2024-12-19 11:32:37
Welcome to another episode of The Tim Ferriss Show. This time around, we have a bit of a different format, featuring the book that started it all, The 4-Hour Workweek, which was published in 2007. It’s crazy to think that the 20th anniversary is around the corner.
Readers and listeners often ask me what I would change or update, but in my mind, an equally interesting question is: what wouldn’t I change? What stands the test of time and hasn’t lost any potency?
This episode features three chapters from the audiobook of The 4-Hour Workweek that are time-tested. They represent tools and frameworks that have changed my life and that I still use today. The chapters are narrated by the great voice actor Ray Porter.
The 4-Hour Workweek is written in four sections, each corresponding to a letter in the acronym DEAL, which stands for Definition, Elimination, Automation, and Liberation. The chapters you’ll hear are from the section “D is for Definition.” If you want to craft your best life and your ideal lifestyle, these chapters should help. If you want to maximize your per-hour output, whether it’s four, 40, or 100 hours per week, Definition is the also the most important first step.
If you are interested in checking out the rest of the audiobook, which is produced and copyrighted by Blackstone Publishing, you can find it on Audible, Apple, Google, Spotify, Downpour.com, or wherever you find your favorite audiobooks.
Please enjoy!
This episode is brought to you by Seed’s DS-01® Daily Synbiotic broad spectrum 24-strain probiotic + prebiotic, Helix Sleep premium mattresses, and AG1 all-in-one nutritional supplement.
Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Castbox, YouTube Music, Amazon Music, Audible, or on your favorite podcast platform.
This episode is brought to you by Helix Sleep! Helix was selected as the best overall mattress of 2024 by Forbes, Fortune, and Wired magazines and many others. With Helix, there’s a specific mattress to meet each and every body’s unique comfort needs. Just take their quiz—only two minutes to complete—that matches your body type and sleep preferences to the perfect mattress for you. They have a 10-year warranty, and you get to try it out for a hundred nights, risk-free. They’ll even pick it up from you if you don’t love it. And now, Helix is offering 20% off all mattress orders at HelixSleep.com/Tim.
This episode is brought to you by AG1! I get asked all the time, “If you could use only one supplement, what would it be?” My answer is usually AG1, my all-in-one nutritional insurance. I recommended it in The 4-Hour Body in 2010 and did not get paid to do so. I do my best with nutrient-dense meals, of course, but AG1 further covers my bases with vitamins, minerals, and whole-food-sourced micronutrients that support gut health and the immune system.
Right now, you’ll get a 1-year supply of Vitamin D free with your first subscription purchase—a vital nutrient for a strong immune system and strong bones. Visit DrinkAG1.com/Tim to claim this special offer today and receive your 1-year supply of Vitamin D (and 5 free AG1 travel packs) with your first subscription purchase! That’s up to a one-year supply of Vitamin D as added value when you try their delicious and comprehensive daily, foundational nutrition supplement that supports whole-body health.
This episode is brought to you by Seed’s DS-01 Daily Synbiotic! Seed’s DS-01 was recommended to me months ago by a PhD microbiologist, so I started using it well before their team ever reached out to me. Since then, it’s become a daily staple and one of the few supplements I travel with. I’ve always been highly skeptical of most probiotics due to the lack of science and the fact that many do not survive digestion. But after incorporating two capsules of Seed’s DS-01 into my morning routine, I have noticed improved digestion, skin tone, and overall health. Why is it so effective? For one, it’s a 2-in-1 probiotic and prebiotic formulated with 24 clinically and scientifically studied strains that have systemic benefits in and beyond the gut. And now, you can get 25% off your first month of DS-01 with code 25TIM.
Want to hear another podcast episode that features The 4-Hour Workweek? Check out this episode, in which Cal Newport interviews me for an article he ended up writing for The New Yorker titled “Revisiting ‘The 4-Hour Workweek’: How Tim Ferriss’s 2007 manifesto anticipated our current moment of professional upheaval.”
What was your favorite quote or lesson from this episode? Please let me know in the comments.
The post The 4-Hour Workweek Revisited – How to Get Uncommon Results by Doing the Opposite, Aiming with Precision, and Aiming for the Unrealistic (#783) appeared first on The Blog of Author Tim Ferriss.
2024-12-12 22:41:34
“It may be easier to actually make intelligence than to understand intelligence.”
— Danny Hillis
Danny Hillis is an inventor, scientist, author, and engineer. While completing his doctorate at MIT, he pioneered the parallel computers that are the basis for the processors used for AI and most high-performance computer chips. He has more than 400 issued patents, covering parallel computers; disk arrays; cancer diagnostics and treatment; various electronic, optical, and mechanical devices; and the pinch-to-zoom display interface. He is a co-founder of The Long Now Foundation and the designer of its 10,000-year mechanical clock.
