Noah Kagan was #30 at Facebook, #4 at Mint.com, and is the Chief Sumo (founder) at SumoMe, which offers free tools to help grow website traffic. To keep things extra spicy, he’s become a taco connoisseur and created 4 separate products that have generated more than 7 figures.
This podcast conversation is about all of the tools and tricks he uses to do it all.
Noah was my co-teacher in the “Starting a Business” episode of The Tim Ferriss Experiment, which is now the #1 TV season across all of iTunes. In the episode, we help a novice entrepreneur named Cindy to develop and launch her business in a single week. See all the details here, and be sure to watch the bonus hour of behind-the-scenes footage.
But back to the current podcast…
Noah and I cover a ton, including his favorite tools, apps, books, routines, and more. It ranges from apps for preventing distractions, to how he blocks out time every Tuesday for learning, to how he gained 40 pounds of (mostly) muscle in the last six months or so.
If you loved the resource-rich business interviews with Ramit Sethi and Tracy DiNunzio, you’ll love this one.
So, here’s the interview, chock full of tools, cursing, and sexual innuendo…
You can listen for free on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Castbox, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, or wherever you listen to podcasts. You can find the transcript of this episode here. Transcripts of all episodes can be found here.
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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QUESTION(S) OF THE DAY: Are you afraid of doing the “coffee challenge” that Noah describes? If so, why? If not, please do it and share the results in the comments. Feel free to share any other experiences with “comfort challenges” like those in The 4-Hour Workweek.
Scroll below for all show notes, links, resources, etc….
Links from the episode:
- SumoMe: website, Twitter, Facebook
- Noah’s blog
- Peter Thiel
- Alfred App
- Facebook Newsfeed Eradicator
- Schedule Once ($99 a year option)
- Andrew Warner
- Followup.cc
- Perch.co
- Myfitnesspal.com
- Quest protein bars
- Tuft and Needle
- My Pillow
- Parachute bedding
- Steve Pavlina
- Tucker Max
- Monthly 1K
- Darren Rowse
- Shane Snow
- Taco Deli
- Gary Halbert Letters
- Kopywriting Kourse
- Draft
- Hemingway
- The Pleasure of Finding Things Out – Richard Feynman
- Mybodytutor.com
- Coach.me
- Stickk.com
- Dietbet.com
- Withings Scale
- The Online Coach – the SHUL workout
- Pavel Tsatsouline
- Travis Brewer
- Email1k.com/tim
- RAD Roller
- Evan Williams Bourbon
- Charlie Hoehn
- Videofruit.com
- Nutribullet
- Datpiff.com
- Travis Scott
- Wale
- Promise Ring
- Router that Noah recommends
Books Mentioned
- The Martian
- Go the F**k to Sleep
- Who — Here is Noah’s short and personal book report on Who. I have about 10 pages of notes from this book. It’s well worth purchasing (I prefer Kindle version so I can highlight and export).
- The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing
- Essentialism
- The Ultimate Sales Machine
- Million Dollar Consulting
- The Sales Acceleration Formula
- Smartcuts
- SPIN Selling
- Ogilvy on Advertising
- Small Giants
- Surely You’re Joking Mr. Feynman!
- Starting Strength
- Practical Programming
Show Notes
- Noah’s ad for living in Austin, TX [1:39]
- Noah’s favorite tools he’s using right now [6:26]
- Noah’s health/fitness routine [13:43]
- Noah’s mattress and bedding recommendations [17:08]
- Why Noah organizes his dollar bills in his wallet [25:14]
- What the coffee challenge is [30:54]
- The 3 most important (but undervalued) things people should spend more time learning [45:43]
- What REALLY changed the game for Noah in his writing style [47:59]
- Why Noah blocks out 2 hours every Tuesday morning just for learning [58:54]
- Noah’s tips for adding muscle [1:03:01]
- Noah’s business rules [1:17:00]
- Noah’s challenge to build your email list (prize included) [1:27:00]
- How to get a custom email address added to your Gmail [1:33:30]
The Tim Ferriss Show is one of the most popular podcasts in the world with more than one billion downloads. It has been selected for "Best of Apple Podcasts" three times, it is often the #1 interview podcast across all of Apple Podcasts, and it's been ranked #1 out of 400,000+ podcasts on many occasions. To listen to any of the past episodes for free, check out this page.
Comment Rules: Remember what Fonzie was like? Cool. That’s how we’re gonna be — cool. Critical is fine, but if you’re rude, we’ll delete your stuff. Please do not put your URL in the comment text and please use your PERSONAL name or initials and not your business name, as the latter comes off like spam. Have fun and thanks for adding to the conversation! (Thanks to Brian Oberkirch for the inspiration.)
#NOAH
Grew from 0 to 1 emails
The most important lesson is to be open to the method. I don’t see this as a failure. I see the exercise as an honest experiment. I am going to review the steps I have taken. See what worked and what may be improved or changed. My initial though is to think about wording Like Samy did for the dating game. Combine Noah with Samy and see if the results are different.
I used Google+, LinkIN, and Tweeter.
