Tim Ferriss's Recent LinkedIn Posts

“Why do you go away? So that you can come back. So that you can see the place you came from with new eyes and extra colors. And the people there see you differently, too. Coming back to where you started is not the same as never leaving.” — Terry Pratchett

“I have learned that what I have not drawn I have never really seen, and that when I start drawing an ordinary thing, I realize how extraordinary it is, sheer miracle.”​ — Frederick Franck, The Zen of Seeing

To become “successful,” you have to say “yes” to a lot of experiments. To learn what you’re best at, or what you’re most passionate about, you have to throw a lot against the wall. Once your life shifts from pitching outbound to defending against inbound, however, you have to ruthlessly say “no” as your default. Instead of throwing spears, you’re holding the shield. From 2007-2009 and again from 2012-2013, I said yes to way too many “cool” things. Would I like to go to a conference in South America? Write a time-consuming guest article for a well-known magazine? Invest in a start-up that five of my friends were in? “Sure, that sounds kinda cool,” I’d say, dropping it in the calendar. Later, I’d pay the price of massive distraction and overwhelm. My agenda became a list of everyone else’s agendas. Saying yes to too much “cool” will bury you alive and render you a B-player, even if you have A-player skills. To develop your edge initially, you learn to set priorities; to maintain your edge, you need to defend against the priorities of others. Once you reach a decent level of professional success, lack of opportunity won’t kill you. It’s drowning in 7-out-of-10 “cool” commitments that will sink the ship.

“The purpose of art is not the release of a momentary ejection of adrenalin but is, rather, the gradual, lifelong construction of a state of wonder and serenity.”​ — Glenn Gould​

“Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself.” ― Leo Tolstoy

The Unusual Books That Shaped 50+ Billionaires, Mega-Bestselling Authors, and Other Prodigies Read the post here: https://lnkd.in/eCsQwvf

A 2008 e-mail I received from a mentor: "While many are wringing their hands, I recall the 1970s when we were suffering from an oil shock causing long lines at gas stations, rationing, and 55 MPH speed limits on federal highways, a recession, very little venture capital ($50 million per year into VC firms), and what President Jimmy Carter (wearing a sweater while addressing the nation on TV because he had turned down the heat in the White House) called a 'malaise.' It was during those times that two kids without any real college education, Bill Gates and Steve Jobs, started companies that did pretty well." "Opportunities abound in bad times as well as good times." "In fact, the opportunities are often greater when the conventional wisdom is that everything is going into the toilet." "Well … we’re nearing the end of another great year, and despite what we read about the outlook for 2009, we can look forward to a New Year filled with opportunities as well as stimulating challenges."

“Don’t worry about people stealing your ideas. If your ideas are any good, you’ll have to ram them down people’s throats.”​ — Howard Aiken

In February of 2004, I was miserable and overworked. My travel fantasy began as a plan to visit Costa Rica in March 2004 for four weeks of Spanish and relaxation. I needed a recharge and four weeks seemed “reasonable” by whatever made-up benchmark you can use for such a thing. A friend familiar with Central America dutifully pointed out that it would never work, as Costa Rica was about to enter its rainy season. Torrential downpours weren’t the uplifting jolt I needed, so I shifted my focus to four weeks in Spain. It’s a long trip over the Atlantic, though, and Spain was close to other countries I’d always wanted to visit. I lost “reasonable” somewhere shortly thereafter and decided that I deserved a full three months to explore my roots in Scandinavia after four weeks in Spain. If there were any real-time bombs or pending disasters, they would certainly crop up in the first four weeks, so there really wasn’t any additional risk in extending my trip to three months. Three months would be great. Those three months turned into 15, and I started to ask myself, “Why not take the usual 20–30-year retirement and redistribute it throughout life instead of saving it all for the end?”

“There is no passion to be found playing small, in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living.” — Nelson Mandela

“You need some kind of almost spiritual, ‘higher power’ experience, I think, to really get over an abusive relationship, alcohol or otherwise. For me, that was my work.” — Craig Mod Listen to this special episode on how to simplify your life in 2026:

“The best questions are naive questions.” — Sir James Dyson Find my interview with Sir James Dyson here:

This is important for policy makers to see. Some simple fixes, but the window for making them is narrowing.

“Everything I perceived as complex in my life—trying to figure out who I was, believing in that person, that that person could even exist, wanting to find a strong, meaningful partnership—was made exponentially more complex by the presence of alcohol.” — Craig Mod Listen to this special episode on how to simplify your life in 2026:

“The moment you begin apologizing for how you manage your time, you are essentially apologizing for your priorities, which means apologizing for your life.” — Maria Popova Listen to this special episode on how to simplify your life in 2026:

Are you getting my "5-Bullet Friday" newsletters each Friday? 5 short bullets of new goodies I'm enjoying. Sign up here: tim.blog/friday

“What I've learned over the years is that I basically have to make 'no' my default answer.” — Cal Newport Listen to this special episode on how to simplify your life in 2026:

The Not-To-Do List: 9 Habits to Stop Now Read the list here: https://lnkd.in/eh_6jN6

“ Embrace your weird self. Because if you try to copy someone else who's doing well, you're going to lose.” Need a pick me up? You need to see Tim Ferriss’s acceptance speech. At the first-ever Indie Pac awards, Tim claimed the first-ever Oxford Prize, honoring his lifetime achievement in podcasting. 12 years. All on a setup worth less than $300. How? By being extremely himself. By embracing his weirdness and the positive constraints of the medium. By being brave enough to “take your pain and make it part of your medicine.” Podcasting is a magical, vulnerable medium, capable of connecting with a microphone and a voice. It’s an honor to celebrate podcasters like Tim who’ve embraced the form and raised it up over the years.

“Life is wasted on the lukewarm. Anything you give your time and attention to should roil with the magma of yes.” — Maria Popova Listen to this special episode on how to simplify your life in 2026:

“A once in a lifetime opportunity is merely a fact. It’s not a reason.” — Jim Collins Listen to my interview with Jim Collins:

“The Random Show, Couch Edition! — Supplements, Hummingbirds, Cock Rings, Optimizing Mitochondria, Breathing and Balance Training, Cool Grip-Strength Tools, and More” Listen to another wide-ranging edition of the Random Show with my good friend Kevin Rose:

If someone asked me to give investing advice to a 30-year-old today who had just made their first million, I would first point them somewhere else. I’m not a financial advisor and don’t think I’m qualified to give anyone financial advice. The particulars matter too much. But if they insisted, I might say: https://lnkd.in/gTpz2P2z

“There is so much evidence throughout history that the fewer decisions you have to make as an investor, the better you're going to do over the course of your life.” — Morgan Housel Listen to this special episode on how to simplify your life in 2026: