Love Your Work

Mark Manson is known for writing personal development advice that doesn't suck. He writes at markmanson.net, which has more than 2 million readers a month. Mark writes about a variety of topics, including happiness, self-knowledge, habits, and relationships. You've probably read Mark's work before. Big hits include "Fuck Yes or No," "In Defense of Being Average," and an article by the same name as his upcoming book: "The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck." I love Mark's writing because it cuts right through the usual self-help nonsense you read that may make you think that all you need to do is follow your passion and think positively and you'll somehow magically become successful. Instead, Mark encourages you to see things as they are, to find comfort in discomfort, and to accept that when you try to have it all, you really end up with very little. So, this interview is great for anyone ready to face the hard truths in life in pursuit of being the best version of themselves. Find out why mark starts off his new book telling you "don't try." How can you find fulfillment and shut down unhealthy cycles in your life and relationships. How can travel clean away your biases and insecurities. If you're living or considering living the digital nomad lifestyle for awhile, how does Colombia differ from Brazil? How can you get the benefits of travel without leaving your hometown? And how does your lifestyle change when your values change?   Sponsors http://wpengine.com/speedy http://kadavy.net/treehouse http://kadavy.net/audible Show notes: http://kadavy.net/blog/posts/mark-manson-interview/  

On Tim Ferriss's podcast, Malcolm Gladwell urged his 30-year-old self to “Leave North America…. Which is — despite the fact that it pretends to be the only place that matters — is not the only place that matters.” I recently moved out of North America myself, and I share my thought process in this Medium article (which also appeared on Observer).   Sponsors http://wpengine.com/loveyourwork http://activecampaign.com/loveyourwork http://kadavy.net/audible   Show notes: http://kadavy.net/blog/posts/leave-north-america/

Noah Kagan is a close friend of mine who has been one of my secret weapons in my own battle as an entrepreneur. Years ago, when I first started out on my own, and I was wandering from cafe to cafe in San Francisco, working on a Facebook app, Noah Kagan invited me to bring my laptop to his office space. He was building his own Facebook app empire at the time. We'd get burritos in South Park, in SOMA, and Noah always had fresh ideas. Ever since then, whenever I've struggled with motivation, whenever I've felt overwhelmed in my business, I've asked myself What Would Noah Kagan Do? Noah is now best known for AppSumo, which is a daily deals site for digital goods, and also SumoMe, which is a little toolkit you can install on your website to grow your audience with email sign-ups, a share widget, click heatmaps and a bunch more tools. You may have also heard of Noah because he's missed out on some big exits. He was #4 at Mint, which sold to Intuit for $170 million, and he was #30 at Facebook, which is currently valued at more than $350 billion, but he got fired after 8 months. So, Noah potentially missed out on easily more than a hundred million dollars. Most people hear that, and it sounds totally devastating. But, I know Noah, and I don't think he would change a thing. That's because Noah has injected his own personality and his own unique way of doing things into his business. And he's found success his own way. He's done that better than anyone I know. He works really hard, but he always makes it fun. In fact, I sat down during a retreat he organized with his company in Chicago. The retreat even had a t-shirt, and Noah was of course wearing it. I can recall many different 2-minute conversations I've had with Noah that have lead to big breakthroughs, and – wow – we have more than an hour here. Listen to this episode and learn about continuous improvement: How does Noah keep improving in his business – specifically when it comes to running webinars? How do you incentivize others to be selfish and get them to share? How do you balance the art of a business with the operations? How do you find complementary team members? How do you pick your battles to have the biggest impact with the least headaches? Why is discomfort your compass? Why might you want to read the same book over and over again? and more... Sponsors http://wpengine.com/loveyourwork http://activecampaign.com/loveyourwork http://kadavy.net/audible   Show notes: http://kadavy.net/blog/posts/noah-kagan-interview/

Google Calendar has been adding new features lately. You can find time for your goals, and set reminders, for example. I played a very small part in these features, but I learned a lot about my own productivity in the process.   This post originally appeared on Medium.   Sponsors http://wpengine.com/loveyourwork http://activecampaign.com/loveyourwork http://kadavy.net/audible   Show notes: http://kadavy.net/blog/posts/love-your-work-episode-40-three-productivity-lessons-from-google-calendar/

