by

Tim Ferriss

Matt Mullenweg — The Art of Crafting a Sabbatical, Tips for Defending Against Hackers, Leveraging Open Source, Thriving in an AI World, and Tips for Life’s Darkest Hours (#713)

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Arist's rendering of Matt Mullenweg.
Illustration via 99designs

“Companies don’t die from competition. They usually die from suicide.”

— Matt Mullenweg

Matt Mullenweg (@photomatt) is co-founder of the open-source publishing platform WordPress, which now powers over 40 percent of all sites on the web. He is the founder and CEO of Automattic, the company behind WordPress.com, WooCommerce, Tumblr, WPVIP, Day One, Texts, and Pocket Casts. Additionally, Matt runs Audrey Capital, an investment and research company. He has been recognized for his leadership by Forbes, Bloomberg Businessweek, Inc., TechCrunch, Fortune, Fast Company, Wired, University Philosophical Society, and Vanity Fair.

Matt is originally from Houston, Texas, where he attended the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts and studied jazz saxophone. In his spare time, Matt is an avid photographer. He currently splits his time between Houston and San Francisco.

Please enjoy!

Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Castbox, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform. You can watch the interview on YouTube here.

Brought to you by Momentous high-quality supplements, Helix Sleep premium mattresses, and AG1 all-in-one nutritional supplement.

The transcript of this episode can be found here. Transcripts of all episodes can be found here.

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#713: Matt Mullenweg — The Art of Crafting a Sabbatical, Tips for Defending Against Hackers, Leveraging Open Source, Thriving in an AI World, and Tips for Life’s Darkest Hours

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Want to hear the episode Matt Mullenweg and I did from Antarctica? Listen to our conversation here, in which we discussed whisky, perpetual daylight, living with zero internet access, the “patient” landscape of Antarctica, witnessing a total solar eclipse, the grieving process, podcast tech specs, existential revelations, bucket list items, and much more.

#578: Tim Ferriss and Matt Mullenweg in Antarctica: Exploring Personal Fears, Bucket Lists, Facing Grief, Crafting Life Missions, and Tim’s Best Penguin Impressions

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 Matt Mullenweg:

Twitter | Instagram | Blog | Facebook | Spotify

SHOW NOTES

  • [05:12] The Argentine Dr. Mullenweg.
  • [08:15] Open source.
  • [10:19] Secret hiring.
  • [12:59] Matt is always on tour.
  • [15:14] Texts.
  • [17:39] How Matt chooses his next project(s).
  • [21:51] Building a digital Berkshire Hathaway.
  • [29:01] Why Matt’s excited about messaging.
  • [32:03] How Matt discovers companies he buys.
  • [32:53] RIP, Charlie Munger.
  • [33:28] Worthy rereads.
  • [37:10] My reflections on blogging, writing, and podcasting.
  • [48:55] Tyler Cowen’s inimitable style.
  • [49:42] Matt’s high school economics competition.
  • [57:05] Cables.
  • [57:59] AI spellcasting and community.
  • [1:01:09] Developments that will amaze the future.
  • [1:04:51] AI-proofing jobs.
  • [1:07:23] Why Matt’s optimistic about future generations.
  • [1:12:17] Data Liberation Front.
  • [1:14:12] More open app stores.
  • [1:18:53] Invisible tools (and weapons) of competition.
  • [1:23:40] Online security advice for the layman.
  • [1:26:21] WordCamp Asia.
  • [1:32:12] Taking a sa-Matt-ical.
  • [1:45:25] Rethinking nuclear energy.
  • [1:47:20] Rethinking psychedelics risks.
  • [1:57:59] Rethinking breathwork.
  • [2:02:05] Coping with depression.
  • [2:15:16] Rethinking TikTok.
  • [2:16:40] Blogging: absurd and beautiful.
  • [2:18:40] Rethinking Vienna sausages.
  • [2:19:57] Pocket ranch.
  • [2:21:36] Answering ancient emails.
  • [2:22:45] The curse of the ultra-critical eye.
  • [2:25:51] Rethinking meditation.
  • [2:28:38] Bacterial dentistry.
  • [2:32:06] Pocket party.
  • [2:32:55] Parting thoughts.

MORE MATT MULLENWEG QUOTES FROM THE INTERVIEW

“Don’t build on proprietary platforms. They can pull the rug, and will pull the rug, at any point. In open source, one, the rug can’t be pulled. Two, typically, they’re ultra pluggable. You can really change every line of WordPress.”
— Matt Mullenweg

“How do we help bend the long arc towards more freedom, more liberty across the world? Technology does that better than, I think, any sort of diplomacy or anything else that I could work on.”
— Matt Mullenweg

“Companies don’t die from competition. They usually die from suicide.”
— Matt Mullenweg

“If you have the people on your side, I feel like that’s what truly matters in the long term.”
— Matt Mullenweg

PEOPLE MENTIONED

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