2025-05-30 22:13:51
Welcome back to another in-between-isode, with one of my favorite formats: the good old-fashioned Q&A.
I answer questions submitted by the small-but-elite group of test readers of my upcoming THE NO BOOK. The community is closed for new members, as we have the right number of people now, but I hope to potentially expand it once the book comes out.
This episode explores everything from childhood nostalgia and the outdoor activities I’d want to share with future kids to what my personal, highly comfortable, cult uniforms might look like if I were ever so inclined – don’t worry, I’m not. We also cover how I use AI, Stoicism, tools from The 4-Hour Workweek that I still use, and much, much more.
Please enjoy!
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 Q&A on YouTube.
This episode is brought to you by Monarch Money track, budget, plan, and do more with your money; Eight Sleep Pod Cover 5 sleeping solution for dynamic cooling and heating; and AG1 all-in-one nutritional supplement.
This episode is brought to you by Monarch Money! Traditional budgeting apps can help, but they don’t compare to the complete financial command center you get with this episode’s sponsor, Monarch Money. Monarch is like your own personal CFO, giving you full visibility and control so you can stop merely earning and start growing.
Monarch was named The Wall Street Journal’s Best Budgeting App of 2025, and it’s the top-recommended personal finance app by users and experts, with more than 30,000 5-star reviews. Get control of your overall finances with Monarch Money. Use code TIM at monarchmoney.com/tim for half off your first year.
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 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 5 Ultra. It cools, it heats, and now it elevates, automatically. With the best temperature performance to date, Pod 5 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 5 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 5 Ultra for a limited time! Click here to claim this deal and unlock your full potential through optimal sleep.
Want to hear a Q&A from the not-too-distant past? Listen here as I discuss reinvention, snacks, intriguing investments, modern dating, personal heresies, incentivizing potential mentors, making room for the irrational, workout routines for older parents, 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 — Three Life Commandments, 4-Hour Workweek Exercises I Still Use, The Art and Joy of Inefficiency, Stoicism Revisited, and Much More (#813) appeared first on The Blog of Author Tim Ferriss.
2025-05-23 22:36:10
Welcome to another wide-ranging “Random Show” episode I recorded with my close friend Kevin Rose (digg.com)!
We cover dozens of topics: from the cutting edge of health tech to pro-tips for colonoscopies; AI; adventures in Japan and Taiwan seeking out perfect coffee and tea; tips for drinking less alcohol; powerful documentaries like 32 Sounds and books such as Awareness; the unexpected joys and therapeutic benefits of adult Lego; and much, much more.
Please enjoy!
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 conversation 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 Vanta trusted compliance and security platform; Momentous high-quality supplements; and ExpressVPN high-speed, secure, and anonymous VPN service.
This episode is brought to you by Vanta! Vanta automates compliance for frameworks like SOC 2, ISO 27001, and HIPAA, making it simple and fast to get enterprise-grade compliant. Just like 10,000+ other companies that rely on Vanta, my friends at Duolingo and Ramp (a sponsor of this podcast and an ultra-fast growing company) both use Vanta to handle security compliance.
It all adds up to impressive results: companies save up to 85% of costs, get compliant in weeks instead of months, and complete security questionnaires up to 5 times faster. So check out Vanta.com/Tim to see how Vanta can help you level up your security program. My listeners, that’s you, can get $1,000 off.
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. Use code TIM at checkout and enjoy 35% off your first subscription order or 14% off your first one-time purchase! And not to worry, my non-US friends, Momentous ships internationally and has you covered.
This episode is brought to you by ExpressVPN. I’ve been using ExpressVPN to make sure that my data is secure and encrypted without slowing my Internet speed. If you ever use public Wi-Fi at, say, a hotel or a coffee shop, where I often work and as many of my listeners do, you’re often sending data over an open network, meaning no encryption at all.
A great way to ensure that all of your data are encrypted and can’t be easily read by hackers is by using ExpressVPN. All you need to do is download the ExpressVPN app on your computer or smartphone and then use the Internet just as you normally would. You click one button in the ExpressVPN app to secure 100% of your network data. Use my link ExpressVPN.com/Tim today and get an extra three months free on a one-year package!
