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An early-stage technology investor/advisor (Uber, Facebook, Shopify, Duolingo, Alibaba, and 50+ others) and the author of five #1 New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestsellers.
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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)

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 PodcastsSpotifyOvercastPodcast AddictPocket CastsCastboxYouTube MusicAmazon MusicAudible, 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.

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

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.

SELECTED LINKS FROM THE EPISODE

Tim’s Three Commandments

  1. Movement is medicine.
  2. To save the self, help outside the self.
  3. Request what you want more/less of.

Core Practices from The 4-Hour Workweek

  • 80/20 (Pareto Principle): Focus on the 20% of activities that produce 80% of your results.
  • Parkinson’s Law: Work expands to fill the time available, so set tight deadlines to force efficiency.
  • Fear-Setting: Define your worst-case scenarios in detail to realize most fears are overblown.
  • Definition: Clearly specify what you want from life before optimizing how to get it.
  • Elimination: Say no to everything that doesn’t serve your defined goals.
  • Automation: Create systems that work without your constant involvement.

Personal Projects & Ventures

Books & Other Media

Concepts

  • Stoicism: An ancient Greek and Roman philosophy that teaches virtue, wisdom, and emotional resilience through accepting what you cannot control while focusing your efforts on what you can control.
  • Mezcal: A smoky, Mexican distilled spirit made from the agave plant. Delicious, but hard to justify at $72 per glass without warning.
  • Sufism: The mystical dimension of Islam that emphasizes direct personal experience of the divine.
  • Epicureanism: An ancient Greek philosophy that advocates pursuing pleasure and avoiding pain as the path to happiness, emphasizing simple pleasures, friendship, and freedom from anxiety.
  • The Nothing (from The NeverEnding Story): A destructive force that consumes imagination and hope, representing despair and the loss of wonder.
  • Vibe Coding: Programming based on intuition and feel rather than strict methodology or documentation.
  • Metabolic Psychiatry: Treatment approach viewing mental health disorders as metabolic dysfunction in the brain.
  • Ketogenic Diet: High-fat, low-carb eating plan that forces the body to burn fat for fuel instead of glucose.
  • Electroceuticals / Accelerated TMS: Medical devices using electrical stimulation to treat conditions, with TMS targeting specific brain regions magnetically.
  • Somatic Exercises: Movement practices that focus on internal physical sensations to release tension and trauma stored in the body.
  • Kundalini Activation: Spiritual practice aimed at awakening dormant energy believed to reside at the base of the spine.
  • Byron Katie’s “The Work” and Turnarounds: Self-inquiry method questioning stressful thoughts through four questions, then reversing beliefs to find opposite perspectives.

Software, Apps, & Tools

  • Scrivener: My preferred tool for organizing large writing projects.
  • Google Gemini AI: Google’s “personal, proactive, and powerful” AI assistant.
  • The Way: Henry Shukman’s meditation training app.

People

SHOW NOTES

  • [00:00:00] Start.
  • [00:04:44] Instilling nostalgia in future children.
  • [00:06:29] Secret suspicions about success.
  • [00:09:50] Comfy clothes and commandments for my new cult religion.
  • [00:13:20] Laying groundwork for large projects.
  • [00:15:12] The purpose of my No Book preview community.
  • [00:15:45] How I use and don’t use AI.
  • [00:18:56] My own success: because of strategies or despite them?
  • [00:19:25] Optimizing efficiency in the face of unknown variables.
  • [00:21:12] Why we should all learn how to live offline.
  • [00:22:35] Superb Sufism sources.
  • [00:23:21] How a podcast episode anticipated to be good can go bad.
  • [00:26:31] When inefficiency is the optimal choice.
  • [00:31:27] Helping rather than hurting our workaholic friends.
  • [00:33:42] The right time to announce a new project.
  • [00:37:09] Establishing partnership parameters.
  • [00:39:02] Spiritual speculations.
  • [00:41:24] Using today’s advantages to build tomorrow’s apps.
  • [00:43:23] Keeping audience capture from converting you to caricature.
  • [00:46:18] Legends of Varlata vs. The Legend of COCKPUNCH.
  • [00:49:28] Hunting for Easter eggs across IPs.
  • [00:49:51] Coyote curiosity.
  • [00:53:32] 4-Hour Workweek tools I still use regularly.
  • [00:55:14] A favorite memory with my childhood best friends.
  • [00:55:48] A movie sequel I’d finance.
  • [00:56:41] I will (not) sell No book before its time.
  • [01:01:37] Archery aims.
  • [01:02:13] Inspirational blurbs, billboards, and tchotchkes.
  • [01:04:43] Does study of stoicism risk dulling positive emotions?
  • [01:07:29] What my Saisei Foundation is focusing on lately.
  • [01:13:33] Kundalini activation caution.
  • [01:14:17] Molly’s ideal trip with me.
  • [01:14:42] Parting thoughts.

