Timothy Ferriss's Blog, page 82

My Breakfast Routine Before Workouts

I’ve been experimenting with different breakfast options for decades.

In 1998-1999, it was at least 80% fat while on a while on a Cyclic Ketogenic Diet (CKD). For the last 12 years, I’ve mostly consumed Slow-Carb Diet options shared in The 4-Hour Body (e.g. like this low-carb, high-protein, breakfast you can make in under 3 minutes, though I now use whole eggs).

I occasionally experiment with intermittent fasting, and the video below shares my current super-light breakfast that I use before most training and early morning travel. If hypertrophy (adding muscle) is my main objective, I still default to Slow-Carb and 30 grams of protein within 30 minutes of waking.

Enjoy!

Here are some of the products I mention in this video:

KetoForce
C8 oil (I used Brain Octane in this video)
Tera’s whey
Hydrolyzed gelatin/collagen (Great Lakes)
Super Beets or Beet Elite
Pu-erh tea (here’s one brand I enjoy)
Canned sardines

David “DHH” Heinemeier Hansson: The Power of Being Outspoken

Photo credit: Jiri Krenek

“It’s not about being eight hours in an office. It’s about increasing the quality of the hours that you spend.”

– David “DHH” Heinemeier Hansson

David “DHH” Heinemeier Hansson (@dhh) is the creator of Ruby on Rails, founder and CTO at Basecamp (formerly 37signals), and the best-selling co-author of Rework and Remote: Office Not Required. Oh, and he went from not having a driver’s license at 25 to winning, at 34, the 24 Hours of Le Mans race, one of the most prestigious automobile races in the world. It is often called the “Grand Prix of endurance and efficiency.”

David is one of the most outspoken technologists out there. He is not one to hide his opinions or mince words.

In this episode, we cover a lot, including…

The power of being outspoken
Running a profitable business without venture capital
Stoic philosophy
Flow space
Parallels across disciplines
DHH’s rules for creating excellence
And much, much more…

If you only have 5 minutes, listen to DHH’s tips on cultivating a sustainable work/life balance.

Please enjoy my conversation with DHH!

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 an entrepreneur balancing family life? — Listen to this interview with Shay Carl. In this episode, he shares his thoughts on the future of ad revenue, how he balances capturing the moment vs. experiencing the moment, his greatest obstacles in life, and lessons learned as a father (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 Wealthfront. Wealthfront is a massively disruptive (in a good way) set-it-and-forget-it investing service led by technologists from places like Apple. It has exploded in popularity in the last two years and now has more than $2.5B under management. 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 the exact portfolio they’d put you in. If you want to just take their advice and do it yourself, you can. Well worth a few minutes to explore: 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 DHH:

Website | The Distance Podcast | Twitter | Instagram | Medium | Basecamp | Ruby on Rails

Rework by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson
Remote: Office Not Required by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson
The Art of Strategic Laziness by Shane Snow (guest post featuring DHH’s learning process)
The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich by Timothy Ferriss
24 Hours of Le Mans
20 of Our Favourite Retro Racing Games by BBC Top Gear
Levels of the Game by John McPhee
The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine by Michael Lewis
What is flow?
Core Archery: Shooting With Proper Back Tension by Larry Wise
The Daily Rush (The last of the gaming sites David made around the turn of the millennium — and it’s still around!)
37signals
Bushnell’s Law
Ruby — “a programmer’s best friend”
Perl
Struts
From E-Commerce Expert to NFL Owner: How Gary Vee Is Positioning Himself to Buy the New York Jets by Chad Rubin, Skubana
I Am Elon Musk, Ask Me Anything about Becoming a Spacefaring Civ! (Reddit AMA)
Stoicism for Modern Stresses: 5 Lessons from Cato
The Day I Became a Millionaire by DHH, signalvnoise.com
37 Signals Takes Jeff Bezos Investment by Michael Arrington, TechCrunch
Moral Letters to Lucilius/Letter 18: On Festivals and Fasting by Seneca
Join 125+ other companies in taking the Work Can Wait pledge
The Age of Absurdity: Why Modern Life Makes It Hard to Be Happy by Michael Foley
It’s Always Your Fault by DHH, Medium
A Guide to the Good Life: The Ancient Art of Stoic Joy by William B. Irvine
Punished by Rewards: The Trouble with Gold Stars, Incentive Plans, A’s, Praise, and Other Bribes by Alfie Kohn
The Myth of the Spoiled Child: Coddled Kids, Helicopter Parents, and Other Phony Crises by Alfie Kohn
Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us by Daniel H. Pink
Turn the Ship Around!: A True Story of Turning Followers into Leaders by L. David Marquet and Stephen R. Covey
The Origins of Political Order: From Prehuman Times to the French Revolution by Francis Fukuyama
Political Order and Political Decay: From the Industrial Revolution to the Globalization of Democracy by Francis Fukuyama
Maverick: The Success Story Behind the World’s Most Unusual Workplace by Ricardo Semler
Comedian (documentary with Jerry Seinfeld)
The Big Short (movie)
Montage of Heck
New Rules — Real Time with Bill Maher
Hardcore History — Wrath of the Khans Series with Dan Carlin
Common Sense with Dan Carlin
Casey Neistat’s Boosted Boards
David considers his Leica M 240 “not just a good camera, but a freaking amazing camera.”
Understanding Exposure, Fourth Edition: How to Shoot Great Photographs with Any Camera by Bryan Peterson
Composed Method by Kent Beck
Coding: It’s Just Writing by Jeff Atwood, Coding Horror

Show Notes

David and I talk about how we first met. [07:29]
How did David go from not having a driver’s license to racing cars? [09:17]
What did David do differently compared to others when learning to drive? [15:35]
Everything’s interesting if you dig deep enough — whether it’s a driver’s manual or writing code. [17:09]
David describes the flow state he experiences when racing vs. the flow state he experiences while programming. [21:28]
David’s big aha moment that changed his perspective and brought about the development of Ruby on Rails. [37:13]
Is picking up a programming language akin to learning a new human language? [46:59]
David talks about Ruby on Rails and why experienced programmers find it instantly familiar. [49:09]
Is it more satisfying to be a jack of all trades than a master of one? [53:28]
David talks about the start of his business ventures with Jason Fried and their first principles [1:03:28]
David on keeping his business small and streamlined without being negligent. [1:09:24]
Does David consider himself a happy person? [1:18:34]
“Expectations — not outcomes — govern the happiness of your perceived reality.” [1:27:00]
How David and Jason went from the stance of eschewing venture capital to accepting money from Amazon’s Jeff Bezos. [1:31:49]
For most captains of industry, doing interesting work and taking on new challenges is far more gratifying than retiring. [1:36:06]
How is money like alcohol? [1:38:33]
What Seneca had to say on the subject of negative visualization. [1:39:22]
What has Jeff Bezos gained by investing in Basecamp? [1:40:42]
On cultivating sustainable work/life balance habits [1:43:50]
Bad luck vs. bad planning [1:54:21]
How is David’s “almost pathological” distaste for repeating work part of what makes him a good programmer? [2:01:03]
Books David has been enjoying. [2:05:56]
How does David know when he’s being a good parent — and what common mistakes does he see other parents making? [2:10:55]
What are the habits that have helped David develop empathy — and convey it — as a parent? [2:24:10]
Who comes to mind when David thinks of the word “successful?” [2:28:21]
Does David have any business idols? [2:31:15]
Does meeting your heroes ever live up to your expectations? [2:33:55]
David’s favorite documentaries and movies. [2:38:25]
Books David has gifted and recommended most. [2:42:17]
David’s favorite podcasts. [2:44:25]
David’s purchase of $100 or less that has had the most positive impact on his life in recent memory. [2:46:29]
David’s most worthwhile investment of money, time, or energy. [2:52:08]
Resources that have helped David improve as a photographer. [2:56:52]
What is beautiful code? [2:59:18]
What advice would David give his younger self? [3:14:15]
Does David have a favorite failure? [3:17:05]

People Mentioned

Seth Godin
Jason Fried
Tom Kristensen
John McPhee
Arthur Ashe
Clark Graebner
Michael Lewis
Martin Fowler
Chad Fowler
Scott Adams
Michael Jordan
Marc Andreessen
Nolan Bushnell
Yukihiro “Matz” Matsumoto
Gary Vaynerchuk
Elon Musk
Jeff Bezos
Coco Chanel
Jerry Colonna
Seneca
Alfie Kohn
Patton Oswalt
Ricardo Semler
Richard Branson
Warren Buffett
Steve Jobs
Jerry Seinfeld
Bill Maher
Dan Carlin
Casey Neistat
Amelia Boone
Steve Huff
Tobi Lütke
Upton Sinclair
Yoda
Jack Ma

TOOLS OF TITANS — Sample Chapter and a Taste of Things to Come

This blog post will share the first chapter in my new book, Tools of Titans. It’s been nearly five years since my last book.