Craig Benzine hit rock bottom when he wasn't getting any tables at his job as a waiter, and he feared he wouldn't be able to pay his rent. So, he started making YouTube videos. Okay, that's not the first thing I'd advise you to do if you're having trouble paying rent, but it worked for Craig. He's built a life and living for himself making videos featuring clones of himself, imaginary whales, explosions, beards, and coffee. Craig is known on YouTube and elsewhere as WheezyWaiter. And he also runs a channel called The Good Stuff where he teaches you all about things like renewable energy, robots, and albino squirrels. He also appears on a channel called Crash Course, where he's the U.S. Government and Politics instructor. If all of that weren't enough, Craig is also in a band called Driftless Pony Club, and they have released 6 albums since 2004. I dabbled with making silly YouTube videos myself several years ago, and that's when I first discovered Craig's work. I couldn't figure out how on earth Craig was managing to make a video every single day before going to work. It was inspiring to watch, and at the same time it made me feel totally inadequate. Fortunately, I got to sit down with him in Chicago, and ask him how he does it. You'll learn about how Craig uses habit-building and constraints to increase his creative output. How does he manage to put out so much great work. You'll notice also how Craig works with his productivity cycles. He knows the best time of day for his creative work, and he makes the most of it.   Sponsors http://wpengine.com/loveyourwork http://activecampaign.com/loveyourwork http://kadavy.net/audible   Show notes: http://kadavy.net/blog/posts/wheezywaiter-interview/

We all have habits that we'd like to build. But we usually aim a little too high. If you understand that the building of the habit is in itself something to achieve, then building good habits will be easier. This article originally appeared on Medium.   Sponsors http://wpengine.com/loveyourwork http://activecampaign.com/loveyourwork http://kadavy.net/audible   Show notes: http://kadavy.net/blog/posts/love-your-work-episode-38-build-the-habit-first/

David Kadavy (that's me) being interviewed by Almog from the Unstagnate podcast. He did such a great job of researching, and teasing out the things I've been thinking about a lot lately that I just had to share it with you, which he was kind enough to let me do. In this discussion, I'll share the rituals and thought frameworks I used to write my first book, Design for Hackers, in half the time of most books like it. Bear in mind that's total time from book deal to book release. It actually was 12 hours a day of agony, but I'll tell you about the cohesive personal productivity system I've devised to make my flow states happen at the right times. You'll also hear the story behind how that first book even happened – how I had set up my entire life so that when something like that opportunity came along – I would be ready for it. Also, how did I get the opportunity to work with behavioral scientist Dan Ariely, on features that are now being integrated into Google Calendar, such as "Goals" and "Reminders." Find out why you might want to grab a pen BEFORE you grab your morning coffee. How to create a virtuous cycle of productivity to train yourself to focus more deeply. Why is it so important to develop a well-defined worldview? How do I weigh the pros and cons of various ways of naming things, such as my book Design for Hackers, and this podcast, Love Your Work? How does the name of this podcast tie into landing big guests like Steve Case and Jason Fried, and how do I convince such busy people to be so generous with their time?   Sponsors http://wpengine.com/loveyourwork http://activecampaign.com/loveyourwork http://kadavy.net/audible   Show notes: http://kadavy.net/blog/posts/david-kadavy-podcast-interview/

Do you have a big daunting project that you just can't seem to get started on? Try the "First-Hour" rule. This article originally appeared on Medium. Sponsors http://wpengine.com/loveyourwork http://activecampaign.com/loveyourwork http://kadavy.net/audible   Show notes: http://kadavy.net/blog/posts/first-hour-rule/    

Dr. Terry Wahls (@terrywahls) is an inspiring example of turning a struggle into an opportunity, but I was more interested in her area of expertise.   You may have already seen the inspiring TEDx talk of Dr. Terry Wahl's. She has MS, and was confined to a wheelchair for 4 years. But, using her knowledge of biology, Dr. Terry engineered a diet based upon paleo and ketogenic principles to feed the power centers of her cells. Now, she rides her bike to work, and is out of the wheelchair.   Dr. Terry is now running clinical trials based upon her diet protocol, and has written a book. I recently picked up, The Wahl's Protocol to seek relief from chronic inflammation, and I've implemented her diet with great results. I have less pain, more energy, and I've also noticed my mental performance improve. You can pick up the book at http://kadavy.net/wahls   In this interview, we cover some of the building blocks of Dr. Terry's diet: What really does "paleo" mean? How does this "ketosis" thing you've heard about so much lately really work, and what does it mean for your health – especially for epilepsy and cancer? What does someone really mean when they say a diet is "detoxifying," and how does detoxification work?   What are the challenges in proving and implementing dietary treatments, and how do you evaluate the potential upsides or downsides of experimental approaches in general. We'll even talk about stem cell transplants, fecal transplants, and the microbiome.   If you or anyone close to you is battling an illness, you may find something useful in this interview, and even if you are healthy, you'll hear interesting and exciting things on the frontiers of health.   Sponsors http://wpengine.com/loveyourwork http://activecampaign.com/loveyourwork http://kadavy.net/audible   Show notes: http://kadavy.net/blog/posts/terry-wahls-interview/

This is an article that originally appeared on Medium. It was later picked up by The Atlantic's Quartz. Give yourself permission to do nothing once in awhile. You may be surprised how productive it makes you. Sponsors http://wpengine.com/loveyourwork http://activecampaign.com/loveyourwork http://kadavy.net/audible Show notes: http://kadavy.net/blog/posts/love-your-work-episode-34-productivity-hack-do-nothing/