Reid Hoffman of LinkedIn, Brian Chesky of Airbnb, and How to Scale to 100M+ Users (#326)

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Written by Topics: The Tim Ferriss Show

“In order to scale, you have to do things that don’t scale.” — Reid Hoffman

This episode is a showcase from Masters of Scale, one of the few podcasts I recommend repeatedly to entrepreneurs. It’s a conversation between LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman (@reidhoffman) and Airbnb co-founder Brian Chesky (@bchesky), and it focuses on how you can scale your company by, paradoxically, doing things that don’t scale.

This is, in some ways, part two of my conversation with Airbnb’s co-founder Joe Gebbia (which you can check out here). I also highly recommend subscribing to Masters of Scale, which just began its third season and features interviews with founders of Spotify, Instagram, TaskRabbit, Shake Shack, and Glossier, among many others.

And if you’re looking for a companion piece to read with this episode, I can recommend none better than 1,000 True Fans by Kevin Kelly (@kevin2kelly).

Please enjoy this short conversation between Reid Hoffman and Brian Chesky, with a few cameo appearances in the mix.

#326: Reid Hoffman of LinkedIn, Brian Chesky of Airbnb, and How to Scale to 100M+ Users
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Want to hear another podcast with an entrepreneur who understands the meaning of “traction?” — Listen to my conversation with Bryan Johnson, the rags-to-riches philosopher who founded Braintree, which was bought by eBay in 2013 for $800 million in cash. (Stream below or right-click here to download):

#81: The Rags to Riches Philosopher: Bryan Johnson's Path to $800 Million
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This podcast is brought to you by Audible. I have used Audible for years, and I love audiobooks. I have a few to recommend:

  1. Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
  2. The Tao of Seneca by Seneca
  3. The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
  4. Nonviolent Communication by Marshall B. Rosenberg

From now until July 31st, 2018, Amazon Prime members can get Audible for just $4.95 a month for the first three months ($14.95 per month after). To claim this offer, go to Audible.com/Tim or text TIM to 500500 to get started.

QUESTION(S) OF THE DAY: What was your favorite quote or lesson from this episode? Please let me know in the comments.

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Lessons from Richard Branson, Tony Robbins, Ray Dalio, and Other Icons (#325)

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Written by Topics: The Tim Ferriss Show

“If you only master yourself and you don’t help anyone else, we’d call you happy, but nobody would define you as successful.” – Derek Sivers

This particular episode of The Tim Ferriss Radio Hour explores success, which can be a slippery and dangerous term. The particular guests selected for this episode represent not only achievement, but also appreciation and a well-rounded version of what I consider to be a successful human being.

This episode features:

  • CDBaby founder Derek Sivers on the importance of challenging your own definitions of success.
  • Performance coach Tony Robbins on best lessons learned from working with legendary investors.
  • Venture capitalist Chris Sacca on missed opportunities and the commonalities of successful people.
  • Legendary investor Ray Dalio on the three things that make up a successful life.
  • Virgin Group founder Sir Richard Branson on the best thing his parents taught him.

I hope you enjoy this episode of The Tim Ferriss Radio Hour!

Lessons from Richard Branson, Tony Robbins, Ray Dalio, and Other Icons
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Want to hear another podcast of The Tim Ferriss Radio Hour? — In this episode, we explore meditation and mindfulness with Chase Jarvis, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sam Harris, and Rainn Wilson.  (Stream below or right-click here to download):

The Tim Ferriss Radio Hour: Meditation, Mindset, and Mastery
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This podcast is brought to you by 99designs, the world’s largest marketplace of graphic designers. I have used them for years to create some amazing designs. When your business needs a logo, website design, business card, or anything you can imagine, check out 99designs.

I used them to rapid prototype the cover for The Tao of Seneca, and I’ve also had them help with display advertising and illustrations. If you want a more personalized approach, I recommend their 1-on-1 service. You get original designs from designers around the world. The best part? You provide your feedback, and then you end up with a product that you’re happy with or your money back. Click this link and get a free $99 upgrade.

