Timothy Ferriss's Blog, page 100

“My dog thought I was a singer… because dogs don’t understand standup comedy.”

-Margaret Cho [20:40]

[Housekeeping update: The demand for my $5K Holiday Megabox exceeded expectations, so I'm opening up a few more slots. First come, first served, and deadline is 11:59pm PT today, November 11, 2014. Click here for more details.]

Margaret Cho is a polymath.

She is an internationally acclaimed comic, actress, author, fashion designer and singer-songwriter. Perhaps you’ve seen her on the big screen, or in TV series such as Sex and the City and 30 Rock.

But well before she was on Dancing with the Stars (yes, she’s done that, too), she decided on her comedy career… at the tender age of eight.  The stage has been her constant companion ever since.

In this episode we delve into her comic influences and approaches, bisexuality, slow-carb adventures, and much more. Please indulge me as we dig deep into the lesser-known tricks of the Slow-Carb Diet. Margaret had a lot of detailed questions (she’s followed it for ~3 months), and the answers might help accelerate your own fat loss.  (If you want more, here are several case studies — with pics — who’ve lost 100+ pounds.)

Enjoy!

Listen to it on iTunes.
Stream by clicking here.
Download it as an MP3 by right clicking here and choosing “save as”.

This podcast is brought to you by 99Designs, the world’s largest marketplace of graphic designers. Did you know I used 99Designs to rapid prototype the cover for The 4-Hour Body? Here are some of the impressive results.

This episode is also brought to you by ExOfficio, which I’ve personally used since 2005 or so. They make ultra-lightweight, quick drying, antimicrobial clothing for men and women. Here’s my own ultra-light packing list (scroll down for video), which went viral.

QUESTION(S) OF THE DAY: What’s your favorite curse word — or phrase — and why? Please click here to let me know in the comments.

Scroll below for links and show notes…

Enjoy!

Who should I interview next? Please let me know on Twitter or in the comments.

Do you enjoy this podcast? If so, please leave a short review here. It keeps me going…

Subscribe to The Tim Ferriss Show on iTunes.

Non-iTunes RSS feed

Selected Links from the Episode

Explore Margaret Cho’s Writing:

I Have Chosen to Stay and Fight | I’m the One that I Want

Overeaters Anonymous and HOW for those struggling with food cravings
How to Be a Movie Star by William J. Mann
Connect with Margaret Cho: Website | Twitter | Facebook | YouTube | Instagram

Show Notes

What compels Margaret to perform stand-up comedy [3:30]
The early years of Margaret’s comedy career [4:50]
On the appeal of Joan Rivers and her immense gratitude [8:50]
Fearlessness and Margaret’s most fearful on-stage moments [11:30]
How to deal with hecklers [15:45]
Margaret’s inspirations [19:30]
Revealing intimate traits on stage and thoughts on female bisexuality [23:00]
The challenges of the isolated comedian lifestyle, and the potential for drug addiction [30:00]
Personality traits for those who gravitate towards stimulants vs. depressants [33:00]
The catalyzing moment when Margaret decided her prescription pill addiction needed to be fought [34:45]
Margaret Cho’s process for creating new material [40:30]
Why to hone an act (or product) internationally before bringing it to the USA – Note: Nike does this. [42:30]
“Successful” — who comes to mind? Does Margaret self-identify as successful? [48:00]
Clarifications on the Slow-Carb Diet and cheat day [50:30]
Hunger and human resilience [58:30]
Her death-row meal and why it’s changed since starting the SCD [1:10:30]
Margaret’s favorite curse word [1:11:45]
Stand-up pre-game rituals [1:13:45]
On Hollywood success and the types who aren’t tortured by it [1:16:10]
What attributes Dave Grohl exhibits, and why drummers tend to be positive people [1:17:30]

People Mentioned

Joan Rivers
Robin Williams
Anna Nicole Smith
Dave Grohl

“War is God’s way of teaching Americans geography.”  - Rolf Potts

“If in doubt, just walk until your day becomes interesting.” - Rolf Potts

Rolf Potts is the author of Vagabonding (hear the audio book sample here), one of my favorite books of all-time.  It was one of just two books (the other was Walden) that I carried with me around the world from 2004-2005.  Those adventures led directly to The 4-Hour Workweek.

World travel doesn’t have to be a wealthy person’s sport. In this often hilarious conversation, Rolf and I dig deep into travel tactics, creating time wealth, “managing success,” and much more.  It’s a fun romp through every imaginable topic, from business to poetry, and from Wall Street to psychedelics.

Enjoy!

Listen to it on iTunes.
Stream it by clicking Part 1 here and Part 2 here.
Download both as MP3 by right clicking here (Part 1, Part 2) and choosing “save as”.

This podcast is brought to you by 99Designs, the world’s largest marketplace of graphic designers. Did you know I used 99Designs to rapid prototype the cover for The 4-Hour Body? Here are some of the impressive results.

This episode is also brought to you by ExOfficio, which I’ve personally used since 2005 or so. They make ultra-lightweight, quick drying, antimicrobial clothing for men and women. Here’s my own ultra-light packing list (scroll down for video), which went viral.

QUESTION(S) OF THE DAY: What are the most valuable lessons (or tricks) you’ve learned through travel? Please share your story in the comments.

Scroll below for links and show notes.

Do you enjoy this podcast? If so, please leave a short review here. It keeps me going…

Subscribe to The Tim Ferriss Show on iTunes.

Non-iTunes RSS feed

Selected Links from the Episode

Part I

Build.org – If you’re an entrepreneur, check this out.
Walden by Henry David Thoreau
Wall Street – Charlie Sheen talks about riding a motorcycle across China as his “retirement”
BootsnAll.com – Community and support for travelers
VirtualTourist.com – One of the sites that inspired my early travels
Trippy.com – New travel site created by the founder of VirtualTourist.com (Here’s my profile)
CouchSurfing.org – Find community and great stays on the road
AirBnB.com – Great places to stay all over the world. Tired of hostels? This is a good choice.
Learn more about The Beginners Mind
The Freedom App – Get yourself off the Internets
Bird By Bird by Anne Lamott

Part II

The Writers Toolkit Roy Peters Clark
To Show and To Tell by Phillip Lapate
Screenplay by Sid Field
Story by Robert McKee
Save the Cat by Blake Snyder
Marco Polo Didn’t Go There by Rolf Potts
Grizzly Man by Werner Herzog
Con Air
Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman (Download Audiobook for Free)

Connect with Rolf Potts:

RolfPotts.com
Vagabonding.net/resources
ParisWritingWorkshop.com
Twitter @RolfPotts

