Kind: captions
Language: en
really bad. All right, what's up
everybody? Welcome to another episode of
After Impact. I am Tom Bilu and this is
Agent Smith. There it is. There it is.
There it is. All right. And thanks to
everybody out in the community for
calling him Agent Smith, which finally
got him to really emotionally embrace
it. Stuck. Uh, it did. It did. So, um,
today we're going to be talking about
Tim Ferrris and the episode that we did,
which is a lot of fun. It was actually
the second time that I've interviewed
Tim. Um, super good dude. Really, really
liked him and he's somebody that's had a
tremendous impact on my life. And when I
read the 4-hour work week back in God,
when was that? That must have been
2006, 2007, something like that. Um that
really began to be um something that
laid the foundation for how we went
about Quest and the notion of you know
getting really really efficient with
your time. But most importantly in the
book the concept of the 1000 screaming
fans and that continues to be a driver
here at Impact Theory. Understanding
that your community is your everything.
understanding that you're putting
something together um that is meant to
serve a group of people, get them super
excited and I've given some talks on it
and um yeah and that's still part of my
my repertoire in in the talks is to talk
about that concept of the thousand
screaming fans. So mad love to Tim.
Super excited to bring him on talk about
his new book which we're going to be
doing uh big giveaways giveaway
giveaway. Uh we're going to be doing a
hundred books about 100 books books
tools of Titans. Uh you guys are going
to want to dive into this one. He's
basically condensed his uh podcast which
is amazing. Um and look I'm I'm doing a
podcast and I'm here to tell you man his
podcast is an inspiration killing the
game. So um Tools of Titans distills all
the people that he's brought on. I'm a
big believer in codifying the universe
in um really living by a code and to get
to that code you have to have a bunch of
beliefs that you've encountered yourself
or that somebody has been kind enough to
um distill for you. And that's what this
book is. It has uh a whole bunch of
experts and I know that we're doing a
giveaway around exactly how many experts
that is. Uh so I won't give that away,
but um yeah, it it's amazing and it's
chalk full of just amazing stuff. So um
had them on and uh now we're going to go
deeper. Yeah. And before we get started,
I just want to remind everyone listening
that we are doing After Impact Live on
Facebook and Instagram. Uh follow Tom
Billu in order to get access to that.
Yes. And we're doing it every day that
the episode releases, which is Tuesdays.
So you can check the episode on the
podcast and come and join us for live
and ask your questions and get involved
in this conversation. Yeah. So that that
was the idea behind this was really to
invite you guys into the conversation,
make you a part of it. I really want
that to be living and thriving. And when
I look forward in terms of what's
happening with social media and where
this is all going, I think that that's a
that's a critical part of it. And
there's going to be um with any
community, there's going to be those
super users that will come every time.
They'll engage and u you know really
want to be a part of that. I had a guy
pitching me yesterday on an investment
and he's building a platform. It's
really interesting. And one of the
things it does it does a bunch of
things, but one of the things that it
does is notify you when somebody comes
into your stream that's one of your
super users. So that's pretty cool. Uh
that would be something that, you know,
I think will be super beneficial as we
keep going. So, but we want your
questions. So, make sure that you guys
are diving in and and letting us know
where you want to go with the
conversation and and like Agent Smith
was saying, what we're hoping is you
guys will listen to the podcast before
you jump on and that there'll be
something that you really wanted to
drill deeper into. And that's what the
show will be about. Yeah. And for those
joining us on Facebook and Instagram,
just know that you can get the earliest
access to the episode by subscribing to
the podcast. That's where we release it
first. So, it comes out 6 a.m. on
Tuesday. You can catch it on your
morning commute. Uh, and then be ready
to discuss it here. We're if you could,
we're trying to hit that new noteworthy.
What's that? Sound issues. Uhoh. We're
having sound issues. Feedback.
Oh. That is the last thing I expected
cuz
says your mic, Jared, is hotter. So, it
could be the position. All right. Well,
we can turn it down. Well, it's going to
be on these mics here. Truth. Um, your
mic's not plugged in all the way. I
don't know. Let's just check our these
are interesting and very helpful
theories here.
Uh, check the connection over there.
See, let's just try the simple. So,
that's better. Oh, we've got a dangling.
That's all right. That's unfortunate.
That would have been nice and easy. Um,
wow. Where's this one? Our setup is so
much cleaner than it was in the past.
Underneath.
Oh, I unplug that. You got it already.
Okay, let's Oh, if you could check and
see if that unplug replug if that
helped. Better or worse? Better or
worse? It's a good question. Anybody
send or no change?
That face. That face doesn't look good.
Well, no one dancing yet. All right. So,
um, unfortunately, I think we're going
to have to assume that we're good cuz
I'm not sure what we would do
differently here. No change. So, maybe
we reposition the microphones. Yeah,
let's try that. But they're saying that
there's a humming sound. That's what
makes me nervous.
[Music]
All right, bear with us. Live audience.
All right. and live audience, if you
would tell us if what we're doing is
making any improvement that would be
super
try this one down here maybe. Well, that
would certainly make you less hot, which
is one of the complaints, but I'm way
more worried about the buzzing. So, how
are we doing now on buzzing? Anyone?
They said they can live with it.
