#346: James Cameron and Suzy Amis Cameron — How to Think Big, Start Small, and Change the World
The Tim Ferriss Show
The Hardest Mother Fucker I Ever Worked On
It's important to recognize when things are breaking your way, says the actor. When you feel really strongly about something and have a lot of people around you saying no, that just lights an inferno under my but it's like, oak i really know. You're there because it's hard. That's how you measure yourself against that challenge. And that's why everybody's on the abatar team is there cause they know it's going to be the hardest mother they ever work on. They'll all go whine about it later and say, that was the hardest mother fucker i ever worked on.
"Hope is not a strategy. Luck is not a factor. Fear is not an option." — James Cameron
James Cameron (@jimcameron) is a filmmaker and deep sea explorer. He is writer, director and producer of The Terminator, Aliens, The Abyss, Terminator 2, True Lies, Titanic, and Avatar. Both Titanic and Avatar (the highest grossing film of all time) won the Golden Globe for Best Director and Best Picture and were nominated for a record number of awards. Cameron was also at the vanguard of the 3D renaissance, developing cutting edge 3D camera systems. As an explorer, in 2012, Cameron set the world's solo deep diving record of 35,787' in the Challenger Deep in a vehicle of his own design.
A dedicated environmentalist, Cameron founded The Avatar Alliance Foundation to take action on climate change, energy policy, deforestation, indigenous rights, ocean conservation, and sustainable agriculture.
He is currently in production on Avatar 2, 3, 4, and 5.
Suzy Amis Cameron (@suzymusing) is a noted environmental advocate, mother of five, and the author of OMD: The Simple, Plant-Based Program to Save Your Health, Save Your Waistline, and Save the Planet and the founder of the OMD Movement, a multi-pronged effort to transform eating habits and the food system. She is also a founder of Plant Power Task Force, focused on showing the impact of animal agriculture on climate change and the environment, founded in 2012 with her husband James Cameron and Craig McCaw. In 2005, she founded MUSE School, the first school in the country to be 100% solar powered with zero waste and a 100% organic, plant-based lunch program. Additionally, she is a founder of Verdient Foods, Cameron Family Farms, Food Forest Organics, and Red Carpet Green Dress. As an actor she has been featured in more than 25 films, including The Usual Suspects and Titanic.
I thought this episode would be a good opportunity to give some air time to discussion of plant-based diets, but even if you disagree with the idea of plant-based diets, I suggest listening for at least three reasons: One, there's plenty of non-plant talk. Two, as an exercise in patience. I do my best to expose people to different perspectives, and this is no exception. Three, OMD (One Meal Per Day) is worth learning about to understand the discipline that goes into conscious eating and habit formation.
And not to be missed, James mentions that unlike on previous films he didn't get sick during the simultaneous filming of Avatar 2 and 3, which is astonishing considering, as he put it, that "they [meaning all staff] know coming in when they sign up that it's going to be the most difficult production in human history." So how did he do it? He credits it to his new routine, including a plant-based diet, supplements, exercise, etc. I asked him for a sample day, which he provided. You can find James's super dialed-in daily routine for Avatar 2 and 3 at tim.blog/jamescameron.
Please enjoy!
P.S. And if you want to hear more from Suzy and James, you can find two bonus episodes published on the Tribe of Mentors podcast.
This podcast is brought to you by Four Sigmatic. I reached out to these Finnish entrepreneurs after a very talented acrobat introduced me to one of their products, which blew my mind (in the best way possible). It is mushroom coffee featuring chaga. It tastes like coffee, but there are only 40 milligrams of caffeine, so it has less than half of what you would find in a regular cup of coffee. I do not get any jitters, acid reflux, or any type of stomach burn. It put me on fire for an entire day, and I only had half of the packet.
People are always asking me what I use for cognitive enhancement right now -- this is the answer. You can try it right now by going to foursigmatic.com/tim and using the code Tim to get 20 percent off your first order. If you are in the experimental mindset, I do not think you'll be disappointed.
***
If you enjoy the podcast, would you please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts/iTunes? It takes less than 60 seconds, and it really makes a difference in helping to convince hard-to-get guests. I also love reading the reviews!
For show notes and past guests, please visit tim.blog/podcast.
Sign up for Tim’s email newsletter (“5-Bullet Friday”) at tim.blog/friday.
For transcripts of episodes, go to tim.blog/transcripts.
Interested in sponsoring the podcast? Please fill out the form at tim.blog/sponsor.
Discover Tim’s books: tim.blog/books.
Follow Tim:
Twitter: twitter.com/tferriss
Instagram: instagram.com/timferriss
Facebook: facebook.com/timferriss
YouTube: youtube.com/timferriss
Past guests on The Tim Ferriss Show include Jerry Seinfeld, Hugh Jackman, Dr. Jane Goodall, LeBron James, Kevin Hart, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Jamie Foxx, Matthew McConaughey, Esther Perel, Elizabeth Gilbert, Terry Crews, Sia, Yuval Noah Harari, Malcolm Gladwell, Madeleine Albright, Cheryl Strayed, Jim Collins, Mary Karr, Maria Popova, Sam Harris, Michael Phelps, Bob Iger, Edward Norton, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Neil Strauss, Ken Burns, Maria Sharapova, Marc Andreessen, Neil Gaiman, Neil de Grasse Tyson, Jocko Willink, Daniel Ek, Kelly Slater, Dr. Peter Attia, Seth Godin, Howard Marks, Dr. Brené Brown, Eric Schmidt, Michael Lewis, Joe Gebbia, Michael Pollan, Dr. Jordan Peterson, Vince Vaughn, Brian Koppelman, Ramit Sethi, Dax Shepard, Tony Robbins, Jim Dethmer, Dan Harris, Ray Dalio, Naval Ravikant, Vitalik Buterin, Elizabeth Lesser, Amanda Palmer, Katie Haun, Sir Richard Branson, Chuck Palahniuk, Arianna Huffington, Reid Hoffman, Bill Burr, Whitney Cummings, Rick Rubin, Dr. Vivek Murthy, Darren Aronofsky, and many more.
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Remember Everything You Learn from Podcasts