Show Notes

Part I

Converting travel fantasies into realities and the time-wealth principle [2:30]
Deconstructing and defining success, money, and freedom [12:00]
The time-strapped billionaire paradox [14:10]
Resources to fight the fears associated with world travel [25:09]
How new collaborative consumption technologies affect the long-term travel experience [29:00]
JP Morgan’s trip to Egypt, and what we can learn about business on the road [40:56]
Vacations and their effect on creative output [42:55]
When to leave the optimize-for-efficiency mindset behind [44:32]
Can you replicate travel benefits with a “staycation”? [51:37]
Exploring appreciation vs. achievement [54:08]
Rolf Potts’ writing process + “Swoopers” and “Bashers” [59:54]

Part II

The breakthrough for Potts in his writing: structure learned from screenwriting tomes [1:00]
Vagabonding and the therapeutic use of psychedelics [7:00]
The art of getting lost, and the benefits of getting lost [8:05]
What it’s like to teach writing in Paris, and who is a good fit for the class [16:15]
Thoughts on a mid-career Masters of Fine Arts (MFA) [22:13]
“Success management” and her champions: Dave Chapelle and John Hughes? [35:26]
Rapid-fire questions: Grizzly Man, Con Air, the love of poetry, and more [41:45]

People Mentioned

Part I

Henry David Thoreau
Ayn Rand
Anne Lamott
Kurt Vonnegut

Part II

Joseph Campbell – Monomyth
Flaneur and Psychogeography
Pico Iyer
Tim Cahill
Dave Chapelle
John Hughes
Werner Herzog
Heather Dobbins-Comb
Stuart Dischell
Michael Robbins
Amy Nezhukumatatil
Naomi Shihab Nye
Major Jackson
Donald Hall

Who are the mentors to billionaires, chess prodigies, rockstars, and mega-bestselling authors?  Who teaches them to do what they do? To achieve the success they achieve? Oftentimes…it’s books.

On The Tim Ferriss Show (iTunes, SoundCloud), I dissect world-class performers to find the tools and tricks you can use.  Here’s a full list of guests.  One of the questions I always ask is:

“What book have you gifted most often to others, and why?”  

Below is a list of answers from people like billionaire investor Peter Thiel, Tony Robbins, Pixar co-founder Ed Catmull, chess prodigy Josh Waitzkin, etc.. (And here are my own current answers, if you’re interested.)

You’ll see several books that appear more than once. Can you guess which they are?

The Ultimate To-Read Book List

Kevin Kelly is the founding editor of WIRED magazine, real-life Dos Equis “Most Interesting Man In The World.”

Favorite book(s):

Cat’s Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut
The Psychedelic Explorer’s Guide by James Fadiman
The Adventures of Johnny Bunko by Daniel H. Pink
So Good They Can’t Ignore You by Cal Newport
Shantaram: A Novel by Gregory David Roberts

Full Conversation:

Peter Thiel, billionaire investor (first outside investor in Facebook) and co-founder of PayPal, Palantir.

Favorite book(s):

Things Hidden Since the Foundation of the World by René Girard

Full Conversation:

Tony Robbins, performance coach to Bill Clinton, Serena Williams, Paul Tudor Jones, Leonardo DiCaprio, Oprah Winfrey, and more.

Favorite book(s):

As a Man Thinketh by James Allen
Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor E.Frankl
The Fourth Turning by William Strauss
Generations by William Strauss
Slow Sex by Nicole Daedone
Mindset by Carol Dweck

Full Conversation:

Peter Diamandis has been named one of the world’s 50 greatest leaders by Fortune Magazine.  In the field of Innovation, Diamandis is Chairman and CEO of the X PRIZE Foundation, best known for its $10 million Ansari X PRIZE for private spaceflight. Today, the X PRIZE leads the world in designing and operating large-scale global competitions to solve market failures.

Favorite book(s):

The Spirit of St. Louis by Charles A.Lindbergh
Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand
The Man Who Sold the Moon and Orphans of the Sky by Robert Heinlein
The Singularity Is Near by Ray Kurzweil

Full Conversation:

Joshua Waitzkin – Considered a chess prodigy and the basis for Searching for Bobby Fischer, Josh has perfected learning strategies that can be applied to anything, including chess, Brazilian jiu-jutsu (he is a black belt under phenom Marcelo Garcia), business, and Tai Chi Push Hands (he is a world champion).

Favorite book(s):

On the Road by Jack Kerouac
The Dharma Bums by Jack Kerouac
Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu Gia-Fu Feng and Jane English Translation
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert M. Pirsig
Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts
For Whom The Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway
Green Hills of Africa by Ernest Hemingway
The Complete Short Stories Of Ernest Hemingway by Ernest Hemingway
The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway
Ernest Hemingway on Writing by Larry W. Phillips

Full Conversation:

Ed Catmull is a co-founder of Pixar Animation Studios (along with Steve Jobs and John Lasseter) and president of Pixar Animation and Disney Animation.

Favorite book(s):

The Hero’s Journey by Joseph Campbell
The Hero with a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell
One Monster After Another by Mercer Mayer

Full Conversation:

Neil Strauss has written 7 New York Times bestsellers, including The Game: Penetrating the Secret Society of Pickup Artists.

Favorite book(s):

On the Shortness of Life by Seneca
One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Gregory Rabassa
The Painted Bird by Jerzy Kosinski
Life Is Elsewhere by Milan Kundera

Full Conversation:

Tracy DiNunzio is the self-taught founder and CEO of Tradesy.com, which has attracted legendary investors like Sir Richard Branson and John Doerr.

Favorite book(s):

Good to Great and the Social Sectors: A Monograph to Accompany Good to Great by Jim Collins
The Everything Store: Jeff Bezos and the Age of Amazon by Brad Stone

Full Conversation:

Mike Shinoda is best known as the rapper, principal songwriter, keyboardist, rhythm guitarist and one of the two vocalists of the band Linkin Park, which has sold 60+ million albums worldwide.

Favorite book(s):

The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell
Blink by Malcolm Gladwell
Becoming a Category of One by Joe Calloway

Full Conversation:

James Altucher is an American hedge fund manager, entrepreneur, and bestselling author.

Favorite book(s):

Antifragile: Things That Gain from Disorder by Nassim Nicholas Taleb
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
Brain Rules: 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home, and School by John Medina
Dynamic Hedging: Managing Vanilla and Exotic Options by Nassim Nicholas Taleb
Fooled by Randomness: The Hidden Role of Chance in Life and in the Markets by Nassim Nicholas Taleb
The Black Swan: Second Edition: The Impact of the Highly Improbable: With a new section: “On Robustness and Fragility” by Nassim Nicholas Taleb
Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner
Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell
Losing My Virginity: How I Survived, Had Fun, and Made a Fortune Doing Business My Way by Richard Branson
Jesus’ Son: Stories by Denis Johnson
Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk

Full Conversation:

Joe De Sena is the co-founder of The Death Race, Spartan Race (1M+ competitors), and more.

Favorite book(s):

Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand
Shogun by James Clavell
The One-Minute Manager by Ken H.Blanchard

Full Conversation:

Sam Harris is a neuroscience Ph.D. and the author of bestselling books including The End of Faith, The Moral Landscape, Free Will, and Lying.

