#772: In Case You Missed It: September 2024 Recap of "The Tim Ferriss Show"

Andrew Roberts has written twenty books, which have been translated into twenty-eight languages and have won thirteen literary prizes. These include Napoleon: A Life, Churchill: Walking with Destiny, and most recently, Conflict: The Evolution of Warfare from 1945 to Gaza, which he co-authored with General David Petraeus. Sponsors: Our Place's Titanium Always Pan® Pro using nonstick technology that’s coating-free and made without PFAS, otherwise known as “Forever Chemicals”: https://fromourplace.com/tim (10% off all products from Our Place) Shopify global commerce platform, providing tools to start, grow, market, and manage a retail business: https://shopify.com/tim (one-dollar-per-month trial period) LinkedIn Jobs recruitment platform with 1B+ users: https://linkedin.com/tim (post your job for free) Timestamps: [00:00:00] Start [00:06:14] Expelled from Cranleigh school. [00:07:14] Why MI6 considered Andrew for recruitment. [00:09:56] The teacher who made history exciting to 10-year-old Andrew. [00:13:05] Words Andrew avoids when writing about history. [00:14:20] Are steady-nerved leaders naturally born or nurtured? [00:16:05] The thinkers who influenced Winston Churchill and his sense of noblesse oblige. [00:18:26] What made Napoleon Bonaparte the prime exemplar of war leadership? [00:24:37] Lessons from Winston Churchill's autobiography, My Early Life. [00:26:22] Napoleon's relationship with risk. [00:29:26] Andrew's signed letter from Aldous Huxley. [00:30:49] When historical figures carry a sense of personal destiny. [00:33:07] The meeting Andrew wishes he could've witnessed as a fly on the wall. [00:34:30] When historical villains carry a sense of personal destiny. [00:37:14] What Churchill and Napoleon learned from their mistakes. [00:39:38] "Dear Diary..." [00:44:00] Maintaining creative flow during the writing process. [00:47:18] On working with brilliant publisher Stuart Proffitt (aka Professor Perfect). [00:52:53] Why are some significant figures immortalized while others go the way of Ozymandias? [00:57:59] Thoughts on personal legacy. [00:59:18] Fiction favorites. [01:02:05] Being objective about the history of imperialism. [01:03:31] The challenges of teaching and learning history today. [01:06:40] Why "Study history" is Andrew's coat of arms motto. [01:10:22] What Andrew, as a history expert, sees for the future. [01:14:01] Counteracting natural pessimism. [01:15:34] What to expect from Andrew's latest book Conflict (co-authored with David Petraeus). [01:19:21] Upcoming book projects. [01:20:26] Parting thoughts. * For show notes and past guests on The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast. For deals from sponsors of The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast-sponsors Sign up for Tim’s email newsletter (5-Bullet Friday) at tim.blog/friday. For transcripts of episodes, go to tim.blog/transcripts. Discover Tim’s books: tim.blog/books. Follow Tim: Twitter: twitter.com/tferriss  Instagram: instagram.com/timferriss YouTube: youtube.com/timferriss Facebook: facebook.com/timferriss  LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/timferriss Past guests on The Tim Ferriss Show include Jerry Seinfeld, Hugh Jackman, Dr. Jane Goodall, LeBron James, Kevin Hart, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Jamie Foxx, Matthew McConaughey, Esther Perel, Elizabeth Gilbert, Terry Crews, Sia, Yuval Noah Harari, Malcolm Gladwell, Madeleine Albright, Cheryl Strayed, Jim Collins, Mary Karr, Maria Popova, Sam Harris, Michael Phelps, Bob Iger, Edward Norton, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Neil Strauss, Ken Burns, Maria Sharapova, Marc Andreessen, Neil Gaiman, Neil de Grasse Tyson, Jocko Willink, Daniel Ek, Kelly Slater, Dr. Peter Attia, Seth Godin, Howard Marks, Dr. Brené Brown, Eric Schmidt, Michael Lewis, Joe Gebbia, Michael Pollan, Dr. Jordan Peterson, Vince Vaughn, Brian Koppelman, Ramit Sethi, Dax Shepard, Tony Robbins, Jim Dethmer, Dan Harris, Ray Dalio, Naval Ravikant, Vitalik Buterin, Elizabeth Lesser, Amanda Palmer, Katie Haun, Sir Richard Branson, Chuck Palahniuk, Arianna Huffington, Reid Hoffman, Bill Burr, Whitney Cummings, Rick Rubin, Dr. Vivek Murthy, Darren Aronofsky, Margaret Atwood, Mark Zuckerberg, Peter Thiel, Dr. Gabor Maté, Anne Lamott, Sarah Silverman, Dr. Andrew Huberman, and many more. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this short and very tactical episode, I share some of my personal methods for how to get out of a rut, re-aim yourself at big outcomes, and make progress on a daily basis, despite the self-defeating tendencies that we all have. This episode is brought to you by: Eight Sleep’s Pod 4 Ultra sleeping solution for dynamic cooling and heating: https://eightsleep.com/tim (save $350 on the Pod 4 Ultra) Momentous high-quality supplements: https://livemomentous.com/tim (code TIM for 20% off) AG1 all-in-one nutritional supplement: https://drinkag1.com/tim (1-year supply of Vitamin D (and 5 free AG1 travel packs) with your first subscription purchase.) * For show notes and past guests on The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast. For deals from sponsors of The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast-sponsors Sign up for Tim’s email newsletter (5-Bullet Friday) at tim.blog/friday. For transcripts of episodes, go to tim.blog/transcripts. Discover Tim’s books: tim.blog/books. Follow Tim: Twitter: twitter.com/tferriss  Instagram: instagram.com/timferriss YouTube: youtube.com/timferriss Facebook: facebook.com/timferriss  LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/timferriss Past guests on The Tim Ferriss Show include Jerry Seinfeld, Hugh Jackman, Dr. Jane Goodall, LeBron James, Kevin Hart, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Jamie Foxx, Matthew McConaughey, Esther Perel, Elizabeth Gilbert, Terry Crews, Sia, Yuval Noah Harari, Malcolm Gladwell, Madeleine Albright, Cheryl Strayed, Jim Collins, Mary Karr, Maria Popova, Sam Harris, Michael Phelps, Bob Iger, Edward Norton, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Neil Strauss, Ken Burns, Maria Sharapova, Marc Andreessen, Neil Gaiman, Neil de Grasse Tyson, Jocko Willink, Daniel Ek, Kelly Slater, Dr. Peter Attia, Seth Godin, Howard Marks, Dr. Brené Brown, Eric Schmidt, Michael Lewis, Joe Gebbia, Michael Pollan, Dr. Jordan Peterson, Vince Vaughn, Brian Koppelman, Ramit Sethi, Dax Shepard, Tony Robbins, Jim Dethmer, Dan Harris, Ray Dalio, Naval Ravikant, Vitalik Buterin, Elizabeth Lesser, Amanda Palmer, Katie Haun, Sir Richard Branson, Chuck Palahniuk, Arianna Huffington, Reid Hoffman, Bill Burr, Whitney Cummings, Rick Rubin, Dr. Vivek Murthy, Darren Aronofsky, Margaret Atwood, Mark Zuckerberg, Peter Thiel, Dr. Gabor Maté, Anne Lamott, Sarah Silverman, Dr. Andrew Huberman, and many more. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Elizabeth Gilbert is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Big Magic and Eat, Pray, Love. Her latest novel, City of Girls, was named an instant New York Times bestseller. Go to ElizabethGilbert.Substack.com to subscribe to “Letters From Love with Elizabeth Gilbert,” her newsletter, which has more than 120,000 subscribers. This episode is brought to you by: Momentous high-quality supplements: https://livemomentous.com/tim (code TIM for 20% off) ExpressVPN high-speed, secure, and anonymous VPN service: https://www.expressvpn.com/tim (Get 3 extra months free with a 12-month plan) AG1 all-in-one nutritional supplement: https://drinkag1.com/tim (1-year supply of Vitamin D (and 5 free AG1 travel packs) with your first subscription purchase.) Timestamps: [00:00] Start [00:07:14] No cherished outcomes. [00:12:27] Self-compassionate ownership of responsibility. [00:17:24] The daily practice of writing letters from love. [00:23:54] Two-way prayer vs. one-way prayer. [00:32:29] The male approach to this practice. [00:35:59] How do you feel toward yourself vs. about yourself? [00:38:25] Understanding self-hatred to foster self-friendliness. [00:44:52] Setting boundaries and dealing with those who refuse to honor them. [00:51:47] Why (and how) Elizabeth avoids big family holiday gatherings. [00:53:47] Comfort in solitude. [00:55:10] Much abuzz about Elizabeth's new 'do. [00:59:24] Boundaries, priorities, and mysticism: a relaxed woman as a radical concept. [01:05:34] What mysticism brings to Elizabeth's reality. [01:08:58] A better question to ask than "What do I want?" [01:11:04] Elizabeth's hard-ass approach to project commitment. [01:18:12] Creativity guidance from Elizabeth's higher power. [01:22:40] How The Morning Pages influenced Eat, Pray, Love. [01:25:59] More productive questions to ask than "Why?" [01:27:48] The pointlessness of purpose anxiety. [01:32:31] Balancing presence with other aspects of a well-lived life. [01:37:49] Comfort with mortality. [01:41:53] What motivates Elizabeth's Letters from Love newsletter? [01:43:01] What can potential readers expect from this newsletter? [01:48:05] "Is the universe friendly?" — Frederic W. H. Myers [01:51:01] Parting thoughts. * For show notes and past guests on The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast. For deals from sponsors of The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast-sponsors Sign up for Tim’s email newsletter (5-Bullet Friday) at tim.blog/friday. For transcripts of episodes, go to tim.blog/transcripts. Discover Tim’s books: tim.blog/books. Follow Tim: Twitter: twitter.com/tferriss  Instagram: instagram.com/timferriss YouTube: youtube.com/timferriss Facebook: facebook.com/timferriss  LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/timferriss Past guests on The Tim Ferriss Show include Jerry Seinfeld, Hugh Jackman, Dr. Jane Goodall, LeBron James, Kevin Hart, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Jamie Foxx, Matthew McConaughey, Esther Perel, Elizabeth Gilbert, Terry Crews, Sia, Yuval Noah Harari, Malcolm Gladwell, Madeleine Albright, Cheryl Strayed, Jim Collins, Mary Karr, Maria Popova, Sam Harris, Michael Phelps, Bob Iger, Edward Norton, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Neil Strauss, Ken Burns, Maria Sharapova, Marc Andreessen, Neil Gaiman, Neil de Grasse Tyson, Jocko Willink, Daniel Ek, Kelly Slater, Dr. Peter Attia, Seth Godin, Howard Marks, Dr. Brené Brown, Eric Schmidt, Michael Lewis, Joe Gebbia, Michael Pollan, Dr. Jordan Peterson, Vince Vaughn, Brian Koppelman, Ramit Sethi, Dax Shepard, Tony Robbins, Jim Dethmer, Dan Harris, Ray Dalio, Naval Ravikant, Vitalik Buterin, Elizabeth Lesser, Amanda Palmer, Katie Haun, Sir Richard Branson, Chuck Palahniuk, Arianna Huffington, Reid Hoffman, Bill Burr, Whitney Cummings, Rick Rubin, Dr. Vivek Murthy, Darren Aronofsky, Margaret Atwood, Mark Zuckerberg, Peter Thiel, Dr. Gabor Maté, Anne Lamott, Sarah Silverman, Dr. Andrew Huberman, and many more. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This past April was the podcast’s 10-year anniversary, and the platform River helped listeners organize parties around the world in more than 180 cities! More than 4,000 people RSVP’d. I was able to join about 40 cities via Zoom for quick hellos and drinks (huge thanks to Rae and Ana for the quarterbacking), and I had a blast dropping in on the Paris meetup in person. Thanks to everyone who gathered for wine, celebration, and meeting like-minded people! After all the parties, and as a thank you for their hard work, I invited all of the hosts to a private Q&A. And that’s what you’re about to hear. This episode is brought to you by: Momentous high-quality supplements: https://livemomentous.com/tim (code TIM for 20% off) Shopify global commerce platform, providing tools to start, grow, market, and manage a retail business: https://shopify.com/tim (one-dollar-per-month trial period) LinkedIn Ads, the go-to tool for B2B marketers and advertisers who want to drive brand awareness and generate leads: LinkedIn.com/TFS ($100 LinkedIn ad credit) Timestamps: [00:00] Start [07:08] A focus on reinvention. [07:43] Optimization. [08:30] Recent joy. [09:22] A CØCKPUNCH update. [10:19] How the day’s going so far. [10:55] Argentina affection. [11:51] Intriguing investments. [12:53] Top three snacks. [13:12] AI thoughts. [14:15] Modern dating. [16:32] Self-experimentation to come. [17:42] Analyzing the past decade’s risks. [20:06] Outthinking a career bottleneck. [21:09] My current big project. [22:19] Peptides. [22:37] Be wary of high conviction. [23:06] Preparation for high-stakes presentations. [24:42] Kid stuff? [24:56] Getting the most out of a Tim Ferriss meetup. [26:13] In-person conferences planned? [26:18] IBS relief. [27:03] Personal heresies. [28:26] What makes conferences worthwhile for me? [29:00] Longevity and healthspan. [33:21] Tips for a father-and-son Kumano Kodo walk. [34:49] A barbell distribution approach to life. [35:31] Who would I resurrect for a podcast interview? [36:24] Do I consult any mentors regularly? [36:54] Ayahuasca and antidepressants. [38:16] Incentivizing potential mentors. [39:13] Adventures in babysitting. [40:04] GLP-1 for depression/anxiety. [40:37] Cheap but choice art. [41:05] Finding a book agent. [41:28] Making positive, in-person connections. [41:44] Unmentioned things I’d like to talk about. [43:39] Is there room for the irrational? [45:59] Blogging in the age of AI. [46:39] Binaural beats. [46:56] 4-Hour Dog Training? [47:00] Best $1,000 spent lately. [47:55] Javier Milei. [48:07] Best thing I spent an “assload” on. [48:34] Painting. [48:45] 10-20 minutes on the acupuncture mat. [49:15] Dating apps. [50:15] Favorite sci-fi movies. [51:21] Reflecting