Articles (114)
How To Beat Procrastination
Being productive is really a battle. It’s the worst kind of battle: a battle against yourself. When most people talk about productivity they miss the point. They talk about external distractions and
Print Out Good Advice And Put It Where You Work (You Won’t Be Able To Run Away From It)
I’m not sure where I stole the idea from, but I am a big proponent of printing out good advice and putting it right in front of your desk, or wherever you work everyday. So you cannot run from the
My Creative Secret: Quantity Over Quality — And Commitments
I promise I’m not writing this because I have a deadline. Or, well, I actually kind of am. See, I’ve found that my output depends almost entirely on my level of commitments (either internal or
Arnold Schwarzenegger on How The Obstacle Is The Way
“What we face may look insurmountable. But I learned something from all those years of training and competing. I learned something from all those sets and reps when I didn’t think I could lift another
This Decision Changed My Life and My Business
I know someone that spends close to $20,000 a month on a publicist. I know an author who spends something like that out of their own pocket each month on what’s called co-op, or extra prominent
The Maxim For Every Successful Person; ‘Always Stay A Student’
Every man I meet is my master in some point, and in that I learn of him. — Ralph Waldo Emerson The legend of Genghis Khan has echoed throughout history: A barbarian conqueror, fueled by bloodlust,
The Best Book About Addiction You’ve Never Heard of Is Back in Print After 50 Years
Buried in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Crack Up, a collection of the great writer’s essays and diary entries written during his sad decline, is a quick mention of a fellow alcoholic writer and a book about
Here’s the Most Important Career (and Life) Asset You Can Develop
In 1931, Winston Churchill found himself more or less exiled from political life. In the previous years he had found himself vehemently fighting members of his own party over a number of issues and
All You Need Are a Few Small Wins Every Day
We have a false picture about how success happens. Because we often see only the results and almost never the process of things, we tend to think that the finished product—a book, being in shape,
It’s Not About Stoic WEEK, But Life
Here we are, with Stoic Week upon us once again. This is exciting to me because thousands of new people will be exposed to philosophy for the very first time. I say that half-jokingly, knowing that
39 (Or So) Lessons On The Way To 39
Well, I’m now almost 40. Like officially almost 40. I woke up yesterday in Cle Elum, Washington, ran 20 miles and then turned 39. I did a little talk for Amazon and then flew home, getting in very
4 Ways To Push Through Adversity and Failure Without Ego
“The future bears down upon each one of us with all the hazards of the unknown.” — Plutarch There is no way around it: We will experience difficulty. We will feel the touch of failure. As Benjamin
The Dress-Suit Bribe
There’s a theme in the works of Upton Sinclair called the “dress-suit bribe” which he returns to over and over. It’s the the name of a play written by a character in Dragon’s Teeth, a throwaway line
12 Novels That Changed How I Think About The World
It was a long winding road trip this month, starting in Seattle and ending in Sacramento. In between, I did talks in Portland (visited Powells) and San Francisco (my parents came) and we covered a lot
Life as a Grand Strategy
I used to carry a lot of fear. What if I lose this? Or, ‘I have to monitor that in case something bad happens.’ Worse, I would be unsure of how to act in certain situations, whether to advance or
The Imaginary Audience
The psychologist David Elkind published an interesting study in the mid 1970’s. Adolescents, he found, believe in an “imaginary audience.” Consider a 13 year old so embarrassed that they miss a week
Why Do You Do What You Do? Because You Better Know.
Most of us got into what we do because we one, like it, or two, are good at it. We generally know what we want and need, as well as what we hope to achieve. The irony is, the further you travel down
An Introduction to Montaigne
My post on Montaigne is up on Tim Ferriss’s site and it’s called “The Experimental Life: An Introduction to Michel de Montaigne.” What I tried to do within the limitations of the opportunity was
This Is What Real Analysis Looks Like
What I’ve learned most clearly from blogs is that the majority of them write about the problems from the outside for a reason—because they are missing the abilities that allow people to move to the
What Matters: Information vs. Knowledge vs. Experience
There’s no question that self-education has never been easier. We can consume countless blog posts, articles, books, videos, TED talks, and Reddit AMAs. We take MOOCs, and can study along with course
Advice to a Young Man Hoping to Go Somewhere
When I dropped out of school at 19 to start my first job in Hollywood, I didn’t know anything and I had no idea where I’d end up. Thankfully, I was attached to some smart and forgiving people who let
The Narrative Fallacy
When I first moved to LA, I didn’t have enough money to buy a bed. I borrowed an IKEA futon and slept on the floor for almost two months. Now I know that you can get some really comfortable futons
So You Want To Be A Writer? That’s Mistake #1
There are two types of writers, Schopenhauer once observed, those who write because they have something they have to say and those who write for the sake of writing. If you’re young and you think you
This Is Something You Have To Get Good At
I’ll tell you, very few people become writers because they want to stand up in front of a room full of strangers and talk. Often, in fact, it’s the opposite. What draws most people to writing in the
The Unstoppable Power of Greeting It All With A Smile
After defeating—facing barely any resistance—the then-reigning world champion, Jack Johnson is unquestionably the best boxer on the planet. Yet it is 1910 and the idea of a champion black boxer is
A Leadership Lesson From Eisenhower’s Stoic Reversal at D-Day
On June 6th 1944, Dwight D. Eisenhower pulled off the most stunning and impressive invasion in military history. A total of 156,000 Allied troops invaded the beaches of Normandy and by June 11 more
The False Bravado of “Philosophy”
One of Ambrose Bierce’s best stories about the Civil War is “Parker Adderson, Philosopher.” In it, a Union spy is caught behind Confederate lines at night. He is taken to the Confederate general who
The Benefit of the Doubt
Some weirdo says something to you in the grocery store and you smile and nod your head, “Yup!” Just to avoid a scene right? You have a meeting with a sales rep and indulge the friendly but pointless
How Do You Make Life-Changing Decisions?