Favorite book(s):

Mindfulness in Plain English by Bhante Gunaratana
The Experience of Insight by Joseph Goldstein
Wherever You Go, There You Are by Jon Kabat-Zinn

Full Conversation:

Brian Koppelman is a screenwriter, novelist, director, and producer. He is best known as the co-writer of Ocean’s Thirteen and Rounders, as well as a producer of The Illusionist and The Lucky Ones.

Favorite book(s):

What Makes Sammy Run? by Budd Schulberg
The Artist’s Way – Morning Pages Journal by Julia Cameron
Daily Rituals by Mason Currey
The War of Art by Steven Pressfield

Full Conversation:

Chase Jarvis is a master photographer and the CEO of CreativeLIVE.com.

Favorite book(s):

The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing by Al Ries
Blue Ocean Strategy by W. Chan Kim
Steal Like an Artist by Austin Kleon
Show Your Work! by Austin Kleon
The Rise of Superman by Steven Kotler

Full Conversation:

Jason Silva , called the “Timothy Leary of the viral video age” by The Atlantic, host of Brain Games on National Geographic Channel.

Favorite book(s):

The Rise of Superman by Steven Kotler

Full Conversation:

Ryan Holiday is an American author and the media strategist behind authors Tucker Max and Robert Greene. Former Director of Marketing for American Apparel.

Favorite book(s):

Meditations: A New Translation by Marcus Aurelius
Wilderness Essays by Epictitus
The Black Swan: Second Edition: The Impact of the Highly Improbable Fragility by Nassim Nicholas Taleb
Fooled by Randomness: The Hidden Role of Chance in Life and in the Markets by Nassim Nicholas Taleb
Antifragile by Nassim Nicholas Taleb
Benjamin Franklin by Walter Isaacson
Titan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller by Ron Cherow
How to Live by Sarah Bakewell
The Fish That Ate the Whale: The Life and Times of America’s Banana King by Rich Cohen
Tough Jews by Rich Cohen
Edison – A Biography by Matthew Josephson
Ulysses S. Grant: Triumph Over Adversity by Brooks D. Simpson
The Control of Nature by John McPhee
Giving Good Weight by John McPhee
The War of Art by Steven Pressfield

Full Conversation:

Ramit Sethi is an American personal finance advisor and entrepreneur. Sethi is the author of the 2009 book on personal finance, I Will Teach You To Be Rich, a New York Times Bestseller, and a co-founder of PBworks, a commercial wiki website.

Favorite book(s):

The Checklist Manifesto by Atul Gawande
Mindless Eating by Brian Wansink
The Robert Collier Letter Book by Robert Collier
Age of Propaganda by Anthony Pratkanis and Elliot Aronson
The Social Animal by Elliot Aronson
Never Eat Alone: And Other Secrets to Success, One Relationship at a Time by Keith Ferrazzi
Iacocca: An Autobiography by Lee Iacocca and William Novak
What They Don’t Teach You At Harvard Business School: Notes From A Street-Smart Executive by Mark H. McCormack

Full Conversation:

###

Did you find this post valuable?  If so, please let me know in the comments.  If you dig it, I’d compile more posts that spot patterns across top performers.

“Please be a traveler, not a tourist. Try new things, meet new people, and look beyond what’s right in front of you.” – Andrew Zimmern

Andrew Zimmern is a world-class chef, television host and producer, writer, and — at the end of the day — teacher. You’ve probably seen his shows Bizarre Foods or Dining with Death. In 2010 and 2013 he was awarded the James Beard Foundation Award, which annually presents awards for excellence in cuisine, culinary writing, and culinary television.

But many people don’t know the earlier chapters in his life.  At one point, he was sleeping on the streets, stealing purses, and shooting heroin. In our interview, he shares all.  We delve into everything, including his culinary tricks, how he developed his hit TV show, his influences, key turning points in his life, beating addiction, and much more.

This is a powerful interview.

It’s full of tactics for anyone, and it has extra insights for all types of compulsive behavior (and, really, who doesn’t have at least one?).  I hope you enjoy it.

Listen to it on iTunes. Also, check out all previous guests on iTunes or on SoundCloud.
Stream by clicking here.
Download it as an MP3 by right-clicking here and choosing “save as”.

This podcast is brought to you by 99Designs, the world’s largest marketplace of graphic designers. Did you know I used 99Designs to rapid prototype the cover for The 4-Hour Body? Here are some of the impressive results.

This episode is also brought to you by ExOfficio, which I’ve personally used since 2005 or so. They make ultra-lightweight, quick drying, antimicrobial clothing for men and women. Here’s my own ultra-light packing list (scroll down for video), which went viral.

QUESTION(S) OF THE DAY: Have you or anyone you know overcome addiction? If so, what was the tipping point, or what helped most? Please share in the comments.

Scroll below for links and show notes…

Enjoy!

Do you enjoy this podcast? If so, please leave a short review here. It keeps me going…

Subscribe to The Tim Ferriss Show on iTunes.

Non-iTunes RSS feed

Selected Links from the Episode

Pick up some Puerh from Living Tea
Listen to Andrew Zimmern’s podcast, Go Fork Yourself: Website | On iTunes
Say hello to Andrew on Twitter (@andrewzimmern)
Explore his excellent website: Andrew Zimmern
Here’s the 7″ all-use chef’s knife that Andrew uses

Some Highlights with Time Stamps

What Andrew was inspired by, and who he modeled his show after [09:40]
Recommendations for those seeking to cultivate an on-air personality [11:50]
The three herbs or spices that Andrew Zimmern couldn’t live without [19:20]
The magic of citrus, building flavor contrasts, and how to provide robust flavors [21:20]
Tips for improving knife skills and cooking skills [27:45]
How to identify expert chefs [33:38]
The surprising story of his addiction-filled life [36:15]
The challenges of helping those suffering from alcoholism or other drug addiction [45:05]
The positive side of addiction, advice for overcoming it, and how to support others [50:20]

People Mentioned

Michael Palin
Rick Steves


Hazelden Treatment Center

(Photo: Foodthinkers)

The following is a guest post by Mark McClusky, the editor of Wired.com and founding editor of Wired Playbook. Previously, he was a reporter at Sports Illustrated and a member of the baseball analytics collective, Baseball Prospectus.

Can “juicing” for performance enhancement sometimes involve juice alone?  Beet juice, spinach, celery, or chard, perhaps?  In this post, we look at fact versus fiction, dosing, and results you can potentially replicate.

I’ve added some thoughts of my own in brackets. In other random news, I’m finally on Instagram! Here I am, and here is a pic of Tony Robbins palming my entire face.

