Run a Company with (Almost) No Rules
Self-Made Wealth in America: Robber Barons and Silicon Sultans, The Economist
Melanoma skin cancer
The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
Winston Churchill’s Egyptian Getaway: The Old Cataract Hotel by Lauren Bohn
Head Shaved, Ex-Billionaire Batista Jailed in Rio de Janeiro by David Biller, Bloomberg Politics
Oscar Pistorius Sentenced to 6 Years in Prison for Girlfriend’s Murder by Tim Hume, Faith Karimi, and Nick Thompson, CNN
Prices for 1959 Chateau Mouton Rothschild
The Archetypes and The Collective Unconscious by C.G. Jung and R.F.C. Hull
Holy Bible, King James Version
The Oxford Shakespeare: The Complete Works by William Shakespeare
The Complete Up Series
Show Notes
Ricardo tells us about his background: a refugee mother, a “miracle” birth, rock bands, law school, and inheriting a failing business. [08:07]
The big decision Ricardo made to turn his company around. [15:10]
In retrospect, was this decision rash, courageous, or simply the only option at the time? [19:46]
What does “Virando a Propria Mesa” mean? [21:40]
On asking “three whys in a row.” [23:10]
Ricardo wrote his first book (which became Maverick) in nine days. [26:28]
What’s the “right” way to fire someone? [30:29]
What changes are made once the “three whys” have cleared the way? [33:13]
How a small team with limited resources tests the processes that allow it to breathe and expand. [42:15]
Common mistakes made when scaling a business, and the importance of testing processes impartially. [47:14]
Books that could save civilization. [50:03]
Ricardo relays one of his favorite Kafka parables. [55:10]
On burning accolades from his past at age 50. [57:56]
Maximum personal wealth, and why no collector can ever be happy. [1:02:14]
Dark times and difficulties overcome. [1:15:19]
Does Ricardo rely on any guiding philosophies for handling tough or unpredictable situations? [1:19:17]
Processes over goals, and the purpose of what Ricardo calls “Terminal days.” [1:22:44]
Finances and a lifestyle directed by the wisdom of Swiss bankers and The Little Prince. [1:27:04]
“There’s nothing else of any importance while there’s a speck in your eye.” [1:32:09]
Ricardo’s morning ritual hasn’t involved an alarm clock for many years. [1:33:02]
“Absurdly wonderful” things Ricardo loves doing. [1:36:19]
The ephemeral nature of risk and consequences — both positive and negative. [1:38:04]
On enjoying the passing of time as the meaning of life (with thanks to James Taylor). [1:44:35]
What was the pattern interrupt that prompted Ricardo to stop collecting wine? [1:49:17]
Favorite documentary. [1:54:53]
What would Ricardo teach a disadvantaged ninth grade class? [1:58:51]
What would Ricardo’s billboard say? [2:02:28]
Parting thoughts and encouragement for listeners to get past misgivings to make desired changes. [2:03:50]
People Mentioned
Renee Weinmann
Antonio Semler
Sigmund Freud
Lee Iacocca
Akio Morita
Marco Polo
Franz Kafka
Carl Jung
Henry David Thoreau
Leonardo da Vinci
Luca Pacioli
Bill Gates
Warren Buffett
John D. Rockefeller
Andrew Carnegie
Cornelius Vanderbilt
Donald Trump
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
Winston Churchill
Franklin D. Roosevelt
William J. Clinton
Oscar Pistorius
James Taylor
Heinrich Himmler
Adolf Hitler
William Shakespeare
Michael Apted
João Doria
March 16, 2017
The Lion of Olympic Weightlifting, 62-Year-Old Jerzy Gregorek (Also Featuring: Naval Ravikant)
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“Hard choices, easy life. Easy choices, hard life.”
– Jerzy Gregorek
Jerzy Gregorek (@TheHappyBody) immigrated from Poland to the United States with his wife, Aniela, in 1986 as political refugees. He subsequently won four World Weightlifting Championships and established one world record.
In 2000, Jerzy and Aniela founded UCLA’s weightlifting team. As co-creator of The Happy Body Program, Jerzy has been mentoring people for more than 30 years.
In 1998, Jerzy earned an MFA in writing from the Vermont College of Fine Arts. His poems and translations have appeared in numerous publications, including The American Poetry Review. His poem Family Tree was the winner of Amelia magazine’s Charles William Duke Long Poem Award in 1998.
Naval Ravikant (@naval) also joins us on this podcast, as he introduced me to Jerzy. Naval is the CEO and a co-founder of AngelList. He is an active angel investor and has invested in more than 100 companies. His deals include Twitter, Uber, Yammer, Postmates, Wish, Thumbtack, and OpenDNS, which Cisco bought for $635 million in cash.