First, you get rid of the notion that anything about your life is really at stake. Whatever happens, you’ll be fine. You’re not deciding whether to do opt for chemo or not. That is to say: calm down.
Life Is Not a Movie, Life Is Not a Novel
The economist Tyler Cowen observed that few people when asked to describe their lives would answer ‘a mess.’ Instead they say their life was ‘a journey.’ They tended to use the metaphor of a novel.
Sorry, An Epiphany Isn’t What’s Going To Change Your Life
Epiphanies are bullshit. People think it’s some momentous wake up call that leads to innovation, identity crises, insight or breakthroughs. Like that’s why someone “suddenly” quits the NFL. Or goes
The Art of Being Cool Under Pressure (and Success)
Lately it seems that whenever a technology startup is bought for billions , be it Instagram , Yammer , Viber , Waze , Tumblr , or Whatsapp , financial analysts predict another bubble in the making.
9 Timeless Business Virtues From A 19th Century Self-Made Millionaire
Below are some lessons from one of my favorite books. If Cyrus the Great can give us 9 Lessons On Power And Leadership From Genghis Khan, why can’t pithy advice on virtues and manhood be found in the
Should We Cancel the Stoics?
By most of what seems like the current criteria, the ancient Stoics are ripe targets for cancellation. They were white. They were rich. They wrote about being “manly.” They even referred to foreigners
You Must Stare This Scary Fact in the Face.
If you have ever looked at much ancient or medieval art, you’ll notice something: Death is everywhere. The French painter Philippe de Champaigne’s famous “Still Life with a Skull,” which shows the
This Is What a Good Day Looks Like–According to Marcus Aurelius
It’s humbling to think that Marcus Aurelius, the head of the most powerful empire on earth, had the same amount of hours in the day as you. Just 24. So how did he get it all done? How did he have time
How To Beat “The System”: The Ultimate Scarcity of Good Stuff
It’s totally messed up if you think about it. There are millions of people out there dying to be writers. Yet when a good writer puts together a book proposal (that is, a potential book), publishers
My Office Explained in 13 Objects
If you walk into the locker room or practice facility for a professional sports team or elite college program, one of the things that strikes you is what they put up on the wall. The walls are
This Is the Test to Apply to Everything
We can imagine he was a busy man, perhaps the busiest man in the world. He had 14 children. There was a pandemic. He had a nagging stomach ailment. He was taking philosophy classes. Oh, and he was the
The Definition of Success Is Autonomy
None of us truly control our own destiny. Fate has too much power over us puny humans. Still, we often suspect that were we just a little richer, just a little more famous, if we were in charge and
Books I Couldn’t Put Down This Month
One of my favorite feelings is tearing through a book. Like when you get hooked and you feel like you can’t stop. Just a few more pages, you tell yourself. I’ll read to the next chapter. Closely
This Is The Most Important Thing You Can Do Each Morning
“Keep a notebook. Travel with it, eat with it, sleep with it. Slap into it every stray thought that flutters up into your brain. Cheap paper is less perishable than gray matter. And lead pencil
42 Books That Will Make You A Better Person (Each Described In 1 Sentence)
If you read a lot, it can be easy for all the books to blur together. Especially as the years pass, it can be difficult to even remember what books you’ve read are even about. This is where one
Here’s How You Stop Anger From Making You Do Something Stupid
In February, during the launch of my last book, I had one of those experiences that explain why many people don’t like or trust the media. I’ll leave the details vague for reasons that the rest of
The Problem With This Popular Advice
When I started writing, I followed the advice a lot of writers follow: hit a word count. Write a thousand words a day. Two thousand. Whatever the number. Then I came across what, for years, I thought
A Stoic Guide To Navigating The Modern Workplace
The image of the Zen philosopher is the monk up in the green, quiet hills, or in a beautiful temple on some rocky cliff. The Stoic, on the other hand, is the antithesis of this idea. The Stoic is the
This Is The Most Important Skill You Can Have In Life
I hated writing essays in high school, but they changed my life. Not because of the subject matter or anything. With one exception, I can’t remember what any of them were about. The one I remember is
This Question Will Change Your (Reading) Life
When I was a teenager, I began a habit that would change the course of my entire life. I don’t mean to overstate it — it was simple, just a question I would ask the people I met — but without it, I’m