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.

The Random Show — New Health Gadgets, Tim’s Latest Adventures, How to Drink Less, Zen Retreats, AI + Your Genome, and Colonoscopy Confessions (#812)

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 PodcastsSpotifyOvercastPodcast AddictPocket CastsCastboxYouTube MusicAmazon MusicAudible, 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.

The Random Show — New Health Gadgets, Tim’s Latest Adventures, How to Drink Less, Zen Retreats, AI + Your Genome, and Colonoscopy Confessions

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 threonateapigenin, 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 purchaseAnd 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.

SELECTED LINKS FROM THE EPISODE

  • Connect with Kevin Rose:

Website | Instagram | Twitter | Threads | Bluesky | Digg.com

The transcript of this episode can be found here. Transcripts of all episodes can be found here.

Art, Collectibles, & Games

Health

Books

Movies and TV Shows

  • 32 Sounds: Immersive documentary about sound by Sam Green.
  • Flow: Latvian animated film about a cat in a post-apocalyptic world (low poly aesthetic).
  • Fight Club: Don’t talk about Fight Club.
  • Blade Runner: Dystopian sci-fi set in the far future of 2019 Los Angeles.
  • 10 Years with Hayao Miyazaki: Docuseries about the creative process of the Studio Ghibli founder.
  • My Neighbor Totoro: 1988 animated fantasy film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki and animated by Studio Ghibli.
  • Spirited Away: 2001 animated fantasy film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki and animated by Studio Ghibli.
  • Ponyo: 2008 animated fantasy film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki and animated by Studio Ghibli.
  • Up: Animated comedy-drama adventure film produced by Pixar.
  • Max Headroom: Advertised as “the first computer-generated TV presenter.”
  • Minority Report: 2002 action film loosely based on Philip K. Dick’s 1956 novella.
  • Ex Machina: Sci-fi movie discussing AI.
  • Her: Movie about AI relationships.

People

Places

Companies & Organizations

Gadgets, Wearables, & Equipment

Digital Concepts & Tools

Relevant Resources

SHOW NOTES

  • [00:00:00] Start.
  • [00:05:13] Two old men discuss the importance of regular medical checkups.
  • [00:11:47] Zen and the art of 32 Sounds.
  • [00:14:50] Going with the low-poly Flow.
  • [00:18:02] KevKev goes cleanclean and sober.
  • [00:25:10] The first rule of AA is you do not talk about AA.
  • [00:26:24] LEGO bricks (and Nanoblocks) as art for grown-ups.
  • [00:28:27] Maintaining sobriety with a partner who still drinks.
  • [00:31:47] Addressing under-the-hood reasons behind addiction with a group.
  • [00:35:41] TimTim talks Taiwan and tea.
  • [00:43:13] A Japanese coffee bender.
  • [00:48:56] An “expresso” intervention.
  • [00:50:02] Where Americans can get Taiwanese tea if they can’t make the trip.
  • [00:51:16] Kevin’s new WHOOP wearable and quantifying health benchmarks/goals.
  • [00:57:45] I’m getting a new exercise bike because the old one rubbed me the wrong way.
  • [00:59:11] Kevin keeps COVID and cooties at bay with Profi in his schnozz.
  • [01:02:01] Sippin’ dashi and conquering anxiety with Awareness.
  • [01:06:36] Getting a (Versa) Gripp on eclectic injuries.
  • [01:10:07] Finding magic in the ordinary with Paul Madonna and Hayao Miyazaki.
  • [01:13:19] The Well of Being is back in stock for a reasonable price.
  • [01:14:02] Finding Asian artisanal goods in the US without having to travel.
  • [01:16:49] Squirrels: distracting dogs and humans for millennia.
  • [01:18:04] My personal ups and downs with accelerated TMS.
  • [01:28:27] The current state of consumer-level sleep aid technology.
  • [01:33:47] How full genome sequencing helped Kevin tame a once-insurmountable health issue.
  • [01:36:16] Eyeing traffic at the intersection of AI and life sciences.
  • [01:38:30] Genetic data privacy concerns.
  • [01:42:36] Face to face with my deepfaked side hustler.
  • [01:44:06] Kevin’s unsettling AI headphone review experiment and its implications for real humans.
  • [01:47:03] Steps Kevin has taken toward proving he’s a real boy.
  • [01:48:23] “You were talking to models — you were just talking to large language models.”
  • [01:50:25] Exploding Kittens and I made a game together: Coyote.
  • [01:52:06] When meditation retreats go right (and wrong).
  • [01:59:21] Parting thoughts.