As always, I hope you enjoy this episode!
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 with Naval Ravikant? — Listen to his first appearance on the podcast. In this episode, we discuss the habits and behaviors of highly successful and happy people (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 go to 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 Wealthfront. Wealthfront is the future of financial advice. It’s become especially popular among my friends in Silicon Valley and across the country because it provides the same high-end financial advice that the best private wealth managers deliver to the ultra wealthy — but for any account size, at a fraction of the cost.
Wealthfront monitors your portfolio every day across more than a dozen asset classes to find opportunities for rebalancing and harvesting tax losses, and now manages more than $5B in assets. Unlike old-fashioned private wealth managers, Wealthfront is powered by innovative technology, making it the most tax-efficient, low-cost, hassle-free way to invest. Go to wealthfront.com/tim to take the risk assessment quiz, which only takes 2-5 minutes, and it’ll show you — for free — exactly the portfolio it would recommend. If you want to just take the advice and do it yourself, you can. Or, as I would, you can set it and forget it. Well worth a few minutes: wealthfront.com/tim. As a Tim Ferriss Show listener, you’ll get your first $15,000 managed for free if you decide to go with its services.
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 Jerzy Gregorek:
Twitter | Amazon | The Happy Body | YouTube
Connect with Naval Ravikant:
AngelList | Startup Boy Blog | Twitter
The Person I Call Most for Startup Advice (my first podcast with Naval)
The Happy Body: The Simple Science of Nutrition, Exercise, and Relaxation by Aniela Gregorek and Jerzy Gregorek
Video testimonials from Happy Body clients across all ages.
Marco Polo Black Tea
Native Foreigners: Jewish-Polish Poetry Between the World Wars by Aniela Gregorek and Jerzy Gregorek
The Happy Body Flexibility Test
The Happy Body: Food For Your Soul by Jerzy Gregorek
A video of Jerzy showing how to maintain good posture while aging.
The Happy Body Exercise Program Poster by Aniela Gregorek, Jerzy Gregorek, and Alex Atkins
The Making of a Martyr — The Murder of Father Jerzy Popieluszko by Chris Sibilla, Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training
Amazing Grace
The Happy Body: Mastering Food Choices by Jerzy Gregorek
The Happy Body: Mastering Exercise Choices by Jerzy Gregorek
Squats Are Safe, But You’re Probably Doing Them Wrong by Mark Rippetoe, The Huffington Post
Gold’s Gym in Venice, CA
How Not to Write: The Essential Misrules of Grammar by William Safire
Tae Bo
The Karate Kid Part III
Transcendental Meditation
Thais: Meditation by Jules Massenet
Plato’s chariot allegory
Show Notes
Introductions and “Victor” unmasked. [06:44]
Reconditioning an overweight, out-of-shape 64-year-old with hip and shoulder replacements into a flexible 74-year-old capable of high-speed snatches. [07:33]
What I need to work on. [14:48]
What Naval has learned from Jerzy and Aniela. [16:26]
Jerzy shares his age, weight, body fat, and other stats. [17:06]
Naval and I recall our first meetings with Jerzy. [19:44]
Jerzy tells the story about how The Happy Body program came about. [21:45]
The importance of flexibility, strength, speed, and posture at any age. [23:26]
The physical and mental progress a young man with cerebral palsy has made under Jerzy’s training. [25:42]
Jerzy’s poetry. [31:23]
How Jerzy helped me achieve perfect posture. [32:34]
Winning in small increments. [35:16]
How Jerzy’s morning routine made me the most flexible person in my yoga class. [37:04]
Jerzy explains the mindful structure of The Happy Body program and its meditative benefits. [38:43]
On Solidarity, political upheaval, unconditional love, and poetry. [47:34]
Why Jerzy believes that people who struggle with weight loss need poetry. [1:00:40]
Jerzy recites “Who Cannot,” a poem he wrote that was prompted by a woman who said she had no time for exercise. [1:04:58]
Naval and I agree: Jerzy is an expensive trainer, but a cheap therapist. [1:11:18]
“Hard choices, easy life. Easy choices, hard life.” [1:13:03]
The rusty hinge analogy. [1:20:11]
The fastest soup eater in the east. [1:23:12]
How does a “social beast” like Jerzy control his desire to eat everything on the menu? [1:31:40]