Honestly, just keep talking. They can
live with it. All right. Well, there we
go. We'll uh we'll dive right in there.
We'll get this fixed for next time. Um
what I would like to ask for our first
giveaway. So, if you want to win this
book right here, we're going to be
giving a hundred copies away all the
time, uh, starting now. So, whoever
shares this live video on Facebook,
Instagram will get to you in a second.
Whoever shares this live video on
Facebook, we will, uh, at the end of the
episode, we'll tally those up and we'll
give a few copies away. Yeah, I love it.
I love it. So, share, please. Share,
share, share. All right, let's get
started. First question. Let's talk
about You're not feeling well today.
True. Let's talk about suffering. That's
a good place to start. Yeah. So, that
was a big topic in the episode. Uh Tim
talks about Amelia Boon and her inhuman
capacity for suffering and then you two
connected on on how that can be a
benefit to you as a as an entrepreneur.
Do you think it's effective for everyone
to cultivate the ability to suffer? And
then if so, how do you get better at
that kind of endurance?
So, an answer you're going to hear me
say a lot is everything comes down to
identity, right? And if you want to
cultivate your identity, it really is
about saying it out loud and repeating
it to yourself. Um, and then you
reinforce it in ways. So like over there
behind the camera, um, you've got I just
put this on my Instagram story. I've got
a painting of Michael Jordan from the
famous flu game. Um, where he played
with, you know, they think it was
probably food poisoning, but I think he
had a temperature and just really really
was just absolutely out of it. And it
has one of the best games. It was like
game five or six of the series. I mean,
it's crazy. You don't have to bring it.
My wife is literally going to drag the
painting in here. It's bigger than her.
Um but you know doing things like that
and putting that up in the house and
reinforcing that in my identity as
somebody who aspires to that as somebody
who um sees that as as a part of my
identity the willingness to endure um
and when I came across a quote from
Nichi and it was about that that he
wishes on his friends suffering
self-loathing failure uh because it will
prove to you the only thing that really
matters and that's whether or not you
can endure that I mark that down and I
keep that and it's one of those that you
know I return to often. So, um, yes, I
think that everybody would benefit from
it. I mean, if you're trying to do
something, here's the thing. I don't
pass moral judgment on people that want
just like a totally chill life. Um, I
fully respect that. And that was a very
conscious choice for me, especially when
when Lisa and I, um, you know, had
amassed wealth and it was like, okay, do
I really want to keep pushing? Um,
because at this point, we could retire
and and never have to think about
working again. And it just that didn't
resonate with me. it wasn't the identity
that I wanted to build and it didn't
feel like me. Um, so but I get it like I
get the impulse for that and I think
it's a really valid choice and if you
can do that um and that's what you want
and that feels right and I think that
you know that's the only thing you can
ask is is if whatever you're doing
should build a deep sense of fulfillment
in your life then for me that's that is
pursuit that is going after skill set
and um I am so fascinated deeply deeply
fascinated by what human beings are
capable of and when you look at you know
so I have the the theory and I read this
please don't think that I'm making it up
um that you know humans are an active
species and they desire to first explore
and then conquer right that's just that
is innate to humans that's how we became
the apex predator um and when I think
about the explorers of old and like why
they would put themselves through the
kind of hardships that they would to
leave a comfortable city um or what
we're about to do in the future now
where you're going to get colonialists
that go to Mars and they um you know
they're trading in a much easier your
life where hey you can walk outside and
actually breathe
and they're going to you know trade that
for a life on Mars and um I love that
and I love that humans are really asking
and and answering the question of how
far can we push ourselves and I think
that that is just it's hardwired in us
and I think it's beautiful and and that
may be the difference I think a lot of
people um find danger in that and I see
nothing but beauty. Yeah. So, before we
jump to the next question, should we
check in with the live audience, see how
sound is going? Um, they said it seems
to be working better now. Awesome. All
right, great. And I'll just remind
everyone that if you share this live
feed on Facebook, you will be entered
into our giveaway to win Tools of
Titans. I was just talking to somebody
um in fact, his name is Sam Gore. He's
an incredible human being um and was one
of the first super fans of Quest
Nutrition. He's a commentator on ESPN.
just a cool cool guy. Does a lot of
tennis. If you ever see him, like shout
him out socially, Samb Begore. Um what
what a cool dude. And um why did I bring
him up? Uh we were just talking
yesterday. What you were Oh, and he said
um because you were repeating the thing
that you'd said at the beginning and he
said that audiences now turn over so
rapidly in um a sporting match that
they're instructed to repeat every 15
minutes like their best material. And I
thought, "What the hell?" And he said,
"Oh, they're so deep in the analytics of
the attention span and and how often
people come and then the audience turns
over." And um every 15 minutes you have
essentially an entirely new audience in
a live sporting event. That is crazy to
me. Um and he talked about how they
really are looking at changing the um
length of basketball games and baseball
games. Wow. I knew they were I knew they
were looking into baseball. I didn't
know basketball. I didn't know baseball.
Um, which actually makes more sense to
me because that Jesus I have a long
intentions span on and that [ __ ] is like
that's not gonna happen. Um, but yeah,
can't believe it, but all true. All
right, let's talk about self-
optimization. So Tim is constantly
refining his process. It's very clear
from the episode and also from his book.
Totally.
He's constantly refining his process,
asking himself tough questions in order
to get better. Do you think that's his
main reason why he's so successful?
Is that the main reason you really threw
a curveball at the end? Um, I think it's
a huge thing and I think everybody
should be self-optimizing and you know,
you and I both take notes when we watch
the episodes and and that was also one
of the things that I wrote down. I
thought that that was really interesting
and when he and I were talking it it hit
me in real time that you know what makes
Tim so fascinating is a willingness to
check his own assumptions and to make
that um uh a part of his process to
really ask those questions. you know,
what if I did the opposite for 24 or 48
hours and and he goes into that in the
episode and it's really really
fascinating and I think that um
certainly a lot of things have come from
that. Do I think it's the main reason
that he's successful? No. But I think
that it's a a very powerful tool. All
right. Well, let's follow up on that
question. So, a big part of finding
success is about putting in the work. We
talk about that here, right? Grinding it
out when you need to, staying late when
you need to. Um but how often though
should you self assess versus just
grinding it out? like when when should
you take a step back, look at your
processes, figure out ways to optimize,
how much should you be doing that? It's
interesting. I've never asked myself
that question because I um I self assess
a lot and I'm I probably multiple times
a day will ask myself if you know what
I'm pushing or pursuing is really the
right answer and if I'm getting myself
what I want and I have my list that I go
over every morning
um to go through you know what are the
most important things that I could be
working on right now and even just that
title that this is you know the document
is called the most most important things
to do really makes me ask is this the
most important thing to do but if you
know if you look at yourself and you
know you don't do that that you very
much get caught up and that you have
perpetual motion and you know once you
put your nose down to the grindstone
that you just keep going keep going keep
going. uh it would probably be
incredibly valuable to you to formalize
that and to you know I use alarms like
crazy to set an alarm you know I don't
think you need to do it more than once
or twice a week in fairness like you you
should have enough vision for where
you're trying to get to and the step
should be relatively clear and you
should have been working through that
that you know if you're once or twice
sort of a week really checking your base
assumption that that should be plenty.
Okay, great. Uh let's let's switch gears
a little bit. So, one of the stories
that Tim tells and I think is in this
book as well is about Pixar. And it
really fascinated me because he said
that they some of their best movies,
they started with a draft and then
completely threw it out. Not rewrote the
draft, not refined it, but like
completely changed the movie and turned
into their best work. So, he uses that
as a technique for creativity that
sometimes you have to scrap your first
project. Um, how do you know when to
scrap a project? For me, it really comes
from frustration. And you write a lot,
so I'm sure that you get this where
you're working on something, working on
it, and you can just sort of feel it
slipping away and it's like um you know,
for me it it largely comes from like I
start to be embarrassed and I start to
get this feeling that like, oh my god,
like am I not good at this? You know
what I mean? And and it comes from that
uh almost a an anxiety and frustration.
And I try to really cultivate the the
side of it that's aggressive and
frustrated so that I can get to um a
breaking point. It's like IAC uh you
know where sometimes vomiting and like
going all the way um just clears out the
system. And so, you know, if I can get
to that point where I push through the
the sort of insecurity and self-doubt
and get to that like, you know, [ __ ]
this moment, like I'm starting over,
like it doesn't matter how much time I
have in this, like, and really capture
that momentum of the the irritation.
Like, then you can channel that into
something really pretty neat. Um, and
and I actually welcome that moment.
Like, I I hate the in between. Like, I
love it when it feels it's just working
and it's clicking. And I love it when I
get to the full-blown like rage of like,
bye, I'm going to start over. I'm going
to do this. I'm going to kill it. Ah,
you know. Um, and I absolutely hate the
the moment in between where it's like,
oh, I don't know. Is this coming
together? Um, and so, yeah, I'm uh I
think if you can learn to cultivate
that, to really push yourself deeper and
deeper into that um and and sense that
unease, and that was something I really
had to train myself to do was sense the
unease, right? That the unease means
something. And when when people can
learn to read those biological
processes, um, like for instance, I can
tell like I'll start to get anxious if I
get to the edge of my knowledge and I'm
still talking because then I'm like,
wait a second, I'm I'm now drifting out
of what I really know and understand and
I'm getting into prognosticating or um,
you know, just sort of really uneducated
hypothesizing. And so I I've learned to
trust that sense of unease there and and
just either make sure that I I you know
tell myself, hey, you're this is
something now that you need to either
learn more about or this is something
that you need to frame the discussion
around not being an area of expertise.
And so you'll hear me when I'm talking
about something, hey, I'm not an expert
in this or um you know, I really don't
know a lot about this or whatever just
to make sure people understand that that
I get it. But that that's me feeling
that unease. Um and I didn't always do
that. And there would be times where I'd
be, you know, deep into a discussion
about something and I'm sort of making
it up on the fly and just being
fascinated by where it's going, but not
recognizing like how uneasy I've become
with with what I'm saying. Yeah, that's
interesting. So, jumping off of that
question, uh, talking about pushing
through the projects that aren't going
well until you get to a point where
you're happy with it. Um, what about
Tim's idea about lowering your
expectations specifically around
creative pursuits? Lowering your
expectations in order to get started.
