"Your head's for having ideas, not for holding them." — David Allen David Allen ( @gtdguy ) is one of the world's most influential thinkers on productivity, and his 35 years of experience as a management consultant and executive coach have earned him the titles of " personal productivity guru " by Fast Company , one of America's top five executive coaches by Forbes , and among The American Management Association's top 10 business leaders . David's bestselling book, the groundbreaking Getting Thi...
Sep 03, 2019•2 hr 44 min•Ep. 384
"Humans and cockroaches and coyotes are going to inherit the earth." — Mike Phillips [Visit tim.blog/wolf for the most important links from this interview and my personal next steps.] Mike Phillips has served as the Executive Director of the Turner Endangered Species Fund and advisor to the Turner Biodiversity Divisions since he co-founded both with Ted Turner in June 1997. Before that, Mike worked for the U.S. Department of Interior leading historic efforts to restore red wolves to the southeas...
Aug 21, 2019•2 hr 4 min•Ep. 383
Safi Bahcall ( @SafiBahcall ) is the author of Loonshots: How to Nurture the Crazy Ideas that Win Wars, Cure Diseases, and Transform Industries , which debuted #3 on Wall Street Journal ’s bestseller list. Loonshots describes what an idea from physics tells us about the behavior of groups and how teams, companies, and nations can use that to innovate faster and better. Safi received his PhD in physics from Stanford and his undergrad degree from Harvard. After working as a consultant for McKinsey...
Aug 16, 2019•3 hr 51 min•Ep. 382
“When goods don't cross borders, soldiers will.” — Charles Koch, quoting Frédéric Bastiat This episode will no doubt surprise people, and my guest came to me through channels I wouldn't have expected. --- Charles Koch received a bachelor’s degree in general engineering and two master’s degrees, in nuclear and chemical engineering, from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is chairman of the board and CEO of Koch Industries Inc. , a position he has held since 1967. He is renowned f...
Aug 11, 2019•2 hr 6 min•Ep. 381
"Entrepreneurship isn't about starting companies. Entrepreneurship is an approach to life." — Ed Zschau Ed Zschau is the Interim President of Sierra Nevada College , and he brings to the college 17 years of leading technology companies. He founded System Industries in Palo Alto, California in 1969, and as its CEO led it to a successful IPO in 1980. In the 1990s, he was the General Manager of the IBM Storage Systems Division headquartered in San Jose, California. Ed has a total of 10 years of tea...
Aug 01, 2019•2 hr 50 min•Ep. 380
"You can be a juicy ripe peach and there will still be someone who doesn't like peaches." — Dita Von Teese Dita Von Teese ( @DitaVonTeese ) is the biggest name in burlesque in the world since Gypsy Rose Lee, and is credited with bringing the art form back into the spotlight. She is renowned for her iconic martini glass act and dazzling haute-couture striptease costumes adorned with hundreds of thousands of Swarovski crystals. This "Burlesque Superheroine" (Vanity Fair) is the performer of choice...
Jul 29, 2019•1 hr 28 min•Ep. 379
"I’ve shared that a lot more openly, and it’s been one of the best medicines that I’ve found. It’s liberating. Talking about grief has been something that’s unlocked a lot of happiness for me." — Nick Norris Nick Norris ( @nick_norris1981 ) is a graduate of both the United States Naval Academy and Basic Underwater Demolition / SEAL (BUD/S) Class 247. Upon completion of SEAL training in 2004, Nick assumed progressively higher positions of leadership within Naval Special Warfare. His deployed role...
Jul 18, 2019•2 hr 11 min•Ep. 378
This episode features a panel that I moderated in front of a standing-room-only crowd at the Milken Institute's Global Conference 2019. It includes a great overview of psychedelic science, investing opportunities, anecdotal personal benefits, legal challenges, and much more. I think it’s one of the more comprehensive panels ever done on the subject. Here are the participants: Matthew Johnson — Principal Investigator, Johns Hopkins Psychedelic Research Unit Ayelet Waldman — Au...
Jul 15, 2019•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 377
This interview originally aired in 2016. You can find the show notes here: https://tim.blog/2016/02/10/seth-godin/ “We can’t out-obedience the competition.” – Seth Godin 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 — challen...
Jul 04, 2019•2 hr 59 min•Ep. 376
"From my perspective, the goal is unobstructed self-expression." — Josh Waitzkin Josh Waitzkin, author of The Art of Learning , is an eight-time US National Chess Champion, a two-time World Champion in Tai Chi Chuan Push Hands , and the first Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Black Belt under nine-time World Champion Marcelo Garcia . For the past 12 years, Josh has been channeling his passion for the outer limits of the learning process toward training elite mental performers in business and finance, and to r...
Jun 26, 2019•40 min•Ep. 375
"The question would be: 'What mastery can you offer?' So have a friend of yours ask that question of you five times, and you'll be sort of surprised at, by the fifth time you get asked that question, and you've had to come up with four other answers before that, what kind of revelation you may have in this archaeological dig." — Chip Conley At age 52, after selling the company he founded and ran as CEO for 24 years, rebel boutique hotelier Chip Conley ( @chipconley ) was looking for a new chapte...
