Welcome to a special edition of The Tim Ferriss Show. Back in 2007, I experienced a massive tipping point for The 4-Hour Workweek at the South by Southwest (SXSW)conference held in Austin, Texas. Two or three days played a key role in the book becoming a worldwide bestseller in 40+ languages.

So what exactly happened at the event? How did I optimize those 2-3 days?

The below audio is a presentation I recently gave about a better, more effective way to network. My suggestions might surprise you or seem counterintuitive–the best way to build a world-class network quickly is to spend very little time networking, at least not in the “ugh, gross” sleazy sense of the word.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• How SXSW played a role in the success of The 4-Hour Workweek
• How you can “stack the deck” for your own product launches
• Simple biohacks for handling booze overload and sleep deprivation
• Why it’s so important to meet people in person  to build your network
• The most common mistakes people make when attempting to “network”
• How to interact with A-listers (or opt not to)
• How to enjoy the ride and not end  up exhausted with a pocket full of business cards that do nothing
• And much, much more…

If you are able to apply a few lessons from this talk, you may find that you never have to network again.

There is a better way.

For all links, show notes, resources from this episode, please visit http://fourhourworkweek.com/podcast

This episode is brought to you advertisement free. Want this to happen more often?

Every Friday I send out a very short email called 5-Bullet Friday. These are the coolest things I've been playing with that week. It could include favorite articles, gizmos and gadgets, and a lot of other awesome stuff you could use immediately. 

Sign up for a week, and give it a try.

It would mean a lot to me and I think you'll enjoy it. 

Enjoy!

Robert Rodriguez (@Rodriguez) is a film director, screenwriter, producer, cinematographer, editor, and musician. He is also the founder and chairman of El Rey Network, the new genre-busting English-language cable network.

While a student at the University of Texas at Austin in 1991, Robert Rodriguez wrote the script to his first feature film while he was a paid subject in a clinical experiment at a drug research facility. That paycheck covered the cost of shooting his film. He planned to make the money back by selling the film to the Mexican home video market.

The film, “El Mariachi,” went on to win the coveted Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival, and became the lowest budget movie ever released by a major studio. Rodriguez wrote about these experiences in Rebel Without a Crew, a perennial guide for the independent filmmaker.

Rodriguez went on to write, produce, direct and edit a series of successful films including Desperado, From Dusk Till Dawn, the Spy Kids franchise, Once Upon a Time in Mexico, Frank Miller’s Sin City, and Machete.

I hope you find listening to this episode as much fun as it was to record.

For all links, show notes, resources from this episode, please visit http://fourhourworkweek.com/podcast

This podcast is brought to you by Athletic Greens. I get asked all the time, “If you could only use one supplement, what would it be?” My answer is, inevitably, Athletic Greens. It is my all-in-one nutritional insurance. I recommended it in The 4-Hour Body and did not get paid to do so. Get 50% off your order at http://Athletic Greens.com/Tim

This episode is also sponsored by 99Designs, the world’s largest marketplace of graphic designers. Did you know I used 99Designs to rapid prototype the cover for The 4-Hour Body? Here are some of the impressive results. Click this link (http://99designs.com/tim) and get a free $99 upgrade. Give it a test run.

Enjoy!

Naval Ravikant (@naval) is the CEO and a co-founder of AngelList. He previously co-founded Epinions, which went public as part of Shopping.com, and Vast.com. He is an active angel investor and has invested in more than 100 companies, including more than a few “unicorn” mega-successes.

His deals include Twitter, Uber, Yammer, Postmates, Wish, Thumbtack, and OpenDNS, which Cisco just bought for $635 million in cash.

You can find many more examples here, but suffice to say — he’s really, REALLY good at start-up investing.

In this episodes you'll discover: 

• How AngelList and Venture Hacks came to be
• What Naval looks for when deciding to invest in a founder 
• Common "wives tales" in venture capital 
• How to replace bad habits with good habits 
• How to set stakes and awards 
• And much, much more...

Links, resources, and show notes from this episode can be found at http://fourhourworkweek.com/podcast

This episode is sponsored by 99Designs, the world’s largest marketplace of graphic designers. Did you know I used 99Designs to rapid prototype the cover for The 4-Hour Body? Here are some of the impressive results. Click this link and get a free $99 upgrade. Give it a test run...

This podcast is also brought to you by Athletic Greens. I get asked all the time, “If you could only use one supplement, what would it be?” My answer is, inevitably, Athletic Greens. It is my all-in-one nutritional insurance. I recommended it in The 4-Hour Body and did not get paid to do so. Get 50% off your order at Athletic Greens.com/Tim

Enjoy!