Now, back to our piece…

Enter Mark

The latest craze in sports drinks for Olympic athletes isn’t something citrusy from one of the big sports labs. It’s not chocolate milk, which has been shown in study after study to be a great, low-cost drink for muscular recovery…

No, today’s hottest sports drink is deep red and frothy, and tastes a little bit like dirt. Drink the recommended dosage, and you may find that your urine and feces become pink from taking it. But you also might find that you’re faster in your races. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you beet juice.

The key researcher into beet juice’s effect on athletes is Andy Jones, who became well known in sports science circles through his work with marathon world record holder Paula Radcliffe. How much has Jones, a professor at the University of Exeter, in the UK, become associated with the beverage? His Twitter handle is @andybeetroot.

So why beet juice? (Or beetroot juice, as it’s sometimes known, especially in the UK. They’re the same thing.) The key is the very high level of nitrate found in the juice. The body transforms nitrate into nitrite, and then into nitric oxide. According to Jones, nitric oxide has two major effects on an athlete. “The first is that it causes blood vessels to dilate, so you can provide more blood through them,” he says. “Simultaneously, it seems to make the mitochondria more efficient, so they are able to create the same energy while consuming less oxygen. So you really have two things happening. Lower oxygen cost because the mitochondria are more efficient, and then you have a higher oxygen supply—in terms of performance, that’s a pretty good combination.”

That combination does, in fact, seem to offer a strong performance boost for a particular kind of event. Jones’s group has published a study that seems to show a nearly 3 percent gain for athletes involved in efforts that last between five and thirty minutes.

We’re commonly told that nitrates and nitrites are potentially dangerous, and that we should limit our consumption of them. The fear is that inside the body, nitrates and nitrites can combine with meat proteins to form compounds known as nitrosamines. There is some evidence that these compounds are carcinogenic, which is the reason that most health organizations advise that we limit our intake of cured meats like bacon and hot dogs, which use sodium nitrite in the curing process.

But Jones and his team have shown that we’re still very early in our understanding of what nitrates and nitrites do in our bodies, especially when it comes to athletic performance. As opposed to cured meat, beet juice contains nitrate, not nitrite, and there’s no protein that could lead to the formation of nitrosamines. (Other vegetables also have high levels of nitrate, including spinach, celery, and chard. They presumably could have similar effects, but such studies haven’t been conducted yet.)

The protocol that’s been studied the most by sports scientists involves about 300 mg of nitrate delivered as beetroot juice between 2 and 2.5 hours before exercise. Jones and his group did a study the looked at the dose-response curve for beetroot juice—more juice did have a greater effect on nitrite levels in the blood, although there seemed to be a diminishing return when it came to the actual performance boost. The optimal level in their study was two concentrated shots that are the equivalent of about 600 mL of juice.

It’s probably worth finding the minimum effective dose of beetroot juice, given some of the side effects. Many athletes suffer from gastric distress when they drink a lot of the juice. World Champion cyclist Mark Cavendish highlighted another side effect of beetroot juice in a tweet:

Doesn’t matter how often it happens, taking a pee the day after drinking beetroot juice will always freak you out!! #pissingrainbows

— Mark Cavendish (@MarkCavendish) January 13, 2012

As contrasted to the results for those 5 to 30 minute events, the results are more ambiguous for longer events. The Exeter researchers found that while there were small performance increases for cyclists in a fifty-mile time trial when using beet juice two hours before the event, they weren’t large enough to be statistically significant. [Note: There was no re-dosing in this time trial]

Of course, that raises an important question: is “statistical significance” [versus clinical or practical, for instance] the right measurement to use when we’re evaluating a study like this, especially for athletic performance?

LET’S TALK ABOUT STATISTICS

In the 1920s, English statistician Ronald Fisher created the concept of the p-value. The idea behind the p-value is that it’s an expression of the probability that the result see in an experiment is due to random chance [p-value], rather than the result of an intervention or treatment.

So, when you’re doing a study that seeks to show the effect of beet juice on cycling time trial performance, you start out assuming that it will not have an effect—this is called the “null hypothesis.” [i.e. It will not work] After collecting your data and doing your analysis, you crunch the numbers and come up with a p-value. A smaller p-value means that the evidence against the null hypothesis is better; that the effect of the intervention (in this case, beet juice consumption) is more likely. The p-value tries to express the reliability of the conclusion that researchers draw from their experimental data.

[In other words, a high p-value increases the likelihood of random chance, coincidences, or dumb luck explaining your outcome.  The lower the p-value -- ostensibly -- the higher the likelihood that your "treatment"/intervention produced measurable differences.]

Fisher argued that a p-value of less than or equal to 0.05 was a good informal line to draw when it came to evaluating research. That means that there is a 5 percent or lower chance that the null hypothesis would be true (i.e. In general, if you’re a scientist and you do a study where p is greater than 0.05, you’re unlikely to ever see it published. If p is 0.05 or below, it’s assumed by many to significant; most journals follow this cutoff.

Will Hopkins, a New Zealand sports scientist and statistics guru who has written a massive primer on the use of statistics in scientific papers, advocates a different way of evaluating sports science research.

Hopkins points out that a reliance on p-values below 0.05 completely falls apart when you’re looking at elite sports, where the margins are so tight. “You would see effects in studies where things would help an athlete, and yet it wasn’t statically significant, so people would say there was no effect,” says Hopkins. “It’s crazy to say there’s no effect, it’s crazy to make that kind of decision. It’s clearly wrong. What matters is a probability of it helping an athlete. We need to decide what we take as sufficient evidence to use something or not use something with an athlete.”

The issue with the use of p-values is that if you have a small sample size for your experiment, you need a very strong effect to cross the threshold of statistical significance. But when you’re trying to do studies on elite athletes, you have, by definition, a pretty small cohort. And if you are studying something that might only have a small effect, you’re probably not going to get over the p-value threshold with that sample size.

Hopkins’s solution is to express the results of research in terms of what he calls “confidence intervals.”

Instead of a binary view, where a result is either significant or not, he talks about the likelihood of a benefit or negative effect. So, he’ll express the results of a study in terms of it being very likely beneficial, or almost certainly not harmful. Because when researchers and coaches are working with elite athletes, they have to conform to that central principle of medical ethics: First, do no harm.

“You’re trying to do better,” says Hopkins. “But you have to make sure not to do worse.”

BACK TO THE BEETS

With all of that in mind, we can look more closely at the study I mentioned above, where Jones’s team looked at the effect of beet juice on a 50-mile cycling time trial. If you read the abstract of the study, you see the following:

In conclusion, acute dietary supplementation with beetroot juice did not significantly improve 50 mile TT [time trial] performance in well-trained cyclists. It is possible that the better training status of the cyclists in this study might reduce the physiological and performance response to NO3- [nitrate] supplementation compared with the moderately trained cyclists tested in earlier studies.