How an accidental introduction to weightlifting reclaimed Jerzy from three years of blackout drunk alcoholism. [1:36:28]
How The Happy Body workout helped break Naval’s drinking habit. [1:41:36]
On daily routines and triple happiness. [1:42:30]
What is Jerzy’s daily diet? [1:44:41]
Family history, a change in diet, and a medical emergency averted. [1:53:37]
Comparing autopsy results between someone with an average lifespan and someone who lived to be more than 120. [2:00:23]
Jerzy is 62 and has never had knee problems. Here’s why. [2:04:12]
It’s more important to maintain focus on the positives we’re trying to achieve rather than the negatives we’re trying to leave behind. [2:13:53]
Why Jerzy ends a workout with Massenet’s Thais: meditation and lavender oil. [2:18:11]
Dialogues between the master and the fatalist: choosing one potato over two. [2:27:26]
Try to surround yourself with people who avoid these three things: sarcasm, complaining, and blaming. [2:36:45]
Parting thoughts from Naval and Jerzy on the “second” body and being present. [2:39:00]
People Mentioned
Aniela Gregorek
Marco Polo
Wojciech Jaruzelski
Jerzy Popieluszko
Mikhail Baryshnikov
Billy Robertson
Michael McCullough
Jeanne Calment
Christopher Sommer
Billy Blanks
Thomas Ian Griffith
Jules Massenet
Plato
Donald Trump
March 12, 2017
Conquering Fear and Reducing Anxiety – Caroline Paul
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“Tragedies are the result of a series of small forks in the road.”
– Caroline Paul
Caroline Paul (@carowriter) returns to the podcast by popular demand for a round 2 Q&A. (You can catch her first appearance here.)
Caroline is the author of four published books. Her latest is the New York Times bestseller The Gutsy Girl: Escapades for Your Life of Epic Adventure.
Once a young scaredy-cat, Caroline decided that fear got in the way of excitement, confidence, and self-reliance. She has since flown planes, climbed tall mountains, and fought fires as one of the first female firefighters in San Francisco.
In this episode, Caroline answers your most popular questions, including:
The best starting point for overcoming your fears
How to stay focused in the moment and not let your mind create anxiety and stress
Her biggest life-changing experiences
Coping strategies for dealing with life’s most difficult events
And much, much more!
I hope you enjoy this round 2 Q&A with Caroline Paul.
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 conversation with Caroline Paul? — Listen to her first appearance on the podcast. In this episode, we discuss various types of fear and how to overcome them, using stories, habits, and tactics.(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 youíll be disappointed.
This podcast is also brought to you by Wealthfront. Wealthfront is the future of financial advice. It’s become especially popular among my friends in Silicon Valley and across the country because it provides the same high-end financial advice that the best private wealth managers deliver to the ultra wealthy — but for any account size, at a fraction of the cost.
Wealthfront monitors your portfolio every day across more than a dozen asset classes to find opportunities for rebalancing and harvesting tax losses, and now manages more than $5B in assets. Unlike old-fashioned private wealth managers, Wealthfront is powered by innovative technology, making it the most tax-efficient, low-cost, hassle-free way to invest. Go to wealthfront.com/tim to take the risk assessment quiz, which only takes 2-5 minutes, and it’ll show you — for free — exactly the portfolio it would recommend. If you want to just take the advice and do it yourself, you can. Or, as I would, you can set it and forget it. Well worth a few minutes: wealthfront.com/tim. As a Tim Ferriss Show listener, you’ll get your first $15,000 managed for free if you decide to go with its services.
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 Caroline Paul:
Twitter| CarolinePaul.com| Gutsy Girl Club on Instagram | The Gutsy Girl Website
How to Overcome Fear — Lessons from Firefighter and Luger, Caroline Paul (her first appearance on this show)
The Gutsy Girl: Escapades for Your Life of Epic Adventure by Caroline Paul, illustrated by Wendy MacNaughton
Brave Is Built, Not Born: Why We All Need Microbravery Now by Rachel Simmons, Girls Leadership
Fighting Fire by Caroline Paul
Why Boys Should Read Girl Books by Caroline Paul
Sea Kayaking in Baja by Andromeda Romano-Lax
Cessna
This is what it looks like when you go paragliding off a mountain top.