Kevin Kelly (@kevin2kelly) returns to the podcast due to popular demand. Kevin continues to be perhaps the Most Interesting Man in the World.

He is Senior Maverick at Wired magazine, which he co-founded in 1993. He also co-founded the All Species Foundation, a non-profit aimed at cataloging and identifying every living species on earth. In his spare time, he co-founded the Rosetta Project, which is building an archive of all documented human languages, writes bestselling books,and serves on the board of the Long Now Foundation. As part of the last, he’s investigating how to revive and restore endangered or extinct species, including the Wooly Mammoth.

As usual, Kevin's responses and answers are fascinating.

For all links, show notes, resources from this episode, please visit 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 bandwidth 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!

Phil Libin (@plibin) is the co-founder and executive chairman of Evernote.

Evernote has roughly 150 million users, and I personally use it at least 10 times a day. It is my external brain for capturing all the information, documents, online articles, lists, etc. in my life.

In this episode, Phil and I cover a ton. Here are just a few examples:

- Philosophical and performance systems: Stoicism, electrical brain stimulation, and more
- Phil's favorite lessons learned from Jeff Bezos (Amazon), Reid Hoffman (LinkedIn), and Hiroshi Mikitani (Rakuten)
- Creating tech "for yourself" and Evernote's genesis story, leading to approximately 150 million users
- The best toast in Singapore, the best hamburger in Tokyo, and why "Goat Simulator" is amazing.
- Long-term (10,000-year) thinking and real versus imagined threats

More importantly, he digs into his "a-ha" moments, and what you need to do bring your next big idea to life.

Links, resources, and show notes from this episode can be found at http://fourhourworkweek.com/podcast

This episode is sponsored by 99Designs, the world’s largest marketplace of graphic designers. Did you know I used 99Designs to rapid prototype the cover for The 4-Hour Body? Here are some of the impressive results. Click this link and get a free $99 upgrade. Give it a test run...

This podcast is also brought to you by Athletic Greens. I get asked all the time, “If you could only use one supplement, what would it be?” My answer is, inevitably, Athletic Greens. It is my all-in-one nutritional insurance. I recommended it in The 4-Hour Body and did not get paid to do so. Get 50% off your order at Athletic Greens.com/Tim

Enjoy!

Tara Brach (@TaraBrach) is a PhD in clinical psychology and one of the leading teachers of Buddhist thinking and meditation in the Western world.

She is the founder of the Insight Meditation Community in Washington, D.C. and her lectures are downloaded hundreds of thousands of times each month.

I was first introduced to Tara's work by another guest on this podcast, Maria Popova. Soon thereafter, a friend and neuroscience PhD recommended her book, Radical Acceptance, as life-changing. It exceeded all expectations.

It’s my hope that this tactical conversation offers you techniques for addressing loneliness, anger, self-hatred, the “trance of unworthiness,” and much more. Tara’s had a measurable impact on my life, and I wish the same for you.

For those who know my fondness for Stoic philosophy, I think Tara’s work is a fantastic compliment to Seneca, Marcus Aurelius, and the other favorites.

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 the ideal video hosting platform for entrepreneurs. In fact, a bunch of my start-ups are already using Vimeo Pro. WealthFront uses it to explain how WealthFront works. TaskRabbit uses it to tell the company’s story. There are many other names who you would recognize among their customers (AirBnB, Etsy, etc.) Why do they use it? Vimeo Pro provides enterprise level video hosting for a fraction of the usual 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 bandwidth calculations or hidden fees. Try it risk-free for 30 days. 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 a special discount just for you guys.

Enjoy!

Jane McGonigal (@avantgame), PhD, is a senior researcher at the Institute for the Future and the author of The New York Times bestseller Reality Is Broken: Why Games Make Us Better and How They Can Change the World. Her work has been featured in The Economist, Wired, and The New York Times. She has been called one of the "top ten innovators to watch" by BusinessWeek and one of the "100 most creative people in business” by Fast Company. Her TED talks on games have been viewed more than ten million times.

In this conversation, we dig into everything from recovering from head trauma to how you can use Candy Crush Saga to lose weight. Not enough? How about using Tetris to prevent PTSD, or using Call of Duty to increase empathy?

Her latest book is SuperBetter, which offers a revolutionary (science-based) approach for getting stronger, happier, and more resilient. I’ve been testing it, and it works.  Not only am I feeling better, but I’m having more fun.

As adults, we often lose track of play. My hope is that this episode will help you to reclaim it.  It’s not frivolous; it can help you get a lot more done with less stress.