That seems pretty clear—”did not significantly improve.” But then you look more closely at the experiment. There were eight cyclists involved in the study, and they did a double blind experiment where each rider did two time trials, one after drinking 500 mL of normal beet juice, and one when they drank the same amount of juice that had been nitrate-depleted. Here’s the key line of the paper with the results of those trials:

Compared to PL [placebo], BR [beetroot juice] supplementation resulted in a group mean reduction in completion time for the 50 mile TT of 0.8 % or 1.2 min (PL: 137.9 ± 6.4 vs. BR: 136.7 ± 5.6 min), but this difference did not attain statistical significance (P > 0.05).

So it wasn’t that the riders didn’t improve. When you look at the mean, they improved by 0.8 percent. But the sample size was small, and the improvement was small, so the p-value was above 0.05. That’s why the authors correctly note that it didn’t attain statistical significance.

[Note from Tim: Here’s what one researcher friend of mine added to this: “This is a classic problem of “underpower” (beta). With only 8 subjects in a cross-over design, you’d need to see a 10% difference or so to achieve p

But Jones knows that part of his audience is scientists working with competitive athletes. Drawing on Hopkins’s concept of how to express the results of an experiment, the paper states:

It is noteworthy, however, that although the group mean improvement in 50 mile TT performance did not attain statistical significance, an improvement in completion time of 0.8 % would likely to be practically meaningful during competition.

And digging even deeper into the study, you find something else. Of the eight subjects, five of them had their level of plasma nitrite increase by 30 percent or more after drinking the beet juice, which is what you’d expect when you drink something rich in nitrates.

But the other three riders didn’t get the same increase in nitrite in their blood—in fact, one actually had a decrease. This sort of individual difference in response is actually a common phenomena across lots of things, from nutrition to how we react to a workout. (In my book, Faster, Higher, Stronger, I argue that those individual differences mean that each of us is doing an experiment with just one subject, a perspective that’s near and dear to many of the readers of this blog and Tim’s books).

When you look at just the responders to beet juice, the improvements look very different. They had a mean time reduction of 2 percent, which would be more in line with what previous studies have found.

One other interesting result of Jones’s research is that beet juice seems to be a more effective ergogenic aid for regular athletes than it is for elite performers. “If you think of the things beet juice helps with, like blood flow and mitochondrial function, in elite athletes, those abilities are pretty well developed,” says Jones. “So there, you do have an issue of diminishing returns—any ergogenic aid might have a smaller benefit in the elite. But even if the benefit is just 0.1 of a percent, it’s probably worth trying.” This is one case in which regular folks like you and me might get more out of beet juice than an Olympian, but as Jones notes, even the small chance of a benefit for that elite athlete make it worth trying. And they certainly have been.

Jones tells me just about every top nation at the 2012 Olympics was using beet juice with its athletes. “It was actually pretty difficult to buy beet juice within ten miles of London,” he says.

SO WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR ME?

As Jones says, the good news is that beet juice is likely more effective for more normally athletic people like you and me. The best recommendations I have for you right now are:

Beet juice’s benefits are best established for events that last from five to 30 minutes. Lots of athletic events fall into that time frame, from middle distance swimming and running to rowing, all the way up to 5K, and even 10K if you’re a fast runner. Research has pegged these gains at around 3 percent.
Most research has been done with the equivalent of 500-600 mL of beet root juice consumed between 2 and 2.5 hours before the event. (So, for instance, the research on longer events didn’t include athletes re-dosing due to the length of the effort). This can be in the form of regular juice, while some athletes have started to turn to concentrated beet juice which makes it easier to get the nitrates without so much bulk in the stomach.
Team sports have been studied less than individual sports, but there is some research that indicates that beet juice can improve performance in the so-called Yo-Yo recovery test, which simulates the stop and start action that you get in sports like football, basketball, and soccer. Many sports teams are starting to use beet juice.
As discussed above, the data on endurance events over 30 minutes isn’t as clear as the data for shorter events. But there’s no evidence of harm to performance with the standard dosages. So feel free to try it and see if you’re a responder or non-responder.
Speaking of responders and non-responders—keep track of your data! You won’t be able to correct for the placebo effect when you use beet juice, but by tracking your performance (whether it’s a training log, a fitness tracking device, or a site like Strava), you can see if you’re getting a benefit, or if you’re just #pissingrainbows for no reason.

###

My book, Faster, Higher, Stronger: How Sports Science Is Creating a New Generation of Superathletes, is an in-depth look at the science and technology that allows the world’s best athletes to push the boundaries of human performance.

Further reading:

10 Uncommon “Superfoods” from the World of Ultra-Endurance
How To Lose 20-30 Pounds In 5 Days: The Extreme Weight Cutting and Rehydration Secrets of UFC Fighters
Are Saunas the Next Big Performance-Enhancing “Drug”?
How To Gain 20 Pounds In 28 Days: The Extreme Muscle Building Secrets of UFC Fighters

“Why put in the effort to explain why it isn’t a fit, if they haven’t done the homework to determine if it is a fit?”

– Maria Popova [1:23:00]

Maria Popova has written for amazing outlets like The Atlantic and The New York Times, but I find her most amazing project to be BrainPickings.org.

Founded in 2006 as a weekly email to seven friends, BrainPickings now gets more than 5 million readers per month (!). I read very few blogs regularly, but BrainPickings is one of the few that makes the cut.  It’s a treasure trove.

BrainPickings is Maria’s one-woman labor of love — an inquiry into how to live and what it means to lead a good life.  From Mark Twain to Oscar Wilde and everyone in between, Maria finds the hidden gems. She is also PROLIFIC and makes me look like a sloth.

In this in-depth conversation, we cover just about everything: how it happened, her workflow, how she writes (and workarounds to problems), how her site generates revenue, her workouts, and many more details. If you want to know the habits of a hyper-productive person, this episode is for you.

Stream with the player below:

If you can’t see the above, here are other ways to listen:

Listen to it on iTunes.
Stream it by clicking here.
Download it as an MP3 by right clicking here and choosing “save as”.

This podcast is brought to you by 99Designs, the world’s largest marketplace of graphic designers. Did you know I used 99Designs to rapid prototype the cover for The 4-Hour Body? Here are some of the impressive results.

This episode is also brought to you by ExOfficio, which I’ve personally used since 2005 or so. They make ultra-lightweight, quick drying, antimicrobial clothing for men and women. Here’s my own ultra-light packing list (scroll down for video), which went viral.

QUESTION(S) OF THE DAY: What’s the best writing advice you’ve ever received or read?  Please share in the comments!

Scroll below for links and show notes.

Enjoy!

Who should I interview next? Please let me know on Twitter or in the comments.

Do you enjoy this podcast? If so, please leave a short review here. It keeps me going…

Subscribe to The Tim Ferriss Show on iTunes.

