These highlights are from the Kindle version of Tools of Titans by Tim Ferriss.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You are forced to shed artificial constraints, like shedding a skin, to realize that you had the ability to renegotiate your reality all along. It just takes practice.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
While the world is a gold mine, you need to go digging in other people\u2019s heads to unearth riches. Questions are your pickaxes and competitive advantage. This book will give you an arsenal to choose from.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
More than 80% of the interviewees have some form of daily mindfulness or meditation practice.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
Borrow liberally, combine uniquely, and create your own bespoke blueprint.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
My goal is for each reader to like 50%, love 25%, and never forget 10%. Here\u2019s why: For the millions who\u2019ve heard the podcast, and the dozens who proofread this book, the 50\/25\/10 highlights are completely different for every person. It\u2019s blown my mind.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
Humans are imperfect creatures. You don\u2019t \u201csucceed\u201d because you have no weaknesses; you succeed because you find your unique strengths and focus on developing habits around them.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
Everyone is fighting a battle you know nothing about. The heroes in this book are no different. Everyone struggles. Take solace in that.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
My original intention with The 4-Hour Workweek (4HWW), The 4-Hour Body (4HB), and The 4-Hour Chef (4HC) was to create a trilogy themed after Ben Franklin\u2019s famous quote: \u201cEarly to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
I agree with Tony Robbins (page 210) that information without emotion isn\u2019t retained. Look up \u201cvon Restorff effect\u201d and \u201cprimacy and recency effect\u201d for more science, but this book has been deliberately constructed to maximize your retention.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIn acupuncture the goal is not to feel the needle. In dry-needling, you are sticking the needle in the muscle belly and trying to get it to twitch, and the twitch is the release.\u201d It\u2019s used for super-tight, over-contracted muscles, and the needles are not left in. Unless you\u2019re a masochist, don\u2019t have this done on your calves.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHyperthermic conditioning\u201d (calculated heat exposure) can help you to increase growth hormone (GH) levels and substantially improve endurance. I now take ~20-minute sauna sessions post-workout or post-stretching at least four times per week, typically at roughly 160 to 170\u00b0F. If nothing else, it seems to dramatically decrease DOMS (delayed-onset muscle soreness).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
\u201cTwo 20-minute sauna sessions at 80\u00b0C (176\u00b0F) separated by a 30-minute cooling period elevated growth hormone levels two-fold over baseline.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
\u201cFlexibility\u201d can be passive, whereas \u201cmobility\u201d requires that you can demonstrate strength throughout the entire range of motion, including the end ranges.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
If you have no gymnastics background, this one will be fun\/terrible. I use cast wall walks as a workout finisher and recommend you do the same, as you\u2019ll be worthless afterward. First, let\u2019s define the position you need to maintain.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
The ketogenic diet, often nicknamed \u201cketo,\u201d is a high-fat diet that mimics fasting physiology. Your brain and body begin to use ketones (derived from stored or ingested fat) for energy instead of blood sugar (glucose)\u2014a state called ketosis. The diet was originally developed to treat epileptic children, but there are many variations, including the Atkins diet. You can achieve ketosis through fasting, diet, exogenous ketones, or a combination.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
How do you know when you\u2019re in ketosis? The most reliable way is to use a device called the Precision Xtra by Abbott. This can measure both glucose and blood levels of beta-hydroxybutyrate (BHB). Once you reach 0.5 mmol\u2014millimolars, a concentration\u2014you can consider yourself lightly \u201cin ketosis.\u201d I tend to feel increased mental clarity at 1 mmol or higher.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIf you don\u2019t have cancer and you do a therapeutic fast 1 to 3 times per year, you could purge any precancerous cells that may be living in your body.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
There is also evidence to suggest\u2014skipping the scientific detail\u2014that fasts of 3 days or longer can effectively \u201creboot\u201d your immune system via stem cell\u2013based regeneration. Dom suggests a 5-day fast 2 to 3 times per year.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
I now aim for a 3-day fast once per month and a 5- to 7-day fast once per quarter.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
Each day of fasting, feel free to consume exogenous ketones or fat (e.g., coconut oil in tea or coffee) as you like, up to 4 tablespoons.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
A chicken breast by itself will kick you out of ketosis, but a chicken breast cut up into a green leafy salad with a lot of olive oil, feta cheese, and some Bulletproof Coffee (for example) can keep you in ketosis. One of the challenges of keto is the amount of fat one needs to consume to maintain it. Roughly 70 to 80% of your total calories need to come from fat.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
