I am a long-standing Tim Ferriss junkie. I gorge on his podcasts, read and gift his books, and admire his curiosity and sharp, warm interviewing style, as well as his ability to manage a massive network of some of the most impressive thinkers, athletes, entrepreneurs, and anything-ers of our time.
His new book Tools of Titans, is a hefty volume you could physically beat someone to death with, packed with outstanding moments from his years of interviews. I have 2 copies. No, you can’t have one.
Here are some of my favorite tidbits. Also, get the book. It’s just completely fantastic.
Chris Sacca
“…be your unapologetically weird self. I think authenticity is one of the most lacking things out there these days…Weirdness is why we adore our friends…Weirdness is what bonds us to our colleagues. Weirdness is what sets us apart, gets us hired…in fact, being weird may even find you the ultimate happiness.”
Seth Godin
“I think we need to teach kids two things: 1) how to lead, and 2) how to solve interesting problems. Because the fact is, there are plenty of countries on Earth where there are people who are willing to be obedient and work harder for less money than us. So we cannot out-obedience the competition. Therefore, we have to out-lead or out-solve the other people.”
James Altucher
“What if [you] just can’t come up with 10 ideas? Here’s the magic trick: If you can’t come up with 10 ideas, come up with 20 ideas…You are putting too much pressure on yourself. Perfectionism is the ENEMY of the idea muscle…it’s your brain trying to protect you from harm, from coming up with an idea that is embarrassing and stupid and could cause you to suffer pain. The way you shut [this] off is by forcing [the brain] to come up with bad ideas.”
Scott Adams
“I’m thinking of these ideas and they are flowing through my head, I’m monitoring my body; I’m not monitoring my mind. And when my body changes, I have something that other people are going to care about too.”
Derek Sivers
“Every time people contact me, they say ‘Look, I know you must be incredibly busy…’ and I always think, ‘No, I’m not.’ Because I’m in control of my time. I’m on top of it. ‘Busy’, to me, seems to imply ‘out of control.’ Like, ‘Oh my God, I’m so busy. I don’t have any time for this shit!’ To me, that sounds like a person who’s got no control over their life.”
Matt Mullenweg
“Everyone is interesting. If you’re ever bored in a conversation, the problem’s with you, not the other person.”
Amanda Palmer
“Dita Von Teese, a star in the contemporary burlesque scene, one recounted something she’d learned in her early days stripping in L.A. Her colleagues—bleach-blonde dancers with fake tans, Brazilian wax jobs, and neon bikinis—would strip bare naked for an audience of 50 guys in the club and be tipped a dollar by each guy. Dita would take the stage wearing satin gloves, a corset, and a tutu, and do a sultry striptease down to her underwear, confounding the crowd. And then, though 49 guys would ignore her, one would tip her fifty dollars.
That man, Dita said, was her audience.”
Tools of Titans. Go get a copy!
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