Q&A with Tim — Three Life Commandments, 4-Hour Workweek Exercises I Still Use, The Art and Joy of Inefficiency, Stoicism Revisited, and Much More (#813)

Welcome back to another in-between-isode, with one of my favorite formats: the good old-fashioned Q&A.

I answer questions submitted by the small-but-elite group of test readers of my upcoming THE NO BOOK. The community is closed for new members, as we have the right number of people now, but I hope to potentially expand it once the book comes out. 

This episode explores everything from childhood nostalgia and the outdoor activities I’d want to share with future kids to what my personal, highly comfortable, cult uniforms might look like if I were ever so inclined—don’t worry, I’m not. We also cover how I work with AI, Stoicism, tools from The 4-Hour Workweek that I still use, and much, much more.

Please enjoy!

Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Castbox, YouTube Music, Amazon Music, Audible, or on your favorite podcast platform. Watch the Q&A on YouTube. The transcript of this episode can be found here. Transcripts of all episodes can be found here.

This episode is brought to you by Monarch Money track, budget, plan, and do more with your money; Eight Sleep Pod Cover 5 sleeping solution for dynamic cooling and heating; and AG1 all-in-one nutritional supplement.

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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. Right now, get a FREE Welcome Kit, including Vitamin D3+K2 and AG1 Travel Packs, when you first subscribe. Visit DrinkAG1.com/Tim to claim this special offer today and receive your 1-year supply of Vitamin D—a vital nutrient for a strong immune system and strong bones!

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Want to hear a Q&A from the not-too-distant past? Listen here as I discuss reinvention, snacks, intriguing investments, modern dating, personal heresies, incentivizing potential mentors, making room for the irrational, workout routines for older parents, and much more.

What was your favorite quote or lesson from this episode? Please let me know in the comments.

SELECTED LINKS FROM THE EPISODE

• Transcript of this episode.
• Transcripts of all episodes.

Tim’s Three Commandments

1. Movement is medicine.
2. To save the self, help outside the self.
3. Request what you want more/less of.

Core Practices from The 4-Hour Workweek

• 80/20 (Pareto Principle): Focus on the 20% of activities that produce 80% of your results.
• Parkinson’s Law: Work expands to fill the time available, so set tight deadlines to force efficiency.
• Fear-Setting: Define your worst-case scenarios in detail to realize most fears are overblown.
• Definition: Clearly specify what you want from life before optimizing how to get it.
• Elimination: Say no to everything that doesn’t serve your defined goals.
• Automation: Create systems that work without your constant involvement.

Personal Projects & Ventures

• The No Book: My first book in more than seven years, and my first collaboration (with Neil Strauss).
• Coyote: My card game in collaboration with Elan Lee and the kind folks at Exploding Kittens.
• COCKPUNCH / Legends of Varlata: My foray into fictional experimentation and exploration.
• Saisei Foundation: My non-profit funding psychedelic science, accelerated TMS, indigenous language/medicine/traditions/land rights, and metabolic psychiatry.
• 5-Bullet Friday: My weekly newsletter.

Books & Other Media

• Awareness: The Perils and Opportunities of Reality by Anthony de Mello
• Midnight’s Children: A Novel by Salman Rushdie
• Meditations by Marcus Aurelius
• I Don’t Want to Talk About It: Overcoming the Secret Legacy of Male Depression by Terry Real
• Running Toward Mystery: The Adventure of an Unconventional Life by Tenzin Priyadarshi and Zara Houshmand
• Gold by Rumi, translated by Haleh Liza Gafori
• The Angels Knocking on the Tavern Door: Thirty Poems of Hafez by Hafez, translated by Robert Bly and Leonard Lewisohn
• Brotherhood of the Screaming Abyss: My Life with Terence McKenna by Dennis McKenna
• Trickster Makes This World: Mischief, Myth, and Art by Lewis Hyde
• Brain Energy: A Revolutionary Breakthrough in Understanding Mental Health–and Improving Treatment for Anxiety, Depression, OCD, PTSD, and More by Christopher Palmer
• The NeverEnding Story by Michael Ende
• The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich by Timothy Ferriss
• “Slow Dance” by David Weatherford
• The ONE Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results by Gary Keller and Jay Papasan
• Mad Max
• The NeverEnding Story (Film)
• Arcane
• Inside the Actors Studio