Jun 20, 2019•2 hr 50 min•Ep. 374
"You are not alone. And just because you feel like shit doesn't mean you are shit." — Jerry Colonna Jerry Colonna ( @jerrycolonna ) is the CEO and cofounder of Reboot.io , an executive coaching and leadership development firm dedicated to the notion that better humans make better leaders. Prior to his career as a coach, he was a partner with J.P. Morgan Partners (JPMP), the private equity arm of J.P. Morgan Chase. Prior to that, he cofounded New York City-based Flatiron Partners with Fred Wilson...
Jun 12, 2019•2 hr 56 min•Ep. 373
"There is no elevator to success; you have to take the stairs." — Julie Rice Julie Rice ( @julierice_ ) is an entrepreneur best known for co-founding the fitness phenomenon SoulCycle . Julie served as Co-CEO at SoulCycle from 2006 to 2015 before joining WeWork in November 2017. Julie's life's work has been about building community, and these days she brings that focus to her new role at WeWork. At WeWork, Julie is approaching everything through the lens of community—she is focusing on WeWork's b...
Jun 03, 2019•2 hr 35 min•Ep. 372
Brought to you by LinkedIn Jobs . "Most of us should spend less time on most decisions and we should spend a lot more time on a few key decisions." — Ramit Sethi Ramit Sethi ( @ramit ), author of the New York Times bestseller I Will Teach You To Be Rich , has become a financial guru to millions of readers in their twenties, thirties, and forties. He started his website, iwillteachyoutoberich.com , as a Stanford undergraduate in 2004, and he now hosts over a million readers per month on his...
May 21, 2019•2 hr 25 min•Ep. 371
This episode originally aired in 2015. You can find the show notes of the episode here . “To me, ‘busy’ implies that the person is out of control of their life.” – Derek Sivers Derek Sivers ( @sivers ) is one of my favorite humans, and I call him often for advice. Think of him as a philosopher-king programmer, master teacher, and merry prankster. Originally a professional musician and circus clown, Derek created CD Baby in 1998. It became the largest seller of in...
May 11, 2019•2 hr 59 min•Ep. 371
"A true creator knows that you follow the thing to where it's going, not to where you think it ought to go." — Adam Savage Adam Savage (TW: @ donttrythis IG: @therealadamsavage FB: therealadamsavage ) has spent his life gathering skills that allow him to take what's in his brain and make it real. He's built everything from ancient Buddhas and futuristic weapons to fine-art sculptures and dancing vegetables. The son of a filmmaker/painter and a psychotherapist, Adam'...
Apr 30, 2019•2 hr 37 min•Ep. 370
“I think a big part of knowing that you’re right is working as hard as you can to prove that you’re wrong. And if you can’t, well, there’s only one option left, which is: you’re probably right.” — Kevin Systrom Kevin Systrom ( @kevin ) is an entrepreneur and the co-founder (with Mike Krieger ) of Instagram. While at Instagram, Kevin served as the CEO, where he oversaw the company’s vision and strategy and daily operations. Under his leadership, Instagram grew to over one billion user...
Apr 25, 2019•2 hr 30 min•Ep. 369
"I'm just so fundamentally optimistic, and I barrel forth in life with this attitude that everything is going to be absolutely fine and go my way." — Amanda Palmer Amanda Palmer ( @amandapalmer ) is a singer, songwriter, playwright, pianist, author, director, blogger, and ukulele enthusiast who simultaneously embraces and explodes traditional frameworks of music, theatre, and art. She first came to prominence as one half of the Boston-based punk cabaret duo The Dresden Dolls , earning global app...
Apr 18, 2019•2 hr 55 min•Ep. 368
"You can systematize innovation even if you can't completely predict it." — Eric Schmidt Eric Schmidt ( @ericschmidt ) is Technical Advisor and Board Member to Alphabet Inc. , where he advises its leaders on technology, business and policy issues. Eric joined Google in 2001 and helped grow the company from a Silicon Valley startup to a global leader in technology. He served as Google's Chief Executive Officer from 2001-2011, and Executive Chairman 2011-2018, alongside founders Sergey Brin and La...
Apr 09, 2019•2 hr 44 min•Ep. 367
“The biggest problem we run into is going, ‘This is who I am, this is what I’m like, this is how I function’ while failing to notice that you don’t do that anymore.” — Neil Gaiman Neil Gaiman ( @neilhimself ) is the bestselling author and creator of books, graphic novels, short stories, film and television for all ages, including Neverwhere , Coraline , The Graveyard Book , The Ocean at the End of the Lane , The View from the Cheap Seats and the&nb...