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.

2x Olympic Archery Medalist Jake Kaminski — Lessons Learned and Mantras Used After 1,000,000 Arrows (#811)

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 PodcastsSpotifyOvercastPodcast AddictPocket CastsCastboxYouTube MusicAmazon MusicAudible, 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.

2x Olympic Archery Medalist Jake Kaminski — Lessons Learned and Mantras Used After 1,000,000 Arrows

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 SleepHelix 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 ShopifyShopify 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 RinellaListen 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.

SELECTED LINKS FROM THE EPISODE

  • Connect with Jake Kaminski:

Website | YouTube | Patreon | Kaminski Archery Backyard Championship

The transcript of this episode can be found here. Transcripts of all episodes can be found here.

Archery Concepts, Techniques, & Terminology

  • Olympic Recurve: Specific discipline/bow style used in the Olympics.
  • Barebow: Discipline/bow style with minimal aids, uses string walking.
  • Compound Bow: Bow style using cams/pulleys.
  • Longbow: Simple, traditional bow style.
  • Horse Bow / Asiatic Bow: Shorter recurve bow, often shot with a thumb release.
  • Target Panic: Psychological issue affecting aiming/release.
  • Clicker: Mechanical device used as a draw check and release trigger (primarily recurve).
  • Shot Cycle / Shot Sequence: The repeatable physical and mental process of shooting an arrow.
  • KSL Method: Biomechanically focused archery technique developed by Kisik Lee.
  • Ape Index: The ratio of an individual’s arm span relative to their height.
  • Biomechanics: Study of movement and structure in biological systems.
  • Anchor: Consistent placement of the draw hand on the face/jaw.
  • Let Down: Aborting a shot before release.
  • Follow Through: Maintaining tension and direction after the arrow is released.
  • Tension and Direction: Key principle of maintaining force towards the target (bow hand) and away (draw hand).
  • Release: The act of letting the string go (viewed by KSL as a result of follow through).
  • Blank Bale Practice: Shooting at a target butt with no face/aiming point, focusing on form.
  • String Walking: Technique in barebow where the archer moves their fingers down the string to adjust elevation.
  • Instinctive Aiming: Aiming without a dedicated sight or aiming reference point, relying on subconscious coordination.
  • Cross Eye Dominant: When a person’s dominant eye is opposite their dominant hand.
  • Hook: Specific placement and tension of fingers on the bowstring.
  • Grouping: The proximity of arrows to each other on the target.
  • Khatra: Specific movement/technique used in thumb draw/horse bow shooting.

Archery Equipment

  • Indo Board: Balance training tool.
  • Stabilizers: Rods attached to bows (Olympic recurve, compound) to add weight and reduce vibration.
  • Riser: The central handle section of a bow.
  • Limbs: The flexible parts of the bow that store energy.
  • Arrow Rest: Device that supports the arrow before/during the shot.
  • Plunger / Button: Adjustable device on recurve/barebow risers that helps tune arrow flight.
  • Finger Tab: Protective leather/material worn on draw fingers.
  • Peep Sight: Small aperture on compound bow string used as a rear sight.
  • Mechanical Release / Release Aid: Device used to draw and release the string on compound bows.
  • Arrows: Projectiles shot from the bow.
    • Easton RX7: Specific model of large-diameter aluminum arrow.
    • Easton Avance: Specific model of smaller-diameter carbon arrow.
  • Fletching: Feathers or vanes on the back of an arrow for stabilization.
  • Nock: Attachment point on the back of the arrow that clips onto the string.
  • Sight: Aiming device (used on Olympic recurve and compound).
  • Bowstring: Cord connecting the limb tips.
  • Bag Target: Type of archery target filled with material.
  • Target Bale: The backstop material archery targets are attached to.
  • TheraBand: Elastic resistance band used for training.