Want to hear the last time KevKev and I did a Random Show? Listen to our conversation here, in which we discussed the societal impact of reality-bending AI, the pros and cons of training to failure, inexpensive injury avoidance/reversal, ethical wild meat harvesting, aliens, aversion-defusing meditation, alternative field trips, and much more.
What was your favorite quote or lesson from this episode? Please let me know in the comments.
Website | Instagram | Twitter | Threads | Bluesky | Digg.com
The transcript of this episode can be found here. Transcripts of all episodes can be found here.
The post The Random Show — New Health Gadgets, Tim’s Latest Adventures, How to Drink Less, Zen Retreats, AI + Your Genome, and Colonoscopy Confessions (#812) appeared first on The Blog of Author Tim Ferriss.
2025-05-16 01:41:59
“I’m well over a million shots the same way—same technique, same thought process, same thought at full draw. … Sustained effort is what really makes you good.”
— Jake Kaminski
Jake Kaminski (@jake_kaminski_) is a two-time Olympic silver medalist in archery and a longtime member of the US Archery Team, with more than a decade of international competition experience. Known for his technical precision and deep knowledge of the sport, Jake helped lead the US to team silver medals at both the 2012 London and 2016 Rio Olympic Games.
Since retiring from Olympic competition, Jake has become a leading voice in the archery world through content creation, product innovation, and educational events. He runs a successful YouTube channel, writes training guides, and develops high-performance gear under the Kaminski Archery brand.
Sign up for the Kaminski Archery Backyard Championship here.
Please enjoy!
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 Helix Sleep premium mattresses; AG1 all-in-one nutritional supplement; and Shopify global commerce platform, providing tools to start, grow, market, and manage a retail business.
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.
This episode is brought to you by Shopify! Shopify is one of my favorite platforms and one of my favorite companies. Shopify is designed for anyone to sell anywhere, giving entrepreneurs the resources once reserved for big business. In no time flat, you can have a great-looking online store that brings your ideas to life, and you can have the tools to manage your day-to-day and drive sales. No coding or design experience required.
Go to shopify.com/Tim to sign up for a one-dollar-per-month trial period. It’s a great deal for a great service, so I encourage you to check it out. Take your business to the next level today by visiting shopify.com/Tim.
Want to hear an episode with MeatEater kingpin Steven Rinella? Listen to our conversation, in which we discuss how Steven got me to overcome my lifetime aversion to hunting, why the conservation-minded non-hunting crowd should care about the decline in hunting and fishing license sales in the United States, the politics of reintroducing predator species to popular hunting grounds, close encounters of the grizzly kind, and much more.
What was your favorite quote or lesson from this episode? Please let me know in the comments.
Website | YouTube | Patreon | Kaminski Archery Backyard Championship
The transcript of this episode can be found here. Transcripts of all episodes can be found here.
“Anything you can do to make things more difficult—to shoot in the rain, to shoot in the wind, to shoot in the heat—I would do because, I don’t know, maybe I just enjoy torturing myself. But I found it to be really important. And once I got to the training center, listening to some of the other successful athletes giving talks at the training center about their success and how things went and what made them successful, a lot of them were leaning into the same kind of thing—training hard to make competition easy.”
— Jake Kaminski
“Practice scores don’t matter.”
— Jake Kaminski
“Ultimately, nobody’s going to prevent you from succeeding or failing except for yourself. So you’ve just got to get out of your own way and let it happen. You’ve already put in the time, you put in the effort, just go have fun. Just shoot some arrows and maintain composure.”
— Jake Kaminski
“If I were to wave a magic wand and try to make things better the next time, it would be doing archery more often. It’s not about how many arrows you do in one session; it’s how many sessions in a week can you do and how many days in between each session are there? Anything more than one is too many, in my opinion.”