QUESTION(S) OF THE DAY: What was your favorite quote or lesson from this episode? Please let me know in the comments.

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How to Undertake the Artist’s Journey

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Written by Topics: Filling the Void, Writing and Blogging

Note from the editor: The following is a guest post by Steven Pressfield (@spressfield), the best-selling author of The Legend of Bagger Vance, Gates of Fire, The Afghan Campaign, and The Lion’s Gate, as well as the cult classics on creativity, The War of Art, Turning Pro, and Do the Work. His Wednesday column on stevenpressfield.com is one of the most popular series about writing on the web. You can also read his profile from Tribe of Mentors by clicking here.

The following is a sampler of chapters from Steve’s new book, The Artist’s Journey (coming out July 11th), and they comprise a mini-version of the full book.

Enjoy!

Enter Steven…

We are all artists—whether we realize it or not, whether we like it or not—and we are all on an “artist’s journey.”

What is the meaning of your life? You can assess it the same way you’d evaluate a writer’s life, or a musician’s or a filmmaker’s—by considering your “body of work.” What “material” have you generated in the past? And, more importantly, what will you bring forth in the future?

The artist’s life is defined by the works he or she produces. The artist has no choice in this. A calling from birth impels him. You have that same calling. Your life is unfolding according to the template of a “hero’s journey” that is unique to you. You can’t escape it. You can’t run away from it.

Whether you’re toiling in a cubicle or wheeling and dealing in high finance, you have an artist’s journey just like the filmmaker or the dancer or the novelist. Will you embrace this adventure consciously and morally, or will you deny it and reject it? Either way, that journey remains alive inside you. It will not sleep and it will not go away. It insists on being lived out.

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Cal Fussman Corners Tim Ferriss (#324)

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Written by Topics: The Tim Ferriss Show

“All the pieces are coming together here!” — Cal Fussman

I’ve interviewed legendary storyteller Cal Fussman (@calfussman) on this show before (here and here), but this time the roles are reversed, and he interviews me!

If you are not yet familiar with Cal, he is a New York Times bestselling author and a writer-at-large for Esquire magazine, where he is best known for being a primary writer of the “What I Learned” feature. And this interview originally aired on Cal’s podcast, “Big Questions with Cal Fussman.”

Cal has transformed oral history into an art form, conducting probing interviews with the icons who’ve shaped the last 50 years of world history: Mikhail Gorbachev, Jimmy Carter, Ted Kennedy, Jeff Bezos, Richard Branson, Jack Welch, Robert DeNiro, Clint Eastwood, Bruce Springsteen, Dr. Dre, Quincy Jones, Woody Allen, Barbara Walters, Pelé, Yao Ming, Serena Williams, John Wooden, Muhammad Ali, and countless others.

Enjoy!


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Cal Fussman Corners Tim Ferriss
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Want to hear another episode with someone who’s collected a lifetime of great stories? — Listen to my interview with Shep Gordon, the man behind some of the biggest names you’ve ever heard, including Alice Cooper, Wolfgang Puck, Anne Murray, and Teddy Pendergrass. (Stream below or right-click here to download):

Shep Gordon - The King Maker on His Best PR Stunts, Hugest Failures, and Practical Philosophies
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This podcast is brought to you by Four Sigmatic. While I often praise this company’s lion’s mane mushroom coffee for a minimal caffeine wakeup call that lasts, I asked the founders if they could help me—someone who’s struggled with insomnia for decades—sleep. Their answer: Reishi Mushroom Elixir. They made a special batch for me and my listeners that comes without sweetener; you can try it at bedtime with a little honey or nut milk, or you can just add hot water to your single-serving packet and embrace its bitterness like I do.

Try it right now by going to foursigmatic.com/ferriss and using the code Ferriss to get 20 percent off this rare, limited run of Reishi Mushroom Elixir. If you are in the experimental mindset, I do not think you’ll be disappointed.