General Brands & Products

Institutions, Organizations, & Places

Events & Competitions

Books & Media

People

Relevant Resources

SHOW NOTES

  • [00:00:00] Start.
  • [00:06:50] A glimpse into the high-precision world of Olympic archery.
  • [00:11:04] How Jake and I connected.
  • [00:18:27] Jake’s auspicious introduction to archery.
  • [00:21:15] Why you (Yes! You!) should try archery.
  • [00:22:01] The differences between bows.
  • [00:25:19] The admirable proficiency of Shot IQ’s Bodie and Joel Turner.
  • [00:26:24] Ethical bow hunting, performing under pressure, and transitioning from rifle to bow.
  • [00:29:22] Why I wouldn’t have cut it as a competitive archer in Korea.
  • [00:30:14] Mindful archery and training hard to make competition easy.
  • [00:37:00] What Jake did when compound bow archery started to get boring.
  • [00:40:00] Meeting legendary Coach Kisik Lee (KSL).
  • [00:43:06] The upsides of having no social life as a kid.
  • [00:45:20] The welcoming weirdness of archery communities.
  • [00:46:33] For the sake of form, Coach Lee shakes things up.
  • [00:51:21] “I am.” — an affirmation for apathy adjustment.
  • [00:58:11] London, 2012 Olympics: when it all starts coming together.
  • [01:08:28] How does teamwork play out in archery?
  • [01:15:40] My own experience with Coach Lee.
  • [01:19:23] The trials of training and traveling.
  • [01:27:33] Blank bale practice.
  • [01:31:14] Layering, biomechanics, and other early points of focus.
  • [01:33:03] The underrated importance of follow through.
  • [01:36:40] Coach Lee’s take on follow through vs. release.
  • [01:37:29] Gauging tension and intention as an instructor.
  • [01:38:52] Attention to grouping over hitting the bullseye.
  • [01:40:57] Making adaptations for physical limitations.
  • [01:43:30] The ups and downs of our patented “Jesus take the wheel” instinctive approach.
  • [01:46:24] Warm-up tournaments, barebowing, black bales, and string walking.
  • [01:50:54] Recovering from the disaster that made me rethink Lancaster.
  • [01:55:15] Rebalancing gear: arrows and arrow rests.
  • [02:00:50] The importance of practicing in tournament-like conditions.
  • [02:04:03] Securing convenient fuel.
  • [02:08:17] Lancaster preparation logistics (with special thanks to Heather Kaminski and Rick Simpson Oil).
  • [02:13:17] The glue that holds us together: note-taking and training logs.
  • [02:16:47] Even counterintuitive consistency is key.
  • [02:18:45] Our experience at Lancaster.
  • [02:28:00] “The goal is to do the least necessary, not the most possible.” — Henk Kraaijenhof
  • [02:31:44] Learning by observation and conversation on the practice range.
  • [02:35:35] What’s the Kaminski Archery Backyard Championship, and why should you get involved?
  • [02:40:30] How can you (and why should you) get started with archery today?
  • [02:42:48] Parting thoughts.

MORE JAKE KAMINSKI QUOTES FROM THE INTERVIEW

“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.

Terry Real — The Therapist Who Breaks All The Rules (#810)

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 PodcastsSpotifyOvercastPodcast AddictPocket CastsCastboxYouTube MusicAmazon MusicAudible, 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.

Terry Real — The Therapist Who Breaks All The Rules

This episode is brought to you by WealthfrontWealthfront 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.