Denali National Park & Preserve
Show Notes
If you’re trying to change your relationship with fear, where do you start? [05:43]
Suggestions for people who work in the emergency medical community. [11:09]
What’s the best gift to get a firefighter? [17:19]
How does Caroline focus and stay rooted in the present? [19:39]
The Checklist Theory and coping strategies for exposure to horrific human events. [24:16]
Avoiding gender bias with kids. [27:44]
What adventures have been most life-changing for Caroline — and why? [32:41]
What is Caroline’s nighttime routine? [37:27]
Why did Caroline start flying, and what made her switch from Cessnas to paragliders to ultralights? [38:36]
While firefighting or adventuring, has Caroline ever been trapped or in need of rescue? [45:03]
People Mentioned
William Shakespeare
Amelia Earhart
March 8, 2017
How to Not Be Evil – Dr. Phil Zimbardo
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“The future is always modifiable by our actions.”
– Dr. Phil Zimbardo
Dr. Philip Zimbardo (@PhilZimbardo) is one of the most distinguished psychologists in the world and a professor emeritus at Stanford University. He is arguably best known for his 1971 Stanford Prison Experiment, in which students were turned into mock prisoners and guards for a continuous 24-hour-a-day study. The experiment was planned for two weeks but terminated after just six days.
In this podcast, we explore how we — as humans — can do less evil, how you can be a “deviant for day,” mindful disobedience, and much more. It was a blast.
Apart from the above, Dr. Zimbardo has served as President of the American Psychological Association and designed and narrated the award-winning 26-part PBS series, Discovering Psychology. He has published more than 50 books, including Shyness, The Lucifer Effect, The Time Cure, The Time Paradox, and most recently, Man, Interrupted.
Dr. Zimbardo currently lectures worldwide and is actively working to promote his non-profit, The Heroic Imagination Project. His current research looks at the psychology of heroism. The question he poses is: “What pushes some people to become perpetrators of evil, while others act heroically on behalf of those in need?”
Please enjoy this conversation with Dr. Philip Zimbardo — our oldest guest to date!
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 with a fascinating scientist? — Listen to my interview with Dr. Peter Attia. In this episode, we discuss optimizing blood testing, training for ultra-endurance sports, consuming synthetic ketones, using metabolic chambers, extending longevity by avoiding certain types of exercise, and much more (stream below or right-click here to download):
This podcast is brought to you by Wealthfront. Wealthfront is the future of financial advice. It’s become especially popular among my friends in Silicon Valley and across the country because it provides the same high-end financial advice that the best private wealth managers deliver to the ultra wealthy — but for any account size, at a fraction of the cost.
Wealthfront monitors your portfolio every day across more than a dozen asset classes to find opportunities for rebalancing and harvesting tax losses, and now manages more than $5 billion in assets. Unlike old-fashioned private wealth managers, Wealthfront is powered by innovative technology, making it the most tax-efficient, low-cost, hassle-free way to invest. Go to wealthfront.com/tim to take the risk assessment quiz, which only takes 2-5 minutes, and it’ll show you — for free — exactly the portfolio it would recommend. If you want to just take the advice and do it yourself, you can. Or, as I would, you can set it and forget it. Well worth a few minutes: wealthfront.com/tim. As a Tim Ferriss Show listener, you’ll get your first $15,000 managed for free if you decide to go with its services.
This podcast is also brought to you by iD Commerce + Logistics. I’m asked all the time about how to scale businesses quickly. Rule number one: remove unnecessary bottlenecks. Many businesses can do so by outsourcing inventory management and fulfillment to a company that makes this its primary focus.
iD Commerce + Logistics is just such a company. It helps online retailers and entrepreneurs outgrow their competition by handling all types of details — from inventory to packing and shipping. I depended on iD to handle these types of details when I launched The 4-Hour Chef so I could focus on promoting the book. As a listener of this podcast, you can get up to $10,000 off your start-up fees and costs waived by visiting tim.blog/scale or idcomlog.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 Dr. Phil Zimbardo:
Twitter | Website | Facebook | The Heroic Imagination Project
The Stanford Prison Experiment
Shyness: What It Is, What To Do About It by Philip G. Zimbardo
The Lucifer Effect: Understanding How Good People Turn Evil by Philip G. Zimbardo
The Time Cure: Overcoming PTSD with the New Psychology of Time Perspective Therapy by Philip G. Zimbardo, Richard Sword, and Rosemary Sword
The Time Paradox: The New Psychology of Time That Will Change Your Life by Philip Zimbardo and John Boyd Ph.D
Man, Interrupted: Why Young Men are Struggling & What We Can Do About It by Philip Zimbardo and Nikita Coulombe
Tools of Titans: The Tactics, Routines, and Habits of Billionaires, Icons, and World-Class Performers by Timothy Ferriss
James Monroe High School in the Bronx
The Milgram experiment on obedience to authority figures
Torture at Abu Ghraib by Seymour M. Hersh, The New Yorker
The Lord’s Prayer (“Deliver us from evil.”)