Non-iTunes RSS feed

Selected Links from the Episode

Adventures in the Screen Trade by William Goldman
Wilderness Essays by John Muir
BrainPickings.org
Sam Harris’s Blog
The Essential Scratch and Sniff Guide to Becoming a Wine Expert
Explore LJ or Maria’s Literary Jukebox
Basecamp
TRX
ScreenGrab
Evernote


WordPress.org
Share-a-Draft Plugin for sharing with WordPress.org
WordPress VIP
Buffer for Twitter/Facebook Management
EMailCharter.org

Where to Start? BrainPickings Recommendations from Maria Popova

The Shortness of Life: Seneca on Busyness and The Art of Living Wide Rather Than Living Long by Maria Popova
How to Find Your Purpose and Do What You Love by Maria Popova
Happy Birthday, Brain Pickings: 7 Things I Learned in 7 Years of Reading, Writing, and Living by Maria Popova

Show Notes (Times Are Approximate)

What percentage of New York Times best sellers are a result of Maria’s coverage? [4:55]
How to live a meaningful happy life. [10:00]
The importance of writing for an audience of one. [12:10]
Contending with the temptation to create Buzzfeed-like content. [15:45]
Maria Popova’s daily rituals, beliefs on sleep, distraction-avoidance habits, meditation, and exercise routines. [23:25]
Maria Popova’s note-taking system. [31:45]
Seneca and the time-tested challenge of presence vs. productivity. [37:36]
Start-up opportunity? Build a note-taking tool for heavy readers/highlighters. [41:58]
About the team behind BrainPickings. [48:45]
Maria Popova’s process for editing within her team. [51:12]
Self-reliance pathology and how to overcome it. [53:56]
How to find a professional personal assistant and delegate. [56:40]
What Maria Popova’s weight lifting regiment looks like, plus her favorite bodyweight-only exercise. [1:02:14]
Blogging strategies [1:05:22]
Social media strategies [1:15:00]
How cultivate a personal inner circle, how to pre-screen book review requests [1:20:30]
Why there are no dates on the posts on BrainPickings? [01:12:30]
Scheduling (and automating) social media [01:22:10]
How do you deal with friends who want you to read their books? [01:27:10]
What donation model works best for site revenue? [01:31:45]

People Mentioned

Sam Harris
Wendy MacNaughton
Richard Betts
Kurt Vonnegut
Kevin Kelly
Alan Watts
Chris Sacca
John Romaniello
Oscar Wilde
Tara Brach – Mindfulness Practitioner (Meditation Podcast)
Werner Herzog
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Paul Graham

This is a housekeeping post with one time-sensitive update and smaller recommendations. It’s split into two parts:

The $5,000 Secret Santa
Bite-sized Recommendations: 2 Books, 2 Movies, 2 Tweets, and 2 Songs.

The $5,000 Secret Santa

The short version: I’ve decided to go crazy and do a one-time-only $5,000 Quarterly box. It’s limited to the first 1,000 people, and it will ship before December 25. For that reason, I’m calling it the “Holiday Mega-Box.”

If you’re interested in learning more, please click here. (Note: This is completely separate from the regular Quarterly subscription described below)

Normally, every three months, I ship out a box of amazing physical products with a personal letter explaining everything. It costs $100 per box, and thousands of people subscribe to it here. The theme is obsession–the ideas and objects I can’t get out of my head. Sometimes I’m hooked on a great travel gadget. Other times, I find an incredible book or productivity hack through my experiments. Here are the contents of some previous boxes. They’re often worth $200 or more and include custom items you can’t buy, liked original artwork from Simon Bisley or letters from authors, etc..

Interested in the absurd $5,000 box that’s destined to be unforgettable? Click here.

Interested in becoming a “curator” and creating your own boxes? Quarterly.co does all the legwork of procuring items (or manufacturing them), as well as fulfillment and customer service. Click here if interested.

Bite-Sized Recommendations

Here are a few things that have been capturing my interest recently: 2 books, 2 movies, 2 tweets, and 2 songs.

2 BOOKS:

Wilderness Essays

Who (on hiring, especially the “Selection” section)

2 MOVIES:

Into Great Silence

Snowpiercer

2 TWEETS:

Armless guitarist killing it

Down more than 200 pounds on The Slow-Carb Diet

2 SONGS:

Orchestrated Incident (Gramatik)

Pa’ Bailar Ft. Julieta Venegas (Bajofondo)

Did you like these bite-sized rec’s? Would you like more, no more, or something different? Different categories? Please let me know in the comments!

2008 pic, RV breakdown en route to Burning Man. Shit happens, but that’s OK.Ladies and gents!

A few updates:

1) If you missed instructions for the three quick-start videos from Tony Robbins, or his morning breathing routine and Cryotherapy, I’ve added the links here.

2) I’m so very sorry for the delay in announcing NOBNOM prize winners.  Many of you have rightly asked: What the hell, Ferriss?  Why the radio silence?

To that, I answer: Mea culpa. Alas, I simply get my ass kicked sometimes. This time around, a few things happened:

1) Lyme disease completely annihilated my health, which led to strong antibiotics for 8+ weeks, which…

2) Produced side-effects (on top of Lyme) that disrupted my digestion, created “food allergies,” and additional hospital visits.

3) The data set was huge! You guys asked and answered 1,000s of questions. It was amazing but exceeded all expectations. To organize and analyze everything took a while.  There is a fun wrap-up post in the works that will discuss the fascinating patterns and findings.

To try and atone for my tardiness, I’m adding $100 to all the prizes, so $600 (instead of $500) to the grand-prize winners, and $200 (instead of $100) to all of the others.  I know it’s nominal, but please accept my apologies.

If you won — names below! — please email Tony at tony at lift dot do (@lift.do).  He will also attempt to reach out to you, and you can also ping him on Twitter at @tonystubblebine.

Now, to the good stuff…

How did we choose these folks, who are they, and who else did an amazing job?  Here are all the juicy details from Tony Stubblebine, CEO of Lift.  Out of the 5,000+ participants…

Enter Tony

Here are criteria I used… Looking to award the most “worthy” participants, I looked at streaks, answers, helpfulness of answers, and a little bit of judicial-license. To even be in the running, you had to have finished the month on a 31-day streak and left at least 100 answers for others. So, the bar was very high. Here are the three who stood out as worthy of an award:

Dennis Corsi ($600) – Received 351 helpful votes on his answers.

https://lift.do/users/867ed2f27c23ce1c199b

Brad B. ($600) – Received 391 helpful votes on his answers.

https://lift.do/users/364e6657ee8483603b86

Natasha Lynn ($600) – Received 327 helpful votes on her answers.

https://lift.do/users/3d63505de07ed9156bb2

We also offered $100 awards for people who fell off the wagon and got back on. These people finished the challenge on a streak of 20 or less, and were helpful in the Q&A.

Kuldeep Singh (now $200). https://lift.do/users/911752757306b3dcc17c

Ruben Gutierrez (now $200). https://lift.do/users/34db29a0da5602fc6ed3

Nick Hammond (now $200). https://lift.do/users/d9ebdb738ab7b1242c5a

Tommy Sarac (now $200). https://lift.do/users/7cfa47b88c66219a10c4

D M (now $200).  https://lift.do/users/11c424e6420d32e06da9

[TIM NOTE: Huge congratulations to everyone who participated in NOBNOM!]

