#837: How to Simplify Your Life in 2026 — New Tips from Derek Sivers, Seth Godin, and Martha Beck
As we head into the new year, many of us feel like we’re drowning in invisible complexity. So I wanted to hit pause and ask a simple question: What are 1-3 decisions that could dramatically simplify my life in 2026? To explore that, I invited three close friends and long-time listener favorites—Derek Sivers, Seth Godin, and Martha Beck.
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More about today's guests:
Derek Sivers is an author of philosophy and entrepreneurship, known for his surprising, quotable insights and pithy, succinct writing style. Derek’s books (How to Live, Hell Yeah or No, Your Music and People, Anything You Want) and newest projects are at his website: sive.rs. His new book is Useful Not True.
Seth Godin is the author of 21 internationally bestselling books, translated into more than 35 languages, including Linchpin, Tribes, The Dip, and Purple Cow. His latest book, This Is Strategy, offers a fresh lens on how we can make bold decisions, embrace change, and navigate a complex, rapidly evolving world.
Dr. Martha Beck has been called “the best-known life coach in America” by NPR and USA Today. She holds three Harvard degrees in social science and has published nine non-fiction books, one novel, and more than 200 magazine articles. The Guardian and other media have described her as “Oprah’s life coach.” Her latest book is Beyond Anxiety: Curiosity, Creativity, and Finding Your Life’s Purpose.
TIMESTAMPS
[00:00:00] Start.
[00:00:20] Advice I’ve used to simplify my own life.
[00:04:02] Enter Derek Sivers.
[00:04:17] Simple is the opposite of complex — not just a synonym for “easy.”
[00:07:19] Simplification #1: No subscriptions, contracts, or people depending on him.
[00:07:40] Simplification #2: Programming with no external libraries or dependencies.
[00:08:30] Simplification #3: Building a house from scratch in New Zealand.
[00:09:26] Complex is a long-term trap. Simple is long-term freedom..
[00:10:32] Enter Seth Godin.
[00:10:48] Simplifying is hard work — if it were easy, you’d have already done it.
[00:11:17] Clarity on “who it’s for”: Ignore everyone else, including one-star reviews.
[00:12:46] Eliminate gray areas: Never miss a deadline, never go over budget. Stand by your commitments.
[00:14:53] Reclaim time with personal boundaries: No meetings, no social media, no TV.
[00:16:57] Simplifying one thing puts you on the hook to go deeper elsewhere.
[00:22:23] Enter Martha Beck.
[00:22:29] One decision that radically simplified her life.
[00:22:44] At 29, chose to follow true joy — not dopamine hits, but deep peace.
[00:24:15] The simple rule: Go toward joy, away from misery — no matter what.
[00:28:20] How a near-death experience sparked this commitment.
[00:30:02] Payoff: Autoimmune remission, purpose, wonderful relationships, home inside herself.
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232: Useful Not True, with Derek Sivers
Derek Sivers joins us to talk about personal agency, idea ownership, saying no, and (of course) journaling.
This episode of Focused is sponsored by:
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Guest Starring:
Derek Sivers
Links and Show Notes:
Deep Focus: Extended episodes with bonus deep dive content.
Derek Sivers
CD Baby
Hell Yeah or No | Derek Sivers
How to Start a Movement | TED Talk
Useful Not True | Derek Sivers
Anything You Want | Derek Sivers
Your Music and People | Derek Sivers
How to Live | Derek Sivers
How to do what you love and make good money | Derek Sivers
One big choice shapes a hundred more | Derek Sivers
Vim
Scripting News
The Confident Mind by Nate Zinser
Mark Twain by Ron Chernow
The Political Thought of Xi Jinping
Book I've Read | Derek Sivers
Pandoc
What I’m doing now | Derek Sivers
What I’m Doing Now | MacSparky
Contact | Derek Sivers
#777: Derek Sivers, Philosopher-Entrepreneur — The Greatest Year of His Life
Derek Sivers is an author of philosophy and entrepreneurship, known for his surprising, quotable insights and pithy, succinct writing style. Derek’s books (How to Live, Hell Yeah or No, Your Music and People, Anything You Want) and newest projects are at his website: sive.rs. His new book is Useful Not True.