Why is that such an effective tool? And
and do you have any examples of how
you've applied that in your life? When
you know what's funny is um I I have a
huge example of how that's applied in my
life, but when he gave the answer, I had
to laugh out loud because it was not
what I expected Tim Ferrris to say.
Yeah. Um you know, he's so process
driven that I'm not sure if that means I
should have expected it or that it
should have taken me as surprised as it
did, but it really did take me by
surprise. Um but his answer is brilliant
which is you know you can get into
performance anxiety when you really want
something to be great and Tim is
somebody that I think is is an
exceptional writer um and really is an
exceptional experimentter and um
conceptualizer like the way that he can
conceive of the problem. Um the fact,
you know, the story that he tells about
when he was a sales guy and he asked
himself, you know, what if I did the
opposite? So everybody else is making
calls from 9:00 to 55. Yeah. What if I
did the opposite and was making calls
from like, you know, 6:00 to 8:30 or
whatever. Um like I wouldn't even think
to to ask that question. So that was um
was very very powerful. Um the example
that I have in my own life of a time
where I've used um lowering my
expectations um to great effect was
Instagram. It's the It's the story that
I told when he and I were talking and
it's super embarrassing, but it's really
become a beautiful reminder for me of
not being paralyzed by wanting something
to be so good that you never actually do
it. Yeah. Um and there was one weekend
where I had decided that I was really
going to make Instagram like um amazing.
And I was so fed up with how much like
BS content there was on Instagram. I
thought I'm I'm going to make these like
mini essays, right? that you could and
at one point I was thinking these are
going to be like the chapters to my book
and which is a horrible idea to do for
Instagram by the way if I could just let
everybody know that is not the medium
and talk about fundamentally
misunderstanding your audience uh and
and the platform. Um so I was writing
these you know very detailed things and
um there was one it took me nine hours
and I was like this is a this is an
Instagram post like you cannot spend
nine hours on this. How many words was
that you um they limit you it's like 770
or something. I mean it's really short.
So short blog post. Yeah. Yeah. So I was
like, "Dude, nine hours for this is
absolutely criminal." And and honestly,
my thing was it just didn't scale. And I
was like, "Okay, if I'm really going to
do this, like one a week and to be
spending nine hours, like that's crazy
town." So I just put a a I didn't think
of it as lowering my expectations. I
thought of it as making a demand. I I
can only spend 20 minutes on this. And
once I said, "Okay, I can only spend 20
minutes on it." Then everything changed.
And now I probably spend like 5 minutes
on them. Um, and I I am actually getting
a bigger reaction now than I was back
then. And it's way like getting that
short forced me to really analyze who's
my audience because I stopped writing it
for myself and trying to think that like
this is this is my best writing, you
know, um, and and making it about, okay,
who's the audience? What's the platform?
And really making something that was
super authentic to that. So when he was
saying that, I was like, you know what,
that actually really resonates. a slight
twist on how I'd thought of it, but it
was it was much clearer um even than the
way that I'd conceived of it in my own
mind. And you know, it doesn't mean that
you're not trying to do something um
that's effective. And I think that
switching your mind from effective to um
or away from like great to just
effective, like what's going to be
effective in this moment is is huge. And
so his um that concept really helped me
with that. Yeah, it's a great example of
stepping back and kind of looking at
your current process and figuring out
how do you optimize, how do you make
this better. Um, so yeah, that's it
worked for you. And if anybody like so
people always ask um you know about
process about how you get better at
something. I want to tell you that right
now I'm going through that. You guys are
watching me do it in real time.
Unfortunately mental transformation is
is invisible. But um because I don't
feel great today and I won't say that I
feel terribly but I definitely do not
feel good. Um, I'm I'm actually having a
hard time remembering your question as
I'm answering. And so I'm forcing myself
to like hold that in my head because
it's actually something that I'm already
not great at and now that I'm sort of
off a step. Um, that's uh another thing.
And so I'm I'm really forcing myself to
practice. Um, and I just can't tell
people enough how every every moment of
your life is an opportunity to practice.
And I'm not sitting here thinking like,
oh my god, I have to deliver this
amazing performance. and thinking this
is a great opportunity to practice
holding something in my head while I'm,
you know, expanding on something else.
Um, and just practice. And it seems like
such a perfect time for me to practice
it now today because it's harder today.
So, I'm way more aware of the process.
Let's check everyone. My daughter, let's
check in with our live audience. Uh, do
we have any questions from the
community? We do. Um, this one comes
from Michael Foster on Michael Foster,
man. You want to talk about a super
user? This guy is not playing around.
Michael, first of all, I notice every
time you post, uh, you're my man. So,
thanks for being a part of this. All
right. So, have you ever considered
writing a similar book with all the t
tactics, strategies, and mindset shifts
you experienced in Second Quest and
Impact Theories? Yes. So the question is
for Tom, have you ever considered
writing a book like Tools of Titans that
has all of the tactics, techniques, and
mindset shifts from the guests on Impact
Theory and Inside Quest? No. Um, but I I
am working on um I'm I should say the
most truthful answer is I am putting in
motion the things that will need to be
done in order to have a book um in the
next 12 months. uh which is basically
taking all the content that we've put
out and and turning it into a book. Um
so that I'm not having to sit down and
sort of think of all this stuff from
scratch. You know, I've been talking
about it non-stop for the last two
years. Um so yeah, going to boil that
down into a book. Um I could see doing
later doing something like this, but
honestly, when I really stop and ask
myself what's the greatest value that I
could offer that is completely unique to
me, um it's escaping the matrix. So
yeah, book book number one will be
escaping the matrix. There you have it.