— Jake Kaminski
“You look experienced from experience. You don’t just get it. You’ve got to make that groove in the brain, and really make that neuromotor connection strong enough to where it just fluidly happens. That’s why an expert is an expert. They’ve done the same thing thousands and thousands and thousands of times. I’m well over a million shots the same way—same technique, same thought process, same thought at full draw. So it’s an immense amount of effort and work over time. Sustained effort is what really makes you good.”
— Jake Kaminski
The post 2x Olympic Archery Medalist Jake Kaminski — Lessons Learned and Mantras Used After 1,000,000 Arrows (#811) appeared first on The Blog of Author Tim Ferriss.
2025-05-09 21:58:36
“A boy’s question of the world is ‘What do you got for me?’ A man’s question of the world is ‘What’s needed here?'”
— Terry Real
Terry Real is a nationally recognized family therapist, author, and teacher. He is known for his groundbreaking work on men and male psychology as well as his work on gender and couples.
His book I Don’t Want To Talk About It: Overcoming the Secret Legacy of Male Depression, the first book ever written on the topic of male depression, is a national bestseller. His new book, Us: Getting Past You & Me to Build a More Loving Relationship is a New York Times bestseller.
Terry’s Relational Life Institute offers training for therapists and workshops for couples and individuals.
Please enjoy!
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 Cresset prestigious family office for CEOs, founders, and entrepreneurs; Ramp easy-to-use corporate cards, bill payments, accounting, and more; and Wealthfront high-yield cash account.
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 4.00% APY—that’s the Annual Percentage Yield—with the Wealthfront Brokerage Cash Account from its network of partner banks. That’s nearly ten times more interest than a savings account at a bank, according to FDIC.gov as of 03/17/2025 (Wealthfront’s 4.00% APY vs. 0.41% average savings rate). It takes just a few minutes to sign up, and then you’ll immediately start earning 4.00% 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. Terms & Conditions apply. Visit Wealthfront.com/Tim to get started.
APY as of 03/17/2025 and is subject to change. 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.
This episode is brought to you by Cresset Family Office! Listeners have heard me talk about “making before you manage” for years. And for me—as a writer and entrepreneur—I definitely gravitate toward making. So it’s important that I find the right people who are great at managing. That’s why I trust this episode’s sponsor, Cresset Family Office.
Cresset is a prestigious family office for CEOs, founders, and entrepreneurs. They handle the complex financial planning, uncertain tax strategies, timely exit planning, bill pay and wires, and all the other parts of wealth management that would otherwise pull me away from doing what I love most: making things, mastering skills, and spending time with the people I care about. Experience the freedom of focusing on what matters to you with the support of a top wealth management team. Schedule a call today at cressetcapital.com/Tim to see how Cresset can help streamline your financial plans and grow your wealth.
I’m a client of Cresset. There are no material conflicts other than this paid testimonial. All investing involves risk, including loss of principal.
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.
Want to hear five chapters from the audiobook Fierce Intimacy by Terry Real? Listen here—it will help you identify both your and your partner’s losing strategies in relationships and help you move from disharmony to repair.
What was your favorite quote or lesson from this episode? Please let me know in the comments.
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook
“A boy’s question of the world is ‘What do you got for me?’ A man’s question of the world is ‘What’s needed here?'”
— Terry Real
“Family pathology rolls from generation to generation like a fire in the woods taking down everything in its path until one person in one generation has the courage to turn and face the flames. That person brings peace to their ancestors and spares the children that follow.”
— Terry Real
“Have the courage to move beyond the defaults you were handed, and do it with help.”
— Terry Real
“Part of the reason why we don’t change is we’re loyal to the relationships that we learn how to be screwed up in. And it feels odd. I say we’re immigrants. We leave the old country and the old people behind.”
— Terry Real
“Enter into compassionate curiosity about your partner’s subjective experience. They’re nuts? Okay, but find out what kind of nut they are.”
— Terry Real
“Repair is a one-way street. … If you have a disgruntled partner, you are at their service. … Somebody comes to the customer service window and says, ‘My microwave doesn’t work.’ They don’t want to hear you say, ‘Well, my toaster doesn’t work.’ They don’t want your excuses. Fix the goddamn microwave. … Put yourself aside and tend to them.”