Documentary Explores Kitty Genovese’s Notorious 1964 Murder: Did 38 People Really Watch and Do Nothing? by Jeff Truesdell, People Crime
Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil by Hannah Arendt
Faces of the Enemy: Reflections of the Hostile Imagination by Sam Keen
A rundown of Darley and Batson’s Good Samaritan Study at Socially Psyched
Neighborhood Emergency Response Team (NERT)
Sex Abuse and the Catholic Church: Why Is It Still a Story? by Laurie Goodstein, The New York Times
Dr. Zimbardo’s TED Talk: The Psychology of Evil
Getting Comfortable With The Uncomfortable: 7 Simple Challenges to Try Today, The Scientist & The Hustler
What Psychology Says about How You Should Respond to Racist Behaviour by Emma Thomas and Anne Pedersen, The Conversation
Lying by Sam Harris and Annaka Harris
An Overview of Time Perspective Types by John Boyd
Take the Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory (ZTPI)
International Time Perspective Network
What My Morning Journal Looks Like
‘The 4-Hour Workweek’ Author Says a 3-Step Process He Learned from Tony Robbins Drastically Improved His Life by Richard Feloni, Business Insider (explaining how I use Tony Robbins’ Dickens Process)
Show Notes
Dr. Zimbardo gives us the background to his legacy (“for better or for worse”): The 1971 Stanford Prison Experiment. [07:31]
Reflecting on the similarities between the Stanford Prison Experiment and abuses at Abu Ghraib. [13:46]
On everyday heroes and resisting the temptation of evil and the power of the group. [17:48]
Celebrating the banality of heroism (in contrast to Hannah Arendt’s “banality of evil”). [19:32]
Ordinary people as heroes in training, and The Heroic Imagination Project. [20:28]
“We don’t rise to the level of our expectations; we fall to the level of our training.” -Archilochus [21:32]
“All evil begins with fifteen volts.” — What the Milgram experiment tells us about mindlessly taking the first step. [24:22]
Dehumanization of others. [26:26]
De-individualization of self (anonymity). [30:14]
Diffusion of personal responsibility. [32:05]
Blind obedience to authority. “Be wary of authorities wearing false lab coats!” [36:57]
Practicing mindful disobedience. [38:45]
Uncritical conformity to group norms. [40:34]
Comfort challenges and being a deviant for a day. [42:05]
Passive tolerance of evil through inaction or indifference. “Tolerance of intolerance is cowardice.” -Ayaan Hirsi Ali [45:20]
Perception of time and its impact on our decisions. [47:57]
Using time perspective therapy to treat PTSD. [53:54]
How an early copy of The Time Paradox had a monumental impact on my own routines and perspective. [57:03]
The Dickens Process. [58:15]
What is the difference between altruism and heroism? [1:00:44]
How the early end of the Stanford Prison Experiment ties in with heroism. [1:02:11]
People Mentioned
Donald Wildmon
Tony Robbins
Daniel Kahneman
Stanley Milgram
Craig Haney
W. Curtis Banks
David Jaffe
Kitty Genovese
Hannah Arendt
Adolf Eichmann
Agamemnon
Achilles
Mahatma Gandhi
Nelson Mandela
Martin Luther King Jr.
Mother Teresa
Archilochus
Joseph Goebbels
Sam Keen
John M. Darley
C. Daniel Batson
Cato
Ayaan Hirsi Ali
Sam Harris
John Boyd
Christina Maslach
February 28, 2017
John Crowley — The Real-Life Captain America and Bruce Banner (Seriously)
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This is an incredibly powerful episode of the podcast.
John F. Crowley is the Chairman and CEO of Amicus Therapeutics, a publicly traded biotechnology company, which he helped found in 2005 and is now a 300+ person company in 22 countries. John’s involvement with biotechnology stems from the 1998 diagnosis of two of his children with Pompe disease — a severe and often fatal neuromuscular disorder. In his drive to find a cure for them, he left his job and became an entrepreneur as the Co-founder, President, and CEO of Novazyme Pharmaceuticals in 2000, a biotech start-up conducting research on a new experimental treatment for Pompe disease (which he credits as ultimately saving his children’s lives). In 2001, Novazyme was acquired by Genzyme Corporation for nearly $200 million.
John and his family are the subjects of a book by Pulitzer prize-winning journalist Geeta Anand, The Cure: How a Father Raised $100 Million — and Bucked the Medical Establishment — in a Quest to Save His Children. The major motion picture Extraordinary Measures, starring Brendan Fraser and Harrison Ford, is inspired by the Crowley family journey. John is the author of a personal memoir: Chasing Miracles: The Crowley Family Journey of Strength, Hope, and Joy.