In this episode we discuss:

• Examples of real world problems that are solved with games or by gamers 
• How Jane climbed herself out of the hole of suicidal thoughts 
• Action steps for using gaming lessons and applying them to real life 
• How to build a quest into your life 
• The health effects of Candy Crush Saga 
• On the use of psychedelics to simulate traumatic experiences 
• And much more...

Links, resources, and show notes from this episode can be found at http://fourhourworkweek.com/podcast

This episode is sponsored by Athletic Greens. I get asked all the time, “If you could only use one supplement, what would it be?” My answer is, inevitably, Athletic Greens. It is my all-in-one nutritional insurance. I recommended it in The 4-Hour Body and did not get paid to do so. Get 50% off your order at Athletic Greens.com/Tim

This podcast is also brought to you by 99Designs, the world’s largest marketplace of graphic designers. Did you know I used 99Designs to rapid prototype the cover for The 4-Hour Body? Here are some of the impressive results.  Click this link and get a free $99 upgrade.  Give it a test run...

Enjoy!

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!

Charles Poliquin (@strengthsensei) is one of the best known strength coaches in the world. He has trained elite athletes from nearly 20 different sports, including Olympic gold medalists, NFL All-Pro’s, NHL All-Stars and Stanley Cup champions, and IFBB bodybuilding champions. His clients include long-jump gold medalist Dwight Phillips, NHL MVP Chris Pronger, and MLB batting champion Edgar Martinez, among many others.

Poliquin is currently teaching advanced hypertrophy, nutrition, and strength seminars alongside one of my favorite athletes, Olympic weightlifting icon and medalist Dimitry Klokov.

Poliquin has authored more than 600 articles on strength training, and his work has been translated into 12 different languages. He has written 8 books, including his latest, "Arm Size and Strength: The Ultimate Guide." Find much more about Poliquin and his latest at  strengthsensei.com.

In this episode we cover every strength trainng and fat loss topic you've ever thought about, including...

• Thoughts on hormone replacement therapy (HRT) 
• Exploring the use of Deca-Durabolin to support joint repair 
• Thoughts on the pre-workout warmup 
• Most common post-workout mistakes
• Commonly neglected ways to decrease body fat 
• Thoughts on achieving maximal strength on a plant-based diet 
• And much, much more

Links, resources, and show notes from this episode can be found at http://fourhourworkweek.com/podcast

This episode is sponsored by Athletic Greens. I get asked all the time, “If you could only use one supplement, what would it be?” My answer is, inevitably, Athletic Greens. It is your all-in-one nutritional insurance. I recommended it in the The 4-Hour Body and did not get paid to do so. Get 50% off your order at https://www.AthleticGreens.com/Tim

This podcast is also brought to you by 99Designs, the world’s largest marketplace of graphic designers. Did you know I used 99Designs to rapid prototype the cover for The 4-Hour Body? Here are some of the impressive results. Click this link and get a free $99 upgrade: http://www.99designs.com/tim. Give it a test run.

Enjoy!

Dr. Peter Diamandis (@PeterDiamandis) has been named one of “The World’s 50 Greatest Leaders” by Fortune Magazine. His accomplishments are far too many to list, but here are a few:

Peter is Chairman and CEO of the X PRIZE Foundation. He is also the Co-Founder (along with Craig Venter and Bob Hariri) of Human Longevity, Inc. (HLI); and the Co-Founder of Planetary Resources, a company designing spacecrafts to mine asteroids for precious materials (seriously). His latest book, Bold, has endorsements from Bill Clinton, Eric Schmidt, and Ray Kurzweil.

Peter knows how to think and play big, and he can show you how to do the same.

This episode features the top-10 most popular questions you wanted Peter to answer, including:

• How do we disrupt the education system?
• What does the future of healthcare look like?
• When should you start building your billion-dollar business?
• Will technology destroy all the jobs?

This podcast is brought to you by LegalZoom. Matt Mullenweg (CEO of Automattic – now worth more than a billion dollars) first incorporated his company on LegalZoom. LegalZoom, which I’ve used myself, can help you with almost anything legal, including setting up a will, doing a proper trademark search, forming an LLC, setting up a non-profit, or finding simple cease-and-desist letter templates. LegalZoom is not a law firm, but they do have a network of independent attorneys available in most states. They can provide contract review and help you run your business. Use the code “Tim” at checkout to get $10 off your next order. Take a gander at everything you can get for a fraction of what you’d expect — LegalZoom.com

This podcast is also brought to you by 99Designs, the world’s largest marketplace of graphic designers. Did you know I used 99Designs to rapid prototype the cover for The 4-Hour Body? Here are some of the impressive results. Click this link and get a free $99 upgrade.  Give it a test run.

Enjoy!