Tim Ferriss - 5-Bullet Friday — January 26, 2024
|
|||
Hi All!
Here is your weekly dose of 5-Bullet Friday, a list of what I’m pondering and exploring. I’ve been doing a lot of reading this week. Feel free to forward along if the spirit moves you.
Short video I’m watching
Mary Oliver reciting her poem “Wild Geese.” Pause and spend a few minutes with this poem. It’s worth the reminder. The full text is available here, and I read it often.
Essay I’m reading
“The Acceleration of Addictiveness” by Paul Graham (@paulg). This was strongly recommended to me by Matt Mullenweg, who was recently on the podcast. To give you a taste, here are two excerpts that I highlighted for myself:
One sense of “normal” is statistically normal: what everyone else does. The other is the sense we mean when we talk about the normal operating range of a piece of machinery: what works best.
These two senses are already quite far apart. Already someone trying to live well would seem eccentrically abstemious in most of the US. That phenomenon is only going to become more pronounced. You can probably take it as a rule of thumb from now on that if people don’t think you’re weird, you’re living badly.
[...]
People commonly use the word “procrastination” to describe what they do on the Internet. It seems to me too mild to describe what’s happening as merely not-doing-work. We don’t call it procrastination when someone gets drunk instead of working.
Note that the second snippet is from one of his footnotes, which I always read.
Articles I’m reading
“I Feel Love: MDMA for Autism and Social Anxiety” by Rachel Nuwer.
“Why You Should Seek More Awe in the New Year” by Ashley Stimpson. Every time I’ve done a past-year review (PYR), a pattern emerges: peak positive emotional experiences are correlated to awe at least 70% of the time. For at least the past 3–5 years, this has been so consistent that I often determine what big blocks to schedule in the new year based on potential for awe. The payoffs include time dilation and, more broadly, traversing the miraculous canvas of full human experience. Friends have asked me why I do silent retreats in nature, why I love ski touring, why I hunt once in a blue moon, or why I am deeply interested in psychedelic science and psychedelic-assisted therapies. If I had to sum it all up in one word, it would be: Awe. But what exactly is “awe,” and how can we embrace more of it? I haven’t found a better article exploring these topics than Ashley Stimpson’s “Awestruck,” featured in Johns Hopkins Magazine, so I asked for permission to publish on my blog, which was graciously granted. I hope you find it as thought-provoking as I did.
Book I’m reading
The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles. A good friend and bestselling author told me that he considered this the greatest American novel of the last 20 years. I haven’t read enough classics to know if that’s accurate, but it’s one hell of a read, the prose is gorgeous, and you’ll laugh out loud many times.
The official book description makes it sound darker than it is. Certainly, parts of the book showcase questionable characters and questionable actions, but this doesn’t detract from the pervasive humor and beauty of the writing, which are pleasures unto themselves. From Amazon: “In June, 1954, eighteen-year-old Emmett Watson is driven home to Nebraska by the warden of the work farm where he has just served a year for involuntary manslaughter. His mother long gone, his father recently deceased, and the family farm foreclosed upon by the bank, Emmett’s intention is to pick up his eight-year-old brother and head west, where they can start their lives anew. But when the warden drives away, Emmett discovers that two friends from the work farm have hidden themselves in the trunk of the warden’s car. Together, they have hatched an altogether different plan for Emmett’s future.”
Quote I’m pondering
“The highest point a man can obtain is not Knowledge, or Virtue, or Goodness, or Victory, but something even greater, more heroic, and more despairing: Sacred Awe!”
— Nikos Kazantzakis, in Zorba the Greek.
(Click here to share on Twitter.)
You can complement this edition of 5-Bullet Friday with the most recent episodes on The Tim Ferriss Experiment: Rally Racing, Language Learning, and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (+ Chess!). This TV series took everything out of me, so I hope you enjoy it.
The show is like MythBusters meets Jason Bourne. In every episode, I partner with the world’s best and most unorthodox teachers (e.g., Laird Hamilton, Marcelo Garcia, Stewart Copeland), who train me for a final gauntlet. Shocking breakthroughs, injuries, epiphanies, and disasters are all part of the journey. Along the way, I show you how to replicate results in an attempt to prove that “you don’t need to be superhuman to get superhuman results… you just need a better toolkit.”
Make sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel to get notified of all upcoming episodes, and I’ll be releasing one per week.
Have a wonderful weekend, all.
Much love to you and yours,
Tim
Older messages
New from Tim — Interviews with Dr. Andy Galpin and Noah Kagan (Plus: "The Magic of Suspended Coffee and Free Haircuts")
Wednesday, January 24, 2024
The latest from author and investor Tim Ferriss
5-Bullet Friday — January 19, 2024
Friday, January 19, 2024
"Does the thought not make the universe seem just a bit kinder, a bit brighter, a bit warmer and more human?" — Ken Liu
New from Tim — "Chris Beresford-Hill — A Master Ad Man on Superbowl Confessions, How to Come Up With Great Ideas, and More" and "Rally Racing on The Tim Ferriss Experiment"
Wednesday, January 17, 2024
The latest from author and investor Tim Ferriss
5-Bullet Friday — January 12, 2024
Friday, January 12, 2024
“Health lies in action, and so it graces youth. To be busy is the secret of grace, and half the secret of content."
New from Tim — "The Tim Ferriss Experiment" and "The New Frontiers of Mental Health"
Tuesday, January 9, 2024
The latest from author and investor Tim Ferriss
You Might Also Like
The Anti-Trendy Handbag Everyone Will Be Wearing In 30 Days
Saturday, May 18, 2024
Coming in hot for summer.
1 Kettlebell. 30 Minutes. Total Body Strength
Saturday, May 18, 2024
Mens Health Shop logo Get shredded all over in just 30 days! No Gym Required: Kettlebells One Kettlebell, Serious Results One Kettlebell, Serious Results Want to build major muscle? Save yourself some
The Difference Between a Credit Freeze and Credit Lock
Friday, May 17, 2024
How to Remove AI From Google Search. Here's what to know about the step-by-step process, costs, and key considerations to help you make an informed decision and keep your credit secure. Not
5-Bullet Friday — Powerful Wisdom from Jerry Seinfeld, Ingenious Orangutans Discover How to Heal, Psychedelics for Traumatic Brain Injuries, and The Panacea for Obsessive Leaf-Blowing Disorder
Friday, May 17, 2024
“After you have exhausted what there is in business, politics, conviviality, love, and so on—have found that none of these finally satisfy..."
We Can’t Escape This Vest
Friday, May 17, 2024
What's new today on the Cut — covering style, self, culture, and power, plus interviews, profiles, columns, and commentary from our editors. Brand Logo FRIDAY, MAY 17 fashion I Can't Escape
Blake Lively's Teal Mermaid Dress Is A Stunning Vintage Glam Moment
Friday, May 17, 2024
Plus, Nicola Coughlan's frilly jacket, your horoscope for Fri. May 17, & more.
What happens when you eat Sweetgreen 30 meals in a row?
Friday, May 17, 2024
What to know about 'Vanderpump Rules' stars new sandwich shop
Postcard from sick kingdom
Friday, May 17, 2024
͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
Get a Head Start on Your Memorial Day Shopping
Friday, May 17, 2024
A stylish weekly newsletter helping you make good choices about what to spend your money on. Every product is independently selected by editors. If you buy something through our links, New York may
#47: Making intimacy enjoyable again when you're battling fertility issues
Friday, May 17, 2024
Female Health & Fertility magazine quarterly column ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