Mar 28, 2019•2 hr 54 min•Ep. 366
Michael Pollan — Exploring the Frontiers of Psychedelics | Brought to you by 99designs and Athletic Greens . "An overactive ego is a tyrant." - Michael Pollan Michael Pollan ( @michaelpollan ) is the author of seven previous books, including Cooked , Food Rules , In Defense of Food , The Omnivore's Dilemma , and The Botany of Desire , all of which were New York Times bestsellers. A longtime contributor to The New York Times Magazine , he also teaches writing at Harvard and the University of Cali...
Mar 21, 2019•2 hr 39 min•Ep. 365
“All these things you’re sure are true — what if they weren’t?” — Safi Bahcall Safi Bahcall ( @SafiBahcall ) is the author of Loonshots: How to Nurture the Crazy Ideas that Win Wars, Cure Diseases, and Transform Industries . Loonshots describes what an idea from physics tells us about the behavior of groups and how teams, companies, and nations can use that to innovate faster and better. It has been selected for The Washington Post ‘s 10 Leadership Books to Wa...
Mar 15, 2019•2 hr 25 min•Ep. 364
Welcome to a special episode called Tea Time with Tim, in which I solicited phone numbers and called a handful of you to field any questions that you might have. Among other topics, we discuss: How to go about finding a mentor. The meaning of life. How to extinguish anxiety. Cocktails. Relationship advice. Training into confidence. Without further ado, please enjoy this tea-fueled Q&A! Click here for the show notes for this episode. This podcast is brought to you by Peloton , which has becom...
Mar 11, 2019•2 hr 45 min•Ep. 363
"Everyone's genius is right next to their dysfunction." — Graham Duncan Graham Duncan ( @GrahamDuncanNYC ) is the co-founder of East Rock Capital , a multi-family office investment firm that manages $2 billion for a small number of families and their charitable foundations. Before starting East Rock 14 years ago, Graham worked at two other investment firms and started his career by co-founding an independent Wall Street research firm. Graham graduated from Yale with a B.A. in ethics, politics, a...
Feb 28, 2019•2 hr 48 min•Ep. 362
Brought to you by Peloton and LinkedIn Jobs . "I'm not really a business author; I just happen to have used companies as the method to study human systems because there's great data." — Jim Collins My guest for this episode is the incredible (and somewhat reclusive) Jim Collins. This was a rare treat, as Jim rarely does any media or interviews. I’ve wanted to speak with him for more than a decade, and it was worth the wait. This conversation overdelivered on every level. I hope you enjoy it as m...
Feb 18, 2019•2 hr 25 min•Ep. 361
"I really am a big believer in people's creativity flourishing when they come at things from a different direction and see things in a different way." — Caterina Fake Caterina Fake ( @caterina ) is a long-time Silicon Valley pioneer. She is the Cofounder of Yes VC , a pre-seed and seed stage fund investing in ideas that elevate our collective humanity. Previously, she worked at Founder Collective as a Founder Partner, served as Chair of Etsy , and was the co-founder of Flickr . At Flickr, Cateri...
Feb 14, 2019•2 hr 49 min•Ep. 360
"Feedback is a gift." — Tobi Lütke Tobi Lütke ( @tobi ) is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Shopify . In 2004, Tobi began building software to launch an online snowboard store called Snowdevil. It quickly became obvious that the software was more valuable than the snowboards, so Tobi and his founding team launched the Shopify platform in 2006. He has served as CEO since 2008 at the company's headquarters in Ottawa, Canada. Tobi is an active advocate for computer literacy and education,...
Feb 07, 2019•2 hr 12 min•Ep. 359
“In life — from the simplest thing to the biggest thing — I want to be proud of what it is and stake my claim: ‘That’s mine and that’s how I do it.'” — Ken Block Ken Block ( @kblock43 on IG and TW ) is a co-founder of DC Shoes and a professional rally driver with the Hoonigan Racing Division . His rally career began in 2005, and he won Rookie of the Year that season in the Rally America Championship . Ken has accumulated five X Games me...
Jan 31, 2019•2 hr 56 min•Ep. 358
"So often, when you see someone who's really good at almost anything, it's because they actually started out exactly the opposite — and then they cared so much about fixing that problem." — Susan Cain Susan Cain ( @susancain ) is the author of the bestsellers Quiet Power: The Secret Strengths of Introverts and Quiet: The Power of Introverts in A World That Can't Stop Talking , the latter of which has been translated into more than 40 languages. Quiet is in its seventh year on The New York Times ...
Jan 24, 2019•2 hr 46 min•Ep. 357
"You spend the first 20 years of being rich accumulating all of this stuff. And then you'll spend the next 20 years trying to get out of one thing after another to simplify your life." — Peter Mallouk Peter Mallouk ( @PeterMallouk ) is the President of Creative Planning , one of the largest independent wealth management firms in America. Creative Planning provides wealth management services to clients, manages over $36 billion for clients in all 50 states and abroad, and has been featured ...
Jan 17, 2019•2 hr 50 min•Ep. 356
