This is one of my favorite letters from Seneca. Before you listen, I want you to think about this philosophy from Fight Club: 

"The things you own end up owning you." - Tyler Durden 

Understanding this mindset will help you to explore the practical philosophies found in this episode. Please enjoy Letter 42, On Values, by Seneca the Younger. 

If you find this useful, you can pick up the whole collection at the Tao of Seneca.

Enjoy!

Show notes and links for this episode can be found at www.fourhourworkweek.com/podcast.

This podcast is brought to you by 99Designs, the world's largest marketplace of graphic designers. I have used them for years to create some amazing designs. When your business needs a logo, website design, business card, or anything you can imagine, check out 99Designs.

I used them to rapid prototype the cover for The 4-Hour Body, and I've also had them help with display advertising and illustrations. If you want a more personalized approach, I recommend their 1-on-1 service. You get original designs from designers around the world. The best part? You provide your feedback, and then you end up with a product that you're happy with or your money back. Click this link and get a free $99 upgrade. Give it a test run.

This podcast is also brought to you by Wealthfront. Wealthfront is a massively disruptive (in a good way) set-it-and-forget-it investing service, led by technologists from places like Apple. It has exploded in popularity in the last two years and now has more than $2.5B under management. Why? Because you can get services previously limited to the ultra-wealthy and only pay pennies on the dollar for them, and it’s all through smarter software instead of retail locations and bloated sales teams.

Check out wealthfront.com/tim, take their risk assessment quiz, which only takes 2-5 minutes, and they’ll show you—for free–exactly the portfolio they’d put you in. If you want to just take their advice and do it yourself, you can. Well worth a few minutes to explore: wealthfront.com/tim.

This episode is a special double header. It features one interview and one performance.

First up is Kaskade (@Kaskade), widely considered one of the Founding Fathers of Progressive House Music. He's been voted "America's Best DJ" twice by DJ Times, headlined Coachella 4x, and been nominated for Grammys 5x.

Next, you'll hear Sekou Andrews (@SekouAndrews), the most impressive poetic voice I've ever heard. I first saw him perform at TED, where he blew my mind. Sekou is a schoolteacher turned 2x National Poetry Slam champion. He has presented privately for Barack Obama, Bono, Oprah Winfrey, Maya Angelou, as well as for many Fortune 500 companies.

Each one of these takes a few minutes to get warmed up, so be patient. There are gems in both. Among other things...

• Kaskade covers his first breaks, making his own luck, formative musical influences, and we dig into his notetaking process, and the origins of one of his biggest hits.
• Sekou will inspire you to be inspired by your story. Do you want to change your narrative, your internal dialogue, to be more successful? Do you need to get back on the horse, or have an effective pep talk in your back pocket?

This might be the recording you listen to over and over again. There is a lot of practical philosophy embedded in and between the lines, so listen to it all.

Show notes and links for this episode can be found at www.fourhourworkweek.com/podcast.

This podcast is brought to you by Audible. I have used Audible for years and I love audio books. I have two to recommend:

1. The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
2. Vagabonding by Rolf Potts

All you need to do to get your free 30-day Audible trial is go to Audible.com/Tim. Choose one of the above books, or choose between more than 180,000 audio programs. That could be a book, a newspaper, a magazine, or even a class. It's that easy. Go to Audible.com/Tim and get started today. Enjoy!

This podcast is also brought to you by 99Designs, the world's largest marketplace of graphic designers. I have used them for years to create some amazing designs. When your business needs a logo, website design, business card, or anything you can imagine, check out 99Designs.

I used them to rapid prototype the cover for The 4-Hour Body, and I've also had them help with display advertising and illustrations. If you want a more personalized approach, I recommend their 1-on-1 service. You get original designs from designers around the world. The best part? You provide your feedback, and then you end up with a product that you're happy with or your money back. Click this link and get a free $99 upgrade. Give it a test run.

"My parents never really told me I couldn't do anything." - Shaun White

This particular episode comes from a fun event -- my first live podcast at the iconic Troubadour in L.A. It sold out through my newsletter in 30 minutes, so thanks to all of you who came. If you haven't signed up for the email newsletter, you should check it out. It's free. Just go to fourhourworkweek.com/friday.

There were quite a few amazing guests at the event, and we're going to divide them up into a few episodes.

