Your inbox is a to-do list to which anyone in the world can add an action item. (Location 3057)
“Life can be much broader, once you discover one simple fact, and that is that everything around you that you call ‘life’ was made up by people that were no smarter than you. And you can change it, you can influence it, you can build your own things that other people can use. Once you learn that, you’ll never be the same again.” (Location 3199)
It’s our job to find out where the benefit is. If we do, life is magnificent.” (Location 3811)
“Mastery doesn’t come from an infographic. What you know doesn’t mean shit. What do you do consistently?” (Location 3814)
“If you let your learning lead to knowledge, you become a fool. If you let your learning lead to action, you become wealthy.” (Location 3823)
I’ve wasted a lot of time journaling on “problems” when I just needed to eat breakfast sooner, do 10 push-ups, or get an extra hour of sleep. Sometimes, you think you have to figure out your life’s purpose, but you really just need some macadamia nuts and a cold fucking shower. (Location 3851)
“The limits of my language mean the limits of my world.” (Location 4114)
“Never go to sleep without a request to your subconscious.”—Thomas Edison (Location 4138)
‘In order to move fast, I expect you’ll make some foot faults. I’m okay with an error rate of 10 to 20%—times when I would have made a different decision in a given situation—if it means you can move fast.’ (Location 4142)
I wish I would have known that there was no need to wait. I went to college. I went to law school. I worked in law and banking, though not for terribly long. But not until I started PayPal did I fully realize that you don’t have to wait to start something. So if you’re planning to do something with your life, if you have a 10-year plan of how to get there, you should ask: Why can’t you do this in 6 months? Sometimes, you have to actually go through the complex, 10-year trajectory. But it’s at least worth asking whether that’s the story you’re telling yourself, or whether that’s the reality.” (Location 4170)
And you don’t want to be the nth company of any particular trend. So I think trends are often things to avoid. What I prefer over trends is a sense of mission. That you are working on a unique problem that people are not solving elsewhere. “When Elon Musk started SpaceX, they set out the mission to go to Mars. You may agree or disagree with that as a mission statement, but it was a problem that was not going to be solved outside of SpaceX. All of the people working there knew that, and it motivated them tremendously.” (Location 4187)
“I’m not sure how much the formal study of philosophy matters, but I think the fundamental philosophical question is one that’s important for all of us, and it’s always this question of ‘What do people agree merely by convention, and what is the truth?’ There’s a consensus of things that people believe to be true. Maybe the conventions are right, and maybe they’re not. And we never want to let a convention be a shortcut for truth. We always need to ask: Is this true? And this is always what I get at with this indirect question: ‘Tell me something that’s true that very few people agree with you on.’ ” (Location 4227)
So the goal isn’t to get good ideas; the goal is to get bad ideas. Because once you get enough bad ideas, then some good ones have to show up.” (Location 4272)
“If a narrative isn’t working, well then, really, why are you using it? The narrative isn’t done to you; the narrative is something that you choose. Once we can dig deep and find a different narrative, then we ought to be able to change the game.” (Location 4281)
Venture Hacks (venturehacks.com), co-created by Naval Ravikant (page 546) and Babak “Nivi” Nivi. Free how-to content on just about any facet of this game imaginable. Some terms and norms may be out of date, but that’s less than 20% of the content, and the game theory and strategy is spot on. AngelList, also co-founded by Naval and Nivi. Great for finding deals, seeing who’s investing in what, and finding jobs at fast-growing startups. I’m an advisor to AngelList, and you can see my entire portfolio at angel.co/tim (Location 4644)
“Losers have goals. Winners have systems.” (Location 4651)
If you want an average, successful life, it doesn’t take much planning. Just stay out of trouble, go to school, and apply for jobs you might like. But if you want something extraordinary, you have two paths: 1) Become the best at one specific thing. 2) Become very good (top 25%) at two or more things. The first strategy is difficult to the point of near impossibility. Few people will ever play in the NBA or make a platinum album. I don’t recommend anyone even try. (Location 4800)
“A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.” (Location 5036)
Ramit and I are both obsessed with checklists and love a book by Atul Gawande titled The Checklist Manifesto. I have this book on a shelf in my living room, cover out, as a constant reminder. Atul Gawande is also one of Malcolm Gladwell’s (page 572) favorite innovators. Ramit builds checklists for as many business processes as possible, which he organizes using software called Basecamp. Google “entrepreneurial bus count” for a good article on why checklists can save your startup. (Location 5149)