I want to jump in and remind our
Facebook live audience, you can win this
book today if you share the video, share
the live feed. Sure, sure. And then I
think maybe we should jump into our next
giveaway. So, this one involves
Instagram as well. This is both. We're
going to give away one book for Facebook
and one book for Instagram. You're going
to need to comment. Now, here's the
question. Listen
carefully. Guess the number of experts
featured in Tim's new book, Tools of
Titans. There are a lot. This is a thick
weighty tome. Tome is the only word for
that book I think. Guess the number of
experts that he features in this book
that are packed in. And uh we'll let
people guess for a few minutes and then
the person who's closest will give away
the book. I like to think the person who
gets it exactly right because they read
it and they just Oh, they just know deep
in their soul. Yeah. When you told me
the answer, I was like, "Did you count
that?" I did. Uh he actually did count
it. I thought maybe they released
something in a a press kit or something,
but no. Agent Smith actually counted.
I'm impressed. All right, let's jump
over to our next question while people
are guessing. Uh, let's talk about
exponential thinking versus linear
thinking. Nice. Big theme of the
episode. Um, I'm going to read a quote.
So, Tim says, "The most interesting
things happen at the fringes first." So,
let's talk about what that means. Um,
exponential thinking. It's definitely
something Tim is very good at. Uh,
thinking about how do you 10x your
results and decrease your timeline. Um,
so why is that important and and how do
you practice it? Well, I think you have
two different questions there and let's
see if I can hold them both in my head.
Uh, so one is we have um the most
interesting things happen at the fringe
and and I'm I am so fascinated by the
concept. I wrote that one down too. It
really really impacted me. Um, and then
the other is exponential thinking versus
linear thinking. So, this is a Peter de
Amanda special who Tim brought up in the
episode and um I'm I've gotten to know
Peter very well being on the board of
the X-P prize and uh it is it is a
paradigm shift and Peter Teal talks
about this a lot as well. It's the
difference between you know an
incremental improvement and going from
zero to one. Um you know that instead of
trying to have a 10% improvement, how do
you have a 10x improvement? And and what
does exponential thinking really look
like? So, the way that Peter explains
it, and I've always loved this, is if
you take, I think it's 30 linear steps,
you'll end up about 30 meters away.
Okay? So, you know, from here to halfway
through my driveway, so not very far.
Um, whereas if you do 10 exponent or
sorry, 30 exponential steps, which is
exponential is simple doubling. So, one
doubles to two, two doubles to four,
four doubles to eight, 8 to 16, so on
and so forth. Um, in 30 steps, you're a
billion meters away. Wow. Yeah. So it's
something like around the earth 26 times
or something. So the difference linear
being my driveway and then exponential
being 26 times around the earth. You
really get a sense of the scale. And it
all comes down to um being willing to
think that big. So I'll give you guys So
Tim has talked about in fact gez this is
great. It's right from the episode um
about having you know one sort of
serious very weighty goal and then
having one that's a more frivolous um
fun goal. And so my weighty goal, you
know, I think everybody knows is we want
to fundamentally shape culture um
through the incubation of companies and
content and and giving people the
ideology around which companies and
content should be built and then helping
them actually put that into practice.
And I think through doing that, we can
end what I refer to as generational
poverty, which is a mindset. It's not
about money. I don't need people to want
money. Um but they just need to believe
that certain things are possible and
then most importantly know how to
execute against that. Okay, that's the
like the big [ __ ] mission. Um, but
then I have uh a more fun um sort of
small goal and that is I want to be the
first entrepreneur with his own Nike
shoe. Um, you heard it here first. You
heard it here first. And
so that to me that nice. That to me is
an example of exponential thinking
because who is going to be a big enough
ass to think that like they can have
their own Nike shoe, right? Jordan has a
Nike shoe. Uh, entrepreneurs don't get
Nike shoes. So, um, yet yet, right? And
so, that's literally and and now I
actually want people to take this deadly
seriously. So, just because I'm willing
to allow myself to believe that I can
make that a possibility, it's getting
scary like how many people are making
connections for me. Um, so, uh, a woman
who works at Nike Plus just reached out
to me to speak at USC. And so, everybody
here was like freaking out. They're
like, "Oh my god, like it's a step
closer." Um, and then just yesterday I
got introduced to a highle executive at
Nike because I happened to tell a friend
of mine that um, you know, I want to be
the first person with a shoe. And he's
like, "Oh my god, one of my closest
friends is like a highle exec at Nike."
He's like, "I'll hook you guys up." So
we connected on email last night and I
said, "Look, I know this is crazy, but I
want to be the first entrepreneur with
his own Nike shoe." And I said, "Look,
I'm I'm a super diehard u a, I'm a total
sneaker head, b I'm a Nike fanatic." And
so I sent him links, you know, of like
talks I've given and then obviously the
show and said, "Make sure you look at
the kicks." Um, and that to me like is
just freeing my mind up from the voice
in my head that says you can't do this.
And that to me is the difference between
linear thinking and exponential thinking
because a linear thinker will allow
themselves to believe that one day they
could afford a pair of Nike shoes.
Right? Like that's linear thinking. And
then an exponential thinker says, "No,
[ __ ] that." Like I don't just want to
make a movie. I want to influence
culture through content. Um, I'm not
just going to afford a pair of Nikes.
I'm going to get my own Nike shoe.
Right? So that that is it. It it comes
down to a willingness to believe in
something just absurd and that li
knowing that people are going to think
you're ridiculous, that they're going to
shower you with hate. But what I want
everyone to understand when people say
that you're putting it out into the
universe, let's make that really
concrete for a second. Human beings
cannot help you if they don't know what
you're looking for, right? They're not a
mind readader. So whatever grand goal
you have, until you start telling
people, it won't seem real. And then all
of a sudden once you start telling
people it does seem cosmic because it's
like all of a sudden like oh I could get
you here. Oh I could get you that for oh
I can make this introduction. And so it
seems like whoa what is happening but
the reality is you just started telling
people and you know people are going to
have connections and they're going to do
what they can and if you keep pushing it
and you know keep focused over a long
enough period of time you you will be
shocked at what will relent to that. All
right. And now just to prove to myself
that I'm getting better at this. The
other idea that I had to hold in my head
was wasn't exponential thinking. It was
living at the
fringes. All right. So, um and that's
practice, boys and girls. That's how you
get better at this. Make demands of
yourself and then see if you can pull it
off. Um living at the fringes. Why do I
think that is such a powerful um
concept? Um I I I think it's a sexy
comment. I think it's one of those
notions that really is like we all want
it to be true. And when you are living
in the middle, if you've ever seen
penguins, what they do is when it gets
really cold, they get into like a big
cluster and they actually take turns
rotating through the center. So at the
center it's the warmest and then
obviously at the outer edge it's going
to be the coldest. Um there's so much
safety in the center. There's so much
safety where everybody else is and where
you're thinking the same way as
everybody else. there's no danger um of
being ostracized which is is do you know
that ostracization registers in the pain
centers in the brain like physical pain
yeah it's crazy so we hate we hate as a
species that notion of like being um
turned away from people being kicked out
of a group like it is so painful um but
once you're out at the edges that's
where you can really discover that's
where um you can be bold that's where
you can find something that other people
just aren't thinking of um and and
certainly not seeing because you you
really are um at the outer edges and I
mean there's I can give you a lot of
analogies like for instance get out of a
city and it's unbelievable how many
stars are actually there but you just
can't see them because of the light
pollution in a city and all of the
sudden the world feels truly different
but it's not right all those stars were
there they were all shining just as
brightly there was just something around
you that stopped you from seeing them
but those are you know no matter how
many of those I give you they're all
just going to be analogies um the
reality is I think once you're not
focused on fitting in then you start
making unique connections because over
time and it almost never happens like
right away. Um because even if you turn
away from the group um stop seeking the
approval of the group at first you're
still going to have the group mentality.
you're still going to be thinking in the
same way. But once you're looking at the
not even looking, once you're like
feeling like what's real to me, what
feels good to me in all of my unique
experience and all the, you know, the
different life that I've lived and the
things that I find interesting, the
farther you go down that path, the more
things will reveal themselves, you know.
So, um, I think we're a very
atraditional business podcast. Um, and
in the beginning, like that was a a hard
choice, right, to to be me. And I
remember in the beginning, like someone
would say something, it sparked
something really goofy in me. And I
didn't want people to think that I was
goofy because I thought, God, are they
going to think that like I'm I'm a fool,
right? Uh, and then I thought, wait a
second, like these are all the instincts
that have led me to where I've gotten.
And if I'm, you know, afraid to show
people that, I'll never get far enough
down the path of this really being a
unique show, you know? So, we had
back-to-back neuroscientists on the
show. You're not going to see that in a
lot of business podcasts. Why? Because
the brain is the secret. Once you
understand that, then you can really do
something. So that's why I think people
need to be at the edges. That's why I
think and and I think the quote
originally came from Kurt Fonigette, if
not originally from him. Um almost
certainly Tim has that quote in the
book. Um and uh yeah, it's it it really
is true. That's a great jumping off
point for this next question about
copyrightiting your faults. So that's
something that you guys discuss in the
episode. Um, so you've talked you talked
about it just now, but in sort of in
order to copyright your faults, you you
have to accept them first, right? You
have to accept your own idiosyncrasies.
So, how do people do that? How do they
go from that place of putting themselves
out in the world, living on the fringes,
fear of o being ostracized? How do you
start working towards that? Here, here's
the honest answer. You got to get good.
Like, you got to be good. There there
are a lot of things that you're afraid
of doing and you should be afraid
because you suck at them.