SELECTED LINKS FROM THE EPISODE

  • Connect with Terry Real:

Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook

Books

Therapeutic Approaches & Modalities

Core RLT Concepts & Frameworks

  • Three Parts of the Human Psyche (RLT Model):
    • Wise Adult (prefrontal cortex, choosing part)
    • Wounded Child (flooded, emotional part)
    • Adaptive Child (kid’s version of an adult, automatic/knee-jerk responses, self-protection)

General Psychological & Relational Concepts

Organizations & Institutions

  • Al-Anon: Support group for families of alcoholics.
  • The Meadows: Treatment center where Pia Mellody worked.
  • Sounds True: Publisher of Terry Real’s Fierce Intimacy audio program.

Movies & Shows

People

  • Peter Attia: Doctor, author, friend of Tim Ferriss, mentioned in relation to male depression and his book Outlive.
  • Kevin Rose: Friend of Tim Ferriss, mentioned in relation to couples therapy.
  • Belinda Berman: Terry Real’s wife, a family therapist, coined “relational heroism.”
  • Gregory Bateson: Anthropologist, influential in family therapy, husband of Margaret Mead, known for concept of “humankind’s epistemological error.”
  • Margaret Mead: Anthropologist, wife of Gregory Bateson.
  • Edward Tronick: Infant observational researcher, known for the “harmony, disharmony, and repair” rhythm in relationships.
  • T. Berry Brazelton: Pediatrician and researcher, worked alongside Tronick.
  • Sigmund Freud: The father of psychoanalysis.
  • James Framo: Considered a father of couple’s therapy.
  • Esther Perel: Therapist, mentioned as working with Peter Attia.
  • Pia Mellody: Therapist, mentor to Terry Real, influential in 12-step community, associated with The Meadows, concepts like “one up, one down.”
  • Riane Eisler: Scholar, author, known for concepts like “power over vs. power with.”
  • Carol Gilligan: Psychologist, ethicist, known for work on gender studies (e.g., “the binary,” “no voice without relationship”).
  • Olga Silverstein: Therapist, known for “the halving process” (splitting human qualities by gender).
  • Keith Richards: Guitar hero.
  • Richard “Dick” Schwartz: Founder of Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapy.
  • Adolf Hitler: The gold standard of human villainy.
  • Erik Erikson: Child psychoanalyst.
  • Elon Musk: Mentioned as an example in a discussion about aspirational masculinity vs. relational well-being.
  • James Gilligan: Psychiatrist, author of Violence, worked with criminally insane.
  • Sam Harris: Neuroscientist, author, podcaster (mentioned for his meditation app).
  • Mahatma Gandhi: Political ethicist who led the campaign for India’s independence from British rule.
  • Martin Luther King Jr.: Civil rights champion.
  • Raymond Chandler: Noir author (The Big Sleep).
  • Sam Spade: Fictional detective from Raymond Chandler’s work.
  • Humphrey Bogart: Actor.
  • Lauren Bacall: Actress.

Relevant Resources

SHOW NOTES

  • [00:00:00] Start.
  • [00:05:51] The pumpernickel story.
  • [00:09:44] Wise adult, wounded child, and adaptive child.
  • [00:11:25] Relational mindfulness.
  • [00:12:11] Remembering love.
  • [00:13:29] Why do we remain loyal to bad relationships?
  • [00:16:58] The RLT stance on taking a position as a therapist.
  • [00:18:46] Objectivity battles.
  • [00:24:11] Entering into compassionate curiosity about your partner’s subjective experience.
  • [00:29:40] Normal marital hatred.
  • [00:34:19] Taking the first steps toward repair.
  • [00:37:03] Empathizing with someone whose reality doesn’t match yours.
  • [00:39:45] Should you stay or should you go? Understanding relational reckoning.
  • [00:43:41] Leveraging a resistant partner toward therapy.
  • [00:46:03] The preconditions that must be addressed before RLT can be effective.
  • [00:48:37] Understanding covert depression in men.
  • [00:52:52] Determining underlying depression.
  • [00:54:36] Favored modalities for working with trauma.
  • [00:55:04] Parsing the patriarchy.
  • [00:59:35] Taking care of your relationship’s biosphere without being codependent.
  • [01:03:23] Terry’s prescription for overcoming my own faulty childhood templates.
  • [01:07:05] Pondering gender expectations and expressions.
  • [01:13:06] Were Terry’s distinctly different boys raised similarly?
  • [01:15:05] A good Morani vs. a great Morani.
  • [01:16:53] The greatest achievement of Terry’s life.
  • [01:18:44] Advice for people who want to be better parents than the ones they had.
  • [01:21:17] The typical format of Terry’s men’s group therapy.
  • [01:23:56] Full-respect living, group guidelines, and boundaries.
  • [01:25:07] Comparing and contrasting Relational Life Therapy (RLT) with Internal Family Systems (IFS).
  • [01:27:54] Modern relationship challenges — from polyamory to monogamy.
  • [01:29:53] The research is clear: Humans are born to be intimate.
  • [01:32:16] Toxic femininity and the new world order.
  • [01:34:40] Relational empowerment vs. individual empowerment.
  • [01:35:45] One up, one down.
  • [01:37:50] From grandiosity to baseline: Relational joy vs. gratification.
  • [01:43:06] How to learn more about Terry’s work.
  • [01:45:16] Recommended reading.
  • [01:49:09] Terry’s billboard.
  • [01:49:34] Parting thoughts.