To make a living as a craftsperson, photographer, musician, designer, author, animator, app maker, entrepreneur, or inventor you need only 1,000 true fans. (Location 5179)
If you added one new true fan per day, it’d only take a few years to gain 1,000. True fanship is doable. Pleasing a true fan is pleasurable and invigorating. It rewards the artist to remain true, to focus on the unique aspects of their work, the qualities that true fans appreciate. (Location 5195)
Still, you want to focus on the superfans because the enthusiasm of true fans can increase the patronage of regular fans. True fans are not only the direct source of your income, but also your chief marketing force for the ordinary fans. (Location 5205)
1,000 true fans is an alternative path to success other than stardom. Instead of trying to reach the narrow and unlikely peaks of platinum bestseller hits, blockbusters, and celebrity status, you can aim for direct connection with 1,000 true fans. On your way, no matter how many fans you actually succeed in gaining, you’ll be surrounded not by faddish infatuation, but by genuine and true appreciation. It’s a much saner destiny to hope for. And you are much more likely to actually arrive there. (Location 5251)
Prompts to Elicit Stories (Most Interviewers Are Weak at This) “Tell me about a time when . . .” “Tell me about the day [or moment or time] when . . .” “Tell me the story of . . . [how you came to major in X, how you met so-and-so, etc.]” “Tell me about the day you realized ___ . . . ” “What were the steps that got you to ___ ?” “Describe the conversation when . . .” (Location 5370)
If you spend your time focusing on the things that are wrong, and that’s what you express and project to people you know, you don’t become a source of growth for people, you become a source of destruction for people. That draws more destructiveness. (Location 5517)
“How are you complicit in creating the conditions you say you don’t want?” (Location 5578)
the job I was going to do hadn’t even been invented yet. . . . The interesting jobs are the ones that you make up. (Location 5607)
Do things that you’re interested in, and if you do them really well, you’re going to find a way to temper them with some good business opportunity.” (Location 5609)
Take the Coffee Challenge For would-be entrepreneurs (he calls them “wantrapreneurs”), or entrepreneurs who’ve grown a little too comfortable, Noah has a recommendation—ask for 10% off of your next few coffees. “Go up to the counter and order coffee. If you don’t drink coffee, order tea. If you don’t drink tea, order water. I don’t care. Then just ask for 10% off. . . . The coffee challenge sounds kind of silly, but the whole point is that—in business and in life—you don’t have to be on the extreme, but you have to ask for things, and you have to put yourself out there.” (Location 5702)
Quick Gmail Trick Noah and I both use the Gmail “+” trick all the time. Let’s say your email address is bob@bobsmith.com. After signing up for services or newsletters, how can you tell who’s sharing your email, or contain the damage if someone discovers your login email? Companies get hacked all the time. Just use + as cheap insurance. If you append + and a word to the beginning, messages will still get delivered to your inbox. Signing up for Instacart, for instance? You could use bob+insta@bobsmith.com. I use this, or benefit from it, on a daily basis. (Location 5722)
Don’t Try and Find Time. Schedule Time. On Tuesdays from 10 a.m. to 12 noon, Noah schedules nothing but “Learning.” This is a great reminder that, for anything important, you don’t find time. It’s only real if it’s on the calendar. My Wednesdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. are currently blocked out for “Creation”—writing, podcast recording, or other output that creates a tangible “after” product. I turn off WiFi during this period to be as non-reactive as possible. (See Neil Strauss, page 347, and Ramit Sethi, page 287.) (Location 5727)
No Shame, No Gain—Instagram Incentives Not long ago, Noah gained 40 pounds of muscle in ~6 months. One motivational trick he used was loading his Instagram feed with images and videos that killed his excuses. I now do the same. Too old? Too bulky? Too busy? There is someone who can call you on your BS. Here are a few accounts from my personal feed (@timferriss): @matstrane: This 53-year-old makes me cringe for complaining about my age. He started training at age 48. @gymnasticbodies (Coach Sommer, page 9): Most of their students started gymnastics as sedentary adults. @arboone11: Amelia Boone (page 2), the toughest woman I’ve ever met. She’s a full-time power attorney at Apple and the only 3-time winner of World’s Toughest Mudder, a 24-hour race. @bgirlmislee: This breakdancer and stuntwoman hits power moves that were considered “impossible” for women in the 1990s (e.g., one-armed hopping handstands). @jessiegraffpwr: Female Ninja Warrior competitor. Her grip strength makes my forearms weep tears of weakness. @jujimufu: “Muscle-bound” anabolic acrobat who performs capoeira aerials, full splits, and other craziness. Strong and flexible are not mutually exclusive. He’s also hilarious. (Location 5749)