on the impact this show has had on others. [52:23] Why was I in Europe for six to eight weeks? [52:31] The mood-altering effects of Q&A. [52:48] Where do I see myself in 30 years? [53:08] Workout routines for older parents. [54:13] How I walk and talk for podcasts. [54:33] Would I consider becoming a single parent? [55:38] A $1 million coffee mug? [56:52] Brazil. [56:59] A small but mighty staff. [57:07] Attracting event attendance. [59:08] Visualization or affirmations? [1:00:20] Today I learned this about Hodinkee. [1:00:26] What would this look like if it were easy? [1:00:32] What I ask show listeners when I meet them. [1:00:50] Eschewing endorsement remorse. [1:01:19] Music I like. [1:01:52] State, story, strategy. [1:01:59] The (not-so) funny thing about interviewing comedians. [1:02:17] Parting thoughts. * For show notes and past guests on The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast. For deals from sponsors of The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast-sponsors Sign up for Tim’s email newsletter (5-Bullet Friday) at tim.blog/friday. For transcripts of episodes, go to tim.blog/transcripts. Discover Tim’s books: tim.blog/books. Follow Tim: Twitter: twitter.com/tferriss  Instagram: instagram.com/timferriss YouTube: youtube.com/timferriss Facebook: facebook.com/timferriss  LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/timferriss Past guests on The Tim Ferriss Show include Jerry Seinfeld, Hugh Jackman, Dr. Jane Goodall, LeBron James, Kevin Hart, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Jamie Foxx, Matthew McConaughey, Esther Perel, Elizabeth Gilbert, Terry Crews, Sia, Yuval Noah Harari, Malcolm Gladwell, Madeleine Albright, Cheryl Strayed, Jim Collins, Mary Karr, Maria Popova, Sam Harris, Michael Phelps, Bob Iger, Edward Norton, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Neil Strauss, Ken Burns, Maria Sharapova, Marc Andreessen, Neil Gaiman, Neil de Grasse Tyson, Jocko Willink, Daniel Ek, Kelly Slater, Dr. Peter Attia, Seth Godin, Howard Marks, Dr. Brené Brown, Eric Schmidt, Michael Lewis, Joe Gebbia, Michael Pollan, Dr. Jordan Peterson, Vince Vaughn, Brian Koppelman, Ramit Sethi, Dax Shepard, Tony Robbins, Jim Dethmer, Dan Harris, Ray Dalio, Naval Ravikant, Vitalik Buterin, Elizabeth Lesser, Amanda Palmer, Katie Haun, Sir Richard Branson, Chuck Palahniuk, Arianna Huffington, Reid Hoffman, Bill Burr, Whitney Cummings, Rick Rubin, Dr. Vivek Murthy, Darren Aronofsky, Margaret Atwood, Mark Zuckerberg, Peter Thiel, Dr. Gabor Maté, Anne Lamott, Sarah Silverman, Dr. Andrew Huberman, and many more. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Welcome to another episode of The Tim Ferriss Show. For this episode, I’m doing something different. I’m featuring a very special episode from a brand-new podcast called Altered States. Here’s the teaser for the episode you’re about to hear: “For the last couple of years, producer Shaina Shealy has been following Israeli and Palestinian peace activists who have been coming together to drink the psychedelic brew ayahuasca in an effort to heal their collective intergenerational trauma. It seemed to be helping them when suddenly the region erupts into chaos and violence.”  Shaina Shealy was a fellow from the Ferriss-UC Berkeley Psychedelic Journalism Fellowship, which offers ten $10,000 reporting grants per year to journalists reporting in-depth print and audio stories on the science, policy, business and culture of this new era of psychedelics. The fellowship is supported by my foundation, the Saisei Foundation, and made possible in collaboration with Michael Pollan, Malia Wollan, and others at UC Berkeley.  Altered States looks at how people are taking psychedelics, who has access to them, how they're regulated, who stands to profit, and what these substances might offer us as individuals and as a society. [00:00] An intro to the Altered States podcast and its mission. [00:02:24] Shaina Shealy explains what ayahuasca is and how it affects the human brain. [00:03:47] Palestinian Sami Awad’s peace activism and ayahuasca journey. [00:17:18] Dr. Rachel Yehuda and the science of intergenerational trauma. [00:19:27] How the Israeli-Palestinian ayahuasca experiment came about. [00:25:47] Participants share their experiences. [00:38:35] How the violent events of October 7th affected the participants and the project. [00:45:52] Reflections on the experiment’s effectiveness and participants’ continued commitment to peace. [00:50:29] Closing credits. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.