This episode is brought to you by “5-Bullet Friday,” my very own email newsletter, which every Friday features five bullet points of cool things I’ve found that week, including apps, books, documentaries, gadgets, albums, articles, TV shows, new hacks or tricks, and — of course — all sorts of weird stuff I’ve dug up from around the world. 

It’s free, it’s always going to be free, and you can subscribe now at tim.blog/friday.

QUESTION(S) OF THE DAY: What was your favorite quote or lesson from this episode? Please let me know in the comments.

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Tim Ferriss Goes to Maximum Security Prison (#323)

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Written by Topics: The Tim Ferriss Show

Photo: Josh Estey

In this podcast, I had the rare opportunity to interview three men in Level 4 maximum security at Kern Valley State Prison. There was no time to do homework on any of them, so I crossed my fingers and jumped in. It was incredibly nerve-wracking and, ultimately, incredibly rewarding and fun. Any expectations I might have had going in were exceeded.

I owe special thanks to Cat Hoke, all the men who participate in Defy (the program Cat started), and all the staff and officers at Kern, including Chief Deputy Warden Goss who made it possible for me to bring recording equipment. Thank you for the help, sir!

If you’re interested in a similar prison visit after listening to this episode, Cat now has five more trips lined up. Simply email admin@cathoke.com for more details. If this episode moves you in any way, make sure to check out Defy and other groups doing this work and making an impact, like the Anti-Recidivism Coalition (ARC).

Enjoy!

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Tim Ferriss Goes to Maximum Security Prison
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Want to hear another inspiring conversation? — Check out my interview with Catherine Hoke, the founder of Defy Ventures and author of A Second Chance. Stream below or right-click here to download.

Catherine Hoke — The Master of Second Chances
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This podcast is brought to you by Helix Sleep. I recently moved into a new home and needed new beds, and I purchased mattresses from Helix Sleep.

It offers mattresses personalized to your preferences and sleeping style — without costing thousands of dollars. Visit Helixsleep.com/TIM and take the simple 2-3 minute sleep quiz to get started, and the team there will build a mattress you’ll love.

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This podcast is also brought to you by the Wondery network’s Business Wars. Hosted by David D. Brown, former anchor of the Peabody award-winning public radio business program Marketplace, Business Wars shares the untold and very real stories of what goes on behind the scenes with the leaders, investors, and executives that take businesses either to new heights or utter ruin.

I recommend starting with the first one, Sudden Death, which is the first of an eight-part series that chronicles the brutal business battle between Netflix and Blockbuster, and later HBO. Other episodes dig into epic face-offs that have shaped the landscape of what we buy and how we live, such as Marvel vs. DC, Nike vs. Adidas, Nintendo vs. Sony, and Hearst vs. Pulitzer. You can search for Business Wars on iTunes or your favorite podcast provider, or you can just go directly to wondery.fm/tim to start listening right now.

QUESTION(S) OF THE DAY: What was your favorite quote or lesson from this episode? Please let me know in the comments.

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Adam Robinson — Outflanking and Outsmarting the Competition (#322)

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Written by Topics: The Tim Ferriss Show

“If I realize my focus is off, and certainly when I’m experiencing any negative emotions, I ask myself, ‘Where should my attention be right now?’ Almost always, the answer is ‘my mission,’ which is like a beacon that always beckons.” — Adam Robinson

Welcome to another episode of The Tim Ferriss Show, where I share the habits, tools and patterns of world-class performers. This special short episode features insights from Adam Robinson (@IAmAdamRobinson). His answers to my questions were highlighted in my most recent book, Tribe of Mentors.

For those of you not familiar with Adam, he has made a lifelong study of outflanking and outsmarting the competition. He is a rated chess master who was awarded a Life Title by the United States Chess Federation. As a teenager, he was personally mentored by Bobby Fischer in the 18 months leading up to his winning the world championship.