This visual metaphor was first taught to me by a college professor, and it’s a great way to think about priorities. Paraphrasing my teacher: “Imagine you have a large glass jar. Next to it, you have a few large rocks, a small pile of marble-sized pebbles, and a pile of sand. If you put in the sand or pebbles first, what happens? You can’t fit the big rocks in. But if you add the big rocks, then the medium-sized pebbles, and only then the sand, it all fits.” In other words, the minutiae fit around the big things, but the big things don’t fit around the minutiae. (Location 5783)
“Every time I left the house, my dad would always say, ‘Remember who you are.’ Now that I am a father, this is a very profound thing to me. At the time I was like, ‘Dad, what the hell? You’re so weird. Like I’m gonna forget who I am? What are you saying?’ Now, I’m like, ‘Gosh, that guy was kind of smart.’” (Location 5788)
It’s about providing the support so that others can be good. The better wording for the advice is this: Find canvases for other people to paint on. Be an anteambulo. Clear the path for the people above you and you will eventually create a path for yourself. (Location 5885)
You’re not nearly as good or as important as you think you are; 2) you have an attitude that needs to be readjusted; 3) most of what you think you know or most of what you learned in books or in school is out of date or wrong. (Location 5888)
Let the others take their credit on credit, while you defer and earn interest on the principal. (Location 5927)
Because if you pick up this mantle once, you’ll see what most people’s egos prevent them from appreciating: The person who clears the path ultimately controls its direction, just as the canvas shapes the painting. (Location 5943)
One of his favorite tools for habit tracking and behavioral modification Way of Life app. (Location 5977)
The danger of maps, capable assistants, and planning is that you may end up living your life as planned. If you do, your potential cannot possibly exceed your expectations.” (Location 6241)
The more we associate experience with cash value, the more we think that money is what we need to live. And the more we associate money with life, the more we convince ourselves that we’re too poor to buy our freedom. With this kind of mindset, it’s no wonder so many Americans think extended overseas travel is the exclusive realm of students, counterculture dropouts, and the idle rich. (Location 6301)
In reality, long-term travel has nothing to do with demographics—age, ideology, income—and everything to do with personal outlook. (Location 6304)
For all the amazing experiences that await you in distant lands, the “meaningful” part of travel always starts at home, with a personal investment in the wonders to come. (Location 6359)
There are two elements that tie very much to human longevity. It’s strange. . . . One is those people who floss and, second, those people who have a higher VO2 max.” (Location 6457)
As for the flossing-longevity connection, Peter is the first to admit this might be correlation instead of causation: People anal retentive enough to floss regularly probably have other habits that directly contribute to longer life. (Location 6463)
It’s a matter of reminding yourself what your purpose in life is, right? What you’re here for. If you haven’t connected with what your purpose and mission in life is, then forget anything I’ve said. That is the number-one thing you need to do: Find out what you need to be doing on this planet, why you were put here, and what wakes you up in the mornings.” (Location 6472)
He added, “I read the book Daily Rituals, and I am demoralized by how many great people start their day very early.” For lifelong night owls like me, it’s nice to know that when you get started each day seems to matter less than learning how to get started consistently, however your crazy ass can manage it. (Location 6606)
What is the worst advice you see or hear given in your trade or area of expertise? “‘Follow your dreams.’ It’s impossible to do without self-knowledge, which takes years. You discover your ‘dream’ (or sense of purpose) in the very act of walking the path, which is guided by equal parts choice and chance.” (Location 7117)
To get in the zone, Samy likes to code to AudioMolly.com, The Glitch Mob, and Infected Mushroom. Based on his recommendation, I found some of my current favorites—Pegboard Nerds (“Blackout”) and David Starfire (Karuna)—on AudioMolly. (Location 7399)
“You can tell the true character of a man by how his dog and his kids react to him.” (Location 7597)
Note: Do those I look over fear me? Or are the filled with joy when I enter the room? What sort of atmosphere am I creating, and how does that reflect on me?