Instead of lunch, Dom will consume a lot of MCT throughout the day via Quest Nutrition MCT Oil Powder. He will also make a Thermos of coffee with a half stick of butter and 1 to 2 scoops of MCT powder, which he sips throughout the day, totaling about 3 cups of coffee.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
Magnesium daily. \u201cMagnesium citrate, magnesium chloride, and magnesium glycinate . . . When I started the ketogenic diet, I started getting cramps. Now that I\u2019m supplementing, I don\u2019t get any cramps. . . . If I had one go-to magnesium, it would be this magnesium citrate powder called Natural Calm.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
Some of Dom\u2019s colleagues are opposed to the \u201cstandard of care\u201d protocols, like chemotherapy. Based on the literature, Dom feels these are warranted in situations involving testicular cancer, leukemia, lymphoma, and stage 1 and 2 breast cancer. Outside of those examples, \u201cit makes little sense to treat cancer with something we know is a powerful carcinogen (chemotherapy).\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
Recommended to watch \u201cThe Gut Is Not Like Las Vegas: What Happens in the Gut Does Not Stay in the Gut,\u201d presentation by Alessio Fasano<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
Peter wears a Dexcom G5 continuous glucose monitor to track his glucose levels 24\/7, which are displayed on his iPhone. His real goal, if he could wave a magic wand, is to keep his average glucose and glucose variability low. Outside of a lab, this approximates minimizing your insulin \u201carea under the curve\u201d (AUC). To accomplish this, Peter aims to keep his average glucose (per 24-hour period) at 84 to 88 mg\/dl and his standard deviation below 15. The Dexcom displays all of this. Peter calibrates the Dexcom 2 to 3 times per day with a OneTouch Ultra 2 glucometer, which requires less blood and appears more accurate than the Precision Xtra that I use for ketone measurement.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIf you\u2019re over 40 and don\u2019t smoke, there\u2019s about a 70 to 80% chance you\u2019ll die from one of four diseases: heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, cancer, or neurodegenerative disease.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThere are really two pieces to longevity. The first is delaying death as long as possible by delaying the onset of chronic disease (the \u2018big four\u2019 above). We call that the defensive play. The second is enhancing life, the offensive play. On that defensive play, there are basically four diseases that are going to kill you. In other words, if you\u2019re 40 years old and you care about this, you\u2019re probably not going to die in a car accident or homicide, because you\u2019re out of that demographic. You\u2019re less likely to die of X, Y, and Z. It turns out that when you look at the mortality tables, there\u2019s an 80% chance you\u2019re going to die from cardiovascular disease, cerebrovascular disease, cancer, or neurodegenerative disease, period.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
“For those who don’t know, cerebrovascular disease would be stroke, and there\u2019s two ways you can have a stroke. One is through an occlusion; the other one is through bleeding, usually due to elevated blood pressure and things like that. Neurodegenerative disease, as its name suggests, is degeneration in the brain. The most common cause of that is Alzheimer\u2019s dementia, and Alzheimer\u2019s is one of the top ten causes of death in the United States.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
He is a proponent of magnesium supplementation. Our ability to buffer magnesium with healthy kidneys is very high. He takes 600 to 800 mg per day, alternating between mag sulfate and mag oxide. He also takes calcium carbonate 2 times per week. Two of his favored brands are Jarrow Formulas and NOW Foods.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThere is value in exercise, though, and I think that the most important type of exercise, especially in terms of bang for your buck, is going to be really high-intensity, heavy strength training. Strength training aids everything from glucose disposal and metabolic health to mitochondrial density and orthopedic stability. That last one might not mean much when you\u2019re a 30-something young buck, but when you\u2019re in your 70s, that\u2019s the difference between a broken hip and a walk in the park.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe most important thing I\u2019ve learned about nutrition is you need to deserve your carbs . . . to deserve hundreds of kcal of carbs post-exercise, you need to be sub-10% body fat. And the quickest way to know if you have sub-10 body fat as a male is: Can I see the lineal alba vertical separation on your abs? In other words, can I see all ab rows? One ab row doesn\u2019t count; you\u2019ve got to see them all. In other words, you have to have penis skin on your abs.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAs a rule . . . the best thing to increase testosterone is to lower cortisol. Because the same raw material that makes testosterone and cortisol is called pregnenolone. Under conditions of stress, your body is wired to eventually go toward the cortisol pathway.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
59 Seconds: Change Your Life in Under a Minute by Richard Wiseman (for stress reduction)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
Rule #1: Avoid \u201cwhite\u201d starchy carbohydrates (or those that can be white). This means all bread, pasta, rice, potatoes, and grains (yes, including quinoa). If you have to ask, don\u2019t eat it.