And if you go into something saying,
"I'm not good at this. I'm going to
practice. I'm going to get good. This is
a long time horizon. I'm going to work
my ass off. This is going to be a long
process. Um, and I don't mind doing it
in quiet. I don't mind I don't need
people to think it's cool or to
appreciate what I'm doing. I'm just
going to get better at this." And then
you really begin to put yourself out
there once you're you've proven that it
has utility, that you're actually able
to do something, that it's powerful,
it's a good technique. um you know that
that really is the key. And so for me
like being silly or goofy or whatever.
Um I've just found that that's actually
an effective way to connect with people
because they see that it's you that is
real um and that I know enough about
myself to know that I won't push the
goofiness to the part where it breaks
the interview. Right? So if I didn't
know how to do that, if I um hadn't
practiced that just in real life of you
know being myself in a business meeting
or whatever which which was a very long
process and I cannot tell you how long I
probably spent um I mean it's a scale
right it wasn't binary but for a decade
in business I I was only some shade of
myself because I wasn't confident and I
wasn't good and so it took me time to
know like I'm going to deliver value in
this meeting like I'm I'm going to crush
it. I'm going to see um what we need to
do to make this happen. And so it's okay
for me to be silly, it's okay for me to
be playful because I will deliver value
in this meeting. And if you can't
deliver value and you're just being
silly and playful, then you become a
distraction. And um at that point, it is
way better that you try to be at the
center of the um penguins, right? Like
know when you're strong enough to be at
the edge. And if you're not strong
enough to be at the edge, like you know,
you have to be you have to you have to
be really careful and really insightful
into yourself. And if you guys saw the
movie Into the Wild, um, great movie,
but the kid dies and it's like a true
story, right? So, he goes out into the
wilderness, he's unprepared, and he
dies. And, you know, I love it's a great
tale. He's super brave, but at the same
time, like, dude, [ __ ] do some
shorter exposi expeditions with a way
bigger safety net until you know how to
cure meat and all of that. Um, so that
you can survive a winter. He just went
too fast too soon, you know, and he paid
the ultimate price. So that's like I
always tell people, I will augment my
brain as this stuff happens and they're
bringing out microchips and things that
you can implant, but I won't be an early
adopter. Like any [ __ ] mind like
unless you have like some major
malfunction in your brain to be the
first person to put a chip in here.
Crazy. Uh I won't be the first person on
Mars, right? Like let's build some
structures. Um so knowing when you're
strong enough to be on the outside is
critical. Awesome. All right, let's
check in with our live audience. So,
does anybody know Cindy? Do we have
anyone who answered the trivia question?
Like, what are the rules of this? So, if
there's anyone who got it exactly or is
it like the closest without going over?
So, it's anyone who got it exactly and
then anyone who's closest will take over
or under. Over or under. So, we won't go
price with 112. Who is this? Pettit
sound. Oh, I know who that is. Oh, yeah.
Pettit Sounds. That's That's our boy
Ian. Indeed, it is. Ian, you just won a
copy. Another super user. You just won.
I love that username, too. Pettit
Sounds. Little Beach Boys. Uh, nice. I
didn't get that reference. Yeah. Uh, you
just won, Ian. We're going to send this
to you. Enjoy the book and thanks for
all your support. Is anyone else freaked
out by Agent Smith right now that he got
that reference? That was dope. And
you're absolutely right. That sounds
nice. I don't know whether to be blown
away by you or really embarrassed by me,
but uh I'll go with it.
It's considered many people consider it
the greatest album of all time. It's
called Pet Sounds. And it was right at
the height of Brian Wilson, right, as
his mental illness. Um, and he literally
brought in like goats and all kinds of
crazy stuff into the studio and recorded
just crazy sounds, but u turned it into
what at the time was panned, but what
now is considered by many to be the
greatest album of all time. All right,
that's uh Instagram, I'm assuming,
right? Yep, that's Instagram. Anyone on
Facebook? Facebook.
Wow, Facebook is letting us down. Come
on, guys. Like, what's what's happening
here? So, the ones the guests on
Facebook are 100 128.
All right. Who's closest?
Deep thought over here. I am.
Don't worry. So, am I
Dave 110?
110 sounds really close.
And the reason it sounds close is
because the answer is 113. 113. I
counted them up. Dave Gonzalez,
courtesy. They just met Dave Gonzalez.
You just won a copy of Tools of Titans.
Congrats. Congrats, guys. And this is a
book you're really going to want to
actually read. Uh, and as Tim describes
it, it's a buffet, right? You can dip
in, dip out, you can have as much as you
want. Um, and it really, really
delivers. And you know, there's just
certain people in the world I'm grateful
they exist. I am grateful that Tim
Ferrris exists. I'm grateful for this
book. This book was really really um
useful and it's I think a field
reference guide. Be sure to check out my
review um if you're on the fence about
this one. Have we released a review yet?
Yeah, I know we'll release it this week,
Thursday. So on Thursday we'll be
releasing the book review. Check it out.
And also I'd love to know what you guys
think about the format. I'm trying to do
something totally different with the
book reviews and it's not just a, you
know, straight sort of um summary of the
book. I'm trying to give you how it's
impacted me, how I plan to use it in my
life, how I think you can use it, some
of the quotes that are really, really
strong, um, that you should integrate
into your life. Um, it's the format of
book review I always wanted. Um, and my
goal with the book reviews is not to
make it so that you don't need to read
the book because that would be foolish.