The post is “I’m starting a newsletter about security. Email me at [Moderator: email address removed]
no comment yet stay tuned
# NOAH
Did it to my facebook. No sign ups. ha. gonna try again. But I must say that when I was listening to this podcast. I thought about the question that Tim always asks, who’s face is punchable. Well, for some reason, you’re voice triggered it, and I wanted to punch your face. especially when you were talking about your weight gain. But you gave so much value and such great actionable advice, that I soon started to like you. So I signed up for your recent webinar which you did yesterday about website help and really got a lot out of it. So I think that I will just shake your hand if I should ever see you. Thanks for all the great tips, Tim and Noah.
I started working at a VC a little over a year ago. I do a ton of application review and deal vetting. You ask some really great questions of your guests. Curious if you have any you like to ask start-ups when considering an investment.
Another awesome podcast full of tons of useful info. This was another” listen to it twice then come to the site for links” podcast. The Pavel episode was one of those for me also!
#Noah
I took the Noah challenge and succeeded. After months of putting off releasing my podcast for fear of the unknown, I decided to just do it and Friday, 5/8 released E001 of The Benefit of Hindsight Podcast. I took a picture, like Noah suggested, and uploaded it to my social media sites. Yesterday, 5/13 I uploaded E002 and this morning I had crossed 100 downloads. I know I’m past the due date, but I wanted to share my success anyways and thank Noah for being the kick in the pants i needed. It’s not 100,000 downloads…yet. But as he said, we all start in the same place. Thanks Tim and thanks Noah!
Great interview. During the training talk I was waiting for what seemed like forever for a 5×5 mention, which Tim did w/ Starting Strength and Mark Rippetoe. I’d add for Noah that, while his bulking phase seems to be over, drinking calories is easier than eating them. That’s the idea in the GOMAD Diet, featured in Starting Strength and 4 Hour Body. You don’t need too much time doing 5×5 and GOMAD before you never think about a bulking cycle again unless planning to compete in powerlifting or Olympic weightlifting.
A personal tip about drinking calories and getting down eggs — I live in Latin America where imported protein from the States is unbelievably expensive. I started making protein shakes with bananas and raw eggs. Eggs are not refrigerated down here and I’ve never had a problem, so I’m sure those white eggs in the States that never spend an hour on a dry shelf are fine too. Three bananas for every 8 eggs is my most common shake but I’ll go up to 4 bananas with 12 eggs. It’s cheap, natural, and DELICIOUS. You’ll never go back to protein powder unless you want to limit fat or carbs. Mangoes are also really good with eggs and common in LatAm. While in the States I get those frozen berry medleys they sell at grocery stores. Lower carb fruits like apples and strawberries certainly work, but they’re a little more difficult to get down. I usually have to add at least one banana.
And to add to Tim’s comments on bodyweight — I highly recommend pure bodyweight routines for losing weight / fat. Assuming you train the whole body, bodyweight not only burns fat and encourages weight loss but it also has a way of bringing out healthy symmetry. In my experience, training with weights will create imbalances somewhere. Bodyweight seems to correct those.
Tried the coffee challenge 10min after listening to the podcast. I have no problem asking for things and had just come from pitching a 5-figure solution to a local physician who’d contacted my company to do some work for them…I was feeling good.
Anyway….I walked up to the counter and smiled at the barista…gave my order like I have 1000 times before, then asked, nonchalantly,
‘Could I get a 10% discount?’
She paused, looked confused, and then just asked ‘Why?’
‘Just because.’ I smiled.
She smirked and asked, ‘Are you a member of our ….’ (can’t remember the name of the ‘club’, but I’m not).
‘No, I’m not’, I said politely.
‘Well, if you were a member…yada yada yada.’ No dice.
Two minutes later I received the most watery, lukewarm iced coffee I’ve ever purchased (I drink these like a fish, so I know quality.).
I attribute the lack of discount and the poor coffee to the overworked/underpaid barista with the septum-nose ring, not to the challenge or the ask. 😉
Fun exercise…would recommend.
Does anyone else want a 10 second rewind button? That would be amazing on the podcast, my first listen of the podcast is usually background to work at home, and i’m always rewinding to catch something i missed.
Es posible? Est-il possible?
Well i just figured out that you can just press the arrow keys, never mind!
Use a podcasting app like Overcast or Stitcher. They have jump forward and back buttons.
Wish the comments went from newest to oldest…Any way to switch the order?
#Noah
As far as the coffee challenge, we like to save where we can so every opportunity we get, (or take pretty much all the time), my husband and I will ask for discounts! I immediately posted on FB, Linkedin, texted and sent out e-mails to eveyone I know (or had ever had a converstion with) after listening to the podcast. I more than doubled my likes for my business FB page from 75 to 213 likes and climbing everyday. I also added a squeeze page to my website. I have been endlessly working on this and thinking of other social media outlets I could take advantage of, I gained 6 more e-mails thus far, going from 25 to 31. I’m embarrased to be typing that out, it’s so minimal. I learned a lot from this experience so I’m glad I did it. I always gain more information from what takes work and tweaking. For example:
1) I learned that people are a lot more generous with their likes than with their e-mails.
2). I learned that there is a dissconnect from someone liking my facebook page to actually going and looking around on my website.
3). I also learned from following google analytics during this project, what social media outlets prove to be more beneficial for me. Now I know where my time and energy is better spent.