Sponsors:
Seed's DS-01® Daily Synbiotic broad spectrum 24-strain probiotic + prebiotic: https://Seed.com/Tim (Use code 25TIM for 25% off your first month's supply)
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.)
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Timestamps:
[00:00] Start
[07:18] Derek Sivers: A Man who brings his own introduction.
[09:25] First mind change: Emirati coffee.
[12:34] Second mind change: Ruby to Python.
[13:54] Third mind change: Rats.
[17:23] Fourth mind change: China.
[23:24] Fifth mind change: Dubai.
[26:48] Tamashee: Come for the sandals, stay for the culture.
[30:52] Cormac McCarthy Writes to the Editor of The Santa Fe New Mexican.
[31:47] Shifting perspectives and the value of questioning preconceptions.
[51:23] Brian Eno and MusicThoughts.
[53:57] John Cage.
[56:34] Three glasses.
[57:08] Derek’s experimental housing project.
[01:03:51] Rich Hickey and practical applications of simplicity.
[01:29:20] Tyler Cowen.
[01:35:57] Inchword and language learning.
[01:46:35] Traveling to inhabit philosophies.
[01:54:14] Parting thoughts.
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For show notes and past guests on The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast.
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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.
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The Unstoppable Power Of Reframing Your Experiences - Derek Sivers - #847
Derek Sivers is an entrepreneur, author, and speaker.
Things are not what they are, things are what we think they are. The power of reframing and changing your perspective is a kind of alchemy, and today we get to hear some of Derek's best principles for altering the way you see everything.
Expect to learn how you can reframe your perspective for the better, what the term ‘Useful Not True’ means, why your thoughts cannot be trusted, why people don’t bond over facts but rather perspectives, how to not become discouraged if you are thrown off course, how to make better decisions and much more...
Sponsors:
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Timestamps:
(00:00) Useful But Not True
(06:41) Why is Reframing Important?
(13:08) Derek’s Car Accident
(23:11) We Bond Over Our Perspectives
(28:29) Is it Right to Sometimes Break the Rules?
(36:35) Your Own Thoughts Are Untrue
(47:28) Evaluating Beliefs Fuelled By Emotion
(55:39) Judge the Content & Not the Box
(01:06:05) The Value of Diverse Worldviews
(01:17:30) How to Better Reframe Your Experiences
(01:32:22) Are These Tools Universally Useful?
(01:41:46) Our Desire to Be Perfect Immediately
(01:48:25) You Are What You Pretend to Be
(02:01:37) Where to Find Derek
Extra Stuff:
Get my free reading list of 100 books to read before you die: https://chriswillx.com/books
Try my productivity energy drink Neutonic: https://neutonic.com/modernwisdom
Episodes You Might Enjoy:
This Is How To Master Your Life - David Goggins - #577: lnkfi.re/SN-Goggins
How To Destroy Your Negative Beliefs - Dr Jordan Peterson - #712: lnkfi.re/SN-Peterson
The Secret Tools To Hack Your Brain - Dr Andrew Huberman - #700: lnkfi.re/SN-Huberman
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#753: Derek Sivers and Kevin Kelly
This episode is a two-for-one, and that’s because the podcast recently hit its 10-year anniversary and passed one billion downloads. To celebrate, I’ve curated some of the best of the best—some of my favorites—from more than 700 episodes over the last decade. I could not be more excited. The episode features segments from episode "Derek Sivers on Developing Confidence, Finding Happiness, and Saying No to Millions" and "Interview of Kevin Kelly, Co-Founder of WIRED, Polymath, Most Interesting Man In The World?"
Please enjoy!
Sponsors:
Wealthfront high-yield cash account: https://Wealthfront.com/Tim (Start earning 5.00% APY on your short-term cash until you’re ready to invest. And when you open an account today, you can get an extra fifty-dollar bonus with a deposit of five hundred dollars or more.) Terms apply.
