Welcome to another episode of The Tim Ferriss Show.
As we head into the new year, many of us feel like we’re drowning in invisible complexity.
So I wanted to hit pause and ask a simple question:
What are 1-3 decisions that could dramatically simplify my life in 2026?
To explore that, I invited three close friends and long-time listener favorites—Derek Sivers, Seth Godin, and Martha Beck.
(1) From Derek Sivers — you’ll learn how Derek uses a radical approach to living from first principles instead of default settings.
(2) From Seth Godin — how a handful of hard rules can turn a messy professional life into something simple and focused on your best work.
(3) From Martha Beck — how making one radical commitment forced her through growing pains but led to a simpler life built around peace and meaning.
Please enjoy!
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SELECTED LINKS FROM THE EPISODE
Transcripts
Guests
Derek Sivers is an author of philosophy and entrepreneurship, known for his surprising, quotable insights and pithy, succinct writing style. Derek’s books (How to Live, Hell Yeah or No, Your Music and People, Anything You Want) and newest projects are at his website: sive.rs. His new book is Useful Not True.
- Connect with Derek Sivers:
Website | Podcast | Twitter | YouTube | GitHub
- Derek’s previous appearances on this show:
- Derek Sivers on Developing Confidence, Finding Happiness, and Saying No to Millions | The Tim Ferriss Show #125
- Derek Sivers Reloaded — On Success Habits and Billionaires with Perfect Abs | The Tim Ferriss Show #128
- Tools of Titans: Derek Sivers Distilled | The Tim Ferriss Show #202
- Derek Sivers — The Joys of an Un-Optimized Life, Finding Paths Less Traveled, Creating Tech Independence (and Risks of the Cloud), Taking Giant Leaps, and Picking the Right “Game of Life” | The Tim Ferriss Show #668
- Derek Sivers, Philosopher-Entrepreneur — The Greatest Year of His Life | The Tim Ferriss Show #777
Seth Godin is the author of 21 internationally bestselling books, translated into more than 35 languages, including Linchpin, Tribes, The Dip, andPurple Cow. His latest book, This Is Strategy, offers a fresh lens on how we can make bold decisions, embrace change, and navigate a complex, rapidly evolving world.
- Connect with Seth Godin:
Website | Seth’s Blog | Instagram | Facebook
- Seth’s previous appearances on this show:
- How Seth Godin Manages His Life — Rules, Principles, and Obsessions | The Tim Ferriss Show #138
- Seth Godin on How to Say “No,” Market Like a Professional, and Win at Life | The Tim Ferriss Show #343
- Seth Godin on The Game of Life, The Value of Hacks, and Overcoming Anxiety | The Tim Ferriss Show #476
- Seth Godin — The Pursuit of Meaning, The Life-Changing Power of Choosing Your Attitude, Overcoming Rejection, Life Lessons from Zig Ziglar, and Committing to Making Positive Change | The Tim Ferriss Show #672
- Seth Godin — Coaching Tim on Overcoming Resistance, Lessons from Isaac Asimov, Writing Secrets After 8,500+ Daily Blog Posts, The Dangers of Authenticity, Practices for Consistency, and Much More | The Tim Ferriss Show #728
- Seth Godin on Playing the Right Game and Strategy as a Superpower | The Tim Ferriss Show #792
Dr. Martha Beck has been called “the best-known life coach in America” by NPR and USA Today. She holds three Harvard degrees in social science and has published nine non-fiction books, one novel, and more than 200 magazine articles. The Guardian and other media have described her as “Oprah’s life coach.” Her latest book is Beyond Anxiety: Curiosity, Creativity, and Finding Your Life’s Purpose.
- Connect with Martha Beck:
Website | Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn
- Martha’s previous appearances on this show:
Referenced or Related Books, Episodes, and Blog Posts
- Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown | Amazon
- Effortless: Make It Easier to Do What Matters Most by Greg McKeown | Amazon
- How to Say “No” Gracefully and Uncommit | The Tim Ferriss Show #328
- Greg McKeown — How to Master Essentialism | The Tim Ferriss Show #355
- Greg McKeown — The Art of Effortless Results, How to Take the Lighter Path, the Joys of Simplicity, and More | The Tim Ferriss Show #510
- Walk & Talk with Greg McKeown — How to Find Your Purpose and Master Essentialism in 2024 | The Tim Ferriss Show #719
- Tactics and Strategies for a 2025 Reboot — Essentialism and Greg McKeown | The Tim Ferriss Show #786
- The Effective Executive: The Definitive Guide to Getting the Right Things Done by Peter Drucker | Amazon
- Jim Collins — A Rare Interview with a Reclusive Polymath | The Tim Ferriss Show #361
- Jim Collins — On the Value of Small Gestures, Unseen Sources of Power, and More | The Tim Ferriss Show #483
- How to Say “No” When It Matters Most (or “Why I’m Taking a Long ‘Startup Vacation’”) | Tim Ferriss
- Finding the One Decision That Removes 100 Decisions (or, Why I’m Reading No New Books in 2020) | Tim Ferriss
- Tools of Titans: A Comprehensive Guide to High-Performance Tools and Tactics for Successs by Timothy Ferriss | Amazon
TIMESTAMPS
- [00:00:00] Start.
- [00:00:20] Advice I’ve used to simplify my own life.
- [00:04:02] Enter Derek Sivers.
- [00:04:17] Simple is the opposite of complex — not just a synonym for “easy.”
- [00:07:19] Simplification #1: No subscriptions, contracts, or people depending on him.
- [00:07:40] Simplification #2: Programming with no external libraries or dependencies.
- [00:08:30] Simplification #3: Building a house from scratch in New Zealand.
- [00:09:26] Complex is a long-term trap. Simple is long-term freedom..
- [00:10:32] Enter Seth Godin.
- [00:10:48] Simplifying is hard work — if it were easy, you’d have already done it.
- [00:11:17] Clarity on “who it’s for”: Ignore everyone else, including one-star reviews.
- [00:12:46] Eliminate gray areas: Never miss a deadline, never go over budget. Stand by your commitments.
- [00:14:53] Reclaim time with personal boundaries: No meetings, no social media, no TV.
- [00:16:57] Simplifying one thing puts you on the hook to go deeper elsewhere.
- [00:22:23] Enter Martha Beck.
- [00:22:29] One decision that radically simplified her life.
- [00:22:44] At 29, chose to follow true joy — not dopamine hits, but deep peace.
- [00:24:15] The simple rule: Go toward joy, away from misery — no matter what.
- [00:28:20] How a near-death experience sparked this commitment.
- [00:30:02] Payoff: Autoimmune remission, purpose, wonderful relationships, home inside herself.
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This episode is brought to you by Eight Sleep. Temperature is one of the main causes of poor sleep, and heat is my personal nemesis. But a few years ago, I started using the Pod Cover, and it has transformed my sleep. Eight Sleep has launched their newest generation of the Pod: Pod 5 Ultra. It cools, it heats, and now it elevates, automatically. With the best temperature performance to date, Pod 5 Ultra ensures you and your partner stay cool in the heat and cozy warm in the cold. And now, listeners of The Tim Ferriss Show can get $400 off of the Pod 5 Ultra for a limited time! Click here to claim this deal and unlock your full potential through optimal sleep.
Want to hear another episode with someone committed to the disciplined pursuit of less? Listen to my conversation with Greg McKeown, author of Essentialism and Effortless, in which we discussed how Gandhi would sum up Essentialism, the joys of simplicity, the difference between effortless action and effortless results, questions to cope with pet peeves, actionable gratitude, and much more.
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I love you, Tim. Thank you, brother.
What terribly selfish advice from Martha.
Does parenting bring me joy? Sometimes. But most days are a slog of annoying noisy bickering kids. Following her advice, I should up and leave then. I won’t do that, because it’s a responsibility.
Tim, interesting topics and links, as usual. Speaking of simplicity etc, how bout a guide to help sift through/choose which of the score of links would be most rewarding to review, as 80% of them look interesting and listening to them all would take a week. And I’d say it’s ironic that there is a need for such a tool- ‘how to simplify simplifying….’!!
Maybe such a tool or method is doesn’t exist but, just saying.
Derek seems to be conflating “simpler” with “better” in a reductionist way. Removing dependencies is great for coding, but the analogy falls short for humans. We are complex, interdependent systems. Frustrating as teams may be, they have potential beyond any individual.
If his house is built with this logic, in 10 years, he will start learning why modern homes have so many parts. I live in a 250-year-old house, and have spent 2 years trying to fix the problems created by previous owners. Pieces of flashing omitted decades ago have resulted in entire walls eroding to debris. Vents covered over have allowed mold to invade.
Similarly, a life lived with less human dependencies may seem less stressful for several years, but the erosion and vulnerability of isolation can destroy you just as effectively.
As I was out on my early morning jog, you guys made my day — I had a good laugh. There was Derek peacefully sleeping on his Eight Sleep Pod Cover in his bare cabin, the pod being the only object inside. Although I assume there must be a small solar panel outside the cabin to provide it with electricity.
And it was the first time in many episodes that I didn’t feel that tiny, mean spike of envy penetrating my body, knowing how much I would love to cool down during these nasty menopausal night sweats. Since there is no way, I could ever afford such a gadget, I actually felt quite good knowing that I will certainly not go over my budget, no matter how bad the sweats are.
And thank you, Martha — I do make this promise to myself probably every single day of my adult life. Unfortunately, I still have to find a way to make happy, life-affirming thoughts compulsive instead of the dark, sticky ones that pull me down.