“I remember exactly where I was. I thought to myself, ‘The secrets to life are hidden behind the word “cliché.”’ So any time you hear something that you think is a cliché, my tip to you is to perk your ears up and listen more carefully.” (Location 7619)
Think about how old you are right now and think about being a 10-year-older version of yourself. Then think, ‘What would I probably tell myself as an older version of myself?’ (Location 7636)
“You can’t make a lousy charity good by having a low overhead.” TF: Will introduced me to GiveWell.org, a site that conducts in-depth research to determine how much nonprofits and foundations actually accomplish (in terms of lives saved, lives improved, etc.) per dollar spent. (Location 7684)
“Follow Your Passion” Is Terrible Advice “I think it misconstrues the nature of finding a satisfying career and satisfying job, where the biggest predictor of job satisfaction is mentally engaging work. It’s the nature of the job itself. It’s not got that much to do with you. . . . It’s whether the job provides a lot of variety, gives you good feedback, allows you to exercise autonomy, contributes to the wider world—Is it actually meaningful? Is it making the world better?—and also, whether it allows you to exercise a skill that you’ve developed.” (Location 7698)
Most gifted books for life improvement and general effectiveness Mindfulness by Mark Williams and Danny Penman. This book is a friendly and accessible introduction to mindfulness meditation, and includes an 8-week guided meditation course. Will completed this course, and it had a significant impact on his life. (Location 7703)
If someone came to me with my list of problems, I would be able to sort that person out very easily.” (Location 7794)
A Question Cal Suggests Asking People More Often “What are some of the choices you’ve made that made you who you are?” (Location 8536)
What would you put on a billboard? “I don’t know if I have messages to send to the world, but there are messages I like to send to myself at all times. One message that really stuck with me when I figured this out is: “Desire is a contract you make with yourself to be unhappy until you get what you want.” I don’t think most of us realize that’s what it is. I think we go about desiring things all day long, and then wondering why we’re unhappy. So, I like to stay aware of that because then I can choose my desires very carefully. I try not to have more than one big desire in my life at any given time, and I also recognize that as the axis of my suffering. I realize that that’s where I’ve chosen to be unhappy. I think that is an important one.” TF: Naval first encountered a variation of the above bolded text on a now-extinct blog called Delusion Damage. (Location 9325)
Be present above all else. Desire is suffering (Buddha). Anger is a hot coal that you hold in your hand while waiting to throw it at someone else (Buddhist saying). If you can’t see yourself working with someone for life, don’t work with them for a day. Reading (learning) is the ultimate meta-skill and can be traded for anything else. All the real benefits in life come from compound interest. Earn with your mind, not your time. 99% of all effort is wasted. Total honesty at all times. It’s almost always possible to be honest and positive. Praise specifically, criticize generally (Warren Buffett). Truth is that which has predictive power. Watch every thought. (Always ask, “Why am I having this thought?”) All greatness comes from suffering. Love is given, not received. Enlightenment is the space between your thoughts (Eckhart Tolle). Mathematics is the language of nature. Every moment has to be complete in and of itself. (Location 9335)
“It’s such a beautiful and critical principle, and most people think they can wait around for the big moments to turn it on. But if you don’t cultivate ‘turning it on’ as a way of life in the little moments—and there are hundreds of times more little moments than big—then there’s no chance in the big moments. . . . I believe that when you’re not cultivating quality, you’re essentially cultivating sloppiness.” (Location 9802)
The big question I ask is, ‘When I had the opportunity, did I choose courage over comfort?’” TF: This is a great question for daily review as part of a 5-Minute Journal or other evening journaling (Location 9900)
Perhaps the biggest tragedy in our lives is that freedom is possible, yet we can pass our years trapped in the same old patterns. (Location 10308)
You Never Have to Be Upset About Anything Robert recounted a conversation with his son, who was extremely upset: “I said, ‘I’m going to tell you a secret in life: You never have to be upset about anything. Everything is for a purpose. You just failed your driver’s test, and you’re all pissed off. I couldn’t be happier. I’d rather you fail with a teacher and take it 100 more times than go fail in front of a cop, or make that same mistake and hit somebody. . . . I can’t even think of a negative reason why you failing that test is a bad thing. It’s really how you look at it, and the way you look at it is so important. If you can have a positive attitude, look at it, and say, “Let me see, what I can learn from this?” . . . Why would you ever get upset about anything?’ And he said, ‘Wow. That makes so much sense.’ You’re upset because something didn’t go according to plan? It might be for a good reason.” (Location 10775)