But before we get to that, a short story…

Three weeks before my book deadline, I was burning the midnight oil on rural Long Island. I’d set up a treadmill desk and purchased endless supplies of yerba mate tea, powdered MCT oil, and other assorted goodies to keep me sharp at 3am.

Joining me in the insanity was Kamal Ravikant, a close friend. He’d just finished his first novel and volunteered to help proofread chapters with fresh eyes. During our first day together, we rotated between reading, editing, and sauna breaks.

Kamal was uncharacteristically quiet, which made me nervous.

Had I screwed up the structure? Were the profiles hard to read? He kept his eyes on the screen, and I kept my insecurities to myself. We continued into dusk and, soon, it was dark outside. Eventually, we popped a bottle of wine in the living room to relax for 30 minutes before diving back in. It was at this point that I couldn’t help myself — I asked Kamal how his proofing was going. He paused, smiled, and looked at me:

“You know, Tim, I’ve given The 4-Hour Workweek and The 4-Hour Body to specific friends. One might want to start a business, another might want to lose a few pounds. But my God… This book applies to everyone.”

I smiled and he took a swig of wine:

“I mean, look,” he pointed at his phone, “I’ve been taking notes on new things to do and try, starting tomorrow. I’ve ordered 11 things on Amazon Prime so I can start using them as soon as I get home. There is so much gold here. The truth is that I feel like I’ve already improved. I’d buy it for anyone, even my mom.”

Flash forward to today — I couldn’t be happier with how Tools of Titans has turned out.

Just three notes before the sample chapter:

– Even if you’ve heard every podcast episode, there is a ton of new content in this book. New recommendations and details from past guests, new “guests” you haven’t heard, new content from me, and much more.

– I rarely make direct “asks,” but I will here. If you’ve benefited from any of my work in the past, including the blog (700+ free posts) or podcast (~200 free episodes), please grab Tools of Titans for yourself and consider it for your family, friends, or employees. It’s one hell of a holiday gift. I can promise you that. It delivers.

– I am NOT planning on doing an audiobook version anytime soon. More to come on this, as I have some crazy ideas, but suffice to say: don’t wait for audio. Please grab the print and/or ebook version, and don’t miss the illustrations.

Now, please enjoy this little sample to whet your appetite…

READ THIS FIRST—HOW TO USE THIS BOOK

“Out on the edge you see all kinds of things you can’t see from the center. Big, undreamed-of things—the people on the edge see them first.”

— Kurt Vonnegut

“Routine, in an intelligent man, is a sign of ambition.”

— W.H. Auden

I’m a compulsive note-taker.

To wit, I have recorded nearly every workout since age 18 or so. Roughly 8 feet of shelf space in my home is occupied by spine upon spine of notebook upon notebook. That, mind you, is one subject. It extends to dozens. Some people would call this OCD, and many would consider it a manic wild goose chase. I view it simply: It is the collection of my life’s recipes.

My goal is to learn things once and use them forever.

For instance, let’s say I stumble upon a picture of myself from June 5, 2007, and I think, “I really wish I looked like that again.” No problem. I’ll crack open a dusty volume from 2007, review the 8 weeks of training and food logs preceding June 5, repeat them, and—voilà—end up looking nearly the same as my younger self (minus the hair). It’s not always that easy, but it often is.

This book, like my others, is a compendium of recipes for high performance that I gathered for my own use. There’s one big difference, though—I never planned on publishing this one.

As I write this, I’m sitting in a café in Paris overlooking the Luxembourg Garden, just off of Rue Saint-Jacques. Rue Saint-Jacques is likely the oldest road in Paris, and it has a rich literary history. Victor Hugo lived a few blocks from where I’m sitting. Gertrude Stein drank coffee and F. Scott Fitzgerald socialized within a stone’s throw. Hemingway wandered up and down the sidewalks, his books percolating in his mind, wine no doubt percolating in his blood.

I came to France to take a break from everything. No social media, no email, no social commitments, no set plans . . . except for one project. The month had been set aside to review all of the lessons I’d learned from nearly 200 world-class performers I’d interviewed on The Tim Ferriss Show, which has more than 90,000,000 downloads. The guests included chess prodigies, movie stars, four-star generals, pro athletes, and hedge fund managers. It was a motley crew.

More than a handful of them had since become collaborators in business and creative projects, spanning from investments to indie film. As a result, I’d absorbed a lot of their wisdom outside of our recordings, whether over workouts, wine-infused jam sessions, text message exchanges, dinners, or late-night phone calls. In every case, I’d gotten to know them well beyond the superficial headlines in the media.

My life had already improved in every area as a result of the lessons I could remember. But that was the tip of the iceberg. The majority of the gems were still lodged in thousands of pages of transcripts and hand-scribbled notes. More than anything, I longed for the chance to distill everything into a playbook.

So, I’d set aside an entire month for review (and, if I’m being honest, pain au chocolat), to put together the ultimate CliffsNotes for myself. It would be the notebook to end all notebooks. Something that could help me in minutes but be read for a lifetime.

That was the lofty goal, at least, and I wasn’t sure what the result would be.

Within weeks of starting, the experience exceeded all expectations. No matter the situation I found myself in, something in this book was able to help. Now, when I’m feeling stuck, trapped, desperate, angry, conflicted, or simply unclear, the first thing I do is flip through these pages with a strong cup of coffee in hand. So far, the needed medicine has popped out within 20 minutes of revisiting these friends, who will now become your friends. Need a reassuring pat on the back? There’s someone for that. An unapologetic slap in the face? Plenty of people for that, too. Someone to explain why your fears are unfounded… or why your excuses are bullshit? Done.

There are a lot of powerful quotes, but this book is much more than a compilation of quotes. It is a toolkit for changing your life.

There are many books full of interviews. This is different because I don’t view myself as an interviewer. I view myself as an experimenter. If I can’t test something or replicate results in the messy reality of everyday life, I’m not interested. Everything in these pages has been vetted, explored, and applied to my own life in some fashion. I’ve used dozens of these tactics and philosophies in high-stakes negotiations, high-risk environments, or large business dealings. The lessons have made me millions of dollars and saved me years of wasted effort and frustration. They work when you need them most.

Some applications are obvious at first glance, while others are subtle and will provoke a “Holy shit, now I get it!” realization weeks later, while you’re daydreaming in the shower or about to fall asleep.

Many of the one-liners teach volumes. Some summarize excellence in an entire field in one sentence. As Josh Waitzkin (page 577), chess prodigy and the inspiration behind Searching for Bobby Fischer, might put it, these bite-sized learnings are a way to “learn the macro from the micro.” The process of piecing them together was revelatory. If I thought I saw “the Matrix” before, I was mistaken, or I was only seeing 10% of it. Still, even that 10%—“islands” of notes on individual mentors—had already changed my life and helped me 10x my results. But after revisiting more than a hundred minds as part of the same fabric, things got very interesting very quickly. For the movie nerds among you, it was like the end of The Sixth Sense or The Usual Suspects: “The red door knob! The fucking Kobayashi coffee cup! How did I not notice that?! It was right in front of me the whole time!”

To help you see the same, I’ve done my best to weave patterns together throughout the book, noting where guests have complementary habits, beliefs, and recommendations.

The completed jigsaw puzzle is much greater than the sum of its parts.

WHAT MAKES THESE PEOPLE DIFFERENT?

“Judge a man by his questions rather than his answers.”

— Pierre-Marc-Gaston de Lévis

These world-class performers don’t have superpowers.

The rules they’ve crafted for themselves allow the bending of reality to such an extent that it may seem that way, but they’ve learned how to do this, and so can you. These “rules” are often uncommon habits and bigger questions.

In a surprising number of cases, the power is in the absurd. The more absurd, the more “impossible” the question, the more profound the answers. Take, for instance, a question that serial billionaire Peter Thiel likes to ask himself and others:

“If you have a 10-year plan of how to get [somewhere], you should ask: Why can’t you do this in 6 months?”

For purposes of illustration here, I might reword that to:

“What might you do to accomplish your 10-year goals in the next 6 months, if you had a gun against your head?”

Now, let’s pause. Do I expect you to take 10 seconds to ponder this and then magically accomplish 10 years’ worth of dreams in the next few months? No, I don’t. But I do expect that the question will productively break your mind, like a butterfly shattering a chrysalis to emerge with new capabilities. The “normal” systems you have in place, the social rules you’ve forced upon yourself, the standard frameworks—they don’t work when answering a question like this. You are forced to shed artificial constraints, like shedding a skin, to realize that you had the ability to renegotiate your reality all along. It just takes practice.

My suggestion is that you spend real time with the questions you find most ridiculous in this book. Thirty minutes of stream-of-consciousness journaling (page 224) could change your life.

On top of that, while the world is a gold mine, you need to go digging in other people’s heads to unearth riches. Questions are your pickaxes and competitive advantage. This book will give you an arsenal to choose from.

PERFORMANCE-ENHANCING DETAILS

When organizing all of the material for myself, I didn’t want an onerous 37-step program.

I wanted low-hanging fruit with immediate returns. Think of the bite-sized rules within these pages as PEDs—performance-enhancing details. They can be added to any training regimen (read here: different careers, personal preferences, unique responsibilities, etc.) to pour gasoline on the fire of progress.

Fortunately, 10x results don’t always require 10x effort. Big changes can come in small packages. To dramatically change your life, you don’t need to run a 100-mile race, get a PhD, or completely reinvent yourself. It’s the small things, done consistently, that are the big things (e.g., “red teaming” once per quarter, Tara Brach’s guided meditations, strategic fasting or exogenous ketones, etc.).

“Tool” is defined broadly in this book. It includes routines, books, common self-talk, supplements, favorite questions, and much more.

WHAT DO THEY HAVE IN COMMON?

In this book, you’ll naturally look for common habits and recommendations, and you should. Here are a few patterns, some odder than others:

More than 80% of the interviewees have some form of daily mindfulness or meditation practice
A surprising number of males (not females) over 45 never eat breakfast, or eat only the scantiest of fare (e.g., Laird Hamilton, page 92; General Stanley McChrystal, page 435)
Many use the ChiliPad device for cooling at bedtime
Rave reviews of the books Sapiens , Poor Charlie’s Almanack , Influence , and Man’s Search for Meaning , among others
The habit of listening to single songs on repeat for focus (page 507)
Nearly everyone has done some form of “spec” work (completing projects on their own time and dime, then submitting them to prospective buyers)
The belief that “failure is not durable” (see Robert Rodriguez, page 628) or variants thereof
Almost every guest has been able to take obvious “weaknesses” and turn them into huge competitive advantages (see Arnold Schwarzenegger, page 176)

Of course, I will help you connect these dots, but that’s less than half of the value of this book. Some of the most encouraging workarounds are found in the outliers. I want you to look for the black sheep who fit your unique idiosyncrasies. Keep an eye out for the non-traditional paths, like Shay Carl’s journey from manual laborer to YouTube star to co-founder of a startup sold for nearly $1 billion (page 441). The variation is the consistency. As a software engineer might say, “That’s not a bug. It’s a feature!”

Borrow liberally, combine uniquely, and create your own bespoke blueprint.

THIS BOOK IS A BUFFET—HERE’S HOW TO GET THE MOST OUT OF IT

RULE #1: SKIP LIBERALLY. 

I want you to skip anything that doesn’t grab you. This book should be fun to read, and it’s a buffet to choose from. Don’t suffer through anything. If you hate shrimp, don’t eat the goddamn shrimp. Treat it as a choose-your-own-adventure guide, as that’s how I’ve written it. My goal is for each reader to like 50%, love 25%, and never forget 10%. Here’s why: For the millions who’ve heard the podcast, and the dozens who proofread this book, the 50/25/10 highlights are completely different for every person. It’s blown my mind.

I’ve even had multiple guests in this book—people who are the best at what they do—proofread the same profile, answering my question of “Which 10% would you absolutely keep, and which 10% would you absolutely cut?” Oftentimes, the 10% “must keep” of one person was the exact “must cut” of someone else! This is not one-size-fits-all. I expect you to discard plenty. Read what you enjoy.

RULE #2: SKIP, BUT DO SO INTELLIGENTLY.

All that said, take a brief mental note of anything you skip. Perhaps put a little dot in the corner of the page or highlight the headline.

Could it be that skipping and glossing over precisely these topics or questions has created blind spots, bottlenecks, and unresolved issues in your life? That was certainly true for me.

If you decide to flip past something, note it, return to it later at some point, and ask yourself, “Why did I skip this?” Did it offend you? Seem beneath you? Seem too difficult? And did you arrive at that by thinking it through, or is it a reflection of biases inherited from your parents, family, friends, and others? Very often, “our” beliefs are not our own.

This type of practice is how you create yourself, instead of seeking to discover yourself. There is value in the latter, but it’s mostly past-tense: It’s a rearview mirror. Looking out the windshield is how you get where you want to go.

JUST REMEMBER TWO PRINCIPLES

I was recently standing in Place Louis Aragon, a shaded outdoor nook on the River Seine, having a picnic with writing students from the Paris American Academy. One woman pulled me aside and asked what I hoped to convey in this book, at the core. Seconds later, we were pulled back into the fray, as the attendees were taking turns talking about the circuitous paths that brought them there that day. Nearly everyone had a story of wanting to come to Paris for years—in some cases, 30 to 40 years—but assuming it was impossible.

Listening to their stories, I pulled out a scrap of paper and jotted down my answer to her question. In this book, at its core, I want to convey the following:

Success, however you define it, is achievable if you collect the right field-tested beliefs and habits. Someone else has done your version of “success” before, and often, many have done something similar. “But,” you might ask, “what about a first, like colonizing Mars?” There are still recipes. Look at empire building of other types, look at the biggest decisions in the life of Robert Moses (read The Power Broker ), or simply find someone who stepped up to do great things that were deemed impossible at the time (e.g., Walt Disney). There is shared DNA you can borrow.


The superheroes you have in your mind (idols, icons, titans, billionaires, etc.) are nearly all walking flaws who’ve maximized 1 or 2 strengths. Humans are imperfect creatures. You don’t “succeed” because you have no weaknesses; you succeed because you find your unique strengths and focus on developing habits around them. To make this crystal-clear, I’ve deliberately included two sections in this book (pages 197 and 616) that will make you think: “Wow, Tim Ferriss is a mess. How the hell does he ever get anything done?” Everyone is fighting a battle you know nothing about. The heroes in this book are no different. Everyone struggles. Take solace in that.

A FEW IMPORTANT NOTES ON FORMAT

STRUCTURE

This book is comprised of three sections: Healthy, Wealthy, and Wise. Of course, there is tremendous overlap across the sections, as the pieces are interdependent. In fact, you could think of the three as a tripod upon which life is balanced. One needs all three to have any sustainable success or happiness. “Wealthy,” in the context of this book, also means much more than money. It extends to abundance in time, relationships, and more.

My original intention with The 4-Hour Workweek (4HWW), The 4-Hour Body (4HB), and The 4-Hour Chef (4HC) was to create a trilogy themed after Ben Franklin’s famous quote: “Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.”

People constantly ask me, “What would you put in The 4-Hour Workweek if you were to write it again? How would you update it?” Ditto for 4HB and 4HC. Tools of Titans contains most of the answers for all three.