Rule #2: Eat the same few meals over and over again, especially for breakfast and lunch. Good news: You already do this. You\u2019re just picking new default meals. If you want to keep it simple, split your plate into thirds: protein, veggies, and beans\/legumes.
Rule #3: Don\u2019t drink calories. Exception: 1 to 2 glasses of dry red wine per night is allowed, although this can cause some peri-\/post-menopausal women to plateau.
Rule #4: Don\u2019t eat fruit. (Fructose \u2192 glycerol phosphate \u2192 more body fat, more or less.) Avocado and tomatoes are allowed.
Rule #5: Whenever possible, measure your progress in body fat percentage, NOT total pounds. The scale can deceive and derail you. For instance, it\u2019s common to gain muscle while simultaneously losing fat on the SCD. That\u2019s exactly what you want, but the scale number won\u2019t move, and you will get frustrated. In place of the scale, I use DEXA scans, a BodyMetrix home ultrasound device, or calipers with a gym professional (I recommend the Jackson-Pollock 7-point method).
Rule #6: Take one day off per week and go nuts. I choose and recommend Saturday. This is \u201ccheat day,\u201d which a lot of readers also call \u201cFaturday.\u201d For biochemical and psychological reasons, it\u2019s important not to hold back. Some readers keep a \u201cto-eat\u201d list during the week, which reminds them that they\u2019re only giving up vices for 6 days at a time.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\nHalos: Grasp a weight with both hands and rotate it around your head to loosen up the shoulder girdle. I use a 25- to 45-pound kettlebell or plate for this and perform 5 slow reps in each direction. Start light.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAnything more than 5 reps is bodybuilding. . . . If you want to be strong, you want to keep your reps at 5 and under.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
3 High-Yield Exercises\u2014Pavel\u2019s \u201cSimple & Sinister\u201d Kettlebell Program One-arm swing Turkish get-up (TGU) Goblet squat Do these three exercises in some form every day, and you are guaranteed to get a great return on your investment. The TGU is also excellent for diagnosing deficiencies.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
\u201cTo increase your pull-up numbers, start doing half the reps you\u2019re capable of (e.g., sets of 4 if your personal best is 8) in repeated sets throughout the day. Simply accumulate reps with at least 15 minutes between sets, and adjust the daily volume to always feel fresh.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
From Enter the Dragon: \u201cSparta, Rome, the knights of Europe, the samurai . . . worshipped strength. Because it is strength that makes all other values possible.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
\u201cStop drinking now. Stop drinking right now and patent all your ideas . . . and exercise compassion every day.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
The word psychedelic (Greek for \u201cmind-revealing\u201d) is generally used to refer to compounds that can reliably separate you from your ego and occasion mystical or transcendental experiences.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
From a psychopharmacological perspective, many psychedelics resemble a naturally occurring molecule called DMT and act as 5-HT2A (serotonin) or NDMA receptor agonists, but there are exceptions, and the mechanisms of action remain poorly understood.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
Although marijuana, ketamine, and MDMA have compelling medical applications, I don\u2019t consider them psychedelics. Jim explains our shared distinction, using MDMA as an example: \u201cIt\u2019s not exactly a psychedelic because you don\u2019t leave your identity behind, but it is the single best way to overcome intractable post-traumatic stress disorder.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
Most of us have had the experience of sitting at a computer with 20 open tabs. How did this happen? Didn\u2019t I just clean this up last week? Then you get a warning of \u201cStartup disk almost full.\u201d So you delete a few videos as damage control, but . . . why is everything still running so damned slowly? Oh, Dropbox is syncing. Slack has 17 new notifications. Microsoft needs another \u201ccritical\u201d update? There are 20 applications running on top of 20 windows, fracturing your ability to focus. 60 minutes later, you\u2019ve done a lot of stuff, tapped the keyboard a lot, and burned a ton of energy, but you couldn\u2019t say what you\u2019ve achieved. Feeling rushed and frustrated, overwhelm begins to set in. Time to go get another coffee<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
