Timothy Ferriss's Blog, page 119

This post might seem odd, as it starts with a random sequence from a random skill. There are three reasons for this:

1) I like to expose readers to things they've never explored.

2) The best long-term policy for keeping a blog fun to read (and write) is to cover things that subsets of your readers love, not things that everyone merely likes.

3) I think all of you should know how to respond to a real physical attack.

Keeping these in mind, I hope you enjoy a lil' taste of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, often nicknamed "human chess."

If it's not your thing, I still suggest you skip to the end, where you can see the free (and short) video series I did with Dave Camarillo on defending against real-world attacks of various types. I had these videos up at one time in 2007, but the code became corrupted, so I'm updating them here.

One of the last videos is of me getting thrown on my head, or heels-over-head, repeatedly.

Since the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) came to prominence in 2005, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) has been the most sought-after skill-set in the marital arts world. There are many world-class athletes, but there are only a few world-class teachers. Dave Camarillo, who's coached UFC fighters like Cain Velasquez, is one of them…

I've known Dave for nearly a decade and trained with him at AKA in San Jose, CA. I also had the chance to be a crash-test dummy for his new book, Submit Everyone, which is the book I always wanted him to write. It is (finally) a principle-based system for learning submissions and game strategy, as opposed to a hodge-podge of random techniques. Dave, though he'd never admit it, used to teach chess in addition to BJJ. It comes through and, as of this writing, his book has 100% 5-star reviews on Amazon.

For grappling fans, the below pass will give you a submission to try at your next practice. This scenario comes up a lot on the mats.

PHOTO 1: SUBJECT CAMARILLO is approaching the open guard of CONTACT FERRISS, TIMOTHY. As always, Camarillo does not delay in establishing control of Ferriss's heels. At this point, Ferriss is focused solely on defending these grips and has been momentarily taken out of his previous mindset.

PHOTOS 2-4: Without delay, Camarillo pushes Ferriss's legs overhead and waits for him to rock back in defense. As Ferriss falls into the first trap, Camarillo steps inside of his seated guard. Ferriss does not wait and grabs the single-leg to gain advantage and attack.

PHOTO 5: However, Camarillo realizes that the single-leg is the most common reaction and is already cross-stepping backward with his left leg before Ferriss can execute a sweep or takedown. Due to his perfect timing, Camarillo does not have to wait for Ferriss to establish a stronger defense of the backward cross-step.

PHOTO 6: Having reached Ferriss's left side, Camarillo now focuses on the arm by securing a figure-four kimura lock on Ferriss's exposed (from holding the single-leg) left arm. [TIM: See third pic here for hand position] Camarillo's right leg is still technically inside of the guard, but Camarillo has little concern for it; he is completely focused on the finish.

PHOTO 7: To break Ferriss's posture and initiate the final sequence, Camarillo jumps his left foot to Ferriss's left hip and sits down onto Ferriss's left shoulder. This collapses Ferriss toward the mat and sets him up for the submission.

PHOTO 8: As Camarillo falls to his back, he slides a belt line hook with his left leg and uses his right foot as a hook to steer Ferriss away from his trapped arm. This keeps Ferriss planted to his back where it is far more difficult to defend.

PHOTO 9: Ferriss locks the triangle on Camarillo's right leg, but it does not matter. Camarillo's right leg blocks Ferriss's right arm from making a proper defense and his triangle makes it impossible to roll to either side to escape.

Camarillo stretches Ferriss's arm for the finish.

First, before the instructionals, here is me getting thrown over and over again. I did this video to illustrate the importance knowing how to fall (ukemi) without getting injured. The music is a bit loud:

The instructionals follow. If you want to skip around, they cover, in order: punch defense, choke defense, bottom defense, and bottom defense/offense. Women should focus on the latter three, especially the last two.

Originally filmed in 2007, most take place at AKA in San Jose, where Dave coached at the time:

Article 126: No brown M&M's! (Photo: Mr. T in DC)

Happy New Year, all! I'll be putting up a "Lessons learned in 2011″ post soon. In the meantime, here is a taste of things to come.

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I can come across as anal retentive, even severely Monk-ish. One reason for the madness: with rare exceptions, I've come to believe that how we do anything is how we do everything.

I'm not alone.

The following is a short excerpt from The Checklist Manifesto by Atul Gawande, also reprinted by Tehelka magazine in India. In it, we learn the logic of David Lee Roth's famous obsession with brown M&M's:

Listening to the radio, I heard the story behind rocker David Lee Roth's notorious insistence that Van Halen's contracts with concert promoters contain a clause specifying that a bowl of M&M's has to be provided backstage, but with every single brown candy removed, upon pain of forfeiture of the show, with full compensation to the band. And at least once, Van Halen followed through, peremptorily cancelling a show in Colorado when Roth found some brown M&M's in his dressing room. This turned out to be, however, not another example of the insane demands of power-mad celebrities but an ingenious ruse.

As Roth explained in his memoir, Crazy from the Heat, "Van Halen was the first band to take huge productions into tertiary, thirdlevel markets.

We'd pull up with nine 18-wheeler trucks, full of gear, where the standard was three trucks, max. And there were many, many technical errors — whether it was the girders couldn't support the weight, or the flooring would sink in, or the doors weren't big enough to move thegear through. The contract rider read like a version of the Chinese Yellow Pages because there was so much equipment, and so many human beings to make it function." So just as a little test, buried somewhere in the middle of the rider, would be article 126, the no-brown-M&M's clause. "When I would walk backstage, if I saw a brown M&M in that bowl," he wrote, "well, we'd line-check the entire production. Guaranteed you're going to arrive at a technical error… Guaranteed you'd run into a problem." These weren't trifles, the radio story pointed out. The mistakes could be lifethreatening. In Colorado, the band found the local promoters had failed to read the weight requirements and the staging would have fallen through the arena

Do you have any similar tests that you've found helpful in business, hiring, life, or love?

(Photo: Kevin Dooley)

Just for fun, I asked my start-ups (and a few friends) if they'd like to offer y'all a little something special from the holidays. Here's an incomplete list.

Many are working on top-secret stuff and couldn't jump in, but a few were game on last-minute notice, so here you go!

They are listed in alphabetical order by company/name:

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Email joseph-at-crowdflower.com and we'll give you free CrowdFlower credits and a free crowdsourcing consultation to get you started on our self-service platform.

Foodzie's Tasting Club delivers a monthly selection of artisan food products. Gift it and receive a FREE month on your own subscription. Valid through 12/24.

Ed Cooke trained Josh Foer to be US memory champ in 1 yr. He'll train you if you can learn 500+ words in a week on http://www.memrise.com

Create a free and private website for your family photos this holiday season on Posterous Spaces.

Want a virtual assistant? Get one, FREE, for a year. (From Ramit Sethi of iwillteachyoutoberich.) http://bit.ly/uVjY3M

45% off a year of Reputation.com's MyPrivacy service ($55 for a year) to protect your digital personal information. You can use this link http://www.reputation.com?code=4HOUR to get the discount automatically or enter the code 4HOUR in the gift code section on our site when buying.

Have a Productive New Year for 50% off – Sign up for @RescueTime for $36/year! – http://bit.ly/RT36Y

3 months free – Shopify Unlimited Plan, first 100 to use the promo code '4HOUR' [value $537]

Happy holidays!

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Odds and Ends: The 4-Hour Chef is now up on Amazon.co.uk

Kevin Rose and I go deep on a few subjects in this longer-format episode of "Foundation," on which he's interviewed many of my favorite entrepreneurs and investors, including Jack Dorsey (Twitter, Square) and Chris Sacca (Lowercase Capital), among others.

I had a great time, as should be clear from the wine and laughter. It's quite different from The Random Show and more of a Larry King-like format… but with more cursing.

Hope you enjoy!

Happy holidays and Merry Christmas, everyone!

(Photo credit: Oandu)

Wine tends to attract a lot of snobs who use bad French to ruin things.

Done at the dinner table, a brutal technique called "hyperdecanting" will appall that muppet with the popped collar on his polo shirt. It will also make your wine delicious, and make you a hero to everyone who wants to punch him in his smug little face. [cue 0:24]

On a practical level, you can outgun most faux-sommeliers (see what I did there?) with a little brute force. To do this, you first need to understand a bit about aeration.

Generally speaking, letting your wine "breathe" makes it taste better. Just like in our gluten-free kitten pancakes (see pg. 147*), a little air goes a long way…

Letting wine "breathe" equals increasing the surface area of the wine exposed to air for a set period of time. In wine-speak, this "opens the bouquet" (releases aroma compounds) and "softens" the flavor. In simple terms, it usually makes it taste better. Though the mechanism is debated, it appears to reduce the cotton-mouth effects of tannins, which makes aeration perfectly suited to "big" red wines like Cabernet Sauvignon and Bordeaux. In another context, tannins are what make your mouth feel puckered and chalky if you drink overbrewed black tea. Aeration may also minimize wine defects like mercaptins, not to be confused with midichlorians.

Enough with the details, Ferriss. How do I aerate?

We'll look at four methods: swirling and swishing, decanting, using a Vinturi, and beating the sh*t out of it. I'll explain how to use them first, and there is a demo video at the end.

This is the standard tabletop move. To avoid making an ass of yourself: Hold the glass by the stem, keeping the glass base on the table, and move it in fast but small circles. Take a small sip, hold the wine in your mouth as you tilt your head forward, and suck in a thin stream of air, almost as if you're gargling upside down. Swallow and make a mmm-like sound to indicate deep thought.

Slap yourself if you do this while your friends are drinking Coronas.

Decanting is, strictly speaking, transferring liquid from one container to another. The Romans pioneered the use of glass decanters, which they used to remove sediment, leaving the gunk in the original storage vessel.

Decanters with wide bases are now used to expose wine to air, often for 1–2 hours or more.

The Vinturi® wine aerator is a handheld plastic device that capitalizes on Bernoulli's Principle. Mr. B's rule dictates—in simple terms—that as you increase the speed of a fluid's movement, you decrease its pressure. Decrease the pressure of wine and it becomes easier to infuse more air in less time.

If you pour wine from the bottle, through the Vinturi, and directly into a friend's wineglass, you will hear the accelerated siphoning of air into the stream, which also has a nice party-trick effect. Bingo: Mr. Science–style aeration and a nice shortcut.

The difference is subtle, but it makes for less waiting and less cleanup than traditional decanting.

This method is not subtle. It's a scientifically well-founded middle finger pointed at people who give a wonderful beverage a bad name.

I owe a hat tip to the brilliant Nathan Myhrvold, former CTO of Microsoft, master French chef, and creator of the iconic, never-to-be-outdone, $600 (or $450 here) cooking encyclopedia, Modernist Cuisine.

If aeration is exposing more liquid surface area to air, how can we take this to its logical extreme?

Blend it into a fury, of course. Nathan has done this with vintage wine gifted to him by Spanish royalty, but I'd suggest a practice run on something from Trader Joe's first. Here's how I do it:

- Pour 1–2 glasses of the wine into a large mixing bowl or—my favorite—a large Bomex beaker. If you're using the latter, 600 ml of wine is perfect for the next step; just leave plenty of room at the top (I fill to around 400 ml). Take a sip for a good sense of "before."

- Lower an immersion blender, also called a "stick" blender, into the glass, then blend for 20–30 seconds. Tip your container (or tilt the blender best you can) to enhance the foaming effect. If you have a standing blender like a Vitamix, feel free to go nuts.

The wine should now have a nice heady froth on it, like a proper Guinness. Pour into a serving cup—I favor a 250-ml Bomex, which is exactly one-third of a standard bottle of wine—and enjoy. It should taste markedly different. And, ladies and gents, that is how you achieve 3 hours of decanting, sans fancy descriptors, in 20–30 seconds. Wink at your most offended guest and ask them if they arm wrestle.

Thank you, Mr. Myhrvold.

(*P.S. The gluten-free kitten pancakes are a joke.)

—

The above is one of hundreds of shortcuts from The 4-Hour Chef: The Simple Path to Cooking Like a Pro, Learning Anything, and Living the Good Life, available here at 50-80% off before the holidays.

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Odds and Ends: Kindle Fire Winners!

The following 50 people shall receive the free Kindle Fire devices, unless they didn't send us their mailing addresses. All of the below have received emails about the giveaway, so if you didn't get an email and are reading this… not to worry. We'll have more fun coming. Happy holidays!

Dane Davenport

James Proud

Paul Pichugin

Andrew Acker

Jeff Mcdowell

Alex Rosenblum

Colton Day

Carol Nicola

Jared M Johnson

Frank Smith

Tamara Regan

Erik Svensson

Pius Uzamere II

David Ngan

Murray Hoggett

Peter Alicea

Jeni Friedland

Josh Webb

Jeffrey Gray

Luis Congdon

Joseph Haddon

Jason Jacobs

Nathan Crenshaw

Peter Bienkowski

Elizabeth Deuermeyer

Chris Roemmich

Damon Harlan

Brian Valentin

Alex Goetz

Jonathan Heston

Anthony Tanjoco

Rob LaBonne

Josh Cooper

Eric Barry

Matt McGuffin

Kevin Goulet

Alex Smith

Duane Elgan

Katie Spears

Aaron Relph

Christopher Tysh

Justine Hanlon

Andrea Magee

William Hertling

Erik Svensson

Erik Emsley

Steven MacCormack

Tom Harvey

Ship times may vary, but I'm doing my best to get all of them to you by X-mas. Best not to count on it, but I'm double-checking again tomorrow.

Screenshot from The 4-Hour Chef iPad app

The 4-Hour Chef app, first available only on Kindle Fire, is now available for the Appleverse (iPad)! Check it out here.

It's rated 12+ for "Mild alcohol, tobacco, or drug use or references" and "mild profanity or crude humor." Fun stuff, in other words. Let me know in the comments what you think of things, and don't miss the exploding cow. The Android version is coming soon.

Two related notes, one for the book, the other for a free round-trip ticket:

- The 4-Hour Chef: The Simple Path to Cooking Like a Pro, Learning Anything, and Living the Good Life is 50-80% off for a limited time to encourage pre-orders. You can cancel anytime up to ship date, so there is no downside, only a locked-in discount. Click here for the full book details.

- To spice things up, I'm offering a X-mas present: a free roundtrip anywhere in the world that Star Alliance flies. Here's how you get it…

- Download the app for free. iPad here or Kindle Fire here.

- Take before measurements (detailed below) and before pictures — front, side, and back — now.

- Follow the "Christmas Countdown" in the app from 12/18 – 12/25. For bonus points, let us know how you're doing in the comments here.

- Take after photos and measurements after 12/25.

- Post your before-and-afters in the comments here no later than 10pm PST, 12/28/11. Requirement for eligibility: indicate in the first sentence the most valuable thing you learned during the experiment.

- Then we'll pick a winner, based on the results and reporting.

The usual legalese applies: Void where prohibited, minors not eligible, etc., etc…

For measurements:

1) Weight

2) Take your "before" circumference measurements. Get a simple tape measure and measure four locations: both upper arms (mid- bicep), waist (horizontal at navel), hips (at widest point below waist), and both legs (mid-thigh). Total these numbers to arrive at your Total Inches (TI).

3) If possible, body-fat percentage.

Intended to be "the cookbook for people who don't buy cookbooks," The 4-Hour Chef will use food as a vehicle to teach the art and science of meta-learning–the skill of learning skills. Whether you want to learn a new instrument or a new sport (or anything in between), you'll have a field-tested and research-backed blueprint. In addition to insight from world-class chefs, we'll have an unreal cast of characters helping you to multiply your learning potential.

For a limited time, to celebrate the announcement, you can pre-order The 4-Hour Chef for 50-80% off. Instead of $30 for print, you can reserve a copy for $15. Instead of $22 for Kindle, you can get it for $5.99.

Sidenote…

Why might you buy the physical book, even in addition to the Kindle? Three reasons:

1) It will be gorgeous, a wonderful tactile experience, and truly unlike any cookbook you've ever seen.

2) I'll be thinking up bonuses for people who buy the print edition early.

3) It would really help me out. Inexplicably, The New York Times excludes all advice/how-to books from their e-book bestseller list, so only the print edition counts towards the bestseller list. Silly, but there you have it!

See the full book description, sneak-peek photos, and more here.

"Victor" running an ultramarathon.

Pavel Tsatsouline is a former Soviet Special Forces physical training instructor, currently a subject matter expert to the US Navy SEALs and the US Secret Service. In 2001, Pavel's and John Du Cane introduced the Russian kettlebell to the West.

Dan John is a former nationally-ranked discus thrower and Olympic lifter–as well as Fulbright Scholar–with more than four decades in the iron game.

T-shirt: Lance Armstrong to Pavel.

Years ago, my friend Dr. Jim Wright said something that got burned into my brain:

"Consistency and moderation over intensity."

Not nearly as sexy as "Do or Die!" or some other juvenile T-shirt slogan, but you could not think of a better set of directions for durable performance.

You are about to meet a man who embodies this maxim. He is a US military special operator whose name I shall withhold due to the nature of his duty.

Let us call him "Victor."

I met this quiet professional at one of our RKC military kettlebell courses. He was capable of a strict pullup with 160 pounds of extra weight, at a bodyweight of 195 pounds (and one-arm chins, naturally). He could close Iron Mind's iconic #2.5 Captains of Crush hand gripper, 237.5 pounds strong, for three reps. And he had run over ten ultramarathons, from 50 to 100 miles!…

Any of the above is an accomplishment, but combining either the first or second feat with the third is unheard of. Especially if one considers that this man is not a pampered professional athlete, but a warrior with many combat deployments under his belt. I had to know more.

Victor graciously described his training:

Low mileage. I only ran 30 miles per week in preparation for the 100 miler. The most important training event for ultramarathons is the weekly long run. I kept my heart rate low and breathed through my nose during training runs, and I think that this helped to minimize muscle damage. I can run 20 miles on a Sunday, and still perform strength exercises on Monday. The key is having the LOW INTENSITY. I use a heart rate monitor, and I stay at 60-65% of my MHR. This means that I am often walking on the hills. If I ran 20 miles at 70-75% MHR, my recovery time would be much longer. I would do high intensity track or hill intervals on one day during the week, but the interval workout never lasted longer than 30 minutes. I keep the intervals pretty intense, though.

Fueling. I am religious about using proper fueling for all long distance events, and I swear by Hammer Nutrition. I consumed exactly 270 calories/hour for the entire 100 mile race (7:1 carbs/protein) and this gave me all the calories that I needed. The protein in my race nutrition (Hammer Perpetuem) helps to prevent muscle cannibalization during the race. Post-race/run, I drink Hammer Recoverite immediately after finishing, and try to get a good meal within an hour of the race.

Prior experience. I did my first 50-mile race 11 years ago, and I have completed over 10 ultramarathons since then. I know how my body will react after long distances, and this experience helps with the mental side of the sport. I have also completed many similar types of endurance events in my military training. Having this experience is very beneficial. I know that I can walk out the door anytime/anywhere and run a marathon pretty easily.

The hand strength and gripper stuff is just fun to do. I train them "Grease the Groove" style [easy sets throughout the day, every day—Ed.]. Of course it helps that I have been doing literally 100s of pull-ups per week (on average) for the last 14 years. I also have done a lot of rock climbing in my past, which really helps with grip strength.

Variety. I have enough variety in my training (yoga, running, biking, kettlebells, clubs, calisthenics) help keep me injury free. I try to get 1-2 days of yoga per week. Sometimes I go to a class, and sometimes on my own. I work the basic poses and focus on releasing some of the tension that comes from lots of running and strength training. The yoga has been great for injury prevention. I also do not lift any other weights besides my single 53lb. kettlebell, and my two 25lb. clubs. The only 1RM training that I do is with the gripper. I used to do presses and deadlifts after reading Power to the People!, but I felt my ego pushing me harder and faster than my body wanted to go. So I decided to limit myself to one kettlebell and two clubs and just focus on adding repetitions and intensity. Staying injury free has helped me to maintain consistent progress for the last 10 years.

I rarely train for more than 30 minutes per day. The only exception to this would be a weekly long run (3+ hours) and a weekly trail run (50-min). I have always done lots of trail running and I find that the trails are much easier on the legs. The steep trails keep things fun and help to prevent overuse injuries. I also keep my exercise selection pretty minimal: pushups, pull-ups, kettlebell swings, get-ups, windmills, goblet squats, and club mills/swipes. That is pretty much it.

I attribute most of my success to consistency. I have been training almost daily since I was 14 years old, and I am also fortunate to have a job that requires me to stay in shape. I also don't think that there is any reason why strength and endurance have to be mutually exclusive…

In the mid-nineties, a curious book came out in the States: Body, Mind, and Sport by John Douillard. Given its focus on endurance sports, an apparent dislike of hard training and beef, and heavy doses of New Age discussions of Ayurveda, it is unlikely that it was read by many of our intense weightlifting friends. At least one did, though: Victor.

The book was dedicated to improving one's performance by reducing the effort to 50%, enjoying the process, and not focusing on the result. The author cited a University of Texas in Austin study of goal-oriented and process-oriented people in the workplace. Unexpectedly, it was not the hypercompetitive Type "A" people who were doing more for the company, making more money, getting more raises and promotions. It was the folks who were enjoying their job.

Ironically, not getting wrapped up in the result may deliver higher gains. I had heard that before. One of the best pistol shooters in the Russian armed forces made a breakthrough in his accuracy when a coach told him, "You know, you have the right to miss."

One of Douillard's techniques was practicing a competitive sport without keeping score. "Focusing on the score attaches you to the result. Focusing on the process lets you access your greatest skill and increases your fun." That rang true.

When I was working on my running in preparation for my military service, at least once a week I would leave my watch at home and go as far as I could while staying totally relaxed. I would draw out my breaths as far as possible comfortably, taking a series of partial inhalations (one per step), and then partial exhalations (one per step again). It took several steps, say six, to complete one breathing cycle. I scanned my body regularly for hidden tension and would release it by "breathing out" through the tight muscles and by shaking them off. I would keep my mouth closed, but not tightly, as relaxed jaws are essential to effortless running. Even after weeks when I did no other kind of running—no hard runs, no hills, no intervals, no running with weight—I could race any distance up to 10K very fast if I chose to. All I had to do was add some "gas" to the relaxation, and I flew.

Nose-only breathing was later stressed in my unit. They sometimes had us run with a mouthful of water—a brilliant self-limiting exercise in the best Gray Cook tradition. Some Russian marathoners hold a handkerchief in their teeth for the same purpose of preventing panicky and inefficient mouth breathing.

Not surprisingly, nose-only breathing and keeping the heart rate low were key components of the Body, Mind, and Sport program. The inventive author figured out a way to "make it a competitive endeavor. For example… run around the track and the winner will be the one who not only finishes first, but has the slowest breath rate and heart rate."

Here is how he scored the winners:

Finish Time + Heart Rate + (Breath Rate x 3)

The lowest score wins, and he multiplies the breath rate by 3 to emphasize its importance.

Victor stresses, "The low HR and nose breathing are essential. After a few months of consistent practice, nose-breathing should be used for the tempo run as well. Nose breathing teaches breath control, and also acts as a "governor" that helps to prevent overtraining." This is especially important to an athlete for whom running endurance is not the number one priority.

Endurance or strength, Dr. Anatoly Bondarchuk (Olympic hammer throw champion and coach of champions) makes a stunning revelation that the harder you push the body, the more stubbornly it refuses change:

"In our practice, with each year we have become more convinced that the stronger our desires to significantly increase the level of achievement… the less the effect… This is explained by the fact that the stronger the complex of training effects, then the more harmony there is in the defense functions in the body… This in every way possible creates barriers or prevents a new level of adaptation, where in the process of restructuring it is necessary to expend a significant amount of energy resources.

…the defense function of the body systems in high level athletes is more "trained" than in low level athletes. From here a very "bold" conclusion follows, that the process of increasing sports mastery takes place at the same level as the process of developing defense functions. In the end result, the defense functions prevail over most of the time of sports development… Up to this time, all of this is a "superbold" hypothesis, giving food for very "fantastic" propositions, but there is something in all of this… Today it is only sufficiently clear that in the process of sports improvement, the body always defends itself against the irritants acting upon it."

The ability to differentiate between "laziness" and "doing just the right amount to get the job done" is a mark of a winner. Recalls AAU American bench press record holder Jack Reape:

"I spent the first half of my training career learning to work harder and never miss workouts, and the second half learning when to sometimes go easier and when to back off."

The above is excerpted from Pavel and Dan's new book, Easy Strength. Learn more about it here.

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ODDS AND ENDS: Breville winner and Angel Investor of the Year?



Jan Winklmann is the winner of the Random Show Breville competition. Please check your email. I need your final OK to ship. Danke sehr!

Angel Investor of the Year?

Reader Cody Candee nominated me as "Best Angel Investor of the Year" for the TechCrunch Crunchies. Thanks, Cody! If you've followed my investing or like what I've written on the subject (samples here), I'd very much appreciate your support.

To second Cody'd nomination, just click here and then click "share" next to my name. It takes just 5 seconds, literally.

I'm an advisor and/or investor with companies including Evernote (Just announced: Inc. Magazine's "Start-up of the Year" — congrats, boys!), Twitter, Facebook, StumbleUpon, Uber, Shopify, TaskRabbit, and many more. Thus far, no real fatalities in almost 4 years of doing this, and cost basis recouped 20x+.

For those of you waiting on the iOS version of the free 4-Hour Chef teaser app, and for anyone who'd like a cheat day experiment this weekend, I offer the following: Tobacco-infused Tequila Hot Chocolate.

It's absurd, decadent, and more delicious than you can imagine. Here's the kicker: I usually hate tequila, so this was a revelation.

PLEASE NOTE: This is intended as a really fun DIY project and a rocking cheat drink, not as a time-saving cocktail. There are times for efficiency, and there are times to explore and enjoy life unhurried.

This is the latter, and it's for FUN. Notice the last part of the subtitle for The 4-Hour Chef, which is "The Simple Path to Cooking Like a Pro, Learning Anything, and Living the Good Life."

"There is more to life than increasing its speed," as Mahatma Gandhi once said.

If you choose to tackle this challenge, share your experience in the comments!

This spectacular drink was taught to me by Craig Schoettler, the executive chef at The Aviary in Chicago, without a doubt the most awe-inspiring "bar-less cocktail kitchen" in the world.

To set the scene: There are 30+ types of ice, and the customers are prevented from harassing the bartenders by a cage barricade. Perhaps you'd like an Old Fashioned served in an ice dinosaur egg? It's prepared with a syringe, and you drink it after shattering the bourbon-filled casing with a miniature slingshot attached to the glass. Or how about a botanical-infused whiskey that changes colors like a chameleon over the course of 30 minutes? They have that, too.

Of course, you'd expect nothing less from the owners, who also run Alinea, the highest-ranked restaurant in the United States. Bartending through the lens of world-class chefs is otherworldly…

This recipe has been modified to fit a few standard measurements. This takes it from super insanely awesome (The Aviary) to merely very insanely awesome.

Want to see what all this looks like before you get started?

Here's a video of my very first attempt, uncensored and unprofessional. It ain't pretty, and that's the point–even you, as a novice, can make something incredible if you're willing to fumble a little. Below the video, you'll find all the instructions you need:

As with all recipes, read through the entire thing before you get started or even go shopping! This will prevent hiccups and guarantee a better (and tastier) buzz.

FOR THE CIGAR MILK:

945 ml / 4 cups Whole milk

40 g / ¼ cup Sugar

1 big pinch / ¼ tsp. Salt

1 Cigar (something cheap is fine)

FOR THE HOT CHOCOLATE BASE:

475 ml / 2 cups Whole milk

40 g / ¼ cup Sugar

1 pinch Salt

100 g / 3½ oz. Bittersweet chocolate, such as Alpaco 66% cacao, chopped

FOR THE BOOZE:

90 ml/g / 3 fl. oz. Tequila, preferably Fortaleza Blanco

10 ml/g / 2 tsp. Fernet-Branca

MAKES: 2 drinks, plus enough cigar milk for more

HANDS-ON TIME: Approx. 20 mins.

TOTAL TIME: Approx. 1 hr. 30 mins., max (30-60 min. of letting the cigar smoke)

FOR STANDARD HOME METHOD:

• A large baking pan or a roasting pan

• A smaller baking pan for the milk, sugar, and salt

FOR TIM'S GHETTO METHOD (seen in the above video):

• A largish cereal or soup bowl

• A large stock pot

• A candle lighter or butane/lighter torch

FOR BOTH:

• A cigar

• Aluminum foil

• A saucepan or skillet (or both, if you want to melt the chocolate separately)

• An immersion blender, ideally with a cream-whipping attachment or milk frother

• Ice trays (for freezing extra cigar milk for later)

STEP 1:

Make the cigar milk foam. You have two choices: the standard home method or the Tim ghetto method.

Standard home method:

• In a baking pan, mix the milk, sugar, and salt.

• Set the pan inside a larger metal baking or roasting pan (choose a disposable one or something you don't mind smelling like cigars).

• Split the cigar in half lengthwise and place it on a piece of aluminum foil in the larger pan.

• Light the cigar with a candle lighter or a butane lighter/torch, then quickly cover both pans with a piece of aluminum foil. Let smoke for one hour.

Tim ghetto method:

• Mix the milk, sugar, and salt in a largish cereal or soup bowl.

• Put this bowl inside a stockpot. I prefer a large and cheap stockpot (don't forget to buy a lid!) that I use mostly for cooking sous-vide and lobsters.

• Split the cigar in half lengthwise and place it on a piece of aluminum foil at the bottom of the stockpot.

• Light the cigar with a candle lighter or a butane lighter/torch (remember canisters), cover the pot, and let smoke for 30–45 minutes. Thirty minutes is plenty, in my experience.

• Later, to de-stench your stockpot, just clean it out and leave a bowl of white wine vinegar mixed with peppermint oil inside, covered, for 1–2 hours.

Step 2

While the milk is smoking, make the hot chocolate base. In a saucepan or skillet, combine the milk, sugar, and salt and bring to a simmer.

Step 3

Remove from heat and slowly add the chocolate. I like to put the chips in a separate skillet and slide them in. Do NOT add them by hand, as scalding milk can splash upward and Phantom of the Opera your hands. Stir until chocolate is melted, then cover and set aside.

Step 4

Foam the cigar milk: Pour the milk into a saucepan and heat it to just below a simmer or a light simmer. Use an immersion blender—ideally one fitted with the cream-whipping attachment or a milk frother—to blend until foamy. No attachment? Just blend for 45 seconds, then wait 2–3 minutes for the bubbles to surface.

Step 5

Combine the tequila and Fernet-Branca into one of your serving cups, then pour half of it into the other. You can use a scale, but I just eyeball it. Into each cup, pour about 7 fluid ounces (210 milliliters) of the hot chocolate base and top with some of the cigar milk foam.

Serve warm and love life.

If you don't finish the cigar milk, freeze it in ice trays to surprise future guests with unusual iced coffee.

Enjoy!

###

The 4-Hour Chef is available for a limited time at 50-80% off list price. Read all the details of the book and learn more here (as well as download the free app for Kindle Fire).

A first look at the beta-cover of The 4-Hour Chef. Let me know what you think.

The magic elves and I have been hard at work on an early Christmas gift for you all. In fact, there are quite a few goodies in this post, including 50 free Kindle Fire devices!

Let's start with one of the most time-sensitive…

The 4-Hour Chef is now on sale on Amazon!

I've been keeping things under wraps, but there is one big surprise. For the last 5 years, the most frequent request from blog readers has been a guide to mental performance. In other words, answering the question: how do you deconstruct and learn any skill?

Well, I've been listening all along, and that book is here!

Here's the complete title: The 4-Hour Chef: The Simple Path to Cooking Like a Pro, Learning Anything, and Living the Good Life. Intended to be "the cookbook for people who don't buy cookbooks," The 4-Hour Chef will use food as a vehicle to teach the art and science of meta-learning–the skill of learning skills. Whether you want to learn a new instrument or a new sport (or anything in between), you'll have a field-tested and research-backed blueprint. In addition to insight from world-class chefs, we'll have an unreal cast of characters helping you to multiply your learning potential.

For a limited time, to celebrate the announcement, you can pre-order The 4-Hour Chef for 50-80% off. Instead of $30 for print, you can reserve a copy for $15. Instead of $22 for Kindle, you can get it for $5.99.

You can cancel anytime up to ship date, so there is no downside, only locked-in savings.

Sidenote…

Why might you buy the physical book, even in addition to the Kindle? Three reasons:

1) It will be gorgeous, a wonderful tactile experience, and truly unlike any cookbook you've ever seen.

2) I'll be thinking up bonuses for people who buy the print edition early.

3) It would really help me out. Inexplicably, The New York Times excludes all advice/how-to books from their e-book bestseller list, so only the print edition counts towards the bestseller list. Silly, but there you have it!

See the full book description, sneak-peek photos, and more here.

Next, I present to you the first Kindle Fire book teaser and app!

100% free and titled "A Christmas Countdown Experiment: The 4-Hour Chef Teaser," it includes a seven-day Christmas countdown advent calendar, with unusual tips that allow you to enjoy wine, cookies, and all the other holiday vices… while losing fat.

From strategic yo-yo dieting and tequila hot chocolate, to exploding cows and tattoos, it's full of surprises. Here's are a few screenshots and the introduction video, followed by the download link…

Main menu – just tap any food for the recipe and much more.

I love advent calendars! Tap any day for your prescription or reward.

Download The 4-Hour Chef Teaser here. Please note! This version is limited to Kindle Fire at the moment, but the iPad (iOS) and general Android versions are almost done. They'll be coming along shortly, and I'll keep you posted.

But… why not get yourself a free Kindle Fire? That's next.

If you don't yet have a Kindle Fire and would one for free, I'm giving away 50 of them. This is a thank you for providing so much helpful feedback over the last six months.

Here's how to get one:

1) Just spread the word in the next 48 hours! Send people to this blog post or The 4-Hour Chef page on Amazon. Here are some ideas: Facebook like, Facebook sharing, retweets, Twitter, e-mail, e-mail signature, street miming. The last one doesn't scale as well as the others.

2) By 11am PST this Thursday (Dec. 1), leave a comment on this post telling me what you did. If possible, quantify the impact (clicks, page views, etc.), and be sure to follow these two rules, which are required for your entry to be valid:

- In the first line, tell me what you'd most like to learn in The 4-Hour Chef.

- Keep the entire comment to 200 words or fewer, so use bullets!

We'll consider the first 300 submissions, and a few judges and I will choose the 50 we think did the best job (subjective, I know). Then we ship them off! Void where prohibited, Martians under 21 not allowed, etc., etc. Winners will be announced next week.

Happy holidays!

Much more to come…

Long overdue, join me and Kevin Rose as we catch up on topics ranging from investing and Steve Jobs to pickled food and start-up launches. Thanks to Glenn for his usual Jedi videography.

For the Breville contest, just search the Oink app for user "Tim Ferriss" to find my profile.

Two odds and ends:

1) You all ROCK. The last post's goal has been exceeded, and my $25K match is happening. The goal was $25K, which I'd then match. You have so far helped raise $45K, and that number is growing quickly. INCREDIBLE.

2) To the 100s of readers who have asked when the hell the personal-use BodyMetrix would be ready: it's finally here. As a thank-you for your patience, I've asked the manufacturer for an additional discount. Until Nov. 30, you can get 25% off (which should be around $125) by using the code 4HOURBODY at check out. For those interested, here's the site. The pro version has been used by everyone from the New York Yankee's to AC Milan.

For previous episodes of The Random Show, click here.

Last but not least, The Random Show is now on iTunes! If you simply want audio-only, or if you'd like to watch the episodes on your iPhone or iPad, here you go:

VIDEO: http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-random-show-podcast/id417595309

AUDIO: http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-random-show-podcast-audio/id417635513