I know I just have to keep at it, constantly posting, texting ect. to really stick in peoples head and peak their curiosity. Keeping the conversation open, invigorating and moving forward! Thanks for the challenge!
#NOAH
Tim and Noah,
I listened to the podcast featuring Noah last Friday (May 8th). I listened to it about five more times over the next 24 hours, and then began to implement your advice on Saturday evening (May 9th) for a newsletter I’m now calling The Family Business Experience.
Today is Thursday, and I have 28 subscribers to the newsletter, the Facebook page has 83 Likes, the Twitter page has 2 followers, and six people are interested in doing interviews.
Here are the details. To prepare, I enabled Canned Responses in gmail/google apps and used the “+” symbol method as you suggested to create a filter, so if people sent me an email they would get a canned response thanking them and asking what areas of interest they have regarding family businesses.
With that set up, I pulled the trigger. I posted the following to my personal Facebook profile with a picture of me giving a thumbs up (let me know if you would like a screenshot of it):
“I’m starting a newsletter about family businesses with interviews and strategies for maintaining success. Email me at mike+fbsn@*******(dot)com with the word ‘Subscribe’ in the subject line if you’re interested!”
I also posted it on my family’s company profile on Twitter, as well as on my personal LinkedIn account, but Facebook yielded much better results, which is why I’m showcasing that post.
So you understand the context, I work for my family’s company. I’d like to write a book about finding the balance between working for a family business and simultaneously pursuing one’s passions; how I made it work. It’s a unique situation to be in, and I’ve spoken with many others who work for their families’ businesses and struggle to find this balance. Noah’s advice on how to build an audience first before trying to sell them something really struck a chord with me. I figured a great way to build an audience first would be through a newsletter that has interviews with people who work in family businesses, and links to the products/services they’ve found helpful.
I had five subscribers to the newsletter within two hours, and two people who were interested in doing interviews.
For the newsletter, itself, I found a free, easy-to-use extension that works right inside of gmail called Flashissue (you have to use Google Chrome with it, though). I wrote an introduction newsletter to send to people who subscribe, which explains the purpose and format of the newsletter.
Nearly 60 people had “Liked” my first Facebook post, but I figured I could get more subscribers if I create Facebook and Twitter pages, invite friends to them, and then post another email/subscribe request. Here are the Facebook and Twitter pages:
Facebook: The Family Business Experience
Twitter: @familybiz
I also felt that I needed to quickly post some real content. I asked a friend who also works for her family’s business if she’d be willing to do an interview on Monday night. She was all for it. I’m also a musician, so recording audio isn’t a big deal for me, and I didn’t have to spend money to do it.
Before posting her interview on Tuesday, though, it occurred to me that if people subscribe to the newsletter after hearing an interview, they’ll have a difficult time finding any interviews released prior to subscribing. So I went ahead and quickly made a WordPress blog that morning in a subdirectory on the server my family’s company uses so people could view previous interviews and also subscribe to the newsletter from there. I used to be in freelance web design, so this wasn’t difficult for me to set up, and again, I didn’t have to spend any money to do it. (It looks like you don’t want us using URLs, so let me know if you would like the link to the blog.)
With that set up, I posted the first interview. I’ve already received a lot of positive feedback, and the interviewee has received a lot of praise. You can find it on the Facebook page, Twitter page, and blog.
So here we are on Thursday, and I have 28 subscribers to the newsletter, the Facebook page has 83 Likes, the Twitter page has 2 followers, and six people are interested in doing interviews.
As for important lessons learned, here’s something worth pointing out. I think the newsletter and the Facebook page are relatable to a section in the 4HWW in that, an invitation to a Facebook page is like asking people IF they would buy, whereas asking people to subscribe to a newsletter is like asking them TO buy. It’s easy to “Like” a Facebook page, but when someone takes the extra step of subscribing to a newsletter, it feels like they’ll be more willing to buy a book I write later on. Don’t get me wrong, I’m appreciative of every “Like” and “Follow” I receive, it just wouldn’t surprise me if those figures are correlated.
Another important thing I’ve already known, but this process reaffirmed, is that the timing will NEVER be perfect. It’s the busiest time of year for our company, and we’re in the middle of preparing for various festivals we host and sponsor. However, the mere fact that I did this feels AMAZING, and it reassured me that there is never a better time to pursue the things you want in life than now.
Lastly, Tim and Noah, thank you. Regardless of how this contest turns out, the methodology works, and it was the exact motivation I needed.
Best Regards,
Mike Bass
Lansing, Michigan
#NOAH
0 to 78 emails
It was very intimidating opening up the email to see who all had subscribed. I also learned that the more places i came up with to post the info and email address, the more comfortable i felt doing it. Thank you!
#NOAH
Magical, Magical Noah… (and Magical Tim)
Long time listener, first time writer. Member Wantrepreneur (which is amazing) and fan of Tim’s many contributions, most recently as his gracious guest for SF XPRIZE dinner.
I’ll keep this as short as I can, but it may be hard with the level of excitement I’m feeling right now.
Noah— Your “no excuses just try this shit” attitude is amazing, and I’m the *very* latest proof of it, thanks to a call that *just* ended.
Allow me to share today’s timeline:
9:15a: Play podcast.
