October 12, 2022October 17, 2022 by Tim Ferriss

Q&A with Tim — Revisiting 15+ Years of PR and Marketing Lessons, Time Dilation for Deep Relaxation, The Art of Setting Ultra-High Prices, The Low-Information Diet, Studying Animal Communication, My 3-Day Fasting Protocol, Tools for Handling Adversity, Selling to the Affluent, My Current Coffee and Alcohol Rules, Risk Mitigation, and Much More (#628)

Welcome to another episode of The Tim Ferriss Show, where it is usually my job to sit down with world-class performers of all different types to tease out the habits, routines, favorite books, and so on that you can apply and test in your own life. This time, we have a slightly different format, and I’m the guest.

As some of you know, I tested a “fan-supported model” in 2019, but I ended up returning to ads by request. That’s a long story, and you can read more about it at tim.blog/podcastexperiment. I recently sat down with the original supporter group for a fun and live Q&A on YouTube.

In this episode, I answer questions on marketing and product launches, premium pricing, user feedback, fasting routines, podcast advertising, my recent gardening adventures, tools for releasing tension in the iliacus and psoas muscles, my current coffee and alcohol rules, advice for artisans, animal communication, tools for adverse life moments, and more.

Please enjoy!

Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Castbox, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform. You can watch the Q&A on YouTube here.

Brought to you by House of Macadamias delicious and nutritious nuts, Wealthfront high-yield savings account, and Vuori Clothing comfortable and durable performance apparel.

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

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#628: Q&A with Tim — Revisiting 15+ Years of PR and Marketing Lessons, Time Dilation for Deep Relaxation, The Art of Setting Ultra-High Prices, The Low-Information Diet, Studying Animal Communication, My 3-Day Fasting Protocol, Tools for Handling Adversity, Selling to the Affluent, My Current Coffee and Alcohol Rules, Risk Mitigation, and Much More

This episode is brought to you by House of Macadamias delicious and nutritious nuts! I love macadamia nuts and have been enjoying them often since keto expert Dr. Dominic D’Agostino recommended them on the podcast in 2015. They taste great, and with more healthy, monounsaturated fat than both olive oil and avocados, 27% fewer carbs than almonds, and more than 50% fewer carbs than cashews, they’re the perfect low-carb, keto-friendly, nutty snack. In fact, I just ate a handful of lightly white-chocolate-covered macadamias about an hour ago to keep me going through the afternoon until dinner. And I will say this: House of Macadamias produces the best-tasting macadamia nuts I’ve ever eaten… by far.

Now, listeners of The Tim Ferriss Show podcast can use code TIM20 to get 20% off all orders and a free box of their best-selling Namibian sea-salted macadamia nuts worth $35! If these are not the best macadamia nuts you have ever eaten, House of Macadamias will give a full 100% refund, guaranteed.

This episode is brought to you by Vuori Clothing! Vuori is a new and fresh perspective on performance apparel, perfect if you are sick and tired of traditional, old workout gear. Everything is designed for maximum comfort and versatility so that you look and feel as good in everyday life as you do working out.

Get yourself some of the most comfortable and versatile clothing on the planet at VuoriClothing.com/Tim. Not only will you receive 20% off your first purchase, but you’ll also enjoy free shipping on any US orders over $75 and free returns.

This episode is brought to you by Wealthfront! Wealthfront is an app that helps you save and invest your money. Right now, you can earn 5% APY—that’s the Annual Percentage Yield—with the Wealthfront Cash Account. That’s more than ten times more interest than if you left your money in a savings account at the average bank, according to FDIC.gov.

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Want to hear my most recent Q&A? Listen to the podcast episode here, in which I answered questions about mitigating risks in an increasingly contentious society, Japanese martial arts culture, C.S. Lewis, coping with the sudden loss of a loved one, self-discipline advice for ADHD folks who have already tried everything, cultivating resilience ahead of when it’s needed, podcasting tips for introverts, and much more.