Then, in his first career, he developed a revolutionary approach to taking standardized tests as one of the two original co-founders of The Princeton Review. His paradigm-breaking — or “category killing,” as they say in publishing — test-prep book, The SAT: Cracking the System, is the only test-prep book ever to have become a New York Times bestseller. After selling his interest in The Princeton Review, Adam turned his attention in the early ’90s to the then-emerging field of artificial intelligence, developing a program that could analyze text and provide human-like commentary. He was later invited to join a well-known quant fund to develop statistical trading models, and since, he has established himself as an independent global macro advisor to the chief investment officers of a select group of the world’s most successful hedge funds and family offices.

Adam has also been one of this show’s most popular guests, and you can check out his first appearance here, and his second here.

Enjoy!


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Adam Robinson — Outflanking and Outsmarting the Competition
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Want to hear another conversation with an investor who has his mind on more than money? — Check out my interview with Steve Jurvetson, an early VC investor in SpaceX, Tesla, Planet, Memphis Meats, and Hotmail. Stream below or right-click here to download.

Steve Jurvetson — The Midas Touch and Mind-Bending Futures
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This podcast is brought to you by 99designs, the world’s largest marketplace of graphic designers. I have used them for years to create some amazing designs. Whether your business needs a logo, website design, business card, or anything you can imagine, check out 99designs.

I used them to rapid prototype the cover for The Tao of Seneca, and I’ve also had them help with display advertising and illustrations. If you want a more personalized approach, I recommend their 1-on-1 service. You get original designs from designers around the world. The best part? You provide your feedback, and then you end up with a product that you’re happy with or your money back. Click this link and get a free $99 upgrade.

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…

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Brandon Stanton – The Story of Humans of New York and 25M+ Fans (#321)

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Written by Topics: The Tim Ferriss Show

“Doing anything less than something amazing is squandering this whole reason that you’re here.” – Brandon Stanton

Brandon Stanton (@humansofny) is the photographer behind Humans of New York. He attended the University of Georgia and worked as a bond trader in Chicago before moving to New York to pursue photography. Followed by over 25 million people on social media, Humans of New York features daily glimpses into the lives of strangers on the streets of New York City. It has been turned into two #1 New York Times bestselling books: Humans of New York and Humans of New York: Stories. In recent years, Brandon has expanded the blog to include stories from over thirty different countries, and was invited in 2015 to interview Barack Obama in the oval office. In 2017, Humans of New York was turned into a television series that is now available on Facebook Watch.

Enjoy!


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Brandon Stanton - The Story of Humans of New York and 25M+ Fans
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Want to hear another podcast with an innovative artist? — Listen to my conversation with Soman Chainani, author of The School for Good and Evil series, in which we discuss publishing stories, personal discipline, and remaining true to an artistic vision when money’s on the table. (Stream below or right-click here to download):

Soman Chainani — The School for Good and Evil
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This podcast is brought to you by WordPress, my go-to platform for 24/7-supported, zero downtime blogging, writing online, creating websites — everything! I love it to bits, and the lead developer, Matt Mullenweg, has appeared on this podcast many times.

Whether for personal use or business, you’re in good company with WordPress, which is used by The New Yorker, Jay Z, Beyoncé, FiveThirtyEight, TechCrunch, TED, CNN, and Time, just to name a few. A source at Google told me that WordPress offers “the best out-of-the-box SEO imaginable,” which is probably why it runs nearly 30% of the Internet. Go to WordPress.com/Tim to get 15% off your website today!

This podcast is also brought to you by Four Sigmatic. While I often praise this company’s lion’s mane mushroom coffee for a minimal caffeine wakeup call that lasts, I asked the founders if they could help me—someone who’s struggled with insomnia for decades—sleep. Their answer: Reishi Mushroom Elixir. They made a special batch for me and my listeners that comes without sweetener; you can try it at bedtime with a little honey or nut milk, or you can just add hot water to your single-serving packet and embrace its bitterness like I do.

Try it right now by going to foursigmatic.com/ferriss and using the code Ferriss to get 20 percent off this rare, limited run of Reishi Mushroom Elixir. If you are in the experimental mindset, I do not think you’ll be disappointed.

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…

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