For me, moderate to high dose of psilocybin with supervision serves as a hard reboot. It closes all the windows, \u201cforce quits\u201d all the applications, flushes the cache, installs upgrades, and\u2014when I\u2019m back to \u201cnormal\u201d\u2014restores my 30,000-foot view. It removes the noise, giving me a crystal clear view of the most critical priorities and decisions. The first time I used psilocybin at sufficiently high doses, the anxiolytic\u2014anxiety decreasing\u2014effect lasted 3 to 6 months. This catalyzes not only insight but action.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
Heroic dose: Ethnobotanist Terence McKenna coined the term \u201cheroic dose,\u201d which is often equated to 5 or more grams of mushrooms or more than 400 mcg of LSD. James doesn\u2019t recommend this brute-force dosing, which McKenna described as \u201csufficient to flatten the most resistant ego.\u201d Jim feels that you don\u2019t remember anything, nor do you bring anything back, at this dose. \u201cIt\u2019s kind of like: You want to go swimming? How about going over Niagara Falls?\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
400 mcg is where you have a transcendental or mystical experience. At this dose or higher, it is critical to have qualified supervision in the form of a guide. \u201cTranscendental\u201d here roughly means \u201cthe feeling or the awareness that you are connected not only to other people but to other things and to living systems.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
200 mcg can be used for psychotherapy, self-exploration, deep inner work, and healing.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
100 mcg is useful for creative problem solving with non-personal matters (e.g., physics, biomechanics, or architecture). A number of Nobel Prize laureates in chemistry, biology, and elsewhere attribute breakthroughs to LSD.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
50 mcg is considered a \u201cconcert dose\u201d or \u201cmuseum dose.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
10 to 15 mcg is a \u201cmicrodose.\u201d Described by Jim: \u201cEverything is just a little better. You know at the end of a day when you say, \u2018Wow, that was a really good day\u2019? That\u2019s what most people report on microdosing. They\u2019re a little bit nicer.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
Albert Hofmann, the inventor of LSD, considered microdosing the most neglected area of research. Hofmann microdosed LSD often for the last few decades of his life. He remained sharp until he died at 101. He would take it when he was walking among trees. In Jim\u2019s opinion, microdosing psychedelics does a far better job than a whole class of drugs we now call \u201ccognitive enhancers,\u201d most of which are simply derivatives of speed.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThere\u2019s something called Salvia divinorum, and the wonderful thing about salvia is it has nothing to do chemically with anything else I\u2019ve just talked about. . . . It\u2019s been used in Mexico historically for who knows how many thousands of years for divination, for finding out things. And, again, we seem to be able as Americans to take almost anything that is indigenous and screw it up in some way. So people smoke salvia and have a short, intense, sometimes meaningful experience. That isn\u2019t how it\u2019s traditionally used. It\u2019s chewed, which means it takes about an hour, and it comes on slowly. It\u2019s a totally different experience.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
There\u2019s a saying in the psychedelic world: \u201cIf you get the answer, you should hang up the phone.\u201d In other words, when you get the message you need, you shouldn\u2019t keep asking (i.e., having more experiences), at least until you\u2019ve done some homework assignments, or used the clarity gained to make meaningful changes.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
If you can\u2019t handle at least 60 minutes in a flotation tank, you aren\u2019t ready to have an unstoppable psychedelic experience. As one guide for the latter put it to me: \u201cI can start the music, but I can\u2019t make it stop.\u201d In contrast, if you get twitchy during a float, you can step out. Use this environment as training. Lab-verified lucid dreaming (Google \u201cLucid Dreaming 101 Ferriss\u201d) is also useful for developing navigational skills for psychedelics, but lying in salt water requires less work.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
According to Dan, most people get exponentially more benefit from a single 2-hour session than 2 separate 1-hour sessions. Nonetheless, 2-hour floats still make me fidgety, so I routinely do 1-hour sessions.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
If you think of psilocybin, LSD, or peyote as different types of alcohol\u2014say vodka, red wine, and Scotch\u2014ayahuasca is more like a cocktail. This makes it hard to standardize. Just as in an Old Fashioned, there are core ingredients. In this case, they are the DMT-containing chacruna leaf and the ayahuasca vine itself, which contains an MAO inhibitor that makes the chacruna DMT orally bioavailable. Different ayahuasqueros (ayahuasca shamans) will then add their own ingredients to the brew, sometimes including powerful or even dangerous plants like to\u00e9 (similar to the North American Datura plant, containing scopolamine). No session is quite the same as any other.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