MORE TERRY REAL QUOTES FROM THE INTERVIEW

“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.

“What might this look like if it were easy?” — A Conversation at Harvard Business School

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.

The 4-Hour Workweek Tools That Still Work — The Art of Refusal and The Low-Information Diet (#809)

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 AudibleAppleGoogleSpotifyDownpour.com, or wherever you find your favorite audiobooks.

Please enjoy!

Listen to the episode on Apple PodcastsSpotifyOvercastPodcast AddictPocket CastsCastboxYouTube MusicAmazon MusicAudible, 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.

The 4-Hour Workweek Tools That Still Work — The Art of Refusal and The Low-Information Diet

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.

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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. 

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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.

SELECTED LINKS FROM THE EPISODE

Books, Publications, and Movies

Tools Mentioned

Relevant Resources

People

Show Notes

  • [00:00:00] Start.
  • [00:07:24] The low-information diet.
  • [00:09:45] Cultivating selective ignorance.
  • [00:14:32] How to read 200% faster in 10 minutes.
  • [00:17:09] Questions and actions: Go on an immediate one-week media fast.
  • [00:21:05] Develop the habit of asking yourself, “Will I definitely use this information for something immediate and important?”
  • [00:22:03] Practice the art of nonfinishing.
  • [00:22:49] Comfort challenge: Get phone numbers.
  • [00:25:14] Interrupting interruption and the art of refusal.
  • [00:28:16] Not all evils are created equal.
  • [00:29:36] Time wasters: Become an ignoramus.
  • [00:30:09] Limit email consumption and production.
  • [00:33:05] Screen incoming and limit outgoing phone calls.
  • [00:36:10] Master the art of refusal and avoiding meetings.
  • [00:38:33] In order of preference, steer people toward email, phone, and in-person meetings.
  • [00:38:59] Respond to voicemail via email whenever possible.
  • [00:40:50] Meetings should only be held to make decisions about a predefined situation, not to define the problem.
  • [00:41:53] If you absolutely cannot stop a meeting or call from happening, define the end time.
  • [00:43:00] The cubicle is your temple — don’t permit casual visitors.
  • [00:44:24] Use the Puppy Dog Close to help your superiors and others develop the no-meeting habit.
  • [00:46:48] Time consumers: Batch and do not falter.
  • [00:50:05] How much is your time worth?
  • [00:50:45] Estimate the amount of time you will save by grouping similar tasks and batching them.
  • [00:51:14] Determine how much problems cost to fix in each period.
  • [00:53:02] Empowerment failure: Rules and readjustment.
  • [00:59:44] Questions and actions: Create systems to limit your availability.
  • [01:01:55] Batch activities to limit setup cost and provide more time for dreamline milestones.
  • [01:02:25] Set or request autonomous rules and guidelines with occasional review of results.
  • [01:03:18] Tools for eliminating paper distractions, capturing everything.
  • [01:05:28] Tools for screening and avoiding unwanted calls.
  • [01:07:12] Tools for scheduling without back-and-forth.
  • [01:08:23] Tools for choosing the best email batching times.
  • [01:09:13] Tools for emailing without entering the inbox black hole.
  • [01:10:20] Tools for preventing web browsing/internet use.
  • [01:11:10] Comfort challenge: revisit the terrible twos.
  • [01:12:07] Lifestyle design in action.

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.