Dennis and Brad (among the top-3 prize winners) both left more than 400 answers, which is insane. Natasha built up a fan club; I think because she gave a ton of props. So, while she left fewer answers, she got more helpful votes on those answers.

Here are some of the many people we considered, who all kicked ass.  Each and every one deserves a round of applause.

$500 Prize Candidates. They all finished with 31-day streaks

Dennis Corsi

NOBNOM answers: 406

NOBNOM answer props: 351

Profile URL: https://lift.do/users/867ed2f27c23ce1c199b

Most propped answer: https://www.lift.do/answers/35499-most-of-the-important-things-in-the-world-have-been-accomplished-by-people-who-have-kept-on-trying-when-there-seemed-to

Ro Le V

NOBNOM answers: 462

NOBNOM answer props: 286

Profile URL: https://lift.do/users/059b5ceadbda80926411

Most propped answer: https://www.lift.do/answers/34245-yes-but-now-that-you-put-it-that-way-i-feel-kinda-creepy-lol

Anton V

NOBNOM answers: 320

NOBNOM answer props: 179

Profile URL: https://lift.do/users/6e2f8d181f3645966f7e

Most propped answer: https://www.lift.do/answers/30000-i-ve-learned-that-i-m-letting-go-of-a-compulsion-and-feeling-more-pride-from-my-newfound-self-control

Kikoy Mann

NOBNOM answers: 398

NOBNOM answer props: 308

Profile URL: https://lift.do/users/deeff8f6a3768c660ec2

Most propped answer: https://www.lift.do/answers/34951-from-there-i-started-to-seek-help-at-work-we-had-something-like-a-life-work-coaching-they-claim-it-s-confidential-and-i

Dirk Diggler

NOBNOM answers: 389

NOBNOM answer props: 233

Profile URL: https://lift.do/users/1e4a7a3fc0e91c66b25d

Most propped answer: https://www.lift.do/answers/38752-personally-i-ve-completely-lost-any-desire-to-m-or-watch-porn-right-now-and-even-though-i-wanted-to-get-rid-of-it-before

Winson Teo

NOBNOM answers: 483

NOBNOM answer props: 339

Profile URL: https://lift.do/users/1a575ddf0f5833f9a0a4

Most propped answer: https://www.lift.do/answers/41843-haha-this-is-funny-natasha-has-been-a-really-supportive-figure-this-whole-month-i-think-she-started-the-whole-prop-cra

Melody Thiessen

NOBNOM answers: 396

NOBNOM answer props: 485

Profile URL: https://lift.do/users/d62a2dbd552e0b0e0ac4

Most propped answer: https://www.lift.do/answers/17844-science-link-time-http-joe-endocrinology-journals-org-content-52-1-51-short-tl-dr-according-to-the-study-sexual-in

Johnny Doe

NOBNOM answers: 309

NOBNOM answer props: 219

Profile URL: https://lift.do/users/e78a9e96aabef755b523

Most propped answer: https://www.lift.do/answers/40282-your-initials-are-giving-me-urges

Benjamin W.

NOBNOM answers: 245

NOBNOM answer props: 331

Profile URL: https://lift.do/users/7f361fc598c187ceb7af

Most propped answer: https://www.lift.do/answers/39061-i-ve-realized-that-masturbation-porn-and-booze-have-had-detrimental-effects-on-me-and-my-life-i-have-accomplished-so-mu

Brad B.

NOBNOM answers: 405

NOBNOM answer props: 391

Profile URL: https://lift.do/users/364e6657ee8483603b86

Most propped answer: https://www.lift.do/answers/20466-i-also-wanted-to-say-that-the-challenge-aspect-is-pretty-much-the-only-thing-that-keeps-me-going-i-ve-tried-this-so-ma

CxC CxC

NOBNOM answers: 288

NOBNOM answer props: 147

Profile URL: https://lift.do/users/6e788582c9f57a43e1ee

Most propped answer: https://www.lift.do/answers/35664-unfortunately-i-think-a-good-chuck-of-people-in-this-group-are-trying-to-eliminate-or-drastically-tone-down-fb-usage-too

Natasha Lynn

NOBNOM answers: 162

NOBNOM answer props: 327

Profile URL: https://lift.do/users/3d63505de07ed9156bb2

Most propped answer: https://www.lift.do/answers/41828-omg-i-woke-up-to-a-comment-about-me-being-a-question-p-cannot-believe-it-s-true-well-i-love-you-all-thank-you-_

“Our revenues are now over $5 billion annually. Without access to Tony and his teachings, Salesforce.com wouldn’t exist today.”

– Marc Benioff, Founder of Salesforce.com

“[Tony] distills the concepts of the best investors in the world into practical lessons that will benefit both naïve investors and skilled professionals.”

– Ray Dalio, Founder of Bridgewater Associates, the world’s largest hedge fund

Tony Robbins is the world’s most famous performance coach. He’s advised everyone from Bill Clinton to Serena Williams, and from Leonardo DiCaprio to Oprah (who calls him “superhuman”).

For years, you’ve also asked me to interview him in-depth — so here it is! I flew to Florida to spend time with Tony in his home, and what ensued was an epic two-part conversation.  It covers just about everything imaginable.

My visit coincided with his first new book in 20 years: Money–Master the Game.

I love Tony’s work and it helped me start my first company, but when I got an early draft of the book, I thought to myself–really? Another book on money? Ugh. I prepared to be bored, especially since I think of myself as an experienced investor [pats self on back]. Instead, and very surprisingly, I was blown away. Before I knew it, I was pushing off other work, letting my dinner get cold, and staying up hours past bedtime each night, all because I couldn’t stop reading.

Why?

First off, he saved me years of my life! Over the last 10 years, I’ve been approached by several top hedge fund managers, who’ve suggested I write The 4-Hour Investor by collaborating with them and their friends. Tony has written that book perfectly, so it saves me the trouble. I can just point people to this book. Which leads me to…

Reason number two, he goes DEEP with many of the investing icons I’ve always wanted to meet, including Paul Tudor Jones (who he’s coached for 10+ years), Ray Dalio, Carl Icahn, David Swensen, Kyle Bass, and many more. These are the hard-to-interview “unicorns” who consistently beat the market, despite the fact that it’s called impossible. In this book, they disclose details and examples I’ve never seen anywhere else, and I’ve read A LOT of books on investing.  For me, the interviews alone were worth the entire book.

Third, he solved the problem that I couldn’t. How do you write a book for both the novice and the sophisticated expert? How do you account for the differences in goals (e.g. growth versus security) without creating a mess of a book with no structure? He nailed it.