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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
[05:47] Notes about this supercombo format.
[06:50] Enter Derek Sivers.
[07:20] From pig show busker to circus ringleader.
[10:42] Derek's framework for developing confidence.
[13:05] "The standard pace is for chumps."
[18:51] Relaxing for the same result.
[24:01] The origins of "HELL YEAH! or no."
[26:25] "Busy" implies a life out of control.
[28:03] What inspired the automation of CD Baby?
[33:22] Derek's billboard.
[34:32] Good advice at any age: "Don't be a donkey."
[40:24] Enter Kevin Kelly.
[41:02] Kevin's biggest regret.
[43:13] Finding contentment in minimalism and "voluntary simplicity" without starving to death.
[50:33] Kevin's epiphany when he embraced writing as a late bloomer.
[56:40] Why Kevin promised himself he would never resort to teaching English while traveling abroad.
[59:07] Finding purpose through resilience and the creator's dilemma.
[1:06:50] Why the appeal of being a billionaire is overrated.
[1:11:05] Middle-aged optimization.
[1:15:28] Realizations following a "six months until death" challenge.
[1:20:08] Kevin's Kickstarter-funded project linking angels and robots.
[1:22:41] Why a self-proclaimed ex-hippie waited until his 50th birthday to try LSD for the first time.
[1:28:43] Why a population implosion is probable in the next 100 years.
[1:36:05] The greatest gift you can give to your child.
[1:38:21] The criteria for Amish technology assimilation.
[1:45:03] What technology-free sabbaticals can do for you.
[1:48:53] Long Now Foundation's vision of a better civilization.
[1:53:33] The graphic novel teaching young people how to become indispensable.
[1:54:52] An antidote to misguided "follow your passion" advice.
[1:56:44] Kevin's favorite fiction book.
[1:59:15] The resource Kevin compiled for documentary lovers.
[2:02:47] A name Kevin considers synonymous with "success" (and why success is overrated).
[2:05:46] What Kevin would change about himself.
[2:07:59] Daily rituals.
[2:10:44] How Kevin accumulated enough books to fill a two-story library.
[2:15:19] How Adam Savage from MythBusters transformed Kevin's method of organization.
[2:17:14] The project everyone should undertake at least once in life.
[2:19:30] Does discovery equal invention?
[2:20:12] Kevin's advice to his younger self.
[2:23:16] Parting thoughts.
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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
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#668: Derek Sivers — The Joys of an Un-Optimized Life, Finding Paths Less Traveled, Creating Tech Independence (and Risks of the Cloud), Taking Giant Leaps, and Picking the Right “Game of Life”
Brought to you by Allbirds incredibly comfortable shoes, Wealthfront high-yield savings account, and Shopify global commerce platform providing tools to start, grow, market, and manage a retail business.
Derek Sivers (@sivers) is an author of philosophy and entrepreneurship, known for his surprising, quotable insights and pithy, succinct writing style. He is a former musician, programmer, TED speaker, and circus clown, who sold his first company, CDBaby, for $22 million and gave all the money to charity.
Derek’s books (How to Live, Hell Yeah or No, Your Music and People, Anything You Want) and newest projects are at his website: sive.rs. His upcoming book is Useful Not True.
Please enjoy!
P.S. To follow the exact step-by-step "Tech Independence" instructions from Derek, please visit sive.rs/ti.
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This episode is brought to you by Allbirds! Allbirds are incredibly comfortable shoes, sustainably made, with design rooted in simplicity. I’ve been wearing Allbirds for the last several months, and I’ve been alternating between two pairs. I started with the Tree Runners (in marine blue, if you’re curious), and now I’m wearing the Tree Dashers, and the Tree Dashers are my current “daily driver.” I stick with the blue hues, and the Dashers are in buoyant blue. The color pops, and I’ve received a ton of compliments.
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[06:16] The Derek Sivers School of Enough.
[11:24] Scuba diving and empathy lessons in Iceland.
[16:13] Categories we apply to ourselves and others.
[22:46] Derek’s people compass.
[28:14] How to secure your tech independence.