PATTERNS

Where guests have related recommendations or philosophies, I’ve noted them in parentheses. For instance, if Jane Doe tells a story about the value of testing higher prices, I might add “(see Chase Jarvis, page 170),” since he explains in depth how and why he chose to “go premium” with his pricing as a photographer from day one.

HUMOR!

I’ve included ample doses of the ridiculous. First of all, if we’re serious all the time, we’ll wear out before we get the truly serious stuff done. Second, if this book were all stern looks and no winks, all productivity and no grab-assing, you’d remember very little. I agree with Tony Robbins (page 210) that information without emotion isn’t retained.

NON-PROFILE CONTENT AND TIM FERRISS CHAPTERS

In all sections, there are multiple non-profile pieces by guests and yours truly. These are typically intended to expand upon key principles and tools mentioned by multiple people.

YOUR SEND-OFF — THE 3 TOOLS THAT ALLOW ALL THE REST

Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse is recommended by many guests in this book. There is one takeaway that Naval Ravikant (page 546) has reinforced with me several times on our long walks. The protagonist, Siddhartha, a monk who looks like a beggar, has come to the city and falls in love with a famous courtesan named Kamala. He attempts to court her, and she asks, “What do you have?” A well-known merchant similarly asks, “What can you give that you have learned?” His answer is the same in both cases, so I’ve included the latter story here. Siddhartha ultimately acquires all that he wants. Bolding is mine:

Merchant: “. . . If you are without possessions, how can you give?”

Siddhartha: “Everyone gives what he has. The soldier gives strength, the merchant goods, the teacher instruction, the farmer rice, the fisherman fish.”

Merchant: “Very well, and what can you give? What have you learned that you can give?”

Siddhartha: “I can think, I can wait, I can fast.”

Merchant: “Is that all?”

Siddhartha: “I think that is all.”

Merchant: “And of what use are they? For example, fasting, what good is that?”

Siddhartha: “It is of great value, sir. If a man has nothing to eat, fasting is the most intelligent thing he can do. If, for instance, Siddhartha had not learned to fast, he would have had to seek some kind of work today, either with you, or elsewhere, for hunger would have driven him. But, as it is, Siddhartha can wait calmly. He is not impatient, he is not in need, he can ward off hunger for a long time and laugh at it. ”

I think of Siddhartha’s answers often and in the following terms:

“I can think” → Having good rules for decision-making, and having good questions you can ask yourself and others.

“I can wait” → Being able to plan long-term, play the long game, and not misallocate your resources.

“I can fast” → Being able to withstand difficulties and disaster. Training yourself to be uncommonly resilient and have a high pain tolerance.

This book will help you to develop all three.

I created Tools of Titans because it’s the book that I’ve wanted my entire life. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Pura vida,

Tim Ferriss

Paris, France

###

Tools of Titans is available at Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, Amazon, iBooks, Indiebound, Indigo, and more.

The Magic and Power of Placebo

Photo credit: Sarah Rice

“Your brain has expectations, and it doesn’t want to be wrong. So when it’s wrong, it just makes up the difference.”

– Erik Vance

Erik Vance (@erikvance) is an award-winning science writer based in California and Mexico City. After working as a scientist on research projects dealing with dolphin intelligence and coastal ecology, he became an educator and then an environmental consultant. In 2005, he attended UC Santa Cruz’s famed Science Communication Program and discovered a passion for journalism. Since then, he has built his career around science-based profiles of inspiring or controversial figures. His work has appeared in Harper’s Magazine, The New York Times, The Utne Reader, Scientific American, and National Geographic. He is also a contributing editor at Discover Magazine.

His latest book is Suggestible You: The Curious Science of Your Brain’s Ability to Deceive, Transform, and Heal. This riveting narrative explores the world of placebos, hypnosis, false memories, and neurology to reveal the groundbreaking science of our suggestible minds. Could the secrets to personal health lie within our own brains?  Erik’s firsthand dispatches will change the way you think — and feel.

In this episode, we cover many topics — with equal amounts of the profound, actionable, and hilarious:

The power of placebo, and how you can increase the odds of it working for you (if you choose).
Which conditions respond well to placebo, and which do not.
How the mind, religion, bedside manner, and peer pressure can influence medical outcomes.
Finding and studying a pig shit sommelier.
Why he got electrocuted for half an hour at the NIH laboratories in Bethesda, Maryland.
The story of why he chose to be cursed by a witch doctor in Mexico City.

If you only have 5 minutes, listen to Erik’s story on catching porcupines in South Africa. This alone will make you laugh out loud and is worth the episode.

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 an episode about brain optimization? — Listen to this interview with Adam Gazzaley, M.D, Ph.D. In this episode, we discuss neuroplasticity, how to enhance cognitive abilities, the best smart drugs, and much, much more (stream below or right-click here to download):

This podcast is 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. It has exploded in popularity in the last two years and now has more than $2.5B under management. 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 the exact portfolio they’d put you in. If you want to just take their advice and do it yourself, you can. Well worth a few minutes to explore: wealthfront.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 4-Hour Body, 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 Erik Vance:

Twitter | Erik’s Website | Suggestible You Website

Suggestible You: The Curious Science of Your Brain’s Ability to Deceive, Transform, and Heal by Erik Vance
The Foreign Science Correspondent: Erik Vance on Living and Working in Mexico City by Robin Mejia, The Science Writers’ Handbook
Zoobooks Magazine — one of Erik’s childhood inspirations
The Power of One
Cry the Beloved Porcupine by Erik Vance
UC Santa Cruz Science Communication Program
Narrative X-Rays: Looking at Stories’ Structural Skeletons by Julia Rosen, The Open Notebook
Erik Vance: “Scientists Are Quirky Everywhere”, Nieman Storyboard
The Chronicle of Higher Education wouldn’t let Erik title one of his first stories “Stinky Ladybug Taint.” (It opted for this, instead.)
Profile: What is That Smell? by Erik Vance, Nature
What is Christian Science?
National Institutes of Health (NIH)
Power of the Placebo by Erik Vance, Discover
The Serpent and the Rainbow: book by Wade Davis, movie by Wes Craven
Mercado de Sonora
Post hoc ergo propter hoc (after this, therefore because of this)
The Kennedy Curse, True Conspiracy
Healing Back Pain: The Mind-Body Connection by John E. Sarno
The Power of the Placebo, Susan Perry, Brainfacts.org
Placebo Surgery: More Effective Than You Think? by David H. Newman, M.D., The Huffington Post
Is the Placebo Effect in Some People’s Genes? by Lisa Rapaport, Reuters
Multitasking Gene May Help Drone Operators Control Robotic Swarms by Jeremy Hsu, Scientific American
Evolution Could Explain the Placebo Effect by Colin Barras, New Scientist

Show Notes

How did Erik Vance wind up living in Mexico City? [06:53]
How did Erik get interested in field biology? [07:42]
What was the turning point that transformed Erik from pure scientist to science journalist? [10:10]
Erik talks about his adventures with a porcupine, a recovering junkie, and a reformed devil worshiper in South Africa. [12:17]
Why nature documentaries usually require unnatural preparation. [18:04]
Erik talks about striking the balance between scientific precision and entertaining storytelling. [22:37]
We talk about story structure, the processes involved with writing a book, and tools for writers. [23:46]
Erik talks about one of his first, less-than-glamorous assignments as a new science writer (it involved swine manure and something called ladybug taint). [28:00]
Erik talks about growing up as a Christian Scientist — and not going to a doctor until he turned 18. [40:05]
Erik’s interest in the placebo effect comes from surviving a serious childhood disease. [44:50]
Erik talks about visiting NIH (National Institutes of Health) facilities so he could get repeatedly electrocuted — for science! [45:45]
The placebo effect isn’t always in your head — you may legitimately be experiencing measurable biochemical reactions. [49:06]
The power of nocebos: we talk about zombies, witches, and curses. [50:12]
Erik talks about getting cursed. [1:03:00]
Is there evidence to suggest that “real” drugs can fail to treat an ailment if the patient believes they’re being given a placebo? [1:10:03]
Parkinson’s disease seems to respond well to placebo, whereas Alzheimer’s disease does not. Why? [1:14:37]
How do we avoid feeling deceptive when we try to help loved ones with the use of placebos? [1:19:16]
Sham surgeries are a real thing. [1:20:39]
How does a rational scientist approach belief in placebo treatments? [1:23:35]
There is growing evidence that placebo-responding expectations can become permanent. [1:26:20]
Are some people more genetically susceptible to the placebo effect than others? [1:27:35]
What other conditions seem to respond well to placebo? [1:30:40]
How might someone maximize the effectiveness of a placebo pill? [1:31:25]
How does Erik now use what he learned about placebo during the course of writing Suggestible You? [1:33:49]
Different colors and sizes of placebo pills work better to treat certain ailments. [1:36:34]

PEOPLE MENTIONED

Yogi Berra
John McPhee
Burkhard Bilger
Mickey Mantle
Jacek Koziel
Luana Colloca
George F. Cahill, Jr.
Christopher Sommer
Richard Feynman
Peter Attia

My Life Extension Pilgrimage to Easter Island

“Most good science comes only after a massive amount of failure.”