— Terry Real
“Boys and men get depressed because of what I call normal boyhood trauma under patriarchy. We are taught at three, four, five years old to deny our vulnerability, to disconnect from our feelings, to disconnect from others, all in the name of autonomy. We cut off half of our humanity—the feelings, the vulnerability, connection—really, in some ways, the most rich, nourishing parts of what it means to be a human. And that cutoff, which is imposed on boys, that cutoff is traumatic. And it also renders you isolated and lonely. So there’s a lot of trauma. That trauma becomes depression, that depression becomes acting out or self-medication. And if you really want to heal someone, you hit all three layers. First the defenses, then the depression, then the childhood trauma.”
— Terry Real
“Moving men, women, non-binary folk into true intimacy is synonymous with moving them beyond traditional gender roles, beyond patriarchy. Men have to move into vulnerability and open their hearts. Women have to move into assertion with love—not with harshness but with love. And doing that on both sides moves beyond anything that this culture teaches us. It’s pioneer work.”
— Terry Real
“It absolutely kills me when people describe my work as ‘Terry’s trying to feminize men.’ No, I want whole human beings. I want smart, sexy, competent women. I want powerful, big-hearted, compassionate men. We don’t need to halve ourselves in compliance to the world order. We can be whole.”
— Terry Real
“There’s a saying: ‘Therapists are people who need to be in therapy 40 hours a week.’ I became a professional therapist to heal myself, and then I became a family therapist to learn how to have a relationship.”
— Terry Real
“Not being intimate is as bad for your body as smoking a pack and a half of cigarettes a day. This is hard, black and white research. We are born to be intimate. Moving beyond traditional gender roles is the only way to get there. So stop whining, stand up, and learn a few relational skills. It’s good for you, it’s good for your body—you’ll live longer—it’s good for your marriage, and it’s good for your children.”
— Terry Real
The post Terry Real — The Therapist Who Breaks All The Rules (#810) appeared first on The Blog of Author Tim Ferriss.
2025-05-09 03:52:04
Harvard Business School (HBS) reached out last year to create a case study on my entrepreneurial journey, which tracks me from childhood to the current day. The case study, titled “Tim Ferriss: What Might This Look Like If It Were Easy?” is roughly 40 pages, and you can buy it for $11.95 here. I don’t earn a penny. The whole experience culminated in two classes at HBS in Professor Satchu’s “Founder Mindset” course.
Following one of the classes, student Jay Bhandari interviewed me for the “Between Two Classes” series at The Harbus, a publication by Harvard Business School students, who kindly gave permission to share it with you here.
I hope you find something below useful.
In a Q&A with your fans, you talked about the value of identity diversification. This approach is antithetical to advice we often get to commit and focus on a domain. How do you reconcile those two competing philosophies?
I think they complement each other rather than compete. Identity diversification simply means cultivating multiple, independent areas of growth in your life where you can chart progress. This is engineered so that your self-worth isn’t entirely dependent on one thing, such as the regular ups and downs of your own startup. Being overinvested gets a lot of media play and X threads, but there’s a nasty survivorship bias at work. I’ve seen dozens of founders implode because their “startup as self-worth” metrics went sideways for a few months. I prefer an approach with more margin of safety, and it’s entirely compatible with domain mastery. For instance, you could very well spend 40 to 80 hours per week on your startup, but if you supplement that with indoor rock climbing, weight training, chess club, or something else that has its own metrics for growth, even if new regulations or a competitor tank your startup for a short stretch, you can still offset the blow with progress outside of the office. It’s cheap psychological insurance. I think of identity diversification as a huge competitive advantage in games that depend on endurance. At the highest levels, that’s pretty much everything. If Michael Jordan could afford to play copious amounts of golf and poker, you can afford to have side interests.
Is there anything about your life you wish you had focused on sooner? If you could spend time with 28-year-old you, what would you tell him?