10:45: Oh wow cool contest, I think I might do it!
11:00: F$%^ I only have one day (today!) to do it. sadsadface
11:10: Hey, I’ve had this idea of helping people get jobs in tech, and I know I can do it. ALSO, we recently denied a guy for a job mostly b/c he failed on the social aspects of the interview. I should email him: ~“Hey— ‘Member me? I know I can help you with your interviewing. Want to chat?”
11:35: “Sure. Free today at 4:30?” “Yeah cool.”
11:30: Frantically assemble (Parkinson’s law FTW) an “offering” with multiple tiers, etc, with my best guess at what this guy needs.
5:15p: Hang up phone after a 20 min. consultation, a 5 min. pitch, and getting a verbal yes that he’ll pay me $3000 to help him get his sh#t in line so he doesn’t fail his 4th interview in a row for stupid reasons.
This feels amazing. I feel like I just unlocked a secret world of abundance that I might have “known” about for a bit, but never really *felt*. (And, to be clear, I did *NOTHING* on this before hearing the podcast today)
You guys rule.*
*And so, no, I didn’t exactly do the “email” challenge, but if the point was to eventually sell something, hopefully my jumping to the bottom of the funnel and landing a big sale (I still can’t believe this just happened), has to count for at least a taco lunch (/maybe a bro hug?) next time I’m in Austin, right? :))) I won’t awkwardly linger, promise!
PS: Noah’s Wantrepreneur course also got me a reply from Richard Branson, which was also awesome, so go buy it.
PPS: After much testing, I’ve found that asking for the “best friends” discount at Starbucks (when w/ friend) significantly beats other permutations I’ve tried. It’s also v. fun.
Noah#
I got here late – just listened to the podcast this morning.
this podcast gave me the push i needed to publicly announce on social media that I’m doing a newsletter. i’ve been doing it on a very quiet basis for a couple of months with a dozen subscribers. i guess now i’m exposed to the world.
scary and exciting. thanks tim and noah!
this cast was one of my favorite in a long time.
Missed the deadline but I’m going for it anyways!
#NOAH
I’m starting a newsletter on the Nature of Reality and Awakening. [Moderator: link removed]
I tried the newsletter list method yesterday, i got so much engagement on facebooks, though no emails, except for 3 people who sent me sms on my mobile phone since i had left my number on the post. I consider it a success and will invest in posting to get emails for the next two days also. Thanks for tim and noah for the tips.
ps: since i am a Namibian, email is a challenge especially for my target market here in Namibia which is high school learners, but people use alot of cellphones here, almost everyone has a cellphone or uses fb. I will adjust my strategy to fit my market.
I’m late to the game on this, but I just wanted to share my lesson learned. I finally worked up the nerve to do it (post a picture of myself and tell people to e-mail me if they’re interested in my newsletter) on Thursday morning. I expected to get mocked and ridiculed, instead I got 8 people e-mailing me in 24 hours and a lot of Facebook ‘likes’. It’s nothing in terms of numbers but HUGE in terms of shifting my mindset. People actually want to hear what I have to say! AND they’ll work to sign up for it! Lesson learned: have a bit of confidence in yourself… 😉 Thanks, Tim and Noah.
#noah
Well I don’t own a butcher shoppe or have 12,000 customer email addresses sitting around for me to blast. I started from scratch.
But did take action.
I collected 26 email addresses. which could be looked at as dismal compared to Rob, but it’s 26 voluntary subscribers that didn’t have before.
I learned that people respond to incentives. I had 3 subscribers for about a week. I decided to do a small giveaway. That increased my subscription rate by over 760% which is great. I’m using gmail to collect the email addresses. I signed up for mailchimp but haven’t had the time to sit down and figure out. Thanks for the opportunity and the push I needed to start.
-Steve
#Noah. I know I missed the deadline on this (just listened) but I thought this story was worth sharing. I have been looking to start another business for a few years and knew there was an opportunity to create DIFFERENT health and wellness events with live music and build a community of like minded people to have fun and focus on self-improvement. Two things from your content helped greatly in the last week. 1) The Noah podcast , 2) Tim ferris show episode where you did the yoga disco party (very similar to my original idea). These have drove me overboard and I have started the business! The email list is just growing (0-45 in past two days) but I have been working non stop and actually building the company and have launched an event for next month and already have 5 people signed up ! I would love to talk more and hopefully still be considered for the event.
Proof- facebook.com/joinrejuvenate
Things I learned- Put myself out there and take chances. You truly learn who your “friends” are when you put yourself out there and the ones who support you with positive energy vs. negativity. Don’t put things off and wait for the perfect moment, or think you need 10k to start something, I still have negotiated all my payments for after the first event so (hopefully) i will have very little out of pocket expenses. Another thing I am trying to get better at is separating this new side venture while still remaining productive at my daily job in the digital marketing world.
Thanks for all your help.
One other thing I learned- Noah has a sweet haircut, where can I get lined up like that?