Concepts

• Stoicism: An ancient Greek and Roman philosophy that teaches virtue, wisdom, and emotional resilience through accepting what you cannot control while focusing your efforts on what you can control.
• Mezcal: A smoky, Mexican distilled spirit made from the agave plant. Delicious, but hard to justify at $72 per glass without warning.
• Sufism: The mystical dimension of Islam that emphasizes direct personal experience of the divine.
• Epicureanism: An ancient Greek philosophy that advocates pursuing pleasure and avoiding pain as the path to happiness, emphasizing simple pleasures, friendship, and freedom from anxiety.
• The Nothing (from The NeverEnding Story): A destructive force that consumes imagination and hope, representing despair and the loss of wonder.
• Vibe Coding: Programming based on intuition and feel rather than strict methodology or documentation.
• Metabolic Psychiatry: Treatment approach viewing mental health disorders as metabolic dysfunction in the brain.
• Ketogenic Diet: High-fat, low-carb eating plan that forces the body to burn fat for fuel instead of glucose.
• Electroceuticals / Accelerated TMS: Medical devices using electrical stimulation to treat conditions, with TMS targeting specific brain regions magnetically.
• Somatic Exercises: Movement practices that focus on internal physical sensations to release tension and trauma stored in the body.
• Kundalini Activation: Spiritual practice aimed at awakening dormant energy believed to reside at the base of the spine.
• Byron Katie’s “The Work” and Turnarounds: Self-inquiry method questioning stressful thoughts through four questions, then reversing beliefs to find opposite perspectives.

Software, Apps, & Tools

• Scrivener: My preferred tool for organizing large writing projects.
• Google Gemini AI: Google’s “personal, proactive, and powerful” AI assistant.
• The Way: Henry Shukman’s meditation training app.

People

• Anthony de Mello: Author of Awareness.
• Neil Strauss: Collaborator.
• Marcus Aurelius: Stoic philosopher.
• Haleh Liza Gafori: Translator of Rumi’s poetry (Gold).
• Jalal al-Din Rumi: Sufi poet.
• Hafez: Sufi poet.
• David Weatherford: Poet of “Slow Dance.”
• Molly Ferriss: My best friend.
• Salman Rushdie: Author of Midnight’s Children.
• Gary Keller: Businessman, co-author of The ONE Thing.
• Terry Real: Therapist, author of I Don’t Want to Talk About It.
• Henry Shukman: Meditation teacher, creator of The Way app.
• Dennis McKenna: Ethnobotanist, author of Brotherhood of the Screaming Abyss.
• Terence McKenna: Ethnobotanist, brother of Dennis.
• Lewis Hyde: Author of Trickster Makes This World.
• Richard Branson: Entrepreneur, proponent of capping downside.
• Mark Twain: Titan of American literature.
• Chris Sacca: Investor.
• BJ Miller: Palliative care physician, source of “Don’t believe everything you think.”
• Byron Katie: Creator of “The Work.”
• Nolan Williams: Researcher in electroceuticals.
• Chris Palmer: Proponent of metabolic psychiatry.
• Hatsumi Masaaki: Grandmaster of ninjutsu, possible calligrapher of “nin” (resilience).

SHOW NOTES

• [00:00:00] Start.
• [00:04:44] Instilling nostalgia in future children.
• [00:06:29] Secret suspicions about success.
• [00:09:50] Comfy clothes and commandments for my new cult religion.
• [00:13:20] Laying groundwork for large projects.
• [00:15:12] The purpose of my No Book preview community.
• [00:15:45] How I use and don’t use AI.
• [00:18:56] My own success: because of strategies or despite them?
• [00:19:25] Optimizing efficiency in the face of unknown variables.
• [00:21:12] Why we should all learn how to live offline.
• [00:22:35] Superb Sufism sources.
• [00:23:21] How a podcast episode anticipated to be good can go bad.
• [00:26:31] When inefficiency is the optimal choice.
• [00:31:27] Helping rather than hurting our workaholic friends.
• [00:33:42] The right time to announce a new project.
• [00:37:09] Establishing partnership parameters.
• [00:39:02] Spiritual speculations.
• [00:41:24] Using today’s advantages to build tomorrow’s apps.
• [00:43:23] Keeping audience capture from converting you to caricature.
• [00:46:18] Legends of Varlata vs. The Legend of COCKPUNCH.
• [00:49:28] Hunting for Easter eggs across IPs.
• [00:49:51] Coyote curiosity.
• [00:53:32] 4-Hour Workweek tools I still use regularly.
• [00:55:14] A favorite memory with my childhood best friends.
• [00:55:48] A movie sequel I’d finance.
• [00:56:41] I will (not) sell No book before its time.
• [01:01:37] Archery aims.
• [01:02:13] Inspirational blurbs, billboards, and tchotchkes.
• [01:04:43] Does study of stoicism risk dulling positive emotions?
• [01:07:29] What my Saisei Foundation is focusing on lately.
• [01:13:33] Kundalini activation caution.
• [01:14:17] Molly’s ideal trip with me.
• [01:14:42] Parting thoughts.