To my younger self: meditate twice daily—10 minutes is plenty—and get accelerated TMS as soon as it’s ready for showtime. See my other answers for elaboration. I’d probably also share an embroidered quote I bought at a thrift shop in Marfa, Texas: “Today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday.”
What do you think young ambitious people are over- and under-indexed on?
I think HBS students are over-indexed on buying the implicit investment banking and management consulting pitch of something like “get broad exposure to industries and then you can pick your lane and do anything!” If you’re non-technical and stay in either of those for more than a few years, the odds of you leaving to start your own startup (outside of finance or consulting) is roughly the same as the likelihood of a five- to 10-year entrepreneur joining investment banking or consulting. In other words, low. I’ve seen this play out 100+ times. Sure, there are some exceptions, but I wouldn’t bet on being one of them unless you’ve committed to an exit plan before you enter those games. And if you want to be an edge case, find and study at least five to 10 edge cases you could emulate before you accept the job. If you can’t find them, that tells you something.
Many in the HBS, Type-A crowd are no stranger to stress, anxiety, and depression. What are tips, mantras, and systems you’ve developed for managing your mental health when you’re actively in a dark place?
To be clear, I’m not a doctor and don’t play one on the internet. The “actively in a dark place” makes this a very dicey question. That said, having spent some time in dark places, especially in college, I’ll share a few things that I’ve seen work. Please do your own homework and speak with your medical professionals.
For acute suicidal ideation, I would call the 988 helpline first and potentially consider a series of ketamine infusions/injections per the protocols suggested by John Krystal, MD, professor of neuroscience at Yale University. Ketamine can be very addictive, and I’ve seen people unravel their lives with it, but in dangerous self-harm circumstances, it can be a life-saving intervention. It effectively pauses the incessant thought loops driving the desperation. For more of my thoughts on suicide, including my description of a close brush in 1999, read tim.blog/suicide.
If we’re talking about general prevention and self-care, I would highly suggest daily cold exposure (e.g., I do 3–5 minutes in a 40–45° F bath daily) and short meditation sessions 2x/daily (e.g., Transcendental Meditation for 20 minutes twice a day or The Way App with Henry Shukman for two 10-minute sessions). I typically meditate immediately upon waking and then again before dinner or bed. This is less than 30 minutes a day. Do your pre-hab, and you’ll need less rehab.
If you have a history of trauma, see tim.blog/trauma for a list of resources that I and designer Debbie Millman have found effective. Trigger warning: it’s not a fun read, but it might be helpful for some. Your mileage may vary.
For treatment-resistant depression, I would consider accelerated TMS (transcranial magnetic stimulation), à la the SAINT protocol co-developed by Dr. Nolan Williams at Stanford University. BrainsWay and MagVenture both make compelling devices with different approaches. I firmly believe TMS and other forms of brain stimulation can have near-immediate and durable effects that rival the effects of psychedelics in outcomes. I say that as someone who’s funded a lot of the science related to psychedelics since 2015 through my non-profit, Saisei Foundation.
Once legal, and assuming you have no family history of schizophrenia, borderline personality disorder, psychosis, etc., I might suggest investigating various psychedelic-assisted therapies for depression (e.g., psilocybin) on a once-annual cadence, but there are more known risks than with brain stimulation like TMS. For instance, and I’ve seen this firsthand, combining ayahuasca and SSRIs increases the risk of serotonin syndrome, which can be life-threatening in severe cases. Regard any of these compounds with the same respect you would treat major neurosurgery. For more education on the science, applications, and possible mechanisms of action, I suggest the research of Dr. Gül Dolen and Dr. Nolan Williams, as well as the Netflix miniseries based on Michael Pollan’s book of the same name, How to Change Your Mind. The MDMA and psilocybin/mushroom episodes are particularly strong.
Last but not least, don’t ignore diet. Read up on “metabolic psychiatry” and Dr. Chris Palmer, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. Ketosis and other interventions can produce nearly miraculous results for a number of psychiatric conditions, including those that are strongly contraindicated with psychedelics, like schizophrenia.
If you were starting over today in 2025 and were in your late twenties, what would you be doing?