Ayahuasca is classically described as very \u201cvisionary,\u201d or rich in visual hallucinations, though some people have more mental or kinesthetic experiences. I tend to go through it in three stages: visual (often overwhelming), mental (intellectually able to engage and see solutions or answers), then physical. More often than not, I will cycle through these three phases during each long icaro, or song, that is sung. For the best approximation, search for Jan Kounen\u2019s \u201cAyahuasca Visions\u201d on YouTube.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
Martin uses 5-MeO-DMT with his patients after treating them with ibogaine and iboga. DMT is sometimes referred to as the \u201cspirit molecule,\u201d and its variant 5-MeO-DMT is called the \u201cGod molecule.\u201d 5-MeO-DMT is found in the venom of a desert toad and is vaporized and inhaled (not taken orally; it\u2019s toxic if ingested). It is a short 5- to 15-minute experience.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIn the body, 5-MeO-DMT acts on the serotonin 1A and 2A receptor sites, which have been linked to mystical experiences in other psychedelics such as LSD and psilocybin. However, compared to classic psychedelics, 5-MeO appears to induce these experiences more consistently, and with greater potency and shorter duration. Interestingly, 5-MeO is also shown to have anti-inflammatory, immune-regulating, and pain-reducing effects because of its action at the sigma-1 receptor. Our patients often report a reduction or elimination of pain as a result of their experience. Frequently people will stretch or move their bodies during sessions to work out physical and emotional tension that they may not have been aware of.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
5-MeO-DMT was not classified as a Schedule 1 substance in the U.S. until 2011, and its use is legal in Mexico.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIboga is an obscure psychedelic that doesn\u2019t have a long history of recreational use, because it is not a recreational experience. It is probably the least recreational psychedelic. . . . It\u2019s an African psychedelic that has been used for decades to treat opiate addiction and other types of substance-abuse disorders.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIboga\u201d refers to the plant, specifically a root bark, that has been taken as a rite of passage by the Bwiti followers in Gabon for centuries. Ibogaine is the primary alkaloid found in iboga. Both act as dissociatives. The effects are similar but not identical. The difference is akin to using white willow bark for inflammation versus its refined version, aspirin. Martin\u2019s clinic uses ibogaine to detox patients and iboga as a \u201cbooster,\u201d or supplementary medication, after the treatment.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIboga is four to five orders of magnitude superior to anything in the general psychiatric rehab arena for treating opiate addicts. You have the same level of success with using MDMA-assisted therapy to treat chronic post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). That\u2019s why MDMA is going into Phase III trials. Psilocybin is similarly going into Phase III trials because you have such a high success rate with people going through cancer-related end-of-life transitions being relieved of anxiety, and really being able to walk through death with dignity and strength.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
MAPS (maps.org): Founded in 1986, the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit research and educational organization that develops medical, legal, and cultural contexts for people to benefit from the careful uses of psychedelics and marijuana.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
The Toad and the Jaguar by Ralph Metzner. A quick read on 5-MeO-DMT from a pioneer in psychedelic therapy and research.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIf you can\u2019t squat all the way down to the ground with your feet and knees together, then you are missing full hip and ankle range of motion. This is the mechanism causing your hip impingement, plantar fasciitis, torn Achilles, pulled calf, etc. That is the fucking problem, and you should be obsessing about fixing this.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
Dark means DARK. \u201cThey\u2019ve done studies where they shine a laser on the back of someone\u2019s knee, and people pick it up. It\u2019s light. You cannot have your phone in your room. You cannot have a TV in your room. It needs to be black, black as night.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
