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Q&A With Tim — On Wealth, Legacy, Grief, Lyme Disease, Gratitude, Longevity, and More (#394)

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Topics: CategoriesThe Tim Ferriss Show
Photo by Patrick W. Gavin (@pwgavin)

Welcome to another episode of The Tim Ferriss Show, where it is my job to sit down with world-class performers of all different types to tease out the habits, routines, favorite books, and so on that you can apply and test in your own life. This time, we have a slightly different episode.

As many of you know, I tested a “fan-supported model” earlier in the year, but I ended up reverting back to ads. It’s a long story, and you can read more about it at tim.blog/podcastexperiment.

After the experiment ended, I offered an additional live Q&A with supporters as a way to say thank you. This episode is that Q&A. (If you’d like to hear the first one, you can find it here: Q&A With Tim — On Happiness, Dating, Depressive Episodes, and Much More.)

We covered many topics: abundance mindset, balding, how I think about building a legacy, how to improve verbal tics, Lyme disease, cultivating gratitude, the grieving process, my morning routine when on a book deadline, and much more.

Please note that there were a few small glitches in the audio, but we cleaned it up, and it should be A-OK.

Please enjoy!

Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Stitcher, Castbox, Google Podcasts, or on your favorite podcast platform.

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

#394: Q&A With Tim — On Wealth, Legacy, Grief, Lyme Disease, Gratitude, Longevity, and More

This episode is brought to you by LinkedIn Jobs. Hiring can be hard, and it and be super expensive and painful if you get it wrong. Today, with more qualified candidates than ever — but also more noise than ever — employers need a hiring solution that helps them find the right people for their businesses. LinkedIn Jobs provides just that by screening candidates with the hard and soft skills you’re looking for so you can quickly find and hire the right person.

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This episode is also brought to you by FreshBooks. I’ve been talking about FreshBooks — an all-in-one invoicing+payments+accounting solution — for years now. Many entrepreneurs, as well as the contractors and freelancers that I work with, use it all the time.

FreshBooks makes it super easy to track things like expenses, project time, and client info, and then merge it all into great-looking invoices. FreshBooks can save users up to 200 hours a year on accounting and bookkeeping tasks. Right now FreshBooks is offering my listeners a free 30-day trial, and no credit card is required. Go to FreshBooks.com/tim and enter “Tim Ferriss” in the “How did you hear about us?” section!

Want to hear the first Q&A I did for supporters? — You can hear it here, where we discuss politics, depression, dating, Austin vs. San Francisco, taking notes, and much more. (Stream below or right-click here to download):