Danny has founded multiple companies, but his only regular job was as the first Disney Fellow at Disney Imagineering. He has published scientific papers in Science, Nature, Modern Biology, and International Journal of Theoretical Physics and written extensively on technology for Newsweek, Wired, and Scientific American. He is the author of The Pattern on the Stone: The Simple Ideas That Make Computers Work and Connection Machine. He is now a founding partner with Applied Invention, working on new ideas in cybersecurity, medicine, and agriculture.
Kevin Kelly (@kevin2kelly) is the founding executive editor of WIRED magazine, the former editor and publisher of the Whole Earth Review, and a bestselling author of books on technology and culture, including Excellent Advice for Living; The Inevitable; What Technology Wants; and Vanishing Asia, his three-volume photo-book set that captures West, Central, and East Asia. Kevin is the author of the popular essay “1000 True Fans.” Subscribe to Kevin’s newsletter, Recomendo, at recomendo.com. Every edition features 6 brief personal recommendations of cool stuff.
Please enjoy!
This episode is brought to you by Momentous high-quality supplements, Eight Sleep’s Pod 4 Ultra sleeping solution for dynamic cooling and heating, and AG1 all-in-one nutritional supplement.
Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Castbox, YouTube Music, Amazon Music, Audible, or on your favorite podcast platform. Watch the interview on YouTube.
The transcript of this episode can be found here. Transcripts of all episodes can be found here.
This episode is brought to you by Eight Sleep. Temperature is one of the main causes of poor sleep, and heat is my personal nemesis. I’ve suffered for decades, tossing and turning, throwing blankets off, pulling them back on, and repeating ad nauseam. But a few years ago, I started using the Pod Cover, and it has transformed my sleep. Eight Sleep has launched their newest generation of the Pod: Pod 4 Ultra. It cools, it heats, and now it elevates, automatically. With the best temperature performance to date, Pod 4 Ultra ensures you and your partner stay cool in the heat and cozy warm in the cold. Plus, it automatically tracks your sleep time, snoring, sleep stages, and HRV, all with high precision. For example, their heart rate tracking is at an incredible 99% accuracy.
Pod 4 Ultra also introduces an adjustable Base that fits between your mattress and your bed frame to add custom positions for the best sleeping experience. Plus, it automatically reduces your snoring when detected. Add it easily to any bed.
And now, listeners of The Tim Ferriss Show can get $350 off of the Pod 4 Ultra for a limited time! Click here to claim this deal and unlock your full potential through optimal sleep.
This episode is brought to you by AG1! I get asked all the time, “If you could use only one supplement, what would it be?” My answer is usually AG1, my all-in-one nutritional insurance. I recommended it in The 4-Hour Body in 2010 and did not get paid to do so. I do my best with nutrient-dense meals, of course, but AG1 further covers my bases with vitamins, minerals, and whole-food-sourced micronutrients that support gut health and the immune system.
Right now, you’ll get a 1-year supply of Vitamin D free with your first subscription purchase—a vital nutrient for a strong immune system and strong bones. Visit DrinkAG1.com/Tim to claim this special offer today and receive your 1-year supply of Vitamin D (and 5 free AG1 travel packs) with your first subscription purchase! That’s up to a one-year supply of Vitamin D as added value when you try their delicious and comprehensive daily, foundational nutrition supplement that supports whole-body health.
This episode is brought to you by Momentous high-quality supplements! Momentous offers high-quality supplements and products across a broad spectrum of categories, and I’ve been testing their products for months now. I’ve been using their magnesium threonate, apigenin, and L-theanine daily, all of which have helped me improve the onset, quality, and duration of my sleep. I’ve also been using Momentous creatine, and while it certainly helps physical performance, including poundage or wattage in sports, I use it primarily for mental performance (short-term memory, etc.).
Their products are third-party tested (Informed-Sport and/or NSF certified), so you can trust that what is on the label is in the bottle and nothing else. If you want to try Momentous for yourself, you can use code Tim for 20% off your one-time purchase at LiveMomentous.com/Tim. And not to worry, my non-US friends, Momentous ships internationally and has you covered.
Want to hear the last time Kevin Kelly was on this show? Listen to our conversation here, in which we discussed Kevin’s long bet against the human population, resurrecting extinct species, active optimism vs. passive optimism, Kevin’s $20 time machine, the “dumbsmarten” future of AI, tips for traveling with children, the joys of being a tourist in one’s own town, sabbaticals, and much more.
What was your favorite quote or lesson from this episode? Please let me know in the comments.
Website | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube
“What the inventor does is actually a very small piece of it. What society does is it creates these preconditions for invention. And once those preconditions are in place, then it’s just a matter of putting together the puzzle pieces and making it work.”
— Danny Hillis
“I’ve also developed the ability to search out the people who really know the thing and hang out with them. … It’s not that I know things other people don’t, but maybe I know a different combination of things that other people do know, and I’m kind of willing to learn the things I don’t know and have a technique of doing it by just hanging out with people who are smarter than I am.”
— Danny Hillis
“Intelligence is a very complicated multifactored thing like life. It’s not just one thing. At the beginnings of AI, we thought the things that were hard for us to do were the intelligence. … As it turns out … the hard part was the stuff that we were so good at, we didn’t even notice—like recognizing a face, jumping to a conclusion, having an intuition about something.”
— Danny Hillis
“It’s much harder to imagine solutions to problems than it is to imagine problems.”
— Danny Hillis
“Maybe I’ve kept a superpower that kids have. … They’re not afraid to go in and see something new and strange and start playing with it.”
— Danny Hillis
“I try to ask the question, ‘Will this make a difference over how much time and how long will that difference matter?’ If it makes a lot of difference after I’m dead, I’d rather do that.”
— Danny Hillis
“I read enough papers that I have questions, because you’re wasting the time of a Marvin Minsky or a Richard Feynman if you don’t ask them something that makes them think. So I would say most of my learning was from the people, not the papers. But I always do homework beforehand to see where the interesting questions are.”
— Danny Hillis
“Great teachers … see where you are and they stretch you to someplace you can get to.”
— Danny Hillis
“A lot of people’s use of computers is now, they kind of know the magic incantations that cause this library to do that, but they don’t really know all the things that are going on underneath that that make it work. And so it’s becoming more like nature. Nature, we used to kind of know, ‘Well, here’s the magic incantations we use for making beer. We don’t know really why this makes good beer, this makes bad beer, or this makes champagne, but we know when we do this, it does that,’ and that’s kind of becoming our relationship with computers. So I think that what’s happening … the distinction between the natural and the artificial is becoming entangled. … It may just kind of go away because there almost is no pure nature and there almost is no pure technology that we fully understand.”
— Danny Hillis
“I have a granddaughter [who] can sit and talk to an electrician as if she knows what electricity is, just by using the right words and saying phrases that she’s heard before and so on. And she can kind of fake it pretty well, but she has no idea what she’s talking about. And that’s mostly where AI is right at this moment.”
— Danny Hillis
“It may be easier to actually make intelligence than to understand intelligence.”
— Danny Hillis
“I think humans, as we know them today, are kind of halfway between monkeys and what we’re going to become. … We’re in this transitional phase. We’ve still got a lot of monkey in us, and I’m really excited by that thing that we’re going to become.”
— Danny Hillis
“In general, I’m a short-term pessimist and a long-term optimist.”
— Danny Hillis
“Much better to be a peasant today than to be a king a couple of centuries ago in terms of your health, food that you ate, how you spend your time … your comfort, everything.”
— Danny Hillis
“I don’t believe in cause and effect.”
— Danny Hillis
“An idea has a lot more sticking power than any physical thing you could build.”
— Danny Hillis
The post Legendary Inventor Danny Hillis (Plus Kevin Kelly) — Unorthodox Lessons from 400+ Patents, Solving the Impossible, Real Al vs. “AI,” Hiring Richard Feynman, Working with Steve Jobs, Creating Parallel Computing, and Much More (#782) appeared first on The Blog of Author Tim Ferriss.
2024-12-05 22:54:30
“Poetry is not some abstracted art. It’s how human beings speak when they’re trying to create language against which there are no defenses.”
— David Whyte
David Whyte (davidwhyte.com) is the author of twelve books of poetry and five books of prose, including his latest, Consolations II, which further explores what David calls “the conversational nature of reality.”
David holds a degree in marine zoology and has traveled extensively, including living and working as a naturalist guide in the Galapagos Islands and leading anthropological and natural-history expeditions in the Andes, Amazon, and Himalayas. He is the recipient of two honorary degrees: from Neumann University in Pennsylvania and Royal Roads University in Victoria, British Columbia.
David grew up with a strong, imaginative influence from his Irish mother among the hills and valleys of his father’s Yorkshire and now makes his home in the Pacific Northwest of the United States.
He has also hosted a live online series, Three Sundays, every other month since 2020.
Please enjoy!
This episode is brought to you by GiveWell.org charity research and effective giving, Eight Sleep’s Pod 4 Ultra sleeping solution for dynamic cooling and heating, and AG1 all-in-one nutritional supplement.
Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Castbox, YouTube Music, Amazon Music, Audible, or on your favorite podcast platform. Watch the interview on YouTube.
The transcript of this episode can be found here. Transcripts of all episodes can be found here.