Shaun White (@ShaunWhite) is our first -- a professional snowboarder and skateboarder. Among his formidable feats of strength:

• He's a 2x Olympic Gold medalist.
• He holds the X Games record for gold medals at 15, as well as the highest overall medal count at 24.
• Shaun has earned the number two spot on BusinessWeek's list of the 100 most powerful and marketable athletes.
• And -- ACH-TUNG! -- for those near L.A. or willing to travel, Shaun is hosting an incredible event called Air + Style. Think of it as X Games meets Coachella, where you can listen to world-famous bands and then see jumps off of a 16-story ramp (no joke), among other excitement. Check it out at airandstyle.com. For 20% off general or VIP admission, you can use code "TimFerriss."I get no cut, and I’ve already bought four tickets for myself and friends. The code is only good until midnight PT on February 19th (Friday).

Enjoy!

This podcast is brought to you by 99Designs, the world's largest marketplace of graphic designers. I have used them for years to create some amazing designs. When your business needs a logo, website design, business card, or anything you can imagine, check out 99Designs.

I used them to rapid prototype the cover for The 4-Hour Body, and I've also had them help with display advertising and illustrations. If you want a more personalized approach, I recommend their 1-on-1 service. You get original designs from designers around the world. The best part? You provide your feedback, and then you end up with a product that you're happy with or your money back. Click this link and get a free $99 upgrade. Give it a test run.

This podcast is also brought to you by Wealthfront. Wealthfront is a massively disruptive (in a good way) set-it-and-forget-it investing service, led by technologists from places like Apple. It has exploded in popularity in the last two years and now has more than $2.5B under management. Why? Because you can get services previously limited to the ultra-wealthy and only pay pennies on the dollar for them, and it’s all through smarter software instead of retail locations and bloated sales teams.

Check out wealthfront.com/tim, take their risk assessment quiz, which only takes 2-5 minutes, and they’ll show you—for free–exactly the portfolio they’d put you in. If you want to just take their advice and do it yourself, you can. Well worth a few minutes to explore: wealthfront.com/tim.

Show notes and links for this episode can be found at www.fourhourworkweek.com/podcast.

This episode might make your head explode... in the best way possible.

Walter O'Brien (AKA "Scorpion") (@walterobrienscs) is the founder of Scorpion Computer Services and ConciergeUp.com, a for-hire global think tank that provides intelligence-on-demand as a concierge service. The tag line for the latter is, "for any funded need."

• Need to defend against chemical warfare?
• Move an entire manufacturing operation over a weekend?
• 
Save a loved one from a deceitful spouse?
• 
Thread the needle on a thorny legal issue?
• Become a pop star in a foreign country?

When Walter and his team of 2,000+ distributed geniuses say "any funded need," they mean it literally.

Born in Ireland, Walter was diagnosed as a child prodigy with an IQ of 197. He became an Irish national coding champion and competed in the Olympics in informatics.

Fast forward to today, he and Scorpion get paid to fix every imaginable problem for billionaires, startups, governments, Fortune 500 companies, and people like you and me. On the large side, it ranges from mitigating risk on $1.9 trillion of investments to inventing artificial intelligence engines to protect United States war fighters in Afghanistan.

Walter is also the executive producer of the hit CBS TV show Scorpion, inspired by his life, which has reached more than 26 million television viewers.

I was introduced to Walter well before the show, and we go deep in this conversation, with lots of amazing and also hilarious examples of problem solving.

Enjoy!

Show notes and links for this episode can be found at www.fourhourworkweek.com/podcast.

This podcast is brought to you by Wealthfront. Wealthfront is a massively disruptive (in a good way) set-it-and-forget-it investing service, led by technologists from places like Apple. It has exploded in popularity in the last two years and now has more than $2.5B under management. Why? Because you can get services previously limited to the ultra-wealthy and only pay pennies on the dollar for them, and it’s all through smarter software instead of retail locations and bloated sales teams.

Check out wealthfront.com/tim, take their risk assessment quiz, which only takes 2-5 minutes, and they’ll show you—for free–exactly the portfolio they’d put you in. If you want to just take their advice and do it yourself, you can. Well worth a few minutes to explore: wealthfront.com/tim.

This podcast is also brought to you by Boll and Branch. There is a lot of nonsense in the bedding business. For instance, did you know thread-count is not a good measurement of quality? It's a total myth. The "Made in Italy" label? It isn't something you should necessarily pay extra for because it generally means it's just finished in Italy and woven in places like China.

The general industry mark-up for bedding is 700 to 800 percent at most retailers. Boll and Branch create incredibly high-quality bedding. They are the same sheets you'll find at my home in San Francisco.

The best part? You can try anything you order at home for 30 days. If you don't love it, send it back and get a full refund. Go to Boll and Branch and use promo code "TIM" for 20% off your entire order. Whether sheets, towels, blankets, duvet covers, or anything else. Shipping is always free.

I expected this episode to be amazing, and Seth 10x'd expectations. He's incredible.

Seth Godin (@thisissethsblog) is the author of 17 bestselling books that have been translated into more than 35 languages. He writes about the way ideas spread, marketing, strategic quitting, leadership, and--most of all--challenging the status quo in all areas. His books include Linchpin, Tribes, The Dip, Purple Cow, and What to do When it's Your Turn (And it's Always Your Turn).

Seth has founded several companies, including Yoyodyne and Squidoo. His blog (which you can find by typing “Seth” into Google) is one of the most popular in the world. In 2013, Godin was inducted into the Direct Marketing Hall of Fame. Recently, Godin turned the book publishing world on its ear by launching a series of four books via Kickstarter. The campaign reached its goal in just three hours and became the most successful book project in Kickstarter history.

In this episode, we cover dozens of topics and stories, including some he's never discussed publicly before. Here's a small sample:

• A list of the audiobooks he listens to repeatedly, some once per month
• His morning routine, breakfast, dietary habits, and email processing
• Meditative practices
• Why he's fixated on and mastered coffee and vodka, despite the fact that he consumes neither
• Suggestions for going from "wantrepreneur" to entrepreneur
• How to determine if you're better off a "freelancer" or "entrepreneur," and the differences in his mind
• Why he has the most impressive cookbook collection our mutual chef friends have ever seen
• His rules for saying "no" to opportunities, how he thinks about public speaking, etc.
• His recipe for honey oatmeal vodka, and his favorite chocolates in the world
• Thoughts on improving how parents educate their children
• General philosophies and guidelines he uses for life management

Enjoy!

Show notes and links for this episode can be found at www.fourhourworkweek.com/podcast.

This podcast is brought to you by Audible. I have used Audible for years and I love audio books. I have 2 to recommend:

1. The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
2. Vagabonding by Rolf Potts

All you need to do to get your free audiobook and a free 30-day trial is go to Audible.com/tim. Choose one of the above books, or choose between more than 180,000 audio programs. That could be a book, a newspaper, a magazine or even a class. It's that easy. Go to Audible.com/Tim and get started today. Enjoy!

This podcast is brought to you by 99Designs, the world's largest marketplace of graphic designers. I have used them for years to create some amazing designs. When your business needs a logo, website design, business card, or anything you can imagine, check out 99Designs.

I used them to rapid prototype the cover for The 4-Hour Body, and I've also had them help with display advertising and illustrations. If you want a more personalized approach, I recommend their 1-on-1 service. You get original designs from designers around the world. The best part? You provide your feedback, and then you end up with a product that you're happy with or your money back. Click this link and get a free $99 upgrade. Give it a test run.

Sometimes mindset is everything. That's why I hope you pay close attention to this episode of the podcast. This two-thousand-year-old letter from Seneca the Younger is a practical guide for constructing world-class habits. The careful listener will find an extremely practical blueprint for optimizing performance in high-stress situations.

Show notes and links for this episode can be found at www.fourhourworkweek.com/podcast.

If you enjoy this lesson, I highly recommend listening to more of these letters. You can find 27 hours of these letters at The Tao of Seneca: Practical Letters from a Stoic Master. If you want to find more audiobooks that I suggest, head over to audible.com/timsbooks.

Enjoy!

This podcast is brought to you by Wealthfront. Wealthfront is a massively disruptive (in a good way) set-it-and-forget-it investing service, led by technologists from places like Apple. It has exploded in popularity in the last two years and now has more than $2.5B under management. Why? Because you can get services previously limited to the ultra-wealthy and only pay pennies on the dollar for them, and it’s all through smarter software instead of retail locations and bloated sales teams.

Check out wealthfront.com/tim, take their risk assessment quiz, which only takes 2-5 minutes, and they’ll show you—for free–exactly the portfolio they’d put you in. If you want to just take their advice and do it yourself, you can. Well worth a few minutes to explore: wealthfront.com/tim.

This episode is also brought to you by Headspace, the world’s most popular meditation app (more than 4,000,000 users).  It’s used in more than 150 countries, and many of my closest friends swear by it.  Try Headspace’s free Take10 program —  10 minutes of guided meditation a day for 10 days. It’s like a warm bath for your mind. Meditation doesn’t need to be complicated or expensive, and it’s had a huge impact on my life. Try Headspace for free for a few days and see what I mean.

When a guest is nominated for "Podcast of the Year," that's usually a good sign to bring them to the show for more. That's why Naval Ravikant (@naval) is back, and this time, he's answering your questions. For those of you that missed round 1, Naval is the CEO and a co-founder of AngelList. He has invested in more than 100 companies, including more than a few “unicorn” mega-successes.

Maybe most importantly, he has developed a diverse set of skills and knowledge that are invaluable. Even if you have no interest in startups or investing, this will be well worth your time. In this episode, Naval answers your top 10 questions from Reddit, including topics such as,

• Artificial intelligence
• Most recommended books
• Happiness hacks
• Conflict resolution
• Startup tips
• And much, much more...

Enjoy these fascinating insights from Naval.

Show notes and links for this episode can be found at www.fourhourworkweek.com/podcast.

This podcast is also brought to you by Wealthfront. Wealthfront is a massively disruptive (in a good way) set-it-and-forget-it investing service, led by technologists from places like Apple and world-famous investors. It has exploded in popularity in the last 2 years and now has more than $2.5B under management. In fact, some of my good investor friends in Silicon Valley have millions of their own money in Wealthfront. Why? Because you can get services previously limited to the ultra-wealthy and only pay pennies on the dollar for them, and it’s all through smarter software instead of retail locations and bloated sales teams.

Check out wealthfront.com/tim, take their risk assessment quiz, which only takes 2-5 minutes, and they’ll show you—for free–exactly the portfolio they’d put you in. If you want to just take their advice and do it yourself, you can. Or, as I would, you can set it and forget it.  Well worth a few minutes: wealthfront.com/tim.

This podcast is brought to you by Athletic Greens. I get asked all the time, “if you could only use one supplement, what would it be?” My answer is, inevitably, Athletic Greens. It is my all-in-one nutritional insurance. I recommended it in The 4-Hour Body and did not get paid to do so. Get 50% off your order at Athletic Greens.com/Tim.

Luis von Ahn (@luisvonahn) is an entrepreneur and computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon University. He is known for inventing CAPTCHAs, being a MacArthur Fellow ("genius grant" recipient), and selling two companies to Google in his 20's. Luis has been named one of the 10 Most Brilliant Scientists by Popular Science Magazine, one of the 50 Best Brains in Science by Discover, one of the Top Young Innovators Under 35 by MIT Technology Review, and one of the 100 Most Innovative People in Business by FastCompany Magazine.

Luis is currently the co-founder and CEO of Duolingo, a language learning platform created to bring free language education to the world. With more than 100 million users, it is the most popular way to learn languages in the world, and it is the most downloaded app in the Education category on both iTunes (5-star average, 3,300+ reviews) and Google Play.

I first met Luis as an early investor in Duolingo, and every time I meet him, I learn something new.

In this conversation, we talk about:

• What 2-3 books and resources he'd recommend to entrepreneurs
• Language learning tips
• The clever way he caught cheating students at Carnegie Mellon
• Early mentors and key lessons learned
• The story of building and selling reCAPTCHA
• How to recruit and vet technical talent
• Duolingo's most surprising sources of users, and much more...

Enjoy!

Show notes and links for this episode can be found at www.fourhourworkweek.com/podcast.

This podcast is brought to you by 99Designs, the world's largest marketplace of graphic designers. I have used them for years to create some amazing designs. When your business needs a logo, website design, business card, or anything you can imagine, check out 99Designs.

I used them to rapid prototype the cover for The 4-Hour Body, and I've also had them help with display advertising and illustrations. If you want a more personalized approach, I recommend their 1-on-1 service. You get original designs from designers around the world. The best part? You provide your feedback, and then you end up with a product that you're happy with or your money back. Click this link and get a free $99 upgrade. Give it a test run.

This episode is also brought to you by Headspace, the world’s most popular meditation app (more than 4,000,000 users).  It’s used in more than 150 countries, and many of my closest friends swear by it.  Try Headspace’s free Take10 program —  10 minutes of guided meditation a day for 10 days. It’s like a warm bath for your mind. Meditation doesn’t need to be complicated or expensive, and it’s had a huge impact on my life. Try Headspace for free for a few days and see what I mean.

This is a special episode that is the result of more than 10 years of dreaming. For years, I've been studying Stoicism, but I've always had a particular interest in The Tao of Seneca. What is the Tao of Seneca? There's a collection of letters called, "The Moral Letters to Lucilius." And I have read this entire collection of letters and other letters of Seneca, the author, probably more than 100 times. It has been my constant companion for at least the last 10 years. And I have given various forms of these letters to more friends than I can even count and several hundred acquaintances -- I feel that strongly about it. So when people ask me about my favorite book, I say this collection of letters.

The problem has been there is no good audio edition. So I, for many months now, have made this my passion project to create The Tao of Seneca: Practical Letters from a Stoic Master. Three volumes, and it covers them all. Here's the description:

The Tao of Seneca is an introduction to the stoic philosophy through the words of Seneca. Thought leaders in Silicon Valley tout the benefits of stoicism, and NFL management (coaches and players, alike) have embraced it because the principles make them better competitors.

This episode features letter #13, "On Groundless Fears." Stoicism is a no-nonsense philosophical system designed to produce dramatic real-world effects. Think of it as an ideal operating system for thriving in high-stress environments. This is your guide.

Show notes and links for this episode can be found at www.fourhourworkweek.com/podcast.

This podcast is brought to you by Athletic Greens. I get asked all the time, “if you could only use one supplement, what would it be?” My answer is, inevitably, Athletic Greens. It is my all-in-one nutritional insurance. I recommended it in The 4-Hour Body and did not get paid to do so. Get 50% off your order at Athletic Greens.com/Tim.

This podcast is also brought to you by 99Designs, the world's largest marketplace of graphic designers. I have used them for years to create some amazing designs. When your business needs a logo, website design, business card, or anything you can imagine, check out 99Designs.

I used them to rapid prototype the cover for The 4-Hour Body, and I've also had them help with display advertising and illustrations. If you want a more personalized approach, I recommend their 1-on-1 service. You get original designs from designers around the world. The best part? You provide your feedback, and then you end up with a product that you're happy with or your money back. Click this link and get a free $99 upgrade. Give it a test run.

This episode, I sit down with Edward Norton (@EdwardNorton). Edward is an actor, filmmaker and activist. He has been nominated for three Academy Awards for his work in Primal Fear, American History X, and Birdman. He has starred in scores of other films, including Fight Club, The Illusionist, and Moonrise Kingdom.

Unbeknownst to most people, Edward is also a serial startup founder (e.g. CrowdRise; here’s my current campaign), a UN ambassador for biodiversity, a massively successful investor (e.g. early Uber), a pilot, and deeply involved with wilderness conservation.

In this conversation, we cover a lot of ground, including:

• His beginnings in acting, and what early mentors taught him
• What separates great actors from mediocre actors, as illustrated through an early Marlon Brando story 
• Edward’s physical preparation for American History X (and camera trickery)
• The importance of surfing
• His favorite books, documentaries, underrated films and filmmakers, and essays (The Catastrophe of Success, etc.)
• His advice to his 20- and 30-year old self
• And much more...

And here’s a bonus, another favorite book he remembered after we stopped recording: Buddhism Without Beliefs.

Enjoy!

This podcast is brought to you by 99Designs, the world's largest marketplace of graphic designers. I have used them for years to create some amazing designs. When your business needs a logo, website design, business card, or anything you can imagine, check out 99Designs.

I used them to rapid prototype the cover for The 4-Hour Body, and I've also had them help with display advertising and illustrations. If you want a more personalized approach, I recommend their 1-on-1 service. You get original designs from designers around the world. The best part? You provide your feedback, and then you end up with a product that you're happy with or your money back. Click this link and get a free $99 upgrade. Give it a test run.

This podcast is also brought to you by Wealthfront. Wealthfront is a massively disruptive (in a good way) set-it-and-forget-it investing service, led by technologists from places like Apple and world-famous investors. It has exploded in popularity in the last 2 years and now has more than $2.5B under management. In fact, some of my good investor friends in Silicon Valley have millions of their own money in Wealthfront. Why? Because you can get services previously limited to the ultra-wealthy and only pay pennies on the dollar for them, and it’s all through smarter software instead of retail locations and bloated sales teams.

Check out wealthfront.com/tim, take their risk assessment quiz, which only takes 2-5 minutes, and they’ll show you—for free–exactly the portfolio they’d put you in. If you want to just take their advice and do it yourself, you can. Or, as I would, you can set it and forget it.  Well worth a few minutes: wealthfront.com/tim.