#390: Q&A With Tim — On Happiness, Dating, Depressive Episodes, and Much More

QUESTION(S) 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

SHOW NOTES

  • What have I done to overcome verbal tics and improve the quality of my extemporaneous speaking — both on this podcast and in live, public forums? [07:33]
  • Naval Ravikant recently did an epic tweetstorm on how to get rich. How would I recommend building wealth? [10:00]
  • What core concepts or philosophies would I teach my hypothetical child so he or she could 10x my success? And while we’re on the subject, what does “success” really mean? [13:55]
  • When all is said and done and it’s lights out for good, what do I want people to remember about me and what I’ve done? In essence, what would I want my eulogy to be? [20:43]
  • How do I deal with losing someone close? What tips, resources, or personal stories for learning to handle loss have worked for me? [23:12]
  • When is my next in-person meetup? [28:45]
  • What have I learned about love since being in my latest relationship? How do I tackle society’s binary options? [28:55]
  • Do I drink beer? [31:19]
  • Has my morning routine changed in recent times? If so, how? [31:43]
  • Do I believe in the law of attraction and abundance thinking? [35:30]
  • What’s a good way to get your network started if you’ve neglected it for, say, 30 years? [38:28]
  • Did I become more nurturing since I got my dog Molly? [38:51]
  • What’s been my experience with Lyme disease, and how did I combat it? [41:54]
  • Do I take any supplements or medication for anti-aging like metformin or NAD? [44:48]
  • How would I recommend breaking up with long-term, underperforming business partners? [46:27]
  • How would I approach an attempt to overcome addiction? [50:11]
  • What books do I recommend for someone right before they’re about to go through a major life change? [51:22]
  • If you’ve seen pictures of me from the past decade or two, you may have noticed that I used to have more hair on my head. How have I mentally processed my hair loss, and how much has it really affected me? [52:31]
  • Buried or cremated? Why and where? [58:35]
  • From an overall health and longevity viewpoint rather than merely trying to lose weight, do I think itís okay to stay in ketosis perpetually, or is it better to cycle in and out of ketosis? [59:51]
  • You struggle to fast because it makes your heart race. What are your options? [1:04:47]
  • How did I make the decision to return supporters’ donations and give them Amazon gift cards? [1:05:30]
  • Can I get Neil deGrasse Tyson on the show? (Yes!) [1:07:55]
  • Anything special planned for podcast number 400? [1:08:14]
  • What do I think of the current saturation of so-called masterminds and coaches on the personal growth circuit? [1:08:27]
  • What are my thoughts on Ramit Sethi of I Will Teach You to Be Rich fame? [1:09:48]
  • How long did it take me to be consistently happy throughout my day-to-day life? Am I still working on it? [1:10:40]
  • Who are the strongest female voices, mentors, and inspirations in my life? [1:13:45]
  • Am I a fan of Rick and Morty? [1:15:56]
  • What are my favorite cryptocurrency resources? [1:16:00]
  • My response to the oft-voiced opinion that I “need more women on the podcast.” [1:16:24]
  • Are kids in my cards? [1:18:55]
  • How has moving to Texas affected your life, lifestyle, and friendships? [1:19:20]
  • Tips for determining whether one is better suited for the entrepreneurship of running a company or a solo go at freelancing. [1:19:41]
  • What was it like to meet Rolf Potts? [1:19:58]
  • Do I feel it’s unfair that married people get tax benefits over people who are “merely” in a relationship and living together? [1:21:00]
  • Would I go to Mars? [1:21:13]
  • Am I able to sleep soundly when I’m not alone in bed? [1:22:08]
  • Do I feel like I’m making progress on healing my own childhood trauma? (Here’s where I mention the since-canceled book project.) [1:22:28]
  • Do I believe there would be value in having suicide attempt survivors talk to those who have lost family to suicide? [1:23:17]
  • Did I always have something in my life I’m excited about pursuing? [1:23:24]
  • How do I battle anhedonia? [1:23:47]
  • Am I building any new habits right now? If so, what’s my process? [1:24:40]
  • Am I ever afraid I will slip back into depression? [1:25:10]
  • What Neal Stephenson books do I like aside from Snow Crash? [1:26:07]
  • Skiing or snowboarding? [1:26:37]
  • What would be my go-to activity for a first date if my objective were to get to know someone quickly? [1:26:41]
  • What is my earliest childhood memory? [1:28:19]
  • What is the best way to expose a high performer who’s never failed at something to the concept of failure without destroying their confidence? [1:29:15]
  • What am I grateful for, and how do I cultivate such gratitude when it’s so easy to just complain about everything? [1:29:51]
  • Wrapping up. [1:32:46]

PEOPLE MENTIONED

The Tim Ferriss Show is one of the most popular podcasts in the world with more than 900 million 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.

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28 Replies to “Q&A With Tim — On Wealth, Legacy, Grief, Lyme Disease, Gratitude, Longevity, and More (#394)”

  1. Hi Tim. A follower of most of not all your work. Please may I request and recommend you chop these podcasts up into 20-30 minute chunks. It will be easier to listen to, follow, track and remember. I’m assuming others feel this way too.

    Reply

    1. My podcast automatically saves where I am on each track. Maybe you just need a different app for podcasts. There are many good ones.

      Cheers

      Reply

  2. Hi Tim, i saw your post entry From Shock to Awe, wanted to share something, PTSD seems to be create some sort of structural damage to the brain, not sure aya is the best course of action at least in the beginning. Would recommend to start: diet (supplements for brain), lots of exercise and HBOT, nad+ IVs for a while, until stabilized. Aya seems to deplete mitochondrial reserves? am would be great at a later stage, once the body is in better condition. This is my opinion only and my experience of intense exhaustion following the use of psychedelics.

    Reply

  4. Hi, Tim,

    I’m a new listener and really enjoyed podcast 394. Regarding finasteride, you said you lost your libido afterwards. Did you ever gain it back and did you have any other long lasting effects? I stopped taking finasteride 6 years ago and it has utterly destroyed me mentally and sexually in a condition known as post finasteride syndrome. If you have any effects, could you please let me know if there are any remedies that helped you feel better? Thanks.

    -J.

