by

Tim Ferriss

Dissecting the Success of Malcolm Gladwell (#168)

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Malcolm Gladwell

“For every hour I spend writing, I spend three hours thinking about writing.” – Malcolm Gladwell

Malcolm Gladwell (@gladwell) is the author of five New York Times bestsellers — The Tipping Point, Blink, Outliers, What the Dog Saw, and David and Goliath. He has been named one of the 100 most influential people by TIME magazine and one of the Foreign Policy’s Top Global Thinkers.

He has explored how ideas spread in the Tipping Point, decision making in Blink, the roots of success in Outliers, and the advantages of disadvantages in his latest book David and Goliath. In his latest podcast project, Revisionist History, Gladwell examines the way the passage of time changes and enlightens our understanding of the world around us.

In this in-depth, in-person conversation, we cover a ton, including:

  • His research and writing process
  • How he learned to ask good (and “dumb”) questions
  • Favorite books
  • Routines, habits, and tools
  • How he pulls together seemingly unrelated stories into a cohesive theme (and eventually a book)
  • Philosophies related to public speaking
  • His obsession with running
  • Why he eats as little as possible in the mornings
  • And much more…

If you only have 5 minutes, listen to Gladwell’s creative “recipes” for storytelling.

Enjoy!

You can find the transcript of this episode here. Transcripts of all episodes can be found here.

#168: Dissecting the Success of Malcolm Gladwell

Want to hear another podcast with a great storyteller? Listen to my conversation with Cal Fussman. In this episode, we discuss Cal’s interviews with the most influential people in history, how he made himself a guinea pig (Cal boxed against world champion Julio Cesar Chavez), and his best life lessons.

145: The Interview Master: Cal Fussman and the Power of Listening

QUESTION OF THE DAY: What was your favorite quote or lesson from this episode? Please let me know in the comments.

Scroll below for links and show notes…

Selected Links from the Episode

  • Connect with Malcolm Gladwell:

Twitter | Facebook | Website | Podcast

Show Notes

  • What have been the easiest — and hardest — books for Malcolm to write? [08:05]
  • Who does Malcolm consider to be the “gold standard” of storytellers? [09:30]
  • What working at The Washington Post for 10 years taught Malcolm about dealing with writer’s block. [12:30]
  • Malcolm on story structure. [15:07]
  • As early as the research stage, sometimes good stories write themselves. [18:27]
  • Malcolm on taking and organizing notes. [22:18]
  • How does Malcolm determine what starts a chapter (or a book)? [24:49]
  • Trying different creative “recipes” for storytelling. [26:04]
  • How Malcolm plans his speaking keynotes (and how he got better at it). [28:24]
  • Malcolm’s speaking hero. [30:36]
  • The elements of a good speaking performance. [33:17]
  • Tying stories together to support a theme. [35:32]
  • Getting better at asking questions. [40:55]
  • The most worthwhile investment (of time) Malcolm has made. [45:57]
  • Malcolm’s favorite failures. [48:18]
  • Malcolm’s morning routines. [50:55]
  • Why is Lapsang Souchong a controversial tea? [51:30]
  • Why Malcolm prefers writing in noisy public places. [53:46]
  • How Malcolm winds down from a day of work. [54:42]
  • Malcolm’s bedtime routine. [55:45]
  • The worst advice shared with young people today. [57:27]
  • Malcolm’s flaws that turned into strengths. [1:02:07]
  • Malcolm on giving and receiving advice. [1:04:38]
  • The first person who comes to mind when Malcolm thinks of the word “successful.” [1:05:43]
  • Systems Malcolm relies upon. [1:10:28]
  • Two necessary contradictions elite runners face. [1:12:21]
  • Books Malcolm has gifted the most. [1:13:18]
  • The purchase of $100 or less that has had a positive impact on Malcolm’s life. [1:17:24]
  • The most articulate person Malcolm has ever met. [1:18:29]
  • Something Malcolm believes that other people think is crazy. [1:19:09]
  • Malcolm’s reaction to Peter Thiel’s disagreement with one of his positions. [1:22:14]
  • An innovator Malcolm finds particularly inspiring. [1:24:22]
  • Advice Malcolm would give to his 30-year-old self. [1:26:39]
  • How Malcolm started podcasting. [1:30:53]
  • What Malcolm finds most novel about creating podcasts versus writing books. [1:31:46]
  • How Malcolm feels about doing another season or two of podcasting. [1:33:14]
  • What would be on Malcolm’s billboard? [1:35:18]
  • Why does Malcolm believe in the legal maxim of “Difficult cases make bad law?” [1:36:07]

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