John also served as a commissioned intelligence officer in the U.S. Navy Reserve from 2005-2016. He was assigned to the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) and is a veteran of the global war on terrorism, with service in Afghanistan. He graduated with a B.S. in Foreign Service from Georgetown University, and earned a J.D. from the University of Notre Dame Law School and an M.B.A. from Harvard.
He previously served (2014-2016) as the National Chairman of the Make-A-Wish Foundation of America and is a founding board member of the Global Genes Project. John is a Henry Crown Fellow at The Aspen Institute.
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 interview with a superhuman scientist? — Listen to my in-depth conversation with Dom D’Agostino. In this episode, we discuss fasting, heavy deadlifts, and the end of cancer (stream below or right-click here to download):
This podcast is brought to you by iD Commerce + Logistics. I’m asked all the time about how to scale businesses quickly. Rule number one: remove unnecessary bottlenecks. Many businesses can do so by outsourcing inventory management and fulfillment to a company that makes this its primary focus.
iD Commerce + Logistics is just such a company. It helps online retailers and entrepreneurs outgrow their competition by handling all types of details — from inventory to packing and shipping. I depended on iD to handle these types of details when I launched The 4-Hour Chef so I could focus on promoting the book. As a listener of this podcast, you can get up to $10,000 off your start-up fees and costs waived by visiting tim.blog/scale or idcomlog.com/tim.
This podcast is also brought to you by Wealthfront. Wealthfront is a massively disruptive (in a good way) set-it-and-forget-it investing service, led by technologists from places like Apple and world-famous investors. It has exploded in popularity in the last two years and now has more than $2.5B under management. In fact, some of my good investor friends in Silicon Valley have millions of their own money in Wealthfront. Why? Because you can get services previously limited to the ultra-wealthy and only pay pennies on the dollar for them, and it’s all through smarter software instead of retail locations and bloated sales teams.
Check out wealthfront.com/tim, take their risk assessment quiz, which only takes 2-5 minutes, and they’ll show you — for free — exactly the portfolio they’d put you in. If you want to just take their advice and do it yourself, you can. Or, as I would, you can set it and forget it. Well worth a few minutes: wealthfront.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 John F. Crowley:
Amicus Therapeutics
Pompe disease
One Dad’s 14-Year Quest for Cure by Geeta Anand, The Wall Street Journal
The Cure: How a Father Raised $100 Million — and Bucked the Medical Establishment — in a Quest to Save His Children by Geeta Anand
Extraordinary Measures
Chasing Miracles: The Crowley Family Journey of Strength, Hope, and Joy by John F. Crowley
How to Climb a Rope Like a Navy SEAL by The Art of Manliness
HBS case study: A Father’s Love: Novazyme Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
How Genzyme Became a Source of Biotech Executives by Robert Weisman, The Boston Globe
Saint Peter’s University Hospital in New Brunswick
Matt Swinton’s Declaration of Independence
How Focusing on Obscure Diseases Made BioMarin a $15 Billion Company by Matthew Herper, Forbes
Angel in the Whirlwind: The Triumph of the American Revolution by Benson Bobrick
The field of biotechnology owes a lot to Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and Genentech
The Essential Rumi, New Expanded Edition by Jalal al-Din Rumi
A Life-Saving Biotech with a Personal Mission (John on CNBC with Jim Cramer)
Make-A-Wish Foundation
The Singularity Is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology by Ray Kurzweil
Plated and Blue Apron
Growing up Catholic, John knows well the Hail Mary and The Lord’s Prayer
Megan’s blog: High Heeled Wheels
Show Notes
John explains what it’s like to be afraid of heights and practice fast-roping drills with Navy SEALs. [08:00]
What John learned about sudden loss in childhood. [12:03]
Was John like Captain America even at age 10? [15:52]
In high school, what did John think he’d be when he grew up? [19:41]
Mentors who had an impact on John during his early years. [20:26]
What does a curriculum at The School of Foreign Service at Georgetown entail? [22:44]
John’s special connection to the University of Notre Dame. [23:49]
What a class at Harvard Business School is like for someone who’s not good at math. [28:22]
The events surrounding John’s children being diagnosed with Pompe disease. [32:04]
How looking for a cure became a full-time job. [37:00]
On the difficult protocols involved with getting John’s own children treated. [47:10]
The best Christmas present John could have wished for. [50:11]