This episode is brought to you by Eight Sleep. Temperature is one of the main causes of poor sleep, and heat is my personal nemesis. I’ve suffered for decades, tossing and turning, throwing blankets off, pulling them back on, and repeating ad nauseam. But a few years ago, I started using the Pod Cover, and it has transformed my sleep. Eight Sleep has launched their newest generation of the Pod: Pod 4 Ultra. It cools, it heats, and now it elevates, automatically. With the best temperature performance to date, Pod 4 Ultra ensures you and your partner stay cool in the heat and cozy warm in the cold. Plus, it automatically tracks your sleep time, snoring, sleep stages, and HRV, all with high precision. For example, their heart rate tracking is at an incredible 99% accuracy.
Pod 4 Ultra also introduces an adjustable Base that fits between your mattress and your bed frame to add custom positions for the best sleeping experience. Plus, it automatically reduces your snoring when detected. Add it easily to any bed.
And now, listeners of The Tim Ferriss Show can get $350 off of the Pod 4 Ultra for a limited time! Click here to claim this deal and unlock your full potential through optimal sleep.
This episode is brought to you by AG1! I get asked all the time, “If you could use only one supplement, what would it be?” My answer is usually AG1, my all-in-one nutritional insurance. I recommended it in The 4-Hour Body in 2010 and did not get paid to do so. I do my best with nutrient-dense meals, of course, but AG1 further covers my bases with vitamins, minerals, and whole-food-sourced micronutrients that support gut health and the immune system.
Right now, you’ll get a 1-year supply of Vitamin D free with your first subscription purchase—a vital nutrient for a strong immune system and strong bones. Visit DrinkAG1.com/Tim to claim this special offer today and receive your 1-year supply of Vitamin D (and 5 free AG1 travel packs) with your first subscription purchase! That’s up to a one-year supply of Vitamin D as added value when you try their delicious and comprehensive daily, foundational nutrition supplement that supports whole-body health.
This episode is brought to you by GiveWell.org! For over ten years, GiveWell.org has helped donors find the charities and projects that save and improve lives most per dollar. GiveWell spends over 30,000 hours each year researching charitable organizations and only recommends a few of the highest-impact, evidence-backed charities they’ve found. In total, more than 100,000 people have used GiveWell to donate as effectively as possible.
This year, support the charities that save and improve lives most, with GiveWell. Any of my listeners who become new GiveWell donors will have their first donation matched up to $100 when you go to GiveWell.org and select “PODCAST” and “Tim Ferriss” at checkout.
Want to hear another episode with a poet? Listen to my conversation with award-winning writer Mary Karr, in which we discuss curiosity and presence as a solution to fear, the role spirituality plays in maintaining her sobriety as a former atheist, coping with and expressing the aftermath of trauma, what she wished she’d known about therapy when she was younger, and much more.
What was your favorite quote or lesson from this episode? Please let me know in the comments.
Website | Substack | Facebook | Instagram | Threads | TikTok | YouTube
“Poetry is not some abstracted art. It’s how human beings speak when they’re trying to create language against which there are no defenses. This has to be heard and it has to be heard in the spirit in which it is being conveyed, and the language has to be invitational to that particular person.”
— David Whyte
“Poetry is the secret code to staying alive, to staying present, to staying visionary.”
— David Whyte
“All of us spend so much time trying to find a path where we won’t have our heart broken. And really, the only way you can find a path where your heart won’t break is by not caring.”
— David Whyte
“You are really only courageous about what you’re heartfelt about.”
— David Whyte
“Time is not slipping through our fingers. It is we who are slipping through the fingers of time.”
— David Whyte
“Every conversation, as its foundation, has an invitation in it. When the invitation stops, the conversation really stops.”
— David Whyte
“Poetry’s been such a good friend to me. I’ve gone through seven years of grieving in seven months because poetry has allowed me to take each step along the way, in such a powerful, invitational way.”
— David Whyte
“The beautiful thing about a horizon is that it’s got something over it, that’s the definition, and that what’s over it is the unknown that’s inviting you. “
— David Whyte
“Sometimes your life breaks down and you hit present reality with such velocity that you break apart on impact. And this is a time honored way of transformation, but it’s very hard on us to go through it that way. There’s another way of doing it, which is to stay up with the edge of your own seasonal maturation, and that occurs below this invisible line inside you.”
— David Whyte
The post David Whyte, Poet — Spacious Ease, Irish Koans, Writing in Delirium, and Revelations from a Yak Manger (#781) appeared first on The Blog of Author Tim Ferriss.
2024-11-29 03:40:46
“My life has only been improved by taking myself out of the decision-making process, because I am the hindrance.”
