April 27, 2015

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Tim Ferriss on accelerated learning, peak performance and living the good life

Three time bestselling author and human guinea pig Tim Ferriss discusses how to become top 5% in the world with a new skill in just 6-12 months.

By Scott Barry Kaufman

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This article was published in Scientific American’s former blog network and reflects the views of the author, not necessarily those of Scientific American


Three time bestselling author and human guinea pig Tim Ferriss discusses how to become top 5% in the world with a new skill in just 6-12 months. Scott and Tim debunk the 10,000 hour rule, discuss general principles for accelerated skill acquisition, consider what it means to live the good life and take a sneak peak at Tim’s new show The Tim Ferris Experiment.

In this episode you will hear about:

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  • How super human results only require the right set of questions and a better toolkit

  • How an intelligent approach can cut skill acquisition down from years to months

  • Determining the right person to emulate when learning new skills

  • Questioning assumptions and practices that are taken for granted as “the best”

  • The importance of considering outliers

  • Using “micro” exercises to teach powerful “macro” principles

  • Some common mindset blocks that keep people from optimal skill development

  • Tim’s exercises to keep things in perspective and improve well-being

  • Tony Robbins’ advice to Tim about noticing the small things

  • Balancing appreciation vs. ambition

  • Tim’s philosophy of what it means to live the good life

  • Tim’s recommendations for getting started with meditation

  • Tim’s thoughts on the education system and how he’s gotten involved

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Resources:

“Timothy Ferriss is a serial entrepreneur, #1 New York Times bestselling author, and angel investor/advisor (Facebook, Twitter, Evernote, Uber, and 20+ more). Best known for his rapid-learning techniques, Tim’s books — The 4-Hour Workweek, The 4-Hour Body, and The 4-Hour Chef — have been published in 30+ languages. His popular blog http://www.fourhourblog.com has 1M+ monthly readers…” Blurb taken from Amazon.com

image credit: daniel krieger photography

Scott Barry Kaufman is a humanistic psychologist exploring the depths of human potential. He has taught courses on intelligence, creativity and well-being at Columbia University, N.Y.U., the University of Pennsylvania, and elsewhere. He hosts the Psychology Podcast and is author and/or editor of nine books, including Transcend: The New Science of Self-Actualization, Wired to Create: Unraveling the Mysteries of the Creative Mind (with Carolyn Gregoire), and Ungifted: Intelligence Redefined. Find out more at http://ScottBarryKaufman.com. In 2015 he was named one of "50 groundbreaking scientists who are changing the way we see the world" by Business Insider. He wrote the extremely popular Beautiful Minds blog for Scientific American for close to a decade. Follow him on X.

More by Scott Barry Kaufman

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