Conventional rules of the biotech business John broke in pursuit of a cure. [52:16]
Early treatment: improvements and plateaus. [55:46]
How are Megan and Patrick doing today? [58:03]
On the principles of good parenting. [1:00:57]
Advice for parents of children with special needs. [1:04:23]
“Little people can teach us big people an awful lot if we just listen.” [1:05:53]
How does one create an economically viable company when developing drugs to treat rare diseases? [1:11:08]
What drives John today, and how did he choose the name “Amicus” for his company? [1:13:29]
What prompted John to get reinvolved with the miltary? [1:16:09]
Characteristics that make John capable in the elite military world, and what carries over from his business experience? [1:17:23]
As someone who’s so busy on multiple fronts, how does John keep from feeling overwhelmed? [1:20:07]
Most-gifted books. [1:21:34]
Inspiring, but underrated or lesser-known leaders. [1:23:22]
How would John advise someone to train for resilience? [1:28:01]
How does one balance living like there’s no tomorrow with the planning required for long-term goals? [1:33:02]
Altruism: where to begin? [1:41:43]
Hopes for the future of genetic medicine and the pursuit of longer lifespans. [1:44:02]
Likely breakthroughs ahead. [1:45:46]
John’s daily habits. [1:48:38]
What a Crowley evening workout looks like. [1:52:32]
Ways of coping with insomnia. [1:55:03]
What is grace? [1:56:40]
What would John’s billboard message be? [1:56:58]
Parting thoughts on healthcare and high heeled wheels. [1:57:30]
People Mentioned
Geeta Anand
Brendan Fraser
Harrison Ford
General Stanley McChrystal
Megan K. Crowley
Jason Statham
Aileen Crowley
Bill Clinton
Madeleine Albright
Jeane Kirkpatrick
William Colby
Steven C. Wheelwright
John Crowley, Jr.
Patrick Crowley
William Canfield
Henri Termeer
Matt Swinton
Robert Ginsberg
Ed Devinney
George Washington
Benedict Arnold
Eugene Kleiner
Tom Perkins
Bob Swanson
Herb Boyer
Jonas Salk
Anna Quindlen
Jalal al-Din Rumi
Chris Greicius
February 26, 2017
The Random Show – Drinking Urine, Exploring Japan, and Figuring Out Life
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Coming to you from a late night in rural Japan, this is a special edition of The Random Show.
Per usual for The Random Show, I am joined by Kevin Rose (@KevinRose), serial entrepreneur, world-class investor, and all around wild and crazy guy. We discuss Japan and how to do it cheaply, building apps, urine drinking, love and marriage, beauty and absurdity in 2017, why Kevin doesn’t have New Year’s resolutions, favorite books, and much more.
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 The Random Show? — Listen to this earlier conversation with Kevin Rose. In this episode, we discuss saunas and cold treatment, dating apps, and fitness apps (stream below or right-click here to download):
This podcast is brought to you by iD Commerce + Logistics. I’m asked all the time about how to scale businesses quickly. Rule number one: remove unnecessary bottlenecks. Many businesses can do so by outsourcing inventory management and fulfillment to a company that makes this its primary focus.
iD Commerce + Logistics is just such a company. It helps online retailers and entrepreneurs outgrow their competition by handling all types of details — from inventory to packing and shipping. I depended on iD to handle these types of details when I launched The 4-Hour Chef, so I could focus on promoting the book. As a listener of this podcast, you can get up to $10,000 off your start-up fees and costs waived by visiting tim.blog/scale or idcomlog.com/tim.
This podcast is also brought to you by Wealthfront. Wealthfront is the future of financial advice. It’s become especially popular among my friends in Silicon Valley and across the country because it provides the same high-end financial advice that the best private wealth managers deliver to the ultra wealthy — but for any account size, at a fraction of the cost.
Wealthfront monitors your portfolio every day across more than a dozen asset classes to find opportunities for rebalancing and harvesting tax losses, and now manages more than $5 billion in assets. Unlike old-fashioned private wealth managers, Wealthfront is powered by innovative technology, making it the most tax-efficient, low-cost, hassle-free way to invest. Go to wealthfront.com/tim to take the risk assessment quiz, which only takes 2-5 minutes, and it’ll show you — for free — exactly the portfolio it would recommend. If you want to just take the advice and do it yourself, you can. Or, as I would, you can set it and forget it. Well worth a few minutes: wealthfront.com/tim. As a Tim Ferriss Show listener, you’ll get your first $15,000 managed for free if you decide to go with its services.
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 Rose:
Past episodes of The Random Show
Cherry blossom festivals in Tokyo
Suntory The Premium Malt’s — “brewed with pride”
Kanpai!