— Cyan Banister
Cyan Banister (@cyantist) is a general partner at Long Journey Ventures, an early-stage venture capital firm focused on early and new investments. Cyan was an early investor in Uber, SpaceX, DeepMind, Flexport, and Affirm and has invested in more than 100 companies. Prior to that, she was at Founders Fund, a top-tier fund in San Francisco. Subscribe to Cyan’s Substack at uglyduckling.substack.com.
Please enjoy!
This episode is brought to you by Eight Sleep’s Pod 4 Ultra sleeping solution for dynamic cooling and heating, Wealthfront high-yield cash account, and AG1 all-in-one nutritional supplement.
Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Castbox, YouTube Music, Amazon Music, Audible, or on your favorite podcast platform. You can watch the episode on YouTube here.
The transcript of this episode can be found here. Transcripts of all episodes can be found here.
This episode is brought to you by Eight Sleep. Temperature is one of the main causes of poor sleep, and heat is my personal nemesis. I’ve suffered for decades, tossing and turning, throwing blankets off, pulling them back on, and repeating ad nauseam. But a few years ago, I started using the Pod Cover, and it has transformed my sleep. Eight Sleep has launched their newest generation of the Pod: Pod 4 Ultra. It cools, it heats, and now it elevates, automatically. With the best temperature performance to date, Pod 4 Ultra ensures you and your partner stay cool in the heat and cozy warm in the cold. Plus, it automatically tracks your sleep time, snoring, sleep stages, and HRV, all with high precision. For example, their heart rate tracking is at an incredible 99% accuracy.
Pod 4 Ultra also introduces an adjustable Base that fits between your mattress and your bed frame to add custom positions for the best sleeping experience. Plus, it automatically reduces your snoring when detected. Add it easily to any bed.
And now, listeners of The Tim Ferriss Show can get $350 off of the Pod 4 Ultra for a limited time! Click here to claim this deal and unlock your full potential through optimal sleep.
This episode is brought to you by AG1! I get asked all the time, “If you could use only one supplement, what would it be?” My answer is usually AG1, my all-in-one nutritional insurance. I recommended it in The 4-Hour Body in 2010 and did not get paid to do so. I do my best with nutrient-dense meals, of course, but AG1 further covers my bases with vitamins, minerals, and whole-food-sourced micronutrients that support gut health and the immune system.
Right now, you’ll get a 1-year supply of Vitamin D free with your first subscription purchase—a vital nutrient for a strong immune system and strong bones. Visit DrinkAG1.com/Tim to claim this special offer today and receive your 1-year supply of Vitamin D (and 5 free AG1 travel packs) with your first subscription purchase! That’s up to a one-year supply of Vitamin D as added value when you try their delicious and comprehensive daily, foundational nutrition supplement that supports whole-body health.
This episode is brought to you by Wealthfront! Wealthfront is a financial services platform that offers services to help you save and invest your money. Right now, you can earn 4.25% APY—that’s the Annual Percentage Yield—with the Wealthfront Brokerage Cash Account through its network of partner banks. That’s nearly nine times more interest than a savings account at a bank, according to FDIC.gov as of Septebmer 27, 2024. It takes just a few minutes to sign up, and then you’ll immediately start earning 4.25% APY interest on your short-term cash until you’re ready to invest. And when new clients open an account today, they can get an extra fifty-dollar bonus with a deposit of five hundred dollars or more. Visit Wealthfront.com/Tim to get started.
Tim Ferriss receives cash compensation from Wealthfront Brokerage, LLC for advertising and holds a non-controlling equity interest in the corporate parent of Wealthfront Brokerage. See full disclosures here.
Want to hear another podcast episode with a world-class investor? Have a listen to my most recent conversation with Oaktree Capital Management’s co-founder Howard Marks, in which we discussed navigating unprecedented uncertainties, crowded versus uncrowded opportunities, the state of the American economy, finding higher-signal sources of information, and much more.
What was your favorite quote or lesson from this episode? Please let me know in the comments.
“I’ve always felt like an outsider no matter where I am, and I think that’s been wonderful and incredible for my career. You can certainly look at that and have kind of a victim mindset about it, but I took the opposite path, which was this is what makes me special, that I don’t fit in wherever I am.”
— Cyan Banister
“Once you’re homeless, you can never be un-homeless. It’s really strange. Every time I walk around at a conference or anything, I see all the waste. I see, if I were a homeless person, I could come and I could have this, no matter where I’m at.”
— Cyan Banister
“You have to face something very ugly, which is yourself. You have to look inside and see who and what you really are, and then you have to love yourself even when you don’t like what you see.”