I would be looking for fast-growing industries that are unsexy and under the radar, and I’d aim to join a startup of fewer than 100 people, where I’d be able to watch deal-makers making deals and making decisions. In contrast, if you’re trying to create an AI startup like everyone else, it’s going to be a crabs in a bucket scenario for 99% of the people involved. Sure, you might be the super crab 1%, but I generally prefer less crowded spaces, where you can typically get more regular interaction with the A+ players.
Let’s take luck out of the picture. What skills, habits, mantras, or areas of personal growth would you most attribute your success to?
Playing the long game and not being in a rush. I choose projects and a lot of investments based on the learning, skill development, and relationships that will transcend them. If you allow such things to snowball over time, eventually the critical mass makes success almost inevitable. This might sound hand-wavy, but you can approach it systematically. Go to tim.blog/mba or Google “Tim Ferriss real-world MBA” for some angel-investing examples of how I’ve applied this. This isn’t the only approach I’ve seen work for “success” (dangerous word, that!), but it seems replicable.
If you could put a message on a billboard that reaches HBS students, what would it be?
I would borrow from Dr. BJ Miller, a hospice physician who’s helped thousands of people to navigate death, whose answer was “Don’t believe everything that you think.”
Reprinted with permission from The Harbus News Corporation. All rights reserved.
The post “What might this look like if it were easy?” — A Conversation at Harvard Business School appeared first on The Blog of Author Tim Ferriss.
2025-05-01 22:22:35
This time around, we have a bit of a different format, featuring the book that started it all for me, The 4-Hour Workweek. Readers and listeners often ask me what I would change or update, but 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 two of the most important chapters from the audiobook of The 4-Hour Workweek. The chapters push you to defend your scarce attention—one by saying no to people, the other by saying no to excess information.
The chapter is narrated by the great voice actor Ray Porter. 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!
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 David Protein Bars, with 28g of protein, 150 calories, and 0g of sugar; Our Place’s Titanium Always Pan® Pro, using nonstick technology that’s coating-free and made without PFAS, otherwise known as “Forever Chemicals”; and AG1 all-in-one nutritional supplement.
This episode is brought to you by David Protein Bars! I’m always on the hunt for protein sources that don’t require sacrifices in taste or nutrition. That’s why I love the protein bars from this episode’s sponsor, David. With David protein bars, you get the fewest calories for the most protein, ever. David has 28g of protein, 150 calories, and 0g of sugar. I was first introduced to David by my friend Peter Attia, MD, who is their Chief Science Officer. Many of you know of Peter, and he does his due diligence. And David tastes great. Their bars come in six delicious flavors, all worth trying, and I’ll often throw them in my bag for protein on the go. And now, listeners of The Tim Ferriss Show who buy four boxes get a fifth box for free. Try them for yourself at DavidProtein.com/Tim.
This episode is brought to you by Our Place’s 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 today’s sponsor, Our Place. It’s the first nonstick pan with zero coating. This means zero “forever chemicals” and a durability that will last a lifetime. That’s right—no degradation over time like traditional nonstick pans.
Now, Our Place has expanded their lineup and launched the Titanium Pro Cookware Set—a completely toxin-free, high-performance set designed to last a lifetime. It’s built on the success of the Titanium Always Pan Pro. Now, you can cook everything with the same health-first, long-lasting design. Listeners of The Tim Ferriss Show can now get 10% off the Titanium Pro Cookware Set. Just visit FromOurPlace.com/Tim and use code TIM at checkout. With a 100-day risk-free trial, free shipping, and free returns, there’s zero risk in test-driving a great upgrade to your kitchen.
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.
Want to hear another episode that features content straight from The 4-Hour Workweek? Listen here for the chapter preceding this one that includes tools and frameworks that I use to this day, including Pareto’s Law and Parkinson’s Law.
What was your favorite quote or lesson from this episode? Please let me know in the comments.
The post The 4-Hour Workweek Tools That Still Work — The Art of Refusal and The Low-Information Diet (#809) appeared first on The Blog of Author Tim Ferriss.