#Noah. I know I missed the deadline on this (just listened) but I thought this story was worth sharing. I have been looking to start another business for a few years and knew there was an opportunity to create DIFFERENT health and wellness events with live music and build a community of like minded people to have fun and focus on self-improvement. Two things from your content helped greatly in the last week. 1) The Noah podcast , 2) Tim ferris show episode where you did the yoga disco party (very similar to my original idea). These have drove me overboard and I have started the business! The email list is just growing (0-45 in past two days) but I have been working non stop and actually building the company and have launched an event for next month and already have 5 people signed up ! I would love to talk more and hopefully still be considered for the event.
Things I have learned- put myself out there and you will learn a lot about yourself and the people around you. It doesn’t require a bunch of start up money to launch a business, just motivation. Anxiety occurs before anything potentially great or lifechanging but you must push through. People are very interested in learning about business’s and can 100% feel the good vibrations you put off. Karma is real.
Noah has an awesome haircut.
#Noah
Results = Grew list from 0 – 7. Started last Saturday 5/9/15. Didn’t quite get to 100, but I’m still encouraged because people that I have relationships with (and are in the industry) joined without twisting their arms! I am starting to establish my online presence through a modest Twitter account. I never would have started a list this early or launched my FB page if I had not listed to this podcast. Thanks for getting me to jump!
I joined email 1k even though I don’t have a list so I can archive that for learning later after I’ve established myself online. Thanks for the free resource.
Most important lesson = it’s all about relationships and adding value to people’s lives. I’m encouraged despite the meager results above. Once the sight is up this summer I will establish my online voice, build relationships, and earn trust. I’ve already written a bunch of blog posts waiting to be uploaded and I’m putting the finishing touches on a free ebook called The Blueprint for School Success. I think my list will grow exponentially once I offer this free resource and start blogging.
It would be awesome to speak with you about how to grow what I hope becomes THE online space for leaders in education to connect and learn from each other.
Tim – another great interview. You crushed it and thanks for delivering great content!
Bravo! Thank you for introducing Noah.
I hope he tries to purchase his meat from responsible farmers like Slanker Ranch in Texas where the animals are handled and slaughtered according to Temple Grandin’s principles. He would feel much better to know that the animal he eats didn’t suffer as much. Plus because it is grass fed and finished with grass, there is more nutritional value.
I nominate Jillian Michael for your next interview!
#NOAH
I’m a little late to the party because I just got around to listening yesterday but I grew my list from 0-25 in less than 24 hours, I just texted my mom to sign up, maybe I’ll get 26. The post was shared 10 times!
I am starting a newsletter for Healthy Life Hacks aimed at busy people who already frequent the gym. I promised that if 100 people subscribe by June 1 I will release a video about hacking your local grocery store. I also encouraged shares by promising 1 lucky person that they will get a free 45-minute consultation with me.
I am going to continue promoting the newsletter and signed up for the 1K email program to help keep the momentum.
I realized that sharing the picture on FB probably isnt the most effective method in re: to encouraging shares. Everybody who shared had no engagement with the post because it was just a picture of me on their FB wall. I am wondering what a more effective method would be to hack the FB algorithm and get more visibility for the shared posts. Anybody have ideas?!
Also, I am using the coffee challenge at the point-of-sale everywhere I go for the next week. I recently used this to lock down an expensive venue for free for a meetup I am hosting!
This was an awesome and actionable podcast, looking forward to more like this!
Loved this episode. So much useful content. Would LOVE to watch the related TV show episode and extra features but it’s still not available in Canada (#SadSyrupSucker). Looking forward to being able to access that sooner or later. Regardless, thanks to both of you.
Tim, I love the podcast and am a long time listener. I own all three of your books and use the concepts i my business. I have two hacks for this episode:
1. YouTube webinars: when I drive to clients I use Tony Robbins NET time (no extra time) to listen to the YouTube videos for learnings or to prime my brain with useful info. Unless I am listening to podcasts. You can learn anything from YouTube.
2. I created easy Ketone drops for when I am working late or remote:
1 scoop organic vanilla whey protein powder
3 tbsp raw almond butter
2 tbsp coconut oil
1 scoop raw wheat grass powder
1 cup rolled oats as a binding agent.
Stir together. Pack into 6 balls.
Each has: Calories: 202. Fat cal: 123. Protein: 8g. Carb: 12g.
Freeze these and then take one or two in the car for the day. Great snack that keeps ketones high.
Keep the podcasts coming! Thanks Tim!
Notes on the Show Notes:
Evan Williams the person, but not the bourbon were referenced.
Balcones the whiskey was referenced, but not put in the notes.
#NOAH
I know I missed the contest, but just wanted to let you know I went from 0-20 e-mails by following your instructions. It’s not much, but for me it was a meaningful experience to find that I had that many people who would actively opt-in to read my writing on a regular basis. The coolest thing, for me, is that my list of 20 includes not only family and some of my closest friends, but former professors and even two ex-girlfriends! I’m hoping to use the list to share my writing about psychology and psychotherapy (I’m a therapist and community college psych professor), and eventually to help launch my private practice. Thank you!
Hey what were the documentaries Noah recommended? I know Tim said Jiro Dreams and Man on Wire but what did Noah recommend???!
The podcast was great but I have an issue with your sponsor, Athletic Greens. I always try to support your sponsors and they are usually great, but the athletic greens website offer is for a signup of a monthly subscription (which is not entirely clear), and then when you have entered all your payment data and think your purchase is complete, the site keeps trying to upsell you making you read page after page of marketing copy and then finding the link at the very bottom saying you are not interested. It is super annoying and heavy handed sales and makes me question the validity of the whole product and why Tim is endorsing it. They seem very shady.
Tim, great interview. You asked the same questions that kept popping in my head after each of his response. Such a natural flow. Takes a lot to have that kinda presence of mind in front of the celebrity and in bazillion degree heat. You rocked it. And the zen master cracked it. Thank you for this gift.
It would be nice to setup a page with all mp3 downloads for all the podcasts in same page
just went to amazon to check out the books you talked about, and six of the seven books showing on my amazon page were mentioned on your podcast. Nice work!
I have looked at the top 100 TV show can’t find TFS in top 100? Unless Tim means something else, or trying to sell social proof. Anyway like the post!
#NOAH
Thanks for this episode. It kicked me into gear to begin creating the business of ‘me’ – outside of other stuff I’m working on. I want to build an audience of people that are interested in my viewpoint and insights from my journey.
I would have been really helpful if the tips for ‘build your email list’ were written in the blogpost somewhere. But nevermind, it made me listen to the podcast a few more times.
I’m starting out with 0 subscribers so this will be interesting.
Biggest lesson: It took me ages (all day) to think of what to write in the status update! I thought about it too much and ended up going with something totally natural I thought of initially. Also, I started thinking ‘what if this gets big?’ and kinda procrastinated about it all day. I’ve just shared the message so at least thats a step, feels good!
I’ve got 8 subscribers! :O! So happy and glad I did this
#Noah
We’re stepping up our game although we only caught up to this podcast yesterday!
… So this is the news in the last 24 hours…
We built a survey for our population (gamers and cyber-athletes), found 1 targetted FB group and shared the link on Twitter to and in 24 hours we’ve got another 250 twitter followers, 75 completed surveys (along with emails) and more likes on my headshot than anything I’ve posted for a while 🙂
We’re just in pre-launch mode right now for our service (coaching and education), sourcing the products (self-massage and diagnostic tools) and collecing user info on what works and whats doable for our people… hope to see you in Austin.
Scotty T, Co-Founder, Game Without Pain
Holy Moly Tim you need a new comments system! Single page! 🙂
Noah is really starting to grow on me. I first heard him on Pat Flynn, and the interview vibe just wasn’t right…both Noah and Pat seemed to be having an off day and didn’t gel. I’m glad Tim had him on…great, actionable content for the common person. I get so tired of the podcast interviews of ‘entrepreneurs’ who share the most banal and self-indulgent info…Tim’s podcast, and this episode in particular shows why the other podcasts often just aren’t worth the time.
#NOAH
Super late to this. Only got two subscriptions so far, but used the opportunity to ask them questions about my subject and what they were looking for.and got clarity on what might work.
Also was really inspired by Noah and resolved to go the ‘turtle route,’ e.g. slow and steady will get me there. I am committed on Coach.me to do one thing to build a business each day, and have a running log on a basic google docs.
Would love to see other people join me on Coach.me so that we can keep each other motivated. Was considering doing a Slack group, but realized that that would only distract me from my steady progress. I’ve been able to keep it up for 7 days running now. Joining Noah’s Monthly1k training program will probably happen in a week or so.
Oh, and I already own a marketing agency that does 1.2m in annual revenue. We’re based out of Vietnam, and so this new business is hoping to be a hobby.
i remember you mentioning the Who book as well? Im assuming its a business book and all i could find were books about the band, any help would be greatly appreciated. love the podcast
Hey Tim, great episode so many nuggets! There was a mistake I noticed in your show notes concerning Ev Williams the co-founder of twitter https://twitter.com/ev and Balcones the Texas bourbon http://www.balconesdistilling.com/singlemalt the two were confused for the cheap whiskey Evan Williams.
Also still looking for that spotify link! Thanks!
Which style of Vans?
Only 324 Men’s styles to pick from on Zappo’s.
My favorite podcast so far. So many good, useful action items used. Thank you
#Noah- Listened to this podcast in the car on Tuesday 5/19/15 Stopped in a parking lot to try this challenge the same morning around 10:00am. Posted to Facebook. My offer was a newsletter on Natural Solutions to ADD/ADHD. I have had 2 inquires on the newsletter, one person actually e-mailed me, and 1 share from a local magazine. It has not grown my e-mail list in a big way, but… I did learn that people will comment on a selfie. I managed to throw a newsletter together and get it out to the person who wanted the information. 😉 Thanks for sharing tips young businesses can use that are easy and practical.
Just a piece of advice if you want to have something similar to followup.cc but free. If you have switched to google inbox you can now “snooze” conversations and make them reappear at some point in the future.
So you if you have an email exchange and you want to follow up you can just do it that way. This also helps to achieve empty inbox if you are a fan.
I know it’s limited, I know it’s not the same, but it’s enough for me and it’s free.
#noah
Okay here’s how it went down for me.
I spent a lot of time just thinking and journaling my ideas from this podcast.
Then I hoped onto the field to try something out.
“Slack”
I made a slack group for a niche group of people(I’m not ready to share what group yet). I reached out to a couple of big dogs in the field(100k+ twitter follower stats) and asked them to join my slack group. Here’s a real reply I got:
“Definitely Sam, it would be awesome to find out what other people are doing in this space.”