— Cyan Banister
“When people used to say practice self-love, I thought it meant go eat bonbons and go see a good movie and smoke a joint. That was self-love. But it wasn’t getting me anywhere, and I was like, ‘This whole self-love thing is jive. It’s just not working out.’ But I didn’t realize that self-love is learning how to give yourself unconditional love. And the best way I’ve learned how to give yourself unconditional love is imagine yourself as a ball of light and then take that ball of light and visualize it outside of your body and cradle it like it’s a baby. Now, when you look at that baby, would you hurt that baby?”
— Cyan Banister
“We apply a lot of our own perception to everything that everyone says around us. We make up stories that are fiction, and a lot of what people suffer with today are these stories, these narratives that we tell ourselves and one another.”
— Cyan Banister
“My purpose is very simple, which is to spread joy, to lift other people up around me, and to do my best in my own way to end poverty. Now, I’m not responsible for ending poverty. I think we’re all responsible.”
— Cyan Banister
“When you start realizing Oh, I’m in a school, and all of these hard knocks in life are just lessons, you think about them very differently.”
— Cyan Banister
“We’re just a hair away from being crazy, every one of us.”
— Cyan Banister
“We apply a lot of our own perception to everything that everyone says around us. We make up stories that are fiction, and a lot of what people suffer with today are these stories, these narratives that we tell ourselves and one another, and I’ve just always felt like that something that someone said right now, it’s not a hard no. You know when you hear a hard no. I know the difference between an objection and I just have a rebuttal for it versus a hard no. And until it’s a hard no, there’s wiggle room to get something done. And so I’ve just always felt this, and it’s interesting that you ho[m]ed in on it, but it’s definitely been a guiding principle in my life, which is don’t give up. Just try different approaches. Maybe you didn’t ask the right way, or maybe you didn’t give the right incentives, or maybe it was Monday and they’re in a bad mood.”
— Cyan Banister
“My life has only been improved by taking myself out of the decision-making process, because I am the hindrance.”
— Cyan Banister
“We’re all in Earth school, and we inhabit human bodies, but we’re nothing but an energy force inside of them. And that life force does not dissipate, and it doesn’t go nowhere. It goes somewhere.”
— Cyan Banister
“You’re just sleepwalking through life. And the moment you take the reins and you become the narrator of your own story, and sometimes the captain, then that’s when it’s a transformational change.”
— Cyan Banister
The post Cyan Banister — From Homeless and Broke to Top Angel Investor (Uber, SpaceX, and 100+ More) (#780) appeared first on The Blog of Author Tim Ferriss.
2024-11-23 05:31:57
This blog post is a very special holiday edition of 5-Bullet Friday, my very own email newsletter!
This edition highlights 12 things I love, all of which make great holiday gifts.
I dislike shopping, but I do love finding the perfect gift. Finding that gift, though, gets harder with time. Those damn adults seem to have everything. So… If you’re having trouble thinking up great options, here are some goodies that deliver.
I also reached out to some of my favorite companies to get special deals for subscribers. I use all of these products on a daily or weekly basis, depending on the season and activity. Literally everything I mention lives in my home. Each sponsored bullet is indicated with a star at the end of it, just like this sentence.*
Stay warm and enjoy! 
Comfy slip-ons I wear all winter long
Glerups. In the colder months, I wear Glerups indoors practically 100% of the time. I love them. You can see me sporting them in this photo.
Electric kettle I’m using for tea, coffee, and all good, warm things
Corvo EKG Electric Kettle from Fellow. I’ve tried a lot of electric kettles for tea and coffee over the decades, and this is my favorite. From the description: “The electric kettle that does it all, precision engineered to meet all your hot water needs. Exact temperature control, 1200 watts for a quick heat time, and a world of features for ultimate control.”
One pan I use for nearly everything
Titanium Always Pan Pro. Many nonstick pans can release harmful “forever chemicals”—PFAS—into your food, your home, and, ultimately, your body. Teflon is a prime example; it is the forever chemical that most companies are still using. Exposure to PFAS has been linked to major health issues like gut microbiome disruption, testosterone dysregulation, and more, which have been correlated to chronic disease in the long term. This is why I use the Titanium Always Pan Pro from Our Place. It’s the first nonstick pan with zero coating. This means zero “forever chemicals” and durability that will last a lifetime. There is no degradation over time like traditional nonstick pans. Now through December 3rd, Our Place is having their biggest sale of the year, with up to 40% off sitewide. Plus, they are offering 5-Bullet Friday subscribers an additional 10% off their Titanium Always Pan Pro. Go to FromOurPlace.com/Tim and use code SAVE10TIM to claim this special offer.*
Headlamp for dark winter hikes
PEAX Backcountry Duo. Weighing in at just 4.8 ounces with battery and described by one customer as “hands down the best on the market,” PEAX touts this as “the brightest, most durable … headlamp ever designed.” Breakthrough lumen output, armored in a machined aluminum housing; 3600 mAh rechargeable battery with run times up to 69 hours; and 180-degree adjustability so you never have to worry about putting your headlamp on upside down. It also comes with a red-light mode. If it’s sold out, you can get notified when it’s back in stock here. You can also check PEAX’s website. At time of writing, the Backcountry Duo with the green light was in stock.