Soft is the solution for bedding. \u201cToday\u2019s modern human needs to sleep on a soft mattress. Ideally, you would be sleeping in a hammock. You should be waking up in the morning feeling amazing without having to loosen up your lower back. Most athletes and people are extension-sensitive because of excessive sitting and extension-biased training (e.g., running, jumping, squatting).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
Get your kids (and yourself) flat \u201czero drop\u201d shoes, where the toes and heel are an equal distance from the ground. I wear Vans for this reason, my favorite model being Vans Classic Slip-On skate shoe (unisex, gum sole) in black. These can be used for hiking in a pinch, or worn to a business meeting when traveling light. Kelly elaborates on the rationale of zero drop: \u201cDon\u2019t systematically shorten your kids\u2019 heel cords (Achilles) with bad shoes. It results in crappy ankle range of motion in the future. Get your kids Vans, Chuck Taylors, or similar shoes. Have them in flat shoes or barefoot as much as possible.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
During his peak travel period, Paul traveled 260+ days per year, performing in a different city each night. Here is one of his rules: \u201cWhen I landed, I would check into the hotel. The second we checked in, I\u2019d ask them: \u2018Is the gym open? Can I go train?\u2019 Even if it was to get on a bike and ride for 15 minutes to reset things. I learned early that it seemed any time I did that, I didn\u2019t get jet lag.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
Have trouble getting to sleep? Try 10 minutes of Tetris. Recent research has demonstrated that Tetris\u2014or Candy Crush Saga or Bejeweled\u2014can help overwrite negative visualization, which has applications for addiction (such as overeating), preventing PTSD, and, in my case, onset insomnia. As Jane explains, due to the visually intensive, problem-solving characteristics of these games: \u201cYou see visual flashbacks e.g., the blocks falling or the pieces swapping. They occupy the visual processing center of your brain so that you cannot imagine the thing that you\u2019re craving or obsessing over, which are also highly visual. This effect can last 3 or 4 hours. It also turns out that if you play Tetris after witnessing a traumatic event ideally within 6 hours, but it\u2019s been demonstrated at 24 hours, it prevents flashbacks and lowers symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
What is something you believe that other people think is crazy? \u201cThat you should never publicly criticize anyone or anything unless it is a matter of morals or ethics. Anything negative you say could at the very least ruin someone\u2019s day, or worse, break someone\u2019s heart, or simply change someone from being a future ally of yours to someone who will never forget that you were unkind or unfairly critical. It\u2019s so common today to complain or criticize others\u2019 work on social media, or dogpile on someone for a perceived offense. I won\u2019t do it. It\u2019s not my job to be the world\u2019s critic, and I\u2019d rather not rule out any future allies.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
Humans Use Only 10% of Their Brains? Not Quite . . . \u201cThe most complex structure in the entire universe doesn\u2019t have just a vacant parking lot waiting for someone to drive in and start building. It\u2019s all used all the time, and in complex ways that we don\u2019t always understand.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
Favorite documentary Carl Sagan\u2019s Cosmos series inspired Adam to become a scientist, which is true for many of the top-tier scientists I\u2019ve met and interviewed. TF: Neil deGrasse Tyson has a revised version of Cosmos that is also spectacular.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
Inversion table: I don\u2019t use one myself, but several Special Operations friends swear by daily use. These are advertised on infomercials and are infinitely less likely to kill you than gravity boots.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
The ChiliPad allows you to put an extremely thin\u2014almost imperceptibly thin\u2014sheet underneath your normal sheets that circulates water through a bedside contraption at a very precise temperature of your choosing. There are versions with two zones, so two people side by side can choose different numbers. Maybe your magic sleeping temperature is 55\u00b0F. Or 61\u00b0F, or 75\u00b0F? If you\u2019re cold, you can increase the temperature of the ChiliPad underneath you instead of throwing a thick blanket on top that\u2019s going to make your partner sweat to death. It can modulate between 55 and 110\u00b0F. Experiment and find your silver bullet.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
Honey + ACV: My go-to tranquilizer beverage is simple: 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar (I use Bragg brand) and 1 tablespoon honey, stirred into 1 cup of hot water. This was taught to me by the late and great Seth Roberts, PhD. Some of his readers also noticed large and immediate strength improvements in exercise after a few days of using this pre-bed cocktail.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
