The guest
Tim Ferriss: Author of The 4-Hour Workweek and host of The Tim Ferriss Show; angel investor (now focused on climate tech), podcaster, and self-experimenter, here doing a solo live Q&A.
What this episode covers
In this solo live-streamed Q&A, Tim Ferriss fields a mix of real-time chat questions and pre-submitted ones, opening by noting his entire podcasting rig cost only about $120-200. Much of the conversation circles money: he argues wealth amplifies whatever traits and neuroses you already have and rarely fixes psychological problems, and he discusses why he is holding heavy cash reserves heading into what he expects to be a recession. He ranges widely across book recommendations, language learning, traveling in Japan, grief, meditation, relationships, and how he runs the podcast (final-cut policy for guests, dream guests, low-maintenance networking). Throughout he stresses skepticism toward any single source of advice and ends on his guiding billboard: 'don't believe everything that you think.'
Recommended on this episode
MediaRecommended
I Will Teach You to Be Rich (podcast)
Ramit Sethi
“give a shameless plug to a friend of mine... his podcast which i think is just”
“give a shameless plug to a friend of mine actually ramit sethi and his podcast which i think is just i will teach you to be rich”— Tim Ferriss
BookRecommendedISBN verified
The Psychology of Money
Morgan Housel
“i would suggest... psychology of money... more highlights in that book... than probably any books in recent memory”
“i would suggest that you actually listen to my podcast episode with morgan hausell on the psychology of money this was a hugely popular episode”— Tim Ferriss
BookRecommendedISBN verified
Four Thousand Weeks
Oliver Burkeman
“great book more highlights in that book... than probably any books in recent memory for me”
“4 000 weeks the book oliver berkman great book more highlights in that book and psychology of money than probably any books in recent memory for me”— Tim Ferriss
MediaRecommended
The Most Reluctant Convert
“the acting is so so incredibly good that i recommended it”
“the main older actor who plays c.s lewis narrating his own life is so good the acting is so incredibly good that i recommended it”— Tim Ferriss
BookRecommendedISBN verified
The Screwtape Letters
C.S. Lewis
“the screwtape letters by c.s lewis i absolutely loved”
“the screwtape letters by c.s lewis i absolutely loved i read it more than 20 years ago”— Tim Ferriss
ProductRecommended
PSO-RITE
PSO-RITE
“the most recent purchase that i've been enjoying quite a lot”
“the most recent purchase that i've been enjoying quite a lot is something called the pso-rite for psoas release it's a very simple piece of plastic”— Tim Ferriss
BookRecommendedISBN verified
Musashi
Eiji Yoshikawa
“i would recommend reading the historical novel musashi it is long and it is amazing it's one of my favorite novels”
“i would recommend reading the historical novel musashi it is long and it is amazing it's one of my favorite novels”— Tim Ferriss
BookRecommendedISBN verified
Awareness
Anthony de Mello
“if you had to recommend only one book... i would recommend awareness by anthony demelo”
“if you had to recommend only one book today i would recommend awareness by anthony demelo it talks about some foundational self-awareness issues”— Tim Ferriss
BookRecommendedISBN verified
The Neverending Story
Michael Ende
“i loved the neverending story the book... definitely one of my absolute favorites”
“i loved the neverending story the book when i was young the neverending story was definitely one of my absolute favorites”— Tim Ferriss
BookRecommendedISBN verified
Excellent Advice for Living: Wisdom I Wish I'd Known Earlier
Kevin Kelly
“kevin is also one of the most engaged and successful parents and spouses i've ever seen so i find kevin to be a role model worth studying”
“he sent me this little book it's called excellent advice for living seeds for contemplation these are based on his annual what i've learned lists”— Tim Ferriss
MediaRecommended
The Making of Oprah
“i've only listened to the first season of but i found it very interesting”
“the making of oprah is a short miniseries podcast that i've only listened to the first season of but i found it very interesting”— Tim Ferriss
BookRecommendedISBN verified
The 80/20 Principle
Richard Koch
“pick up the 80 20 principle... i would just pick up that book that is the shortest answer that i can give while still being helpful”
“pick up the 80 20 principle this is a book by richard koch the 80 20 principle i would just pick up that book that is the shortest answer”— Tim Ferriss
BookRecommendedISBN verified
Already Free
Bruce Tift
“there is a book that i found very helpful... already free which really covers a lot of this”
“there is a book that i found very helpful by bruce tift called already free which really covers a lot of this”— Tim Ferriss
BookRecommendedISBN verified
More Money Than God
Sebastian Mallaby
“i recommend reading more money than god by sebastian maliby”
“for more on that i recommend reading more money than god by sebastian maliby who also has a very good book on venture capital”— Tim Ferriss
BookRecommendedISBN verified
The Power Law
Sebastian Mallaby
“a very good book on venture capital more recently... the power law”
“sebastian maliby who also has a very good book on venture capital more recently i believe it's called the power law”— Tim Ferriss
BookRecommendedISBN verified
Guerrilla Financing
“i recommend this because... it will be i think helpful food for thought”
“there's a book called guerrilla financing which covers alternative modes of financing and i recommend this because most of the startups are venture-backed”— Tim Ferriss
The guest's own work
BookBy the guestISBN verified
The 4-Hour Chef
Tim Ferriss
“if you haven't read the four hour chef there's an entire section on metal learning so the four hour chef is mostly focused on accelerated learning”— Tim Ferriss
BookBy the guestISBN verified
Tribe of Mentors
Tim Ferriss
“would you consider doing a new version of tribe of mentors yes i've actually been considering doing a new version a new volume of tribe of mentors”— Tim Ferriss
BookBy the guest
The Story (NFT short story)
Tim Ferriss
“if anyone is interested in my first published piece of fiction you can go to tim dot blog nft i wrote a short story”— Tim Ferriss
BookBy the guest
The 4-Hour Work Week
Tim Ferriss
“the four hour work week principles apply now more than ever i wrote a preface for a new edition of the four hour work week”— Tim Ferriss
BookBy the guestISBN verified
The 4-Hour Body
Tim Ferriss
“both the 4-hour body and the 4-hour chef get into this in quite a bit of detail using accountability and incentives”— Tim Ferriss
BookBy the guestISBN verified
Tools of Titans
Tim Ferriss
“it would be tools of titans i think that is just the largest funnel there's something in that book for everyone i think”— Tim Ferriss
Also referenced (named, not recommended)
BookReferencedISBN verified
The Chronicles of Narnia
C.S. Lewis
“he wrote the chronicles of narnia which may very well be an allegory for christianity has sold more than 100 million copies in 47 languages”— Tim Ferriss
BookReferencedISBN verified
Why I Am Not a Christian
Bertrand Russell
“i was reading bertrand russell and you know why i am not a christian and all these other books”— Tim Ferriss
ProductReferenced
Philips goLITE
Philips
“i've used the philips go light i believe it's called before which you can get on amazon or just about anywhere else”— Tim Ferriss
ProductReferenced
Waking Up (app)
Sam Harris
“the way i'll most likely do that is using the waking up app with sam harris and going through his very early initial program”— Tim Ferriss
BookReferenced
The Lion Tracker's Guide to Life
Boyd Varty
“thank you for the copy of the lion tracker's guide what lesson would you hope a loved one of yours would get from it”— Tim Ferriss
BookReferencedISBN verified
Lost Connections
Johann Hari
“dear author johann hari this book is lost connections and the subtitle is uncovering the real causes of depression and the unexpected solutions”— Tim Ferriss
BookReferencedISBN verified
On Grief and Grieving
David Kessler and Elisabeth Kubler-Ross
“my friend matt mullenweg found on grief and grieving to be very helpful this is by david kessler and elizabeth kubler-ross came highly recommended”— Tim Ferriss
BookReferencedISBN verified
Atomic Habits
James Clear
“you could look at atomic habits you could also look at the four hour chef which talks about this at some length”— Tim Ferriss
ProductReferenced
Evernote
Evernote
“am i still using evernote every day yes i use evernote almost every day i find the ui fine and it's easy enough to use”— Tim Ferriss
ProductReferenced
Roam Research
Roam Research
“at some point i might make a transition i think rome research is very interesting and there are a handful of others”— Tim Ferriss
ProductReferenced
Shure MV88
Shure
“my first backup which is a sure mv88 plugged into an iphone with the sure motive recording then i have my second backup”— Tim Ferriss
ProductReferenced
ATR2100
Audio-Technica
“then i have my primary this atr 2100 or actually a newer version from audio technica usb all in all three forms of backup”— Tim Ferriss
Big reveals from this episode
- Ferriss says he can't point to a line after which he felt 'rich,' and that past a certain point wealth becomes an energy-consuming part of life rather than a solver of problems.
- His core thesis on money: power, alcohol, and money magnify whatever is already there. A generous person becomes super generous; a stingy person becomes super stingy; insecurities get amplified.
- Of 600-plus recorded episodes, roughly six to ten were never published, and fewer than three percent of guests ever exercise the final-cut option he gives them.
- He is preparing for a full recession with high inflation, is NOT buying the dip, and is personally holding significant cash reserves, optimizing for sleeping well rather than maximum return.
- Ferriss admits moving to Austin in 2017 partly to escape a 'mono conversation scene,' but COVID accelerated Austin into a 'massive scene of scenes,' which he calls unfortunate.
- After watching markets, he concludes that basically no one knows what they're doing and that famous investors mostly rode 'secular tailwinds' atop a bubble before it burst.
- He explains why he dropped his old 'who is successful' question: it drew the same names (Branson, Musk, Gates) plus political 'my parents' answers, so Derek Sivers suggested asking for the third name instead.
Worth remembering
- Ferriss records with three layers of backup (a Shure MV88 on an iPhone, QuickTime audio, and an Audio-Technica USB mic) on gear he estimates totals only $120-200.
- He cites the military maxim 'two is one and one is none' to explain his backup philosophy.
- He links the BJ Miller and Ed Cook interviews to 'cosmic insignificance therapy,' a concept from Oliver Burkeman's book Four Thousand Weeks.
- Ferriss confesses he has completely fallen off meditation for at least a month and plans to restart using Sam Harris's Waking Up app plus transcendental meditation.
- His favorite recent purchase under $250 is the Psoas-Rite, a roughly $50-80 plastic tool for releasing the iliacus muscle to improve his sleep.
- He had retired Navy SEAL Jocko Willink's first long-form public interview on his podcast, where they spent about four hours discussing the novel Musashi.
- The 4-Hour Workweek has sold more copies in Germany than in the UK and Australia, prompting Ferriss to wonder why Germany and Korea are such voracious book-reading cultures.
- His Japan tips include the Ghibli Museum in Inokashira Park (tickets via Lawson convenience stores) and deliberately getting lost without a phone, using a koban police kiosk to find your way back.
- He recommends financial-punishment accountability: pre-committing 100 euros to a friend who donates it to your least favorite nonprofit if you fail to follow through.
- His personal 'billboard' answer, borrowed from BJ Miller (who got it from a bumper sticker), is 'don't believe everything that you think.'
More from Tim Ferriss
All 35816 recommended