Supplement bundle I co-created for mind and body
Momentous Performance Stack. During the holiday season, I’m prone to colds, and I also exercise a lot to keep the gray-day sadness away. For these reasons and more, I’m doubling down on the essentials that support my mental and physical fitness: whey protein isolate, creatine, and magnesium threonate. I take all three daily, and sourcing matters. Momentous sources only top-quality ingredients, like Creapure®, and every product is NSF and Informed Sport Certified, meeting the highest standard in third-party-tested supplements. I teamed up with Momentous to conveniently bundle my three essentials into what I call my performance stack. Each product was specifically chosen to support mental performance, physical performance, and quality sleep. For a limited time, subscribers to 5-Bullet Friday get early access to their Black Friday sale, including 25% off sitewide, plus a free gift of 5 nights of their best-selling Sleep packs with orders of $75+. Click here through November 24th to take advantage of this exclusive holiday offer, or simply use code TIM at checkout.*
Tool that is still saving my lower back
PSO-RITE. If you have low-back pain, there’s a good chance your psoas muscle is involved. This was recommended by multiple people in this Twitter thread on self-release, and I use it right before bed. If the mid-back is your issue, try out the Nayoya acupressure mat or, if not in stock, one of its imitators. The Nayoya mat was introduced to me by Cirque du Soleil phenom Andrii Bondarenko. For a bonus tool, consider the Body Back Buddy, which I always have in my suitcase.
What I’ll be doing with family this holiday season
Wentworth Puzzles. Here is what Hugh Jackman said in our conversation on the podcast (and my team has been raving about the quality of their puzzles ever since): “I love the company Wentworth. There are a few other puzzle companies, but Wentworth—there’s some technology—when you put the piece in, it’s like squeezing a pimple. It’s the best.”
Sleep technology I’m using
Eight Sleep Pod 4 Ultra. Several years ago, I started using the Pod Cover, and it has transformed my sleep. Eight Sleep recently launched their newest generation of the Pod: Pod 4 Ultra. Conquer this winter season with the best in sleep tech, and sleep at your perfect temperature. The Pod 4 Ultra also automatically tracks your sleep time, sleep stages, HRV, and heart rate. And with the all-new adjustable base that fits between your mattress and frame, you can adjust your mattress for the ultimate sleeping position. If it detects snoring, it will automatically elevate your head to a better position. Many of my listeners in colder climates enjoy warming up their bed after a freezing day. Go to EightSleep.com/Tim and save between $400 and $600 on the Pod 4 Ultra by Eight Sleep. Eight Sleep currently ships within the USA, Canada, the UK, select countries in the EU, and Australia. This special offer is valid until December 14th.*
Fiction book that’s perfect for the holidays
The Bear by Andrew Krivak. Thank you to CK and TS for recommending this parable. I ended up devouring it over 3–4 evenings. The prose is gorgeous—the author has been a National Book Award in Fiction finalist—and it’ll take around 20 pages for your brain to get accustomed to its unusual weaving. I’ve pared down the description on purpose, but here’s a taste: “In an Edenic future, a girl and her father live close to the land in the shadow of a lone mountain. … The father teaches the girl how to fish and hunt, the secrets of the seasons and the stars. He is preparing her for an adulthood in harmony with nature, for they are the last of humankind. But when the girl finds herself alone in an unknown landscape…” The less you know about the book in advance, the better the reading experience. Go in as blind as possible, and you’ll likely finish this book in less than a week.
What I’m using when hiking with Molly
Springer Dog Water Bottle. On hikes, my dear Molly pup gets parched. I bring water on hikes, but it’s always been at least 50% for naught. I pour it in my cupped hands and lose nearly all of it. Or if I use a collapsible bowl, she’ll drink a few sips and waste the rest. The Springer travel water bottle solves all of these problems. There are many other companies that make similar products, and I’m sure some are great, but this model was gifted to me and delivers. I have the Growler (44 oz) in Sky Blue.