    Reply

  5. Quick reply to say it’s really a pleasure to hear this Q & A for it’s helpfulness in a bunch of ways and mainly for your authenticity, Tim. I’ve been following your work since prior to a blog about 2007 or so and to watch this evolution is really wondrous (I mean the process unfold particularly, not even the “movement on the proverbial dial” per se)- – – I just feel grateful too -watching it happen and somehow growing in parallel as we sometimes can as humans if we start to let the chaff fall away. Wish you the very best.

    Reply

  6. Hi Tim: Vis-a-vis the Random Show. Thank you for not caving to the “why don’t you have more women interviews”. The evensy’s game on gender, race, color (or not given black and white aren’t colors), religion, etc. only breeds mediocrity. Weary of this convo. vsp (woman)

    Reply

  7. Tim

    Great podcast – thank you. Thanks for all of them, actually.

    Amazon gift cards – loved the generosity.

    Subscriber v advertising model – was thinking ‘what should work on first principles?’. Love the podcast, tolerate the adds. Like the curated product offering but not necessarily the advertisement form of delivery of the curation. Very happy to pay, but didn’t because (for me) 1) too much choice, 2) no sense of urgency to action it. Anyway to have an add-free version to delight the customers who prefer it to the point of paying, as well as a the add-based version? I guess you could say you have checked with customers and its not what they want. I’m less sure to was the right experiment.

    These podcasts (and some others) are literally life changing for many people, so the value creation is there! Just wondering what’s the right way to make it an even better product (first) and have a great value capture (second).

    Thanks again.

    Henry

    Reply

  8. Hi Tim,

    Thanks for the work you do. The people and routines you research are often really interesting pings that fit perfectly with topics I am interested or working on. Sometimes I would like to answer you to your podcasts and say:”Hey Tim, very interesting 🧐 have you thought about this?”. I would like to give 2 pings back to you.

    Ping One: Because I saw more and more Sufi quotes in your e-mails and over in Kevin’s podcast, have a look at this – The Sufi Book of Life by Neil Douglas-Klotz – I use this book for 10 years, again and again, maybe it is also interesting for you.

    Ping Two: Whenever I read about psychedelics, I would love to point you to Biodanza. It is a kind of therapeutic dancing, body work. Maybe you give it a go. It stays with me for over 10 years and it is something that had a great influence on my life where I go deeper every year.

    Greetings from Germany,

    Nils

    Reply

  9. Hi Tim, Your comments in episode #394 about choosing guests not by gender etc. but instead qualifications sounds a lot like me before I took a class in diversity. I realized that I was missing unique views and insights by surrounding myself with “the best and most qualified” After I did a skill building exercise called “your trusted 10” that had me list my inner circle and their characteristics race, age etc I found that I was surrounded by basically variations of myself. I now work hard to add all types of people to my professional and personal world. Also check out the Ted talk with Mellody Hobson for her perspective on the importance of diversity in the work place. Thanks so much for all you do. The wolf episode was epic. You need to get E O Wilson on too.

    Reply

    1. Thank you for this thoughtful response, Jerid. I have to agree. The gender comments were honestly soul-crushing to me as a long-time listener. If we are to be a tribe of learners, intentionally expanding the diversity of our personal solar systems might be the greatest lesson we ever attempt in life. I still have a lot of my own work to do.

      Reply

  11. I have to say this on each podcast episode where you answer questions, but I really feel that they are jam-packed with value.

    Slightly surprised the sponsorship model really failed that hard from what you mentioned, but I remember Neil Patel and Eric Siu mentioning on their Marketing School podcast at one point, that there’s also a possibility you didn’t think of enough incentives in order to try to maximize its potential.

    Either way, hope everyone enjoyed this experiment. At this stage, you don’t even have to do such experiments, but your mindset hasn’t changed and that’s definitely a good thing.

    ~ Felix

    Reply

  12. Hi Tim, I’ve enjoyed and leared much from your books and podcasts for three years. I’ve also enjoyed many books you recommended in your podcasts. Well, your comments about your dog Molly brought tears to my eyes. I’ve had three yellow labs over the span of 20 years. The third lab passed away only a month ago. I would give up almost everything I own to have them back with me again.

    Reply

  13. Tim, as always love listening. The most helpful part for me: raising children who are optimists.

    As far as more women interviewees, I recommend checking out Ketaki Desai in Pittsburgh. So, so smart, funny. Insightful. Amazing, down-to-earth leader. She came to the U.S. from India and has a great back story. Seriously… Check her out. I had the opportunity to interview her while completing my doctoral dissertation.