[1:05:19] The unoptimized life.
[1:16:37] The meaning of Derek’s upcoming book, Useful Not True.
[1:32:55] The problem with moral relativism and other -isms.
[1:51:24] Giant leaps.
[2:00:10] Finding and asking mentors for help.
[2:08:18] Games.
[2:12:26] The wisdom of quitting when you’re ahead.
[2:17:13] Why would Derek — never in need of external validation — seek fame?
[2:20:45] What makes Derek so darned interesting?
[2:23:18] Has Derek always been a satisficer?
[2:31:43] Living on the edge case.
[2:35:33] The real question behind “What would you tell your younger self?”
[2:40:29] Giving directions in Antarctica.
[2:41:46] How do you teach an 11-year-old to act like a 16-year-old?
[2:45:45] 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
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#439: Tools of Titans — Derek Sivers, BJ Miller, and Christopher Sommer
Welcome to another episode of The Tim Ferriss Show! It will showcase some of my favorite advice and profiles from the audiobook of Tools of Titans. Thousands of you have asked for years for the audiobook versions of Tools of Titans and Tribe of Mentors, and they are now available. Go to audible.com/ferriss for more details or to download.
Today’s episode will focus on Tools of Titans and features the introduction of the book, as well as the profiles of Derek Sivers, BJ Miller, and Christopher Sommer.
Just a few notes on the audiobook's format: I recorded the introduction and selected three fantastic, top-ranked narrators to handle the rest, along with some surprise appearances from friends.
The short bios, which you will hear at the beginning of each profile, are read by Kaleo Griffith. Ray Porter reads the bulk of each profile including all of my own words. Ray actually narrated my first book, The 4-Hour Workweek, and did an incredible job. Quotations from female guests are read by the wonderful Thérèse Plummer.
The audiobook of Tools of Titans contains the distilled tools and routines I’ve gathered after interviewing hundreds of world-class performers.
Everything has been vetted and applied to my own life in some fashion. The techniques, strategies, and philosophies in Tools of Titans have made me more effective, saved me years of wasted effort and frustration, and helped me navigate many periods of darkness and uncertainty. The advice has truly made me a happier, healthier person and changed my life. I hope that they help change yours as well.
Please enjoy this episode, and if you’d like to listen to the other 100-plus profiles and chapters from Tools of Titans, just head to audible.com/ferriss.
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#150 - Derek Sivers - Making Decisions, Achieving Excellence & Finding Meaning
Derek Sivers is a writer, entrepreneur & musician.
Derek's episodes on The Tim Ferriss Show are some of my all time favourites so I was super excited to speak to him.
Expect to learn how to guide your choices at a crossroad, his views on excellence, why it doesn't matter if life has no meaning, why truth is less simple than it might seem, why the truth can be more complex than a simple answer, and when Derek is finally going to release his new books.
Extra Stuff:
Check out Derek's Website - https://sivers.org/
Check out all Derek's Book Recommendations - https://sivers.org/book
Take a break from alcohol and upgrade your life - https://6monthssober.com/podcast
Check out everything I recommend from books to products - https://www.amazon.co.uk/shop/modernwisdom
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#370.5: Derek Sivers on Developing Confidence, Finding Happiness, and Saying “No” to Millions (Repost)
This episode originally aired in 2015. You can find the show notes of the episode here.
“To me, ‘busy’ implies that the person is out of control of their life.” – Derek Sivers
Derek Sivers (@sivers) is one of my favorite humans, and I call him often for advice. Think of him as a philosopher-king programmer, master teacher, and merry prankster.
Originally a professional musician and circus clown, Derek created CD Baby in 1998. It became the largest seller of independent music online, with $100 million in sales for 150,000 musicians.
In 2008, Derek sold CD Baby for $22 million, giving the proceeds to a charitable trust for music education. He is a frequent speaker at the TED Conference, with more than 5 million views of his talks. Since 2011, he has published 34 books, including “Anything You Want,” which I’ve personally read 10+ times.
Enjoy!
You can find the transcript of this episode here. Transcripts of all episodes can be found here.