Then I invited rising stars in the niche slack and charged them $59.99 to join the group. I set a limit on their membership to 4 months & 100 users just because I didnt want to have to hard sell.
In less than a week, I have 5999.00$ in revenue and 100+ *blank* people asking me to open the group early.
Noah. You know what’s better than a customer base? A customer base who pays to be a customer base ;).
Thanks for the podcast guys
Sam
I don’t use a Mac nor an IPhone
and the winner is?
I know I am too late for the prize, but I sitll wanted to share my experience and thank Noah and Tim for inspiring me to just take action.
I basically did it like Noah during the podcast. I posted into a few facebook group that I would give away some free material on social media and asked people to message me if they would be interested in learning about it. Turns out: I collected about 20 email addresses in one day with three posts!
But the number of people is not that relevant to me. The bigger part of this experience for me was to not doubt myself all the time and just put myself out there. Validate an idea quickly and find like minded people and just get going. Thanks again for this guys.
Btw: Here’s the link to the free material i sent to people after they gave me their email. [Moderator: link removed] it’s basically just an Evernote doc with some insights on how to make your content better in social media. I’d be happy to hear your feedback.
<3
Dora
What’s the Whiskey Brand he mentions? Would love to check that out.
Noah speaks like a machine gun!!:)My Lord I’m lucky that’s broadcast, not on live show.
Tim is a chance to use youtube or sth.?I’ve been trying with this fu@$%@ itunes and it’s not working. I’m writing from Poland…maybe geographic settings or sth. I see in comments that Aussies have the same prob.
Cheers from Poland
Kansas
Does anybody know how and when the winner will be announced?
(I thought Noah said it would be this past weekend but I haven’t seen anything so I just wanted to make sure that I didn’t miss the big announcement). Thanks in advance!
Kornel
(not trying to rush you Noah; just wanted to make sure I didn’t overlook an email or something).
Tim, what a great interview and casual chat between two great guys. Most entertaining and insightful. So many practical ways to make dramatic improvements in our daily routine and lives. Thanks!
F*cking awesome episode!! Thank you so much, guys!
Great comment Tim. Noah always seems to have really good strategies that are actionable and easy to follow . I also got some good social list building tools out of the episode. I also want to say your podcast has come a long way in the last few months! You seem to ask better questions than anyone I’ve come across so far.
#NOAH
(I know I am too late to win but I am just doing this for fun)
Results: 50 singups
Project: Nomadic Code School
Important Lesson: Find something passionate people love and then just start making noise about it.
I did a more detailed write up on my blog but I know Tim doesn’t like us posting links here.
~Cheers
Matt
Great Show Tim.. I’m already executing on many of the thoughts discussed. I specifically like followup.cc and limiting my instagram followers to people that will motivate me.. Tim and Noah have been added!! Keep up the game changing work.
Awesome episode. I’ve like most of your podcasts, but this one I have found the most useful. It is full of great tactical stuff, but the underlying message that comes through from Noah, is to leave nothing to chance. We seems like a great bloke, but I suspect that he is utterly ruthless with his time. You could hear in the interview how much he had prepared before he came onto the podcast. He certainly didn’t see it as a casual, chat. He was ready for it.
The same goes for Tim. What sets his podcast apart is the obvious research and preparation he puts into every guest.
A great lesson.
Hey Tim, you’re podcasts are often hilarious and always enlightening to say the least. I’m a huge fan! You talk with Noah about building an email list. You talked about building a large audience from scratch. And in the Chris Sacca episode you said, “there are many paths to amassing incredible fortunes and being a founder is actually a pretty thin slice of that pie”. You look to find the minimum effective dose in just about everything. Do you have any advice or previous posts/podcasts that discuss the MED on making more money? You’re work is definitely improving countless lives, including mine. Thank you!
Jason
Wow some FANTASTIC tips and tricks here. Facebook Newsfeed Eradicator has changed my life – so much more productive. I’m a little concerned about the mention of Followup.cc – the permissions they ask are a little ludicrous. “View, manage, and permanently delete your mail in Gmail. Create, update, and delete labels. Compose and send new email” “Upload, download, update, and delete files in your Google Drive. Create, access, update, and delete native Google documents in your Google Drive. Manage files and documents in your Google Drive (e.g., search, organize, and modify permissions and other metadata, such as title)”. This is quite concerning. Any feedback about this?
This one really surprised me because I’m not really interested in business stuff, but I got a lot out of it and felt quite inspired generally after listening. My favourite part was his gf telling him ‘stop being a bitch’ I put that on a stickie on my laptop and it’s become my latest mantra.
Thanks Noah and Tim
ps – as a drummer I’m keen for the TF Experiment show where Tim learns drums. Get that stuff to Australia please.
pps – a challenge for Tim. Get Neil Peart on the podcast. Good luck with that one!
Any news on the winner? Maybe I missed it somewhere?
I’m also curious if a winner was announced?