– David M. Sabatini

This episode was a blast.

It was a tropical exploration of biology, life extension, and all good things. This included a lot of Carménère wine and good old-fashioned ball busting.

I was joined by:

Peter Attia, MD (@peterattiamd), who rejoins the show (catch his last appearance here). He is a former ultra-endurance athlete (e.g., swimming 25-mile races), compulsive self-experimenter, and one of the most fascinating human beings I know. He is one of my go-to doctors for anything performance- or longevity-related. Peter earned his MD from Stanford University and holds a BSc in mechanical engineering and applied mathematics from Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario. He did his residency in general surgery at the Johns Hopkins Hospital, and conducted research at the National Cancer Institute under Dr. Steven Rosenberg, where Peter focused on the role of regulatory T cells in cancer regression and other immune-based therapies for cancer.

David M. Sabatini, M.D., Ph.D. (@DMSabatini) of MIT’s Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research. David is on a short list for the Nobel Prize for his work in elucidating the role of rapamycin and mTOR.

Navdeep S. Chandel, Ph.D., the David W. Cugell Professor of Medicine and Cell Biology at the Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University. Nav established his lab there to further the understanding of how mitochondria work as signaling organelles to regulate physiology and pathology. He is also the author of Navigating Metabolism.

Perhaps you’ve heard of people in Silicon Valley taking metformin, rapamycin, and supplements for longevity. In this conversation, we dig into the real science, what current evidence supports (or doesn’t), and other important matters like how to staple properly, which fonts reasonable people use, and why Borat is a genius. 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 with Peter Attia? — Listen to his first appearance on the podcast. 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 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 4-Hour Body, 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 Peter Attia: Twitter | The Eating Academy
Connect with David M. Sabatini: Twitter | Sabatini Lab
Connect with Navdeep S. Chandel: Chandel Lab


Dr. Peter Attia on Life-Extension, Drinking Jet Fuel, Ultra-Endurance, Human Foie Gras, and More (Peter’s last appearance on this show)
The 1994 discovery of mTOR (mechanistic target of rapamycin) — at the time called RAFT1
An MIT Interview with David Sabatini
Easter Island, National Geographic
A Rogue Doctor Saved a Potential Miracle Drug by Storing Samples in His Home After Being Told to Throw Them Away by Kevin Loria, Business Insider
Navigating Metabolism by Navdeep Chandel
I Am Birdman, Hear Me Roar by Bucky McMahon, Men’s Journal
Rapalogs and mTOR Inhibitors as Anti-aging Therapeutics
Rapamycin Intervention Trial in Pet Dogs
The Dueling Banjos scene from Deliverance
Novartis Working on ‘Fountain of Youth’ Drug by Jim Algar, Tech Times
Regulation of mTORC1 by Amino Acids
2016 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine to Yoshinori Ohsumi for his discoveries of mechanisms for autophagy
mTOR Signaling in Growth Control and Disease in Cell
Metformin: Uses, Dosage, Side Effects
Effect of Metformin on Breast Cancer Metabolism
Antioxidants: Beyond the Hype, Harvard School of Public Health
Miami Freestyle: 13 Best Acts of All Time by Jacob Katel, Miami New Times
Narcos
All About The Human Genome Project
“Correlation does not imply causation.”
LaTeX – A document preparation system
Fonts mentioned: Times New Roman, Myriad Pro Condensed, Helvetica, Verdana, and Comic Sans
The Helvetica documentary
Five Vision Myths, American Academy of Ophthalmology
Basis by Elysium
Easter Island: Secret Caves And Tunnels by Brien Foerster
Borat – Horse is Like a Man
Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse
Lincoln: A Novel (The American Chronicle Series) by Gore Vidal
Burr: A Novel by Gore Vidal
The Satanic Verses: A Novel by Salman Rushdie
Wathan Funeral Home’s Text and Drive billboard
The Monkey Puzzle Tree
Understanding Altruism, Psychology Today
George Costanza Does the Opposite
EQ vs. IQ
The Mythical Man-Month: Essays on Software Engineering by Frederick P. Brooks, Jr.
A picture of the plaque commemorating the discovery of rapamycin

Show Notes

Nav introduces David and explains why we’re on Easter Island. [08:47]
David introduces Nav and his work in the study of mitochondria. [10:48]
Peter talks about how he’s connected to Nav and David and elaborates more on how our trip to Easter Island came about. [12:30]
The connection between Easter Island (aka Rapa Nui) and rapamycin — and how one of the most important discoveries of medical science was almost lost. [14:37]
David details his connection with rapamycin and what research was like with early, limited samples. [19:27]
Why metabolism research is the key to treating a long list of diseases. [22:58]
mTOR’s role in metabolism. [28:56]
Potential applications of rapamycin. [31:58]
Why rapamycin longevity studies in mice may be inaccurate — and how new dog trials may give us better data. [33:04]
Lifespan vs. healthspan. [36:40]
What is the logic behind intermittent dosing of rapamycin? [42:43]
Does intermittent dosing of rapamycin mimic fasting? [47:55]
Are there downsides to going from a fasted state back to a fed state? [49:19]
What is the difference between rapamycin and metformin? [50:23]
Do any of the guests use metformin — why or why not? [1:03:52]
Would having an expected lifespan of more than a hundred years make Nav less effective? [1:06:29]
Why Nav does not take metformin, and why David does not take rapamycin. [1:08:44]
Thoughts on supplementing with antioxidants. [1:13:11]
Where did Nav grow up, and what prompted his pursuit of science? [1:18:57]
Parenting advice from scientists: views on confidence and conflict. [1:28:19]
Most good science comes only after a massive amount of failure. [1:38:41]
Atypical advice given to students, and what it takes to be a bad scientist. [1:40:16]
Peter’s thoughts on the importance of the right fonts, and why he’s obsessive about what might seem like nonsense to most. [1:43:27]
What are the right fonts and why? [1:47:38]
Even though David’s vision has gotten worse in the past few years, why doesn’t he wear glasses? [1:51:27]
Thoughts about Basis by Elysium. [1:52:59]
Peter explains asymmetric risk and an aversion to spelunking from trees. [1:56:44]
How might David live to be 600 if he won’t take rapamycin? [2:00:13]
Peter channels Borat. [2:04:25]
Book Nav has gifted most. [2:08:33]
Books David has gifted most. [2:10:27]
What would Nav and David’s billboards say? [2:12:38]
On a subject outside of his everyday area of expertise, what TED Talk would Nav give? [2:16:03]
Why are Nav and Dave such close friends? [2:24:21]
Have I stumbled into Dumb & Dumber meets Limitless? [2:27:30]
Peter extolls the virtues of having nuanced scientific discussions in one of the most beautiful places on the planet. [2:29:22]
The benefit of “non-potato” relationships. [2:30:36]
What advice would David give to his 30-year-old self? [2:33:45]
What advice would Nav give to his 22-year-old self? [2:37:35]
Best investment in money, time, or energy that Nav has made. [2:40:18]
As an efficient person, what are the most common mistakes Nav sees inefficient people make? [2:44:19]
How does Nav instill the importance of efficiency to his daughter? [2:46:40]
Best investment in money, time, or energy that David has made. [2:47:50]
Why Nav considers being rejected by medical school three times in 22 years a good thing. [2:51:43]
Peter tells a story about rapamycin pioneer Suren Sehgal. [2:53:08]
Closing asks, requests, suggestions, and recommendations for the listeners. [3:00:42]

People Mentioned

Julie McCoy
Suren Sehgal
Ajai Sehgal
Solomon Snyder
Homer Simpson
Matt Kaeberlein
Pablo Escobar
Borat
Antonio Banderas
Sacha Baron Cohen
Josh Waitzkin
Naval Ravikant
Gore Vidal
Abraham Lincoln
Aaron Burr
Salman Rushdie
George Costanza
Amelia Boone

O.J. Simpson

My Evening Routine for Optimal Relaxation and Sleep

This soaking tub is an essential part of my evening routine.

