The Tim Ferriss Show
#92: Maria Popova on Being Interesting, Creating More Time in a Day, And How to Start A Successful Blog
Episode guests
Podcast summary created with Snipd AI
Quick takeaways
- Write for yourself rather than for an audience to create meaningful and sustainable content.
- Consistency is crucial to achieving greatness in any field and is driven by a deep love of the work.
Deep dives
Importance of Writing for Yourself
The key to creating something meaningful and fulfilling that speaks to people is to write for yourself rather than for an audience. By keeping yourself excited and interested in your work, you can create content that is both rewarding and sustainable over the long run.
Consistency as a Key to Greatness
Consistency is a significant characteristic that distinguishes people who have accomplished greatness in any field. Showing up day after day, regardless of self-doubt or external circumstances, is crucial. This consistency is driven by a deep love of the work and a need to create, which makes it harder to be selfish and leads to the production of meaningful and impactful work.
Choosing What to Read and Read First
The choice of what to read depends on personal interests, mood, and life events. The recommendation of great books by favorite authors is often a reliable way to discover new and surprising manifestations of shared sensibilities. The most valuable books to read are the ones that illuminate aspects of life and make it richer and more meaningful.
Maria Popova (@brainpicker) has written for amazing outlets like The Atlantic and The New York Times, but I find her most amazing project to be BrainPickings.org. Founded in 2006 as a weekly email to seven friends, BrainPickings now gets more than 5 million readers per month (!). I read very few blogs regularly, but BrainPickings is one of the few that makes the cut. It’s a treasure trove. Maria is massively successful, and her output is staggering. None of it’s accidental, and she’s great at teaching what she’s learned. This episode answers the top-10 most popular questions you all had for Maria, including: The single attribute that leads to greatness in any given field Required reading and habits for anyone in public office How Henry David Thoreau was the first to talk about the dangers of sitting Why we must stop calling our work, "content" Links, resources, and show notes from this episode can be found at http://fourhourworkweek.com/podcast This podcast is brought to you by Vimeo Pro, which is ideal for entrepreneurs. In fact, a bunch of my start-ups are already using Vimeo Pro. WealthFront uses it to explain how it develops personalized investment portfolios. TaskRabbit uses it to tell the company's story. Twitter uses it to showcase Periscope. Why are they using it instead of other options out there? Vimeo Pro provides enterprise level video hosting that typically costs thousands of dollars for a tiny fraction of the cost. Features include: Gorgeous high-quality playback with no ads Up to 20 GB of video storage every week Unlimited plays and views A fully customizable video player, which can include your company logo, custom outro, and more You get all this for just $199 per year (that's only $17 per/mo.) There are no complicated bandwith calculations or hidden fees. Just go to Vimeo.com/business to check it out. If you like it, you can use the promo code "Tim" to get 25% off. This is the deepest discount you will find anywhere for Vimeo Pro. This podcast is also brought to you by Mizzen + Main. These are the only “dress” shirts I now travel with — fancy enough for important dinners but made from athletic, sweat-wicking material. No more ironing, no more steaming, no more hassle. Click here for the exact shirts I wear most often. Don't forget to use the code “TIM” at checkout. Enjoy!
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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, and many more.
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