Embracing the Desert: A Journey of Unbranding and Personal Growth

This episode is a two-for-one, and that’s because the podcast recently hit its 10-year anniversary and passed one billion downloads. To celebrate, I’ve curated some of the best of the best—some of my favorites—from more than 700 episodes over the last decade. I could not be more excited. The episode features segments from episode #474 "Matthew McConaughey — The Power of 'No, Thank You,' Key Life Lessons, 30+ Years of Diary Notes, and The Art of Catching Greenlights" and #327 "Aisha Tyler — How to Use Pain, Comedy, and Practice for Creativity."

Please enjoy!

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Timestamps:

[00:00] Start

[04:58] Notes about this supercombo format.

[05:51] Enter Matthew McConaughey.

[06:19] The words forbidden in Matthew's house growing up.

[08:58] The book that changed the course of Matthew's life.

[17:27] Matthew's 10 goals in life (circa 1992).

[22:20] Why take more risks?

[26:04] The evolving purpose of keeping a diary.

[29:48] The art of running downhill.

[33:56] Learning to say "No" to rom-com typecasting.

[47:50] Enter Aisha Tyler.

[48:19] Aisha's role in The Tim Ferriss Show's existence.

[49:43] Aisha's trademark podcast question.

[51:06] Aisha's unorthodox childhood and family relationships.

[52:06] How did Aisha answer the questions "Whose day is it?" and "What are you going to do?" every morning?

[55:34] From where does Aisha get her general sense of optimism?

[57:25] Following father's advice and views on regret.

[59:22] Free-range parenting vs. modern overprotection.

[1:03:33] Having a bad day? You're not special!

[1:05:27] Young Aisha's career aspirations.

[1:06:52] Why was Aisha miserable at what she thought was her dream job?

[1:08:51] Why did Aisha pick standup comedy to break into show business?

[1:10:08] What it was like to keep a day job and do standup comedy as a hobby.

[1:11:50] Commuting for comedy in San Francisco.

[1:14:03] What made the comedy club bubble of the '80s burst?

[1:18:11] How did Aisha practice to get better at standup?

[1:19:01] A memorable set Aisha bombed and the gift it gave her.

[1:22:22] Dealing with hecklers Bill Burr and Kenny Moore style.

[1:28:20] Aisha shares some of her own heckler stories.

[1:32:31] Aisha's academic approach to the math of comedy.

[1:34:43] What's the Rule of Threes?

[1:35:36] Gauging comic evolution.

[1:36:46] Comedians compared to other artists.

[1:38:04] Changing success metrics and creative traps.

[1:40:41] How fear-based people-pleasing affects creativity.

[1:43:52] If one likes big butts, one cannot lie — even if it might tick someone off.

[1:46:03] Sometimes constructive feedback does make me change my mind.

[1:46:33] Pursuing authentic, meaningful work.

[1:48:32] Comedy's core beyond humor.

[1:49:04] Expecting failures in creative beginnings.

[1:49:52] Why it doesn't pay to emulate a master of a craft in their own field.

[1:51:51] Aisha's transition to filmmaking.

[1:54:47] Aisha believes in personal aggression.

[1:55:28] How Aisha piggybacked resources for her first music video.

[1:56:30] Learning filmmaking through short projects.

[1:58:03] What lessons did Aisha learn from these projects?

[1:59:06] How visiting the sets of Penny Dreadful and Vikings in Ireland led to making AXIS.

[2:00:52] Financing the Ireland trip.

[2:02:35] The email Aisha sent to visit the set of Vikings.

[2:03:18] The impact of fan appreciation.

[2:04:50] Budweiser's "Whassup" campaign origin.

[2:05:38] Why Aisha made AXIS.

[2:07:06] Resources for aspiring screenwriters and tech investors.

[2:08:06] What is AXIS, and did anyone try to talk Aisha out of making it?

[2:09:53] AXIS production experience and methods.

[2:12:00] The magic, intensity, and clarity of operating on an aggressive deadline.

[2:15:00] Aisha's current fears and goals.

[2:16:33] One of Aisha's current struggles.

[2:17:24] "If art imitates life, in order to create art, you have to have a life."

[2:18:33] As a workaholic, how does Aisha manage to live a life that influences her art?

[2:20:58] How would Aisha's life be different if she didn't have exercise as an element?

[2:22:47] What equipment does Aisha use to work out?

[2:23:36] What does a prototypical workout look like for Aisha?

[2:23:53] How does Aisha take her glutathione, and what does it help with?

[2:26:40] Morning routine and exercise timing.

[2:27:40] Aisha works out at home to save transit time. What does she watch when she rows?

[2:29:39] Does Aisha make New Year's resolutions?

[2:32:17] Aisha likens her first (unwatchable and destroyed) short film to the standup set she bombed.

[2:34:58] When has Aisha been extremely proud of herself?

[2:37:46] How confidence transfers across projects.

[2:39:46] To grow from failure, you have to be aggressive.

[2:40:24] Parting thoughts.

*

For show notes and past guests on The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast.

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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, Margaret Atwood, Mark Zuckerberg, Peter Thiel, Dr. Gabor Maté, Anne Lamott, Sarah Silverman, Dr. Andrew Huberman, and many more.

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