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For show notes and past guests, please visit tim.blog/podcast.
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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, and many more.
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#325: Lessons from Richard Branson, Tony Robbins, Ray Dalio, and Other Icons
This particular episode of The Tim Ferriss Radio Hour explores success, a slippery and dangerous term if ever there was one. The particular guests selected for this episode represent not only achievement, but also appreciation and a well-rounded version of what I consider to be a successful human being.
This episode features:
CDBaby founder Derek Sivers on the importance of challenging your own definitions of success.
Performance coach Tony Robbins on best lessons learned from working with legendary investors.
Venture capitalist Chris Sacca on missed opportunities and the commonalities of successful people.
Legendary investor Ray Dalio on the three things that make up a successful life.
Virgin Group founder Sir Richard Branson on the best thing his parents taught him.
I hope you enjoy this episode of The Tim Ferriss Radio Hour!
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If you enjoy the podcast, would you please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts/iTunes? It takes less than 60 seconds, and it really makes a difference in helping to convince hard-to-get guests. I also love reading the reviews!
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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, and many more.
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#202: Tools of Titans: Derek Sivers Distilled
Derek Sivers(@sivers) is one of my favorite humans, and I call him often for advice. Think of him as a philosopher-king programmer, master teacher, and merry prankster. Originally a professional musician and circus clown (he did the latter to counterbalance being introverted), Derek created CD Baby in 1998. It became the largest seller of independent music online, with $100 million in sales for 150,000 musicians. In 2008, Derek sold CD Baby for $22 million, giving the proceeds to a charitable trust for music education. He is a frequent speaker at the TED Conference, with more than five million views of his talks. In addition to publishing 33 books via his company Wood Egg, he is the author of Anything You Want: 40 Lessons for a New Kind of Entrepreneur, a collection of short life lessons that I've read at least a dozen times. I still have an early draft with highlights and notes. I posted the following on Facebook while writing this chapter: "I might need to do a second volume of [Tools of Titans: The Tactics, Routines, and Habits of Billionaires, Icons, and World-Class Performers], 100% dedicated to the knowledge bombs of Derek Sivers. So much good stuff. Hard to cut." Here's a bit of what made it into the first edition -- cherry-picked from the nuggets I've applied to my own life. Enjoy! Show notes and links for this episode can be found at www.fourhourworkweek.com/podcast. This podcast is brought to you by Audible. I have used Audible for years, and I love audiobooks. I have two to recommend: The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman Vagabonding by Rolf Potts All you need to do to get your free 30-day Audible trial is go to Audible.com/Tim. Choose one of the above books, or choose any of the endless options they offer. That could be a book, a newspaper, a magazine, or even a class. It's that easy. Go to Audible.com/Tim and get started today. Enjoy. This podcast is also brought to you by FreshBooks. FreshBooks is The #1 cloud bookkeeping software, which is used by a ton of the start-ups I advise and many of the contractors I work with. It is the easiest way to send invoices, get paid, track your time, and track your clients. FreshBooks tells you when your clients have viewed your invoices, helps you customize your invoices, track your hours, automatically organize your receipts, have late payment reminders sent automatically and much more. Right now you can get a free month of complete and unrestricted use. You do not need a credit card for the trial. To claim your free month and see how the brand new Freshbooks can change your business, go to FreshBooks.com/Tim and enter "Tim" in the "how did you hear about us section."
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If you enjoy the podcast, would you please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts/iTunes? It takes less than 60 seconds, and it really makes a difference in helping to convince hard-to-get guests. I also love reading the reviews!
For show notes and past guests, please visit tim.blog/podcast.
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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, and many more.