I’m often asked about my morning routine, which I detailed at length in a previous podcast.

For me, a reliable nighttime routine is just as important.

The short video below explains the exact protocol I use to wind down in the last 60 minutes of my day. Some of these tactics have been honed over many years, while others have been borrowed from guests on The Tim Ferriss Show. (Note: I’ve collected all of my favorite habits and routines from podcast guests — including some you haven’t met — in Tools of Titans.)

In my experience, these evening steps practically guarantee less stress and a better night’s sleep.

Do you have any favorite nighttime rituals? Please share in the comments below! Enjoy…

The Return of Drunk Dialing

Photo credit: Instagram

“The people I view as heroes in my life have forced me to have uncomfortable conversations and do uncomfortable things.”

Thanks to the gin I had tonight, this is a special episode. It is a drunk-dialing Q&A with you guys — like we did around this time last year to celebrate the 100th episode. In preparation, I solicited phone numbers from listeners who wanted to receive a call from me.

In this episode, I cover topics such as:

parenting advice from friends and guests
how to get started in podcasting
how to make a good sales pitch
long-distance moves
what I consider good advice
and much, much more!

Without further ado, please enjoy this alcohol-fueled Q&A!

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 when I’m drunk? — Listen to my 100th podcast. In this episode, 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 Rhone Apparel. Dozens — maybe even hundreds of you — have asked me: “What shirts are you wearing in your recent YouTube videos?” They’re a very specific set of shirts from Rhone. I’m packing for a trip for seven to ten days, and I would say half of what I’m going to pack is from Rhone. These are the most comfortable shirts (and Rhone stocks way more than shirts) that I have ever worn — at least for active wear. But you can even sneak them into a business casual event or dinner if you’re a Long Island kid like me.

Rhone has minimal branding, so you don’t feel like you’re walking around with some sort of billboard on your chest. They come with pure, melted-down silver in the fabric — anti-odor technology so you don’t smell like a musk ox halfway through the day. I love Rhone’s shirts, pants, and shorts, and I’ve been wearing them pretty much every day for the past few weeks. Luckily, there’s no risk in trying them out: free shipping and a 100-day return policy should help you decide if they’re worth it. Plus, listeners get an exclusive 15% off for using the code TIM at checkout. Find ’em at rhone.com/tim.

This podcast is also 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.

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

Josh Waitzkin, The Prodigy Returns
2015 Podcast of the Year — Jamie Foxx on Workout Routines, Success Habits, and Untold Hollywood Stories
Jocko Willink on Discipline, Leadership, and Overcoming Doubt
Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance by Angela Duckworth
Searching for Bobby Fischer: book and movie
Picking Warren Buffett’s Brain: Notes from a Novice
How to Win Friends & Influence People by Dale Carnegie
Dale Carnegie Training
Neil Gaiman – Inspirational Commencement Speech at the University of the Arts 2012
Books by John McPhee
Open: An Autobiography by Andre Agassi
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
New York Comic Con
Hit Filmmaker Jon Favreau’s Techniques and Routines
The Hero’s Journey: Joseph Campbell on His Life and Work (The Collected Works of Joseph Campbell) by Joseph Campbell and Phil Cousineau
Shep Gordon — The King Maker on His Best PR Stunts, Hugest Failures, and Practical Philosophies
The Merry Pranksters
Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman! (Adventures of a Curious Character) by Richard P. Feynman and Ralph Leighton
Benjamin Franklin: An American Life by Walter Isaacson
Tackling University Challenges in Remote Sensing by Hannah Miller
Tall Poppy Syndrome by Amy in Oz
Refrigerator magnet: “Do one thing every day that scares you.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
SXSW is where you can have awkward encounters, too.
Signs That You Lack Emotional Intelligence by Muriel Maignan Wilkins, Harvard Business Review (in relation to people who have high IQ, low EQ.)
A $36,000 Birthday Gift (about my charity: water birthday challenge)
charity: water
Abundance: The Future Is Better Than You Think by Peter H. Diamandis and Steven Kotler
Career Advice by Scott Adams, Dilbert Blog
Dissecting the Success of Malcolm Gladwell
Barron’s Magazine
The Exponential Wisdom podcast with Dan Sullivan and Peter Diamandis
Tools of Titans: The Tactics, Routines, and Habits of Billionaires, Icons, and World-Class Performers by Timothy Ferriss
Katamari Technique in SEO by David of PHP Link Directory
Cal Fussman — The Master Storyteller Returns
DHH: “This Opportunity Was Just Perfect” by John Dagys, Sportscar 365
Edward Norton on Mastery, Must-Read Books, and The Future of Crowdfunding
Gin & Juice by Snoop Doggy Dogg
Software that helps me with podcasting: Skype, Zencastr, ecamm call recorder, and Evernote
My podcasting mic of choice is the Audio-Technica ATR2100-USB Cardioid Dynamic USB/XLR (for the price, I think its quality compares favorably with the Heil PR-40).
Apple earbuds
The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It by Michael E. Gerber
Optimizely X: The Experimentation Platform
Digital Telepathy
Ideal Lifestyle Costing (lifestyle income/cost calculators and worksheets)
Scott Adams: The Man Behind Dilbert
The Nasty Icon of Retail, Sophia Amoruso
Exogenous ketones

Show Notes

Josh (a father of four) asks: What would my toolkit look like for teenagers? [05:15]
Kids don’t always listen to parents; sometimes parents have to take the indirect “Jedi mind trick” approach. [12:07]
How I define a “hero,” who some of my heroes are, and why. [19:06]
Awkward and memorable interactions with random strangers. [32:56]
Examples of the wrong way to pitch a busy person. [34:07]
The right way to pitch a busy person. [36:03]
A challenge for fellow listeners. [37:54]
What I look for in an ideal teacher. [40:03]
What majors (or extracurricular skillsets) I would pursue as a new college student — not just for work prospects, but to be a well-rounded human being. [46:30]
How to start a podcast from scratch and recruit good guests. [1:00:23]
How do I come up with the questions I ask during an interview? [1:08:13]
Podcasting hardware/software I recommend, and why I prefer remote interviews to in person. [1:14:20]
How to better streamline your business and stop “reinventing the wheel” for every project. [1:17:07]
How to put the brakes on the rat race and find a more comfortable work/life pace without going broke in the process. [1:32:12]

People Mentioned

Josh Waitzkin
Jamie Foxx
Jocko Willink
Warren Buffett
Dale Carnegie
Neil Gaiman
John McPhee
Andre Agassi
J.R. Moehringer
Matt Langdon
Joe De Sena
Jon Favreau
Shep Gordon
Richard Feynman
Benjamin Franklin
John Buxton
Richard Greenleaf
Eric Weinstein
Peter Thiel
Jenn Miller
Eleanor Roosevelt
Peter Diamandis
Scott Adams
Marc Andreessen
Malcolm Gladwell
Mark Zuckerberg
Matt Cutts
Cal Fussman
David Heinemeier Hansson
Edward Norton
Vin Thomas
Sophia Amoruso
Seneca
Marcus Aurelius
Joe Rogan

The Art and Science of Learning Anything Faster

“If effectiveness is doing the right things, efficiency is doing things right.”

This is a special episode because it doesn’t focus on the lessons of one particular person. Instead, I explore the tips, tricks, and framework I’ve used to learn just about any skill.

This is the meta-skill of meta-learning, or learning how to learn.

I’m going to share techniques that can help you — even if you’re sub-par or a rote beginner — take the smartest first steps and use 80/20 analysis to accelerate your progress.

This is adapted from The 4-Hour Chef, which is the cookbook that’s not a cookbook — it’s a book on accelerated learning.

Without further ado, please enjoy this episode on meta-learning.

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 accelerated learning? — Listen to my interview with Luis Von Ahn, the co-founder of Duolingo. In this episode, we discuss what 2-3 books and resources he’d recommend to entrepreneurs, language learning tips, early mentors and key lessons learned, and how to recruit and vet technical talent (stream below or right-click here to download):

This podcast is brought to you by Vimeo Business. Vimeo Business has all of the prior benefits of Vimeo Pro, including VIP support. Whether you make videos for a living, run your own company, or simply want to amp up your video marketing, Vimeo Business is here to help. It has more than 280 million creators and viewers worldwide and makes it easier to share your videos with a global audience and connect with professional video makers to bring your stories to life.

Vimeo Business allows you to upload up to five terabytes and store your videos in one secure place, add up to 10 team members to your account for easy collaboration, and gather feedback with seamless review tools. You can even add clickable calls to action and capture email addresses directly in the player, which can help you generate leads and drive conversion for whatever you’re trying to optimize, such as a newsletter or a sales page. Check out vimeo.com/tim10 to save 10 percent on Vimeo Business.

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. It has exploded in popularity in the last two years and now has more than $2.5B under management. 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 the exact portfolio they’d put you in. If you want to just take their advice and do it yourself, you can. Well worth a few minutes to explore: 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

The 4-Hour Chef: The Simple Path to Cooking Like a Pro, Learning Anything, and Living the Good Life by Timothy Ferriss
Smart Design
Burton Snowboards
Starbucks
OXO Good Grips kitchenware
The Objectified documentary
The Holy Grail in Speed Training by Barry Ross, Dragon Door
Efficient-Market Hypothesis (EMH)
The Superinvestors of Graham-and-Doddsville by Warren E. Buffett, Columbia Business School
Michael Phelps Freestyle Multi Angle Camera
The Most Graceful Freestyle Swimming by Shinji Takeuchi
Nautilus
Kokkari
Nootropics: An Ethical Discussion by Lilly Pham, Princeton Journal of Bioethics
Raiding the Medicine Cabinet to Become Superhuman by Peter Rubin, Wired (about my use of desmopressin and other nootropics)
Chinese Primer: Character Text by Ta-tuan Ch’en, Perry Link, Yih-jian Tai, and Hai-tao Tang
Seikei Gakuen
The Book of Five Rings by Miyamoto Musashi
The Jouyou Kanji
The Asahi Shimbun
Acquisition of Japanese Kanji: Conventional Practice and Mnemonic Supplementation (my sexy Princeton senior thesis)
Berlitz language learning
Better Basketball videos by Rick Torbett

Show Notes

Meta-learning allows us to mimic the world’s fastest learners to become world class — in just about anything — in six months or less. [06:05]
When Dan Formosa created Smart Design, the extremes informed the mean, but not vice versa. [06:28]
Sometimes it pays to model the outliers, not flatten them into averages. [08:06]
WWWBS? (What would Warren Buffett say) about outliers and averages? [09:31]
Just about everything you need to know about meta-learning can be understood — or at least observed — by watching these two videos. (Michael Phelps vs. Shinji Takeuchi) [12:06]
The top one percent often succeed in spite of how they train, not because of it. [13:21]
Shifting from frequent nootropics use to understanding the blueprints behind high-performance. [15:33]
On using judo textbooks for transferring the principles of Japanese. [21:10]
The missing piece: is the method efficient? [22:30]
The catalyst for finding the method (which involved me dropping out of college in the middle of my senior year). [23:11]
Using the DiSSS (deconstruction, selection, sequencing, and stakes) process to drastically shorten the time it took to learn languages. [25:04]
Deconstruction: What are the minimal learnable units with which you should start? [27:50]
Sequencing: In what order should you learn the blocks? [28:14]
Stakes: How do you set up stakes to create real consequences and guarantee you follow the program? [28:19]
The secondary principles of CaFE (compression, frequency, encoding). [28:32]
Compression: Can you encapsulate the most important 20 percent into an easily graspable one-pager? [28:51]
Frequency: How frequently should you practice? What is the minimum effective dose (MED) for volume? [29:00]
Encoding: How do you anchor the new material to what you already know for rapid recall?  [29:13]
How I began interviewing people as a way to deconstruct and learn any skill. [29:36]
My general interviewing process. [31:36]
Learning from the process: applying the answers to your own experiences. [34:40]

People Mentioned

Dan Formosa
Bill Gates
Chris Rock
Barry Ross
Mark Bell
Allyson Felix
Warren Buffett
Benjamin Graham
David Dodd
Michael Phelps
Shinji Takeuchi
Arthur Jones
Erik Cosselmon
Daniel Burka
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Bernie Feria
Babak Nivi
Kevin Rose
Darya Rose
Rick Torbett
Scott Jurek

Matt Mullenweg: Characteristics and Practices of Successful Entrepreneurs

Photo credit: Aminul Islam Sajib

“If someone has those four things — work ethic, taste, integrity, and curiosity — I believe that you can learn anything in the world.” – Matt Mullenweg

Matt Mullenweg (@photomatt) is most associated with a tool that powers more than 25% of the entire Web: WordPress. He’s also the CEO of Automattic, which is a multi-billion dollar, fully distributed startup. Matt loves tea, tequila, and Chicken McNuggets.

His first time on the show went over so well that you’ve all been asking for a round two. So in this episode, he answers your most popular questions.

If you only have 5 minutes, you’ll want to hear Matt’s thoughts on the factors (other than hard work) most likely to lead to a successful career.

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 interview with Matt Mullenweg? — Listen to his first appearance on the podcast. In this episode, we discuss polyphasic sleep, tequila, and building billion-dollar companies (stream below or right-click here to download):

This podcast is brought to you by Vimeo Business. Vimeo Business has all of the prior benefits of Vimeo Pro, including VIP support. Whether you make videos for a living, run your own company, or simply want to amp up your video marketing, Vimeo Business is here to help. It has more than 280 million creators and viewers worldwide and makes it easier to share your videos with a global audience and connect with professional video makers to bring your stories to life.

Vimeo Business allows you to upload up to five terabytes and store your videos in one secure place, add up to 10 team members to your account for easy collaboration, and gather feedback with seamless review tools. You can even add clickable calls to action and capture email addresses directly in the player, which can help you generate leads and drive conversion for whatever you’re trying to optimize, such as a newsletter or a sales page. Check out vimeo.com/tim10 to save 10 percent on Vimeo Business.