    Reply

  14. Tim, thanks for you tip on Beats Antique for working music. I found it to work well for me. I found a similar working groove when asking Alexa to play the sound track from a Marvel Super Hero movie or Boogie Woogie music.

    Reply

  15. Tim,

    Being in Austin you are close to one of the pioneer green cemeteries in the country. When I lived in Austin attended a presentation give by Ellen McDonald of Eloise Woods Natural Burial Park. https://eloisewoods.com/ Afterward I actually did an interview with her for a podcast I wanted to start. As far as first interviews it went alright, but then I accidentally deleted the recording not long after. I moved away not long after so I was never able to re-record and so the podcast never happened. Maybe you can pick-up where I dropped the ball 🙂

    Side note, running a green cemetery is an interesting business.

    Reply

  16. I like this interesting post, and human’s longevity can be indefinetely extended being discovered by Allen Omton and Serge Dobrow.

    John Logger

    Reply

  17. Hi Tim,

    I can’t thank you enough for recommending the film From Shock to Awe. It was heartbreaking and hopeful. Thank you for supporting the work being done with Psychedelics — it is an area of research I believe is long overdue and yet so promising. I love your work and am so grateful for your podcasts, books, and posts.

    Bonnie

    Reply

  18. First diagnosed episode of MDD, in fresh and deeper awe of what you’ve accomplished with this new perspective. Think you’d like the book, :Overcoming Gravity: A Systematic Approach to Gymnastics and Bodyweight Strength” by Steven/Stephen Low

    Reply

  19. Aloha Tim,

    Thank you, thank you, thank you for all you do! I own all your books and the 4 Hour Work Week set me on the path I’m on today.

    I got so excited when you spoke about your hair loss journey in this episode as I realized I may actually be able to give you some info of value!

    I tattoo bald guys’ heads for a living, and I was wondering if you had heard of hair follicle tattoo (more formally scalp micropigmentation (SMP))?

    It’s low maintenance, there’s no downtime, and it looks best with a shaved head.

    I hope this provides some help to your listeners actively battling hair loss and gives a new option to those who’ve embraced it like you.

    As you already keep your hair close shaved and seem to have fairly healthy skin, you’d be a great a candidate!

    There’s a clinic called Bravi in Austin that is very reputable and they do extremely natural work on Fitzpatrick 2 skin types (paler folks).

    In that same vein, I recommend two things to any men struggling with hair loss who comes in for a consultation with me.

    1. Milk of magnesia is a scalp shine stopper, and it’s $4. A nickel sized amount removes shine and doesn’t run or stain clothing or pillows like fibers or powders. I use it to help mattify SMP and make it look even more realistic.

    2. Saw Palmetto. It acts as a DHT blocker, so it decreases dihydrotestosterone and increases testosterone, which reduces the level of follicle turnover and promote hair regrowth. You can get a couple month supply from Amazon or Walmrt for under $20. It also can increase libido, as a happy side effect. It’s still being researched, but my clients love it!

    Much mahalos for all you do, I so hope this is of use to you!

    Hannah L. M[Moderator: full name withheld.]

    Reply

  22. Hello there, first off thank you for everything that you and your staff does to make this podcast happen. The information is extremely useful and easy to digest. Keep up the good work! I have a question regarding psilocybin. If Tim is reading this, what do you do to prepare for your experiences and what environment is conducive for you to get what you need out of it? I understand if you don’t feel comfortable answering but as a user, I would like to benefit more from my experiences as I feel they may be more recreational than inspirational. Thank you.

    Reply

  23. Hey Tim, big fan your work. You mentioned wanting to get experience with coding in this episode. After spending a number of years in finance, I changed my career at 30 to become an iOS developer and I love it. I’ve been doing it professionally for a few years now, but can still relate to the feeling of what it’s like to be an overwhelmed beginner. I’m local to Austin, so feel free to reach out if you would like an intro to software development. Not looking for start up advice or anything, just thought it would be cool to have a beer and help you get into programming. Cheers.

    Reply

  24. Dear Tim,
    There is a great Doctor who is trying to cure lyme disease and co-infections with his peers:
    [Moderator: Removed link to YouTube video “4th Annual ‘Lyme Disease in the Era of Precision Medicine.'”]
    They need funding to bring their cure out earlier. I saw you funded John Hopkin’s studies on psilocybin for lyme- many THANKS!
    If you have some money left to spend on this, please consider Dr. Neil Spector et al.
    thank you for trying and finding out so many things for us.
    I wish to be in a similar position as you someday.
    Best wishes from Zurich, Lea

    Reply