Short and uplifting episodic television: I\u2019ll offer just one recommendation here: Escape to River Cottage, Season One. I\u2019ve watched this series multiple times. If you\u2019ve ever fantasized about saying \u201cFuck it,\u201d quitting your job, and going back to the land, buy this as a present for yourself. If you\u2019ve ever dreamed of getting out of the city and moving to Montana or God-knows-where rural Utopia, procuring your own food and so on, then this is your Scooby snack. It\u2019s endearingly retro, like a warm quilt from Mom, and host\/chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall will make you want to grow tomatoes, even if you hate tomatoes.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
Sleep Master sleep mask and Mack\u2019s Pillow Soft Silicone Putty (ear plugs): The Sleep Master sleep mask\u2014great product, terrible name. I\u2019ve tried dozens of sleep masks, and this is my favorite.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
I would quote legendary Naval Admiral William McRaven, who has commanded at every level within the Special Operations community, including acting as head of Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) during the Osama bin Laden raid. From his University of Texas at Austin commencement speech: \u201cIf you make your bed every morning, you will have accomplished the first task of the day. It will give you a small sense of pride, and it will encourage you to do another task and another and another. By the end of the day, that one task completed will have turned into many tasks completed. Making your bed will also reinforce the fact that little things in life matter.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
If you see an external distraction (speaking personally), you end up creating an internally distracted state.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
here is one Marcus Aurelius quote on my refrigerator that often does the trick (bolding mine): \u201cWhen you wake up in the morning, tell yourself: The people I deal with today will be meddling, ungrateful, arrogant, dishonest, jealous, and surly. They are like this because they can\u2019t tell good from evil. But I have seen the beauty of good, and the ugliness of evil, and have recognized that the wrongdoer has a nature related to my own\u2014not of the same blood or birth, but the same mind, and possessing a share of the divine. And so none of them can hurt me.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
I use two types of journaling and alternate between them: Morning Pages and The 5-Minute Journal (5MJ). The former I use primarily for getting unstuck or problem solving (what should I do?); the latter I use for prioritizing and gratitude (how should I focus and execute?). I cover the Morning Pages extensively on page 224, so I\u2019ll only describe the 5MJ here.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
To be answered in the morning: I am grateful for . . . 1. __________ 2. __________ 3. __________ What would make today great? 1. __________ 2. __________ 3. __________ Daily affirmations. I am . . . 1. __________ 2. __________ 3. __________<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
To be filled in at night: 3 amazing things that happened today . . . 1. __________ 2. __________ 3. __________ (This is similar to Peter Diamandis\u2019s \u201cthree wins\u201d practice; see page 373.) How could I have made today better? 1. __________ 2. __________ 3. __________<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
For my entire life, I\u2019d had a phobia of swimming and an acute fear of drowning. This came up over wine, and Chris said, \u201cI have the answer to your prayers.\u201d He introduced me to Total Immersion swimming by Terry Laughlin, and in less than 10 days of solo training, I went from a 2-length maximum (of a 25-yard pool) to swimming more than 40 lengths per workout in sets of 2 and 4.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
\u201cGo to all the meetings you can, even if you\u2019re not invited to them, and figure out how to be helpful. If people wonder why you\u2019re there, just start taking notes. Read all the other notes you can find on the company, and gain a general knowledge that your very limited job function may not offer you. Just make yourself useful and helpful by doing so. That\u2019s worked for me in a few different environments, and I encourage you to try it.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
I used a Zoom H6 recorder for primary audio, but I had a backup recorder (Zoom H4n) for our first interview. Arnold asked \u201cWhat\u2019s this for?\u201d to which I replied, \u201cBackup, in case the primary fails.\u201d He tapped his head and looked at his team, seated around the room. Having backup audio makes a good impression.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n