The Blog of Author Tim Ferriss

A master in the art of living draws no sharp distinction between his work and his play; his labor and his leisure; his mind and his body; his education and his recreation. He hardly knows which is which. He simply pursues his vision of excellence through whatever he is doing, and leaves others to determine whether he is working or playing. To himself, he always appears to be doing both.

— L. P. Jacks

Blake Mycoskie (@BlakeMycoskie) is a serial entrepreneur, philanthropist, and best-selling author, most known for founding TOMS Shoes. He is also the person behind the idea of One for One®, a business model that helps a person in need with every product purchased. Since its inception, TOMS Shoes has provided almost 96 million pairs of shoes to children around the globe.

In 2014, after selling half of the company to Bain Capital, Blake stepped down as CEO of TOMS. Utilizing half of his proceeds, he started The Social Entrepreneurs’ Fund to help early startups with core social missions get off the ground with much-needed funding. Since then, he has invested in more than 25 social enterprises.

In the spring of 2020, Blake co-founded his newest company, Madefor, which offers a 10-month program that applies the principles of modern neuroscience, psychology, and physiology to make your brain and body better. Created alongside scientists from Stanford, Harvard, and other top universities, Madefor helps people learn and sustain positive habits and practices that have the greatest impact on their lives. Listeners of this podcast can use code TIM to get 20% off the all-in and monthly plans.

As the New York Times best-selling author of the 2011 book Start Something That Matters, Blake offered his own story of inspiration and the power of incorporating giving in business. Blake also recently expanded his philanthropic efforts to include the funding of The Center for Psychedelic and Consciousness Research at Johns Hopkins, making it the first such research center in the US and the largest of its kind in the world.

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

Brought to you by LMNT, Ascent Protein, and Readwise. More on all three below. 

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

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This episode is brought to you by LMNT! What is LMNT? It’s a delicious, sugar-free electrolyte drink mix. I’ve stocked up on boxes and boxes of this and usually use it 1–2 times per day. LMNT is formulated to help anyone with their electrolyte needs and perfectly suited to folks following a keto, low-carb, or Paleo diet. If you are on a low-carb diet or fasting, electrolytes play a key role in relieving hunger, cramps, headaches, tiredness, and dizziness.

LMNT came up with a very special offer for you, my dear listeners. They’ve created Tim’s Club: Simply go to DrinkLMNT.com/tim, select “Subscribe and Save,” and use promo code TIMSCLUB to get the 30-count box of LMNT for only $36. This will be valid for the lifetime of the subscription, and you can pause it anytime.

This episode is also brought to you by Ascent Protein! I’ve been using Ascent as my primary protein powder for the last three years. It’s clean, efficient, and easy on my stomach. Many protein powders are filled with excess sugar, questionable artificial sweeteners, or low-grade protein. Ascent Protein is an exception—it contains zero artificial ingredients, zero artificial sweeteners, and zero added sugar. All Ascent products are Informed-Sport certified to be free of banned substances, and one small scoop contains 25g of protein and more muscle-repairing BCAAs than an equivalent serving of chicken, beef, eggs, salmon, or plant-based proteins. Visit AscentProtein.com/tim and use the code TIMASCENT for 20% off your purchase.  The discount code will also work on Amazon.com if you shop Ascent Protein.

This episode is also brought to you by Readwise! Readwise is an app that helps you remember significantly more of what you read. How often do you read a book or an article and then look back a couple of weeks later to realize you barely remember anything from it? Readwise solves this problem by integrating with Kindle, Pocket, iBooks, Instapaper, and more to send you a daily digest of all your highlights. On average, their users report remembering 84% more of what they’ve read and highlighted.

It helps you build a fun, daily habit of reviewing—and actually using—the hundreds of highlights that are just sitting in your reading devices, collecting cyber-dust, and doing nothing for you. This simple habit of reviewing your highlights daily can dramatically improve how much information you retain through the scientifically proven process of spaced repetition. Sign up at readwise.io/tim for a two-month free trial offered exclusively to Tim Ferriss Show listeners. 

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

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