We’re staying at the Araya Totoan
In spite of the tattoos, Kevin assures us he’s not Yakuza.
7-Eleven and Circle K are different in Japan.
Ghibli Museum
Harajuku
Instagram photos tagged #takeshitadori
Over 280 Images of the Most Imaginative & Strange Cosplay at Comic-Con 2016 by Steve ‘Frosty’ Weintraub, Collider
13 Secrets for Speaking Fluent Japanese by Giles Murray
Japanese Verbs & Essentials of Grammar by Rita Lampkin
How to Perform Mantra Meditation
The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich by Timothy Ferriss
Slack
Headspace and Calm are two meditation apps Kevin uses.
Transcendental Meditation
Kevin has interviewed entrepreneurs at the Journal podcast and the Foundation series so people can better understand the steps (and missteps) that go into making a product.
vBulletin
Battle of the Clouds: Amazon Web Services vs. Microsoft Azure vs. Google Cloud Platform by Brandon Butler, Network World
Introducing “Zero,” a New App to Help You Fast by Kevin Rose, Medium
An iOS Developer’s Guide: From Objective-C to Learning Swift by Marco Mustapic, Toptal
Hodinkee
Tools of Titans: The Tactics, Routines, and Habits of Billionaires, Icons, and World-Class Performers by Timothy Ferriss
Tim Ferriss Shares Successful Life Tips from Tools of Titans on The Tonight Show
Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World by Cal Newport
SS Jeremiah O’Brien
From Gunpowder to Teeth Whitener: The Science Behind Historic Uses of Urine by Mohi Kumar, Smithsonian.com
The Tim Ferriss Podcast is Live! Here Are Episodes 1 and 2
Tuesdays with Morrie: An Old Man, a Young Man, and Life’s Greatest Lesson by Mitch Albom
The works of Mark Rothko, National Gallery of Art
List of Living National Treasures of Japan (crafts)
Kevin likes to wear Birkenstocks in the snow.
Minimalism: a Documentary About the Important Things
What is Hedonic Adaptation and How Can it Turn You Into a Sucka? by Mr. Money Mustache
Riding Giants
Laird XPT Extreme Pool Training
Moral Letters to Lucilius Letter XVIII: On Festivals and Fasting
Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World by Jack Weatherford
5-Bullet Friday
Hacking Japan: Inside Tokyo for Less than New York
Show Notes
Why are we in Japan? [06:56]
At Araya Totoan, Kevin doesn’t have to hide his tattoos. [09:17]
What it’s like in Japan if you don’t speak the language. [11:23]
The difference between losing a personal item in Japan and the US. [12:26]
Tokyo has a reputation for being an expensive city, but you can still have fun on the cheap. [15:20]
Book recommendations for people who want to learn Japanese. [20:02]
Book research and development, and mantra meditation app creation. [21:22]
Weighing the benefits of Slack vs. a private Facebook group for community feedback. [29:20]
Why is Kevin creating an app for mantra meditation, and what would its success look like? [31:43]
What do developers and designers mean when they talk about “wireframes?” [36:08]
Why don’t I have a “4-Hour” app yet? How can developers minimize maintenance once an app goes live? [37:51]
What can an app developer expect in terms of cost and maintenance for the first year if their launch is successful? [44:02]
Some of the features I’d like in my own app. [47:50]
Aside from app development, what has Kevin been up to? [49:27]
Book promotion is busy work. [50:09]
My recent Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon experience. [52:40]
The merits of deep work and blocking time “for unknown purposes.” [55:32]
Epitaph ideas, writing, and podcasting as vehicles for teaching. [56:55]
The three keys to achieving goals. [58:28]
How can you apply data to love and marriage? [1:00:06]
On drinking urine. [1:03:23]
How this podcast evolved as a break from writing to what it is today. [1:07:29]
Absurdity and beauty as project criteria — case studies: court jesters and Mark Rothko. [1:09:38]
Why Kevin got into woodworking. [1:17:23]
How Kevin avoids costly impulse purchases. [1:23:36]
Hedonic adaptation (aka experience stretching). [1:26:49]
Parting thoughts: Kevin’s podcast, our tour of a sake brewery, and book and documentary recommendations. [1:32:00]
People Mentioned
David Chang
Reid Hoffman
Jimmy Fallon
B.J. Novak
Will Smith
Cal Newport
Wim Hof
BJ Miller
Mark Rothko
Darya Rose
Ryozo Kawagita
Laird Hamilton
Gabrielle Reece
Kelly Starrett
Elon Musk
Dan Carlin