#614: Q&A with Tim on Wealth and Money, Book Recommendations, Advice on Taking Advice, C.S. Lewis, Relationships, Behavior Change and Self-Awareness, Why We Are All (Mostly) Making It Up as We Go, and Much More

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

SCROLL BELOW FOR LINKS AND SHOW NOTES…

SELECTED LINKS FROM THE EPISODE

SHOW NOTES

[08:27] How I would build clientele/mitigate risk if I were opening a restaurant.
[13:02] Raising awareness for a new productivity tool.
[18:33] Notable contributions during my days as a tech company advisor.
[21:21] Biggest project/challenge at the moment.
[22:02] Biggest takeaway from my own work that often gets overlooked.
[24:47] Thoughts on curated newsletters for information gathering.
[26:47] Recent spiritual shifts?
[30:07] Derek Sivers.
[30:50] New invention: franchise or sell the proprietary system?
[35:41] My experience with Bas Rutten’s O2 breathing device.
[38:19] Encouragement for a caregiver amid a chronic medical situation.
[40:18] Ketamine and bladder damage.
[42:56] Is it always bad to be the bottleneck to your own business?
[44:32] Blogs or newsletters I read every day.
[46:03] First steps on the animal communication journey.
[49:40] Preparing, enduring, and breaking a three-day fast.
[54:43] How to launch a successful nonprofit.
[58:28] Building a luxury brand.
[1:12:52] Favorite recent travel destinations.
[1:13:37] Shredders.
[1:14:06] Outcompeting in a saturated market.
[1:17:43] Coffee vs. tea.
[1:18:35] Limiting alcohol intake.
[1:22:04] Shaved Ice Island.
[1:22:13] Resources for the archery curious.
[1:25:36] Fiction writing.
[1:26:33] Past guests who have inspired me through tough times.
[1:29:14] The mental model that most effectively helps me prioritize.
[1:32:59] Cosmic insignificance therapy (via Four Thousand Weeks).
[1:33:36] Marketing The 4-Hour Workweek in 2007 vs. 2022.
[1:39:14] Metaverse musings.
[1:41:25] How does my garden grow?
[1:43:29] Workout routine.
[1:48:34] Optimizing ROI on ad dollars spent.
[2:01:59] Required reading for someone in need of self-love.
[2:02:16] If asked, would I appear on The Joe Rogan Experience again?
[2:02:40] Have I ever tried backcountry skiing?
[2:03:25] What is Project 555?

PEOPLE MENTIONED

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The Tim Ferriss Show is one of the most popular podcasts in the world with more than one billion downloads. It has been selected for "Best of Apple Podcasts" three times, it is often the #1 interview podcast across all of Apple Podcasts, and it's been ranked #1 out of 400,000+ podcasts on many occasions. To listen to any of the past episodes for free, check out this page.

Comment Rules: Remember what Fonzie was like? Cool. That’s how we’re gonna be — cool. Critical is fine, but if you’re rude, we’ll delete your stuff. Please do not put your URL in the comment text and please use your PERSONAL name or initials and not your business name, as the latter comes off like spam. Have fun and thanks for adding to the conversation! (Thanks to Brian Oberkirch for the inspiration.)

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Scenic

1 year ago

Hey Tim, when will the 555 premints winners be selected?

Admin

Team Tim Ferriss

1 year ago

Reply to Scenic

Hi, Scenic –

Thank you for your interest in Tim’s “Project 555.” Per the linked-to page from the 5-Bullet Friday of October 21, 2022, “The total number of NFTs will be limited to roughly 8,500. The final count is TBD. The exact mint date is also TBD, but it’s likely somewhere between three weeks and three months from now. I’m giving away a limited number of spots on the allowlist to you, my dear subscribers, to mint (buy) the “Project 555″ NFTs on mint day.”

As the mint date is TBD, the date of the announcement of winners is also TBD, but also likely to be between three weeks and three months from October 21.

For more information, please visit https://www.premint.xyz/tim/ .

Thank you again,

Team Tim Ferriss

dirtjackson

1 year ago

Hey Tim! I’m a long time listener and huge fan of your books. I know this probably won’t reach you (4hr work week mentality!), but I had to at least try to reach out and THANK YOU for the impact you’ve had on my life. Your podcast and the practices you preached in the 4hr work week fundamentally changed my life. I used the principles in the 4hr work week to start working from home (before it was cool!) to save more of my time and work more efficiently. I used that extra time to work on my side hustle, which I got tons of great advice on from your countless podcast interviews with successful entrepreneurs. Fast forward 4 years and that side hustle is now my full time job. We invented a fitness product called MonkeyFeet that allows people to lift weights with their feet and did $10M in revenue last year! (Check out [Moderator: website name removed.] if you’re interested). Anyways, I just wanted to say a sincere thank you for doing what you do. You are a huge inspiration for me and an endless source of knowledge and curiosity. Keep up the amazing work, I’ll be following along!

