Tim Ferriss is one of the reasons I got into being a life, business, and career coach. He really does an excellent job of dissecting how people think to shorten the learning curve in everything we do.
One of his latest episodes talks about productivity, being financially free and how to work on your well being.
He talks about meditation religiously and what that has done for him.
I agree with him and his guests that one of the biggest changes in my life is taking on a daily meditation practice. I know a lot of people say they don’t have time for that but those are the people that need it the most. You can give yourself 5-10 minutes of rest. Doing that consistency over the course of years will add up to a lot of head/ mind space so that you do not get overwhelmed and stressed out as easily.
I used to think that meditation was an escape from reality which it can be some time still for me but more important just really practicing acceptance. When you start to accept yourself knowing that you will never be perfect. Perfection is a disease that eats away at our self-esteem. There is a certain level of ease that will come to calm you down a little bit more.
4 hour work week- I really enjoyed this book. It really talks about efficiency and outsourcing all of the things you really hate. For instance, if you really hate cleaning. It might make more sense to hire a weekly house cleaner to save you the stress and headache of doing it yourself and becoming miserable. Things like buying a really efficient dishwasher or in my case mealpal since I really do not enjoy cooking. Saves me a boatload of time so that I can do other things that I enjoy such as reading a book or attending networking events to meet interesting people.
Tim also dissects the process of evaluating what 20% of your activities that give you the most joy and/or give you the most productivity. If we constantly evaluate on a monthly basis we will find there are certain things we really do not like to do. Whether its admin work spending time answering emails. Hiring an assistant will be worth it for most people after you find yourself spending most of your time being distracted by little emails that can honestly wait. He says to set up time blocks where those are the only times in a day where you answer your emails that way you can be focussed. People will understand if you set up an OOO message during the times where you know yourself to want to focus on the more important projects/ tasks.
It’s interesting to see how much he still beats himself up but through meditations and interviewing experts in compassion/ Buddhist teachings. He has really accepted himself and is a lot more mindful of when it is happening. He doesn’t try to run away or ignore it but is able to be with it.
Saying No is a huge thing that Tim Ferriss talks about relentless. People need to realize that every yes is a potential distraction away from your own goals. Unless the mutual collaboration is in alignment with what you really want. It is wise to say No and explain your no in a way that is authentic. People are very understanding if you give them a good no.
During one of his more unique interviews, he interviews the highest paid erotic legal brother worker in Nevada. It is a really interesting episode, one of the main takeaways from that episode (she is a millionaire) is really listening to your client and creating an experience. Her level of empathy and being able to really cater to the customer’s needs is so important. This can really be carried in all aspects of life because really we humans just want to be heard and happy. The better you can listen and be able to truly understand your client’s needs. The happier everyone will be, it’s just that many people talk more than they listen. This is some thing that I actively have been practicing a lot lately but like with anything else it’s a muscle that can be improved on.