Tim, I drink a ton of water too, and I piss like crazy. I also used to get up a few times throughout the night to piss and drink water. Somehow I figured I was really screwing up my rest by repeatedly getting up at night. So while it sounds stupidly simple, I stopped drinking water about a half hour, to an hour before going to bed. Within two days I found myself waking up before my alarm feeling well rested. Some nights I still get up once to pee but for the most part I sleep like a rock and this has made one of the biggest improvements in my sleep quality that I can remember. Try it.
In the episode, Noah mentioned certain type of massage which is best for the money. What was it?
Speech about bedding – definitly worth watching – Admiral William H. McRaven – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pxBQLFLei70
What does mean #30 on Facebook?
btw The transcript for download is the Episode 8, where can I download this transcript?
Thank you
I have had your podcast in my subscription list since episode 3, as I am i big fan of what Kelly Starrett teaches about moving your body. However I have not listened to many of your show. After listening to this episode I really regret it. If every episode is like this, so packed with useful information, I have some very informative and entertaining days ahead of me as I go thru the back catalog.
Not sure if it’s been mentioned before, but “Launchy” seems like a Windows version of the Alfred App.
Love the NutriBullet! I use mine every day.
Tim and Noah, awesome!
Amazing episode – one of the best! Thanks Noah and Tim!
Thanks for this inspirational podcast. I was really excited when Noah said he does the same with business books like I do:
making my own summaries to future reference. There is a dedicated notebook in my Evernote account just for this.
Later I found a more convenient solution. Usually there are always lots of business and self-development books I really want to read at a time. My company has an access to a service which I frequently use through our subscription.
They simply summarize business books and TED Talks into 5 pages so it’s easy for me to grasp the core thoughs of a book then buy the good ones from Amazon. If anyone interested, take a look at their website:
http://www.getabstract.com/?af=US5Ga4S4
Derek Sivers has an excellent books section where he makes detailed notes on all the books he’s read. Pretty awesome resource
The link of the transcript doesn’t match with the Noah! What can I do? Thank you!
What an influential and frankly get off your ass podcast! Really enjoyed both the banter and wise words between Noah and Tim. Lots of cool initiative for me to use with my new business here in Australia!
#Noah – Great podcast with so many take aways that it didn’t feel as long as 2+ hours. One of the first that made come on the site to get all the notes so I can follow-up on the actions and book recommendations etc. Thank you Noah who I had not heard of before and Tim for rocking an awesome show.
Awesome stuff Tim and Noah thanks a lot for the productivity tips!
Awesome podcast!!
I keep coming back to this episode because of the great advice on free work and mentorship!
The Feynman video was taken down. I don’t know if that’s exactly it but have seen a youtube playlist about it: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL2DB73589969D47AB
Great show Tim!
I’m from the UK and was wondering if anybody can suggest any high quality mattresses/pillows/bedding brands?!
Tuft & Needle and My Pillow don’t ship here 🙁
Loved this pod cast for many reasons but mostly because it made me smile every time he called himself a “Little Bitch” (not because I know anything about you Noah nor do I think that) But I feel its a great mantra to live by every time we feel discouraged or overwhelmed just say “Stop being a little bitch” One it will make you laugh at yourself and Two it puts a little pause in the thought process and gives yourself a chance to really say am I being a little bitch or do I need to change my direction. Thank you for the smiles and great advice! Amanda
Another episode full of awesome stuff to learn. Thank you!
Tim and Noah, thank you for another amazing episode! I am backtracking now through all the older episodes and just finished this one. This episode is by far one of my top 5. I enjoyed the tv show on building a business and now hearing this has sealed the deal for me. I don’t know how I have never heard of the + option for gmail addresses but that is the one fucking thing that completely blew my mind in this episode. That one thing right there is a complete game changer. I work in IT and I am just discovering this trick. I literally had to stop the podcast and pull off the road and sit and meditate on this for about 10 min.. And then I immediately sent it to my brother who is building his fan base for his book and future publishing company venture. I like the depth and back and forth action between the both of you. And I have always been a fan of the long format for the show. Too bad I missed the contest. I will not miss the next one!
I tried the coffee challenge yesterday. I didn’t get 10% off but I felt good trying! Then last night used the same principle to get into the Rainbow Room ($7 cover charge) and got one of my friends in for free. Score!
I just have to mention that this is the best podcast I have ever heard. I have listened to it at least 20 times over the last year and am still learning something new every time. Thanks Tim.
#48hourchallenge
My name is Tony Berry and I run a small, family owned transport business in the waste and recycle sector here in Perth, Western Australia. I listened to the podcast with Noah Kagan over the last couple of days and gained a lot from some of the discussion and ideas.
In the last 48 hours I have taken steps to launch a bin hire division as part of our service offering. We are currently an alternative to providing containers or bins for waste/rubbish/recycling removal needs. We send one of our 4 custom built trucks with 2 workers to load and remove almost anything, then we do all we can to ensure it is reused or recycled as opposed to ending up in the hole (landfill)!
Our mission is:
“To help create a world without waste by employing and empowering capable people and matching them with modern, purpose built trucks and equipment. Giving them the ability to transport and manage material in a highly sustainable manner”.
The bin hire division I am launching has the potential to take us from a $2m/year company to one that turns over in excess of $10m per year based on the market research I have done.
A weekend with Noah in Barcelona would one of the most valuable gifts I could receive. I would discuss with him how to scale our business and truly take it to the next level!