HRB

1 year ago

Have been listening to these since their inception. Thanks for this episode Tim (and staff). I started a business in 2012 and was referred to Tim’s book by a friend. His discussions over the years have been assisted me – like many others – in bootstrapping a business from zero to an eight figure revenue. Only reason I mention that info, is to provide a point of context to let, new and/or aspiring, entrepreneurs, this episode is an absolute banger. Worth a listen (and read those books in the show notes!). Tim (and staff), thanks for all you do!

Andi

1 year ago

Informasi ini bagus

Dillon Mandley

1 year ago

Hello, Tim, is there any knowledge you could share on combatting osteoporosis and osteopenia? My mother in law was just diagnosed and now I am on a war path to research the best options for her that her doctor may not know about or is not incentivized to share. I am Hopeful that there is some type of body of knowledge that goes beyond prescription drugs full of side effects. I thought this would be the best first place to go given your track record with filtering inaccurate conventional wisdom. Even if you are unable to respond I am still grateful that you have committed so much of your life to helping others. I wish you the best!

franck

1 year ago

Hello Tim,

I am French, excuse my handwriting…
I can only write to you here, so I ask you my question which is not the subject of this page sorry:

then can I ask you how much the video of the trailer of your book four hour body cost you.

Having this information would help me in a project that I am doing.

Thanks a lot.

Frank

Amanda Schreier

1 year ago

Hi Tim,
A recommendation for you regarding animal communications. The wild horse community has some interesting trainers working on gentling wild-born mustangs who were gathered by the US government and put up for adoption. Madison Shambaugh (aka “Mustang Maddy”) in particular has done exceptional work in using scientifically-based, positive reinforcement methods to gentle and train wild horses, and has developed programs to teach other trainers how to do so. She’s done work with leading dolphin and dog trainers to advance her knowledge. Her background was in training horses/mustangs with a more traditional approach, and she won tons of awards, but she decided to delve deeper into horse-human relationships. She’s now at the cutting edge of the field of horse communication and definitely someone I’d recommend checking out.

Another horse trainer who has done interesting work recently is Elsa Sinclair. She has a documentary called “Taming Wild” where she explores how far a human with no tools, no treats, just time and body language can get in developing a relationship and joint communication with an ungentled wild mustang. She’s worked with horses around the world, and has continued to do some really interesting (ethical) experiments on horse-human communications.

Best of luck in your journey! I can’t wait to hear more about what you learn and discover.

~ Amanda

Joel

1 year ago

Hi Tim, I loved the bit about taking a 1 week holiday that feels like 3 months in order to make time feel longer. I’ve never heard anyone speak about this before and I’d love to hear more about your thinking on this. Perhaps you could do a podcast/blog/interview/haiku exploring this topic in more depth?
Joel

David Marquart

1 year ago

Tim – how could one (me) contact you non-publicly. not a pitch, sale, or spam, just a personal (and positive) note? thank you!

Vijay

1 year ago

Hi Tim, thank you for another awesome podcast episode. I loved hearing about your success with home gardening. Do you mind sharing what solar powered electric fence you used? I’ve had wildlife challenges with my garden and would love your recommendations.

Danielle Treanor

1 year ago

Hi Tim, I was interested to hear about your interest in animal communication. I used to do PR for a brilliant academic who specialises in that at the University of Sussex, UK. Some of her work focuses on how animals and human’s co-evolved and established communication mechanisms in concert with each other. Her name is Dr Karen McComb. Very cool lady and really interesting work: https://www.sussex.ac.uk/profiles/1752

Caroll Heuvel

1 year ago

Hi Tim,

I have really enjoyed reading your books, I am from Suriname (South America) and was wondering if you have any advice for sustainable funding of non-profits. I started a school for autistic children in Suriname because my daughter is autistic and since Suriname is a third world country there aren’t a lot of possibilities for children with special needs here. The problem many non-profits face is having sustainable funding, it is usually through donations and that is an ending source. Would love to know if you have any advice in that area so I could set up sustainable funding and help more children since I fund it all myself now. Every child has an equal right to education and I want to make that possible.
Thanking you in advance,
Caroll