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. It has exploded in popularity in the last two years and now has more than $2.5B under management. 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 the exactly the portfolio they’d put you in. If you want to just take their advice and do it yourself, you can. Well worth a few minutes to explore: 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 Matt:

Twitter | Blog | Facebook | Spotify

Matt Mullenweg on Polyphasic Sleep, Tequila, and Building Billion-Dollar Companies (Matt’s first appearance on this show)
(A few of) Matt’s companies and services: WordPress, Jetpack, and Automattic
Zoom video conferencing
Slack team communication
How P2 Changed Automattic by Matt Mullenweg
Google Apps
Automattic Grand Meetup 2016 – Whistler, Canada by Clicky Steve
US citizens who travel frequently should see if they qualify for TSA Precheck and Global Entry.
Matt uses Google Fi for his Internet connection on the go.
What’s in Matt’s Bag 2016 edition
WordPress.com Parent Automattic Raises $160 Million, Valued at $1.16 Billion by Liz Gannes, Recode
Calm meditation app
Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead by Brené Brown
Becoming Wise: An Inquiry into the Mystery and Art of Living by Krista Tippett
Communication platforms Matt mentions: Facebook Messenger, Snapchat, WhatsApp, and bbPress
Commerce platforms Matt mentions: Shopify, BigCommerce, Ecwid, and WooCommerce
QWERTY vs. Dvorak as Fast as Possible by Techquickie
Search Inside Yourself: The Unexpected Path to Achieving Success, Happiness (and World Peace) by Chade-Meng Tan, Daniel Goleman, and Jon Kabat-Zinn
Facebook Poke Is Dead…and So Is Facebook Camera by Ellis Hamburger, The Verge
Fire Phone One Year Later: Why Amazon’s Smartphone Flamed Out by Ben Fox Rubin, CNET
The World’s 50 Best Restaurants
Alpha Omega Winery
Foie gras
Chateau d’Yquem Winery
“Artificial intelligence” Web developer/designer tools mentioned: The Grid and Wix ADI
Even Early Focus Groups Hated Clippy by Robinson Meyer
Bots Won’t Replace Apps. Better Apps Will Replace Apps. by Dan Grover
What is deep learning?
Publications Matt reads to gauge hype cycles: The New Yorker, New York Magazine, The Economist, Wired, and Fast Company
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
1984 by George Orwell
Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business by Neil Postman
Matt Mullenweg places on the 40 under 40 list, Fortune
Matt Mullenweg receives the Heinz Award in the Technology, the Economy, and Employment category
The Pomodoro Technique
Anatomy of a Critical Security Bug presentation by Andrew Nacin, Loop Conf
Matt uses Coach.me as part of his morning routine.
Elysium Health
Nootrobox KADO-3 krill and fish oil
Sun salutations (yoga)

Show Notes

Matt talks about what happened with WordPress and Automattic since his last tequila-fueled appearance on the show. [05:50]
What’s the hardest part about running a company with a distributed workforce? [06:43]
Matt’s seasoned tips for frequent travelers. [11:43]
Professional and personal advice Matt would give his younger self. [14:28]
What’s the most important skillset for an entrepreneur to develop? [18:12]
What non-technical characteristics does Matt look for when recruiting new employees? [20:24]
If WordPress is the platform of writing, and Shopify is the platform of commerce, what other platforms are worth developing? [22:39]
Matt talks about the toughest thing he deals with day-to-day. [26:36]
Once-important default settings (values or behaviors) Matt has since questioned and removed. [28:03]
What factors — aside from hard work — does Matt believe contribute significantly to success? [32:54]
Matt talks about failure and how even the big names don’t always get it right. [33:50]
What final food and drink is appropriate for greeting the apocalypse? [35:42]
Matt’s thoughts on so-called “artificial intelligence” web developer/designer tools — and if WordPress might utilize something like these in future. [39:40]
Matt on machine learning and deep learning. [45:25]
What would the next six months of Matt’s life look like if he’d been less successful thus far and had to start with nothing? [46:31]
How would Matt gauge hype cycles for what’s in demand if he were trying to start a new business today? [49:40]
Where does Matt see the future of the Internet in terms of user behavior? [52:05]
Is the demand for Web development still high, or is it stagnating? [56:18]
How does Matt motivate himself? [59:18]
How has Matt solved his biggest technical problems? [1:02:19]
What is Matt’s evening routine (if he has one)? [1:05:55]
Matt’s morning routine? [1:07:45]

People Mentioned

Brené Brown
Krista Tippett
Julia Hartz
Elon Musk
Steve Jobs
Jony Ive
Chade-Meng Tan
Andrew Nacin

Shay Carl on Wealth, Parenting, and the Future of Video

“Money was never the goal; it was freedom. I just wanted to be able to not go to work.” – Shay Carl

This is another special in-betweenisode. It’s a little shorter than the normal long-form episodes, and it features a Q&A with Shay Carl (@shaycarl).

If you missed our first interview, Shay’s story is incredible. He was a manual laborer for ages and uploaded his first YouTube video while on break from his job.

Flash forward to today:

His SHAYTARDS channel now has roughly 2.3 BILLION views. Celebs like Steven Spielberg have appeared alongside Shay and his family.
He co-founded Maker Studios, which sold to Disney for nearly $1 billion.
He has been married 13 years and has five kids.
He has lost more than 100 pounds since his overweight peak.

This time around, he answers listener questions in the way only he can, such as:

How to grow a YouTube following from scratch.
The future of ad revenue and sponsorship.
How he balances capturing the moment vs. experiencing the moment.
His greatest obstacles in life.
Lessons learned as a father.
And much, much more.

If you only have 5 minutes, learn how having more money changed Shay’s life.

I also wanted to announce my new book, Tools of Titans (Barnes and Noble, Books-A-Million, Amazon). It’s the culmination of the last two years of this podcast. It’s made up of my favorite takeaways, the lessons I’ve learned, and the tools I’ve applied to my own life from all of the guests on this show, including some new guests you’ve not yet met.

Consider it the ultimate choose-your-own-adventure guide to optimizing your life — it’s got everything from finance to physical performance!

Please enjoy this round two with Shay Carl.

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 Shay Carl? — Listen to his first appearance on the podcast. In this episode, we discuss the most important decisions in his life, stories he’s never shared before, and his favorite tips for creating on YouTube (stream below or right-click here to download):

This podcast is 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. It has exploded in popularity in the last two years and now has more than $2.5B under management. 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 the exactly the portfolio they’d put you in. If you want to just take their advice and do it yourself, you can. Well worth a few minutes to explore: wealthfront.com/tim.

This podcast is also brought to you by Vimeo Business. Vimeo Business has all of the prior benefits of Vimeo Pro, including VIP support. Whether you make videos for a living, run your own company, or simply want to amp up your video marketing, Vimeo Business is here to help. It has more than 280 million creators and viewers worldwide and makes it easier to share your videos with a global audience and connect with professional video makers to bring your stories to life.

Vimeo Business allows you to upload up to five terabytes and store your videos in one secure place, add up to 10 team members to your account for easy collaboration, and gather feedback with seamless review tools. You can even add clickable calls to action and capture email addresses directly in the player, which can help you generate leads and drive conversion for whatever you’re trying to optimize, such as a newsletter or a sales page. Check out vimeo.com/tim10 to save 10 percent on Vimeo 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 Shay Carl:

Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube

Shay Carl: From Manual Laborer to 2.3 Billion YouTube Views (Shay’s first appearance on this show)
Tools of Titans: The Tactics, Routines, and Habits of Billionaires, Icons, and World-Class Performers by Timothy Ferriss (coming in December — pre-order now!)
Mr. Safety
DudeLikeHELLA (Cory Williams’ channel about life in Alaska)
A NEW CHAPTER by BFvsGF (an example of how daily vlogging can take its toll on a relationship)
The Philip DeFranco Show
Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell
Jay really likes Jordan shoes.
Disney Buys Maker Studios, Video Supplier for YouTube by Brooks Barnes, The New York Times
Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University
The Richest Man in Babylon by George S. Clason
The Shawshank Redemption (film)

Show Notes

If Shay had to start from scratch today, does he think it would still be possible to create a business on YouTube? [08:05]
Is the daily vlogger space now oversaturated? [09:45]
Has Shay ever experienced detrimental effects in his personal life because of the time and commitment it takes to put out a daily vlog? [13:53]
What is the sustainable future of monetization for online content creators? [17:04]
What is the very best form of advertising? [20:37]
How did Shay feel telling the truth about alcoholism during his last appearance on this show? [24:12]
Shay’s safe and painless writing exercise for dealing with difficult truths. [26:33]
If Shay had two weeks to teach people how to tell better stories on YouTube, what would that course look like? [27:30]
Other than having better shoes, how has money changed Shay (if at all)? [30:40]
Shay talks about how he got out of debt and saved money — even when he was still broke. [35:25]
What does Shay do to overcome doubt? [37:30]

People Mentioned

Steven Spielberg
Cory Williams
Colette Butler
Philip DeFranco
Malcolm Gladwell
Dave Ramsey
Andy Dufresne