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#128: Derek Sivers Reloaded - On Success Habits and Billionaires with Perfect Abs
Derek Sivers (@sivers) is one of my favorite humans, and I call him often for advice. Think of him as a philosopher-king programmer, master teacher, and merry prankster. Originally a professional musician and circus clown, Derek created CD Baby in 1998. It became the largest seller of independent music online, with $100 million in sales for 150,000 musicians. In 2008, Derek sold CD Baby for $22 million, giving the proceeds to a charitable trust for music education. By popular demand, this is round 2 with the amazing Derek Sivers! This episode can be listened to independently of our previous conversation, which can be found at fourhourworkweek.com/derek ### This podcast is brought to you by Mizzen + Main. These are the only “dress” shirts I now travel with — fancy enough for important dinners but made from athletic, sweat-wicking material. They are a personal favorite of NFL phenom J.J. Watt, alongside many professional athletes. Mizzen now also make chinos, which stretch in four directions, and are perfect for all climates. For all of their clothing: no more ironing, no more steaming, no more hassle. Click here for the exact shirts I wear most often. Just go to fourhourworkweek.com/shirts and find what you like.
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If you enjoy the podcast, would you please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts/iTunes? It takes less than 60 seconds, and it really makes a difference in helping to convince hard-to-get guests. I also love reading the reviews!
For show notes and past guests, please visit tim.blog/podcast.
Sign up for Tim’s email newsletter (“5-Bullet Friday”) at tim.blog/friday.
For transcripts of episodes, go to tim.blog/transcripts.
Interested in sponsoring the podcast? Visit tim.blog/sponsor and fill out the form.
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Follow Tim:
Twitter: twitter.com/tferriss
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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, and many more.
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#125: Derek Sivers on Developing Confidence, Finding Happiness, and Saying "No" to Millions
Originally a professional musician and circus clown, Derek Sivers (@sivers) created CD Baby in 1998. It became the largest seller of independent music online, with $100 million in sales for 150,000 musicians. In 2008, Derek sold CD Baby for $22 million, giving the proceeds to a charitable trust for music education. He is a frequent speaker at the TED Conference, with more than 5 million views of his talks. Since 2011, he has published 34 books, including “Anything You Want” which shot to #1 on all of its Amazon categories. Show notes and links for this episode can be found at www.fourhourworkweek.com/podcast. This podcast is brought to you by MeUndies. Have you ever wanted to be as powerful as a mullet-wearing ninja from the 1980’s, or as sleek as a black panther in the Amazon? Of course you have, and that’s where MeUndies comes in. I’ve spent the last 2-3 weeks wearing underwear from these guys 24/7, and they are the most comfortable and colorful underwear I’ve ever owned. Their materials are 2x softer than cotton, as evaluated using the Kawabata method. Check out MeUndies.com/Tim to see my current faves (some are awesomely ridiculous) and, while you’re at it, don’t miss lots of hot ladies wearing MeUndies. This podcast is also brought to you by Wealthfront. Wealthfront is a massively disruptive (in a good way) set-it-and-forget-it investing service, led by technologists from places like Apple and world-famous investors. It has exploded in popularity in the last 2 years, and now has more than $2.5B under management. In fact, some of my good investor friends in Silicon Valley have millions of their own money in Wealthfront. Why? Because you can get services previously limited to the ultra-wealthy and only pay pennies on the dollar for them, and it’s all through smarter software instead of retail locations and bloated sales teams. Check out wealthfront.com/tim, take their risk assessment quiz, which only takes 2-5 minutes, and they’ll show you—for free–exactly the portfolio they’d put you in. If you want to just take their advice and do it yourself, you can. Or, as I would, you can set it and forget it. Well worth a few minutes: wealthfront.com/tim.
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If you enjoy the podcast, would you please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts/iTunes? It takes less than 60 seconds, and it really makes a difference in helping to convince hard-to-get guests. I also love reading the reviews!
For show notes and past guests, please visit tim.blog/podcast.
Sign up for Tim’s email newsletter (“5-Bullet Friday”) at tim.blog/friday.
For transcripts of episodes, go to tim.blog/transcripts.
Interested in sponsoring the podcast? Visit tim.blog/sponsor and fill out the form.
Discover Tim’s books: tim.blog/books.
Follow Tim:
Twitter: twitter.com/tferriss
Instagram: instagram.com/timferriss
Facebook: facebook.com/timferriss
YouTube: youtube.com/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, 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.