That would be to miss the opportunity to
find out what you uniquely would take
away from the book, which I think is the
point of reading a book. Like, for sure,
you're going to take away things that
somebody else won't. That's what makes
you uniquely you. that's what makes you
valuable is that you're going to have
some insight that other people won't.
That's something you'll respond to that
other people wouldn't respond to. Um and
so it's always a little um mortifying
that people are trying to find the
cliffotes and not read the book. It's
like that's the whole point uh to
supercharge your own life and then have
some uh you know nuance that you pick up
on that you can leverage in your life to
do something incredible. Going back to
that notion of standing at the edges,
it's like, man, if your whole life is
about finding the cliff nodes, like I'm
going to eat your lunch because I'm
right, like I'm going all in. I'm trying
to figure out what I can do and how I
can learn from this and how I can push
myself. I'm not asking what's the least
I can do. I'm asking what the most I can
bear is. Um, and so the goal here is is
to get you to read the books, right? Not
to help you get an A on your high school
exam. Like, come on, really read it. So,
we got one more giveaway to kick off for
today. Um, this one is for Facebook and
Instagram. Now, like Tom mentioned
earlier, we are really trying to hit new
and noteworthy on iTunes for our
podcast. That's going to help us grow
that much faster. But we need your help.
We need you to subscribe. Subscribe
first of all. And then we need you to
rate and review us. So, anyone who sends
in a screen grab of their review on
iTunes, can we get also their screen
grab with a subscription? Because isn't
that what we really need? Like we need
people to subscribe. Yeah. So, an
indication that you've been subscribed.
I think you can give us a screen grab of
that. You should be able to send it to
connect theory.com. I see. That's
connect at impact theory.com and we will
choose a winner. Maybe we'll choose a
couple winners. Winner winner chicken
dinner. Let's do a couple on that one
because that's big, guys. That'll really
help us out. And look, our our whole
ask, we're not asking for money. All we
need we need you guys to help us grow
this community. Um, if you've read about
our phase one, two, and three plans for
the company, you know the phase one is
all about community building. So, we're
trying to build this as as rapidly as
possible. And it's all value ad, right?
So, our ask is if we've added value to
your life, please. Um, there'll be a few
things that we're going to ask for like
subscribing, like rating and review. Um,
and if you could help us out with that,
it would just mean the world. Um, that's
going to be how we pull this off. So,
we're still heavy heavy in phase one.
Uh, we need we need those subscriptions.
That right now is what's going to get us
on new and noteworthy. So, uh, I am not
afraid to ask. That's what I need you
guys to do. Go out and subscribe to
iTunes. iTunes. That's right.
Subscription. All right, let's dive into
a couple more questions.
So, Tim has 17 questions that you're
supposed to ask, right, in order to get
better at something. Um, he one of the
questions is, "How do how do I learn
from my enemies?" Or, "How do I learn
from the people I hate the most?" is I
think his phrasing. This one struck me
uh as being very powerful. It and and
his idea that you're separating your
morality from your effectiveness, which
I think is a really interesting idea.
Does this ring true for you as well,
this concept? Yeah, massively. And I
don't think it think of it as separating
my morality from it, which is actually
pretty interesting. Um it may be
controversial.
Uh what I think of it as is everybody
has something uh for me to learn and the
only thing that's stopping me is me
shutting down my own mind. Um and that
really really scares me and so um I
worry a lot about my notions calcifying
into dogma and and those are fancy words
and I do love that phrase so I keep
using it. But what I mean by calcifying
a dogma is um when you believe something
it's helpful, right? Your world's
codified. You know what to say yes to,
what to say no to. You know how to move
forward. It's very very useful to
believe things. But when you believe
them absolutely and you don't question
or check those beliefs, then your world
is limited, right? You you know the
universe of options begins to shrink,
shrink, shrink, shrink, shrink. And
that's why um God, I forget who it is.
It's either Peter Diamandis or Elon
Musk. says, "An an expert is somebody
who can tell you exactly how something
can't be done." And that's always
resonated with me. Um, and it's not
useful. I don't need to know how things
can't be done. Um, because first of all,
maybe it didn't work the way you did it
or when you did it, but that doesn't
mean that it won't work now or in a
slight variation. And people tend to
close a lot of doors that way. Uh, so I
really really worry about that. And then
also um, you know, the example that he
gives is Nuke Gingrage. Um, or you know,
God, if we really want to get political,
which I don't, but I'll give you an
example. So, I watched um I think it was
Nerd Writer uh I think it was Nerd
Writer, don't hold me at this, but I'm
almost certain. Um that did a breakdown
of how Trump uses language. He did that.
Yeah. And I was like, "Wow, there's a
lot to learn." like it's actually really
impactful and it it changed the way that
I write my Instagram posts um because
instead of trying to use words like
calcify to dogma uh which most people do
not understand or know what that means
um that you really need to speak in a
way that people can understand that's
effective that hits you um and and yeah
so to your point about Tim saying he's
separating his morality and I think what
he means by that is simply like this
person offends my sense of what is right
um but that doesn't mean that they don't
have a powerful lesson in there um and
So I you know I very very much agree
with that and I think that people should
take a lesson from wherever it com