Tea I’m enjoying daily
Pique. Pique’s fermented pu’er teas have become an essential part of my morning routine. You know how matcha is the entire ground-up leaf? They do the same with other varieties of tea and focus on purity and ease-of-use. I drink both their black and green pu’er almost every morning, and I take packets with me when I travel. Their extraction technology maximally preserves antioxidants, so you reap the health benefits with zero prep, brewing, or waiting required. Pique’s teas are highly concentrated in polyphenol antioxidants compared to most teas, and their products are triple toxin screened and sourced from some of the world’s most biodiverse areas. Pique is offering their biggest deal ever—a 20% off sitewide discount on my favorite subscriptions (which saves you more per serving) with code TIM20—only available until November 29th, 11:59 p.m. PST.*
New microphones I am testing for in-person recordings
RØDE’s Wireless GO II. It’s not a proper holiday gift guide without some gadgetry. “The Wireless GO II is an ultra-compact and extremely versatile dual channel wireless microphone system ideal for filmmaking, interviewing, reporting, and social content creation.” This is a new test for avoiding the cabling and hassle of normal lavalier mics.
And there you go! 12 of my favorite things that make great holiday gifts. I love them all and hope you do too.
Have a wonderful weekend and wonderful holiday season, everyone!
Much love to you and yours,
Tim
The post My 2024 Holiday Gift Guide! appeared first on The Blog of Author Tim Ferriss.
2024-11-20 22:51:47
Welcome to another episode of The Tim Ferriss Show, where it is usually my job to sit down with world-class performers of all different types to tease out the habits, routines, favorite books, and so on that you can apply and test in your own life.
This time, we have a slightly different format, and I’m the guest!
As some of you know, I tested a “fan-supported model” in 2019, but I ended up returning to ads by request. That’s a long story, and you can read more about it at tim.blog/podcastexperiment. I recently sat down on Zoom with some of the supporters, which is the episode you are about to hear.
I answer questions on how I’ve changed my mind around parenthood, what’s next for me and how I am thinking about next steps, how I find joy, how to live with urgency, my advice for career reinvention in the age of AI, avoiding complacency and ruts, and much, much more.
Please enjoy!
This episode is brought to you by Ramp easy-to-use corporate cards, bill payments, accounting, and more; Helix Sleep premium mattresses; and AG1 all-in-one nutritional supplement.
Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Castbox, YouTube Music, Amazon Music, Audible, or on your favorite podcast platform. You can watch the episode on YouTube here.
The transcript of this episode can be found here. Transcripts of all episodes can be found here.
This episode is brought to you by Ramp! Ramp is corporate card- and spend-management software designed to help you save time and put money back in your pocket. Ramp has already saved more than 25,000 customers—including other podcast sponsors like Shopify and Eight Sleep—more than 10 million hours and more than $1 billion through better financial management of their corporate spending.
With Ramp, you’re able to issue cards to every employee with limits and restrictions and automate expense reporting, allowing you to close your books 8x faster on average. Your employees will no longer need to spend hours submitting expense reports. In less than 15 minutes, you can get started issuing virtual and physical cards and making payments, whether you have 5 employees or 5,000. Businesses that use Ramp save an average of 5% on total card spending and related expenses in the first year. And now, you can get $250 when you join Ramp. Just go to ramp.com/Tim.
This episode is brought to you by AG1! I get asked all the time, “If you could use only one supplement, what would it be?” My answer is usually AG1, my all-in-one nutritional insurance. I recommended it in The 4-Hour Body in 2010 and did not get paid to do so. I do my best with nutrient-dense meals, of course, but AG1 further covers my bases with vitamins, minerals, and whole-food-sourced micronutrients that support gut health and the immune system.
Right now, you’ll get a 1-year supply of Vitamin D free with your first subscription purchase—a vital nutrient for a strong immune system and strong bones. Visit DrinkAG1.com/Tim to claim this special offer today and receive your 1-year supply of Vitamin D (and 5 free AG1 travel packs) with your first subscription purchase! That’s up to a one-year supply of Vitamin D as added value when you try their delicious and comprehensive daily, foundational nutrition supplement that supports whole-body health.
This episode is brought to you by Helix Sleep! Helix was selected as the best overall mattress of 2024 by Forbes, Fortune, and Wired magazines and many others. With Helix, there’s a specific mattress to meet each and every body’s unique comfort needs. Just take their quiz—only two minutes to complete—that matches your body type and sleep preferences to the perfect mattress for you. They have a 10-year warranty, and you get to try it out for a hundred nights, risk-free. They’ll even pick it up from you if you don’t love it. And now, Helix is offering 20% off all mattress orders at HelixSleep.com/Tim.
Want to hear my last Q&A? Have a listen here, where I discuss reinvention, optimization, intriguing investments, modern dating, personal heresies, taking a barbell distribution approach to life, cheap but choice art, making room for the irrational, workout routines for older parents, music I like, and much more.
What was your favorite quote or lesson from this episode? Please let me know in the comments.
The post Q&A with Tim — What’s Next for Me, Asking Better Questions, Career Reinvention in The Age of AI, Practices for Joy, Getting Unstuck, and More (#778) appeared first on The Blog of Author Tim Ferriss.