Fourth, and last for this blog post, this book isn’t just about “investing.” It’s about clear thinking and clear priorities applied to big things. By the time I’d read half of the book, I’d already taken steps that doubled my income for that month. While it wasn’t stocks or bonds, the principles of the book translated to my other business decisions. Obviously, you’re mileage will vary, but I found the flexible toolkit worth as much as the specific recommendations related to asset allocation, etc.

In the following interview, we dig into everything: Tony’s morning routines, his diet, how we works with the world’s highest-performing athletes and traders, common misconceptions about him, the most typical money mistakes he’s uncovered, and on and on.  I even ask him to palm my entire face (pic coming soon, I promise).

Enjoy!

Tons of links and goodies in show notes below…

If you can’t see the above embedded players, here are other ways to listen:

Listen to it on iTunes.
Stream by clicking Part 1 here and Part 2 here.
Download both as MP3 by right clicking (Part 1, Part 2) and choosing “save as”.

This podcast is brought to you by 99Designs, the world’s largest marketplace of graphic designers. Did you know I used 99Designs to rapid prototype the cover for The 4-Hour Body? Here are some of the impressive results.

Also, how would you like to join me and Sir Richard Branson on his private island for mentoring? It’s coming up soon, and it’s all-expenses-paid. Click here to learn more. It’s worth checking out.

QUESTION(S) OF THE DAY: What is the best piece of investment advice you ever received or read? Please let me know in the comments.

Scroll below for all show notes, and thank you for listening!

Do you enjoy this podcast? If so, please leave a short review here. It’s very important to keep the show going.

Subscribe to The Tim Ferriss Show on iTunes.

Non-iTunes RSS feed

Selected Links from the Episode

Myelin
Evernote
Marc Benioff
Ray Dallio
Warren Buffet
Carl Icahn
Grandmaster Jhoon Rhee
Kyle Bass
Charlie Rangel
Marc Andreessen

If you want detailed tactics and hilarity, Ramit Sethi is your man. Here one quote from this episode, to give you an idea: “Indian people don’t get punched, dude. We don’t get into fights. We’re doing spelling bees.”

Ramit Sethi built his personal finance blog up to 500,000+ readers per month, and has since turned it into a revenue generating monster. I don’t use that phrasing lightly. In this episode, we dig into the nitty-gritty tools, software, and experiments he’s used to turn a college side project into a multi-million-dollar business with 30+ employees.

Tons of amazing links and goodies below…

Stream with the player below:

If you can’t see the above, here are other ways to listen:

Listen to it on iTunes.
Stream Part 1 here and Part 2 here.
Download both as MP3 by right clicking (Part 1, Part 2) and choosing “save as”.

This podcast is brought to you by 99Designs, the world’s largest marketplace of graphic designers. Did you know I used 99Designs to rapid prototype the cover for The 4-Hour Body? Here are some of the impressive results.

Also, how would you like to join me and billionaire Richard Branson on his private island for mentoring? It’s coming up soon, and it’s all-expenses-paid. Click here to learn more. It’s worth checking out.

QUESTION(S) OF THE DAY: Do you think I should create a course of some type? If not (and if writing a book isn’t an option), what would you like to see me create next? What would be most helpful to you? Please let me know in the comments.

Scroll below for all show notes.

Enjoy!

Who should I interview next?  Please let me know on Twitter or in the comments.

Do you enjoy this podcast? If so, please leave a short review here.  It keeps me going…

Subscribe to The Tim Ferriss Show on iTunes.

Non-iTunes RSS feed

LINKS FROM THE EPISODE

Visit the Tim Ferriss Book Club on Audible
www.IWillTeachYouToBeRich.com
www.PBWorks.com
Ramit’s compilation of the best “Freeloader Comments”
Kevin Kelly article: 1000 True Fans
From Geek to Freak: How I Gained 34 lbs. of Muscle in 4 Weeks
Digg.com
Gigaom.com
Ramit’s post on the 4 Hour Blog: The Psychology of Automation: Building a Bulletproof Personal-Finance System
Hacking Kickstarter: How to Raise $100,000 in 10 Days
The $28,000 question: Why are we all hypocrites about weddings?
Learn more about Opening the Kimono® Event
How to Raise a Financial Wizard
YourSurrogateAsianFather.com
Check out Mark Bustos’ Instagram
50ProvenEmailScripts.com
12 Lessons Learned While Marketing “The 4-Hour Body”
A special giveaway from Ramit for our listeners

Books Mentioned in the Episode

The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right by Atul Gawande
Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think Mass Market by Brian Wansink
The Robert Collier Letter Book by Robert Collier
Age of Propaganda: The Everyday Use and Abuse of Persuasion by Anthony Pratkanis and Elliot Aronson
The Social Animal by Elliot Aronson
Never Eat Alone: And Other Secrets to Success, One Relationship at a Time by Keith Ferrazzi
Iacocca: An Autobiography Mass Market by Lee Iacocca and William Novak
What They Don’t Teach You At Harvard Business School: Notes From A Street-Smart Executive by Mark H. McCormack

Entrepreneur Resources Mentioned in the Episode

Basecamp – Web-based project-management tool
Google Docs
Aweber – Email marketing and autoresponder software
Infusionsoft – A complete sales and marketing automation software for small businesses
Surverymonkey – Create and publish online surveys in minutes, and view results graphically and in real time
GitHub – Powerful collaboration, code review, and code management for open source and private projects.
Asana – A web and mobile application designed to enable teamwork without email.
Screenflow – Screen recording and editing software for Mac
Dropbox – A free service that lets you bring your photos, docs, and videos anywhere and share them easily
Wufoo - Online form builder with cloud storage database
Skype – A freemium voice over IP service and instant messaging client
Visual Website Optimizer – A/B Testing Software for Marketers
Umbel – a tool for understanding your audience

Documentaries Mentioned in the Episode

2 Million Minutes: A Documentary Calculating the Educational Divide 
Jiro Dreams of Sushi

Show Notes

Why Ramit Sethi’s parents added the “R” to his original name, Amit
His grassroots beginnings as a personal finance teacher to friends
How his persistence garnered exposure for his blog in the Wall Street Journal
How his site functions like a laboratory
Why you only need to focus on caring for 1,000 die-hard fans
How a few world-class posts can change your life forever
The “secret recipe” for attracting lots of people to your posts and making them fall in love with your content
Ramit’s email practices and marketing techniques that generate 99% of his revenue
The entrepreneurial tools and software Ramit’s team uses to systematize the daily functioning of the business
A common email practice that people share as the “Law of God” that is completely false
Why you should encourage people to unsubscribe from your email list
How to sell a product without coming off like a spammy Internet marketer
Why Ramit turns away customers who have personal debt
What roles race and culture play in Ramit’s life
How I Will Teach You To Be Rich is like the Asian father some of us never had
His book recommendations for entrepreneurs
The longest lie his father ever told and why Ramit can’t wait to do the same to his children
The best investment he’s made for under $100
Email tips for building respectful relationships with busy people