Do Yourself a Favor Today… and Go For a Walk
If you’ve ever doubted whether human beings are designed for walking, all you have to do is strap a fussy baby into a BabyBjörn and take them out for a stroll. The crying stops. With each step, the
“The First Draft of Anything Is Shit”
finable, unquantifiable thing that made her first two albums, 19 and 21, so transcendently great simply wasn’t there. It took Adele two years longer to get the album to a place where Rubin believed
10 Books I Wish I Read Earlier (Also The Best Books For Graduates)
When I graduated from high school, my aunt gave me a copy of Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl and it changed my life. I didn’t know there were books like that out there–I didn’t know there
This Is Why You Have to Care
Then, as now, there was a lot of noise. There were people who had their own agendas. People who wanted to compromise. People who wanted to explain it away. People who thought there were bigger
It’s Not About Intention, It’s About Action
It’d be wonderful if it were true. If we could, by the power of our thoughts, shape the world around us. If we could manifest the reality we wanted, if “like attracted like” in our lives, just as
You Could Have Today. Instead You Choose Tomorrow.
For me, the perfect Saturday involves getting up early. Not disgustingly early, just early enough that the morning is still fresh and young. I get my son dressed and we go for a long walk with the
How To Digest Books Above Your “Level” And Increase Your Intelligence
The best advice I’ve ever got about reading came from a secretive movie producer and talent manager who’d sold more than 100 million albums and done more than $1B in box office returns. He said to me
A Radical Guide to Spending Less Time on Your Phone
It’s there: in your pocket. On the desk. In the cup holder of the car. You want to use it. Just grab it and alleviate the boredom or discomfort. Might as well check the headlines instead of struggling
21 Quotes That (If Applied) Change You Into a Better Person
As long as man has been alive, he has been collecting little sayings about how to live. We find them carved in the rock of the Temple of Apollo and etched as graffiti on the walls of Pompeii. They
Work, Family, Scene: You Can Only Pick Two
When I first moved to Austin in 2013, I went out to lunch—fittingly—with a writer named Austin Kleon. I was a longtime fan of his book Steal Like an Artist (his book Keep Going is a new favorite).
100 (More) Lessons From 100 (More) Reads of Meditations by Marcus Aurelius
In 2006, I bought my first copy of the Meditations of Marcus Aurelius. I was 19 years old. I didn’t know who Marcus Aurelius was (besides the old guy in Gladiator), and I certainly didn’t know whether
These Are 23 Great Rules To Be A Productive Creative
[1] Read. Read. Read. A book is made of books. “The greatest part of a writer’s time is spent in reading; a man will turn over half a library to make one book,” Samuel Johnson said. As I was putting
The Things You Think Matter…Don’t
I dropped out of college. When this happened it was a big deal—to my parents anyway. Then it was a big deal when people met me because they were constantly surprised by it. You didn’t finish college?!
This Is What You Belong To
In 1950, a man grieving his young son who had just died of polio got a letter from Albert Einstein. Now, one might think that as a man of science, Einstein would have had a rather resigned view of the
20 Years Ago, I Spent $8 on This. My Life Was Never The Same.
Sitting on my desk as I write this is a book I paid $8.25 for nearly twenty years ago. The cover is taped back on. Nearly every page is marked or folded. They have yellowed with age, in some cases
How Marcus Aurelius Conquered Stress (and the Rest of Us Can Too)
To say that Marcus Aurelius had a stressful life would be a preposterous understatement. He ran the largest empire in the world. He had a troublesome son. He had a nagging and painful stomach issue.
Read These Books This Month
Last month, I told you I had to make a last-minute trip to Hawaii (there are worse things in the world!). This month I had another last-minute trip and it was brutal: Early AM from Panama City,
50 (Short) Rules For Life From The Stoics
What is the job of a philosopher? “When the standards have been set,” Epictetus said, “the work of philosophy is just this, to examine and uphold the standards, but the work of a truly good person is
These Are Leadership Ideas I Try To Apply Every Day
Coach Pete Carroll has said that another disappointing season with the New England Patriots—some 15 years into his career—it struck him that he didn’t actually have a coaching philosophy. He was
Fight to Be Who Philosophy Wants You to Be
Like all of us, there was a part of Marcus Aurelius that wanted to be good and a part that inclined towards something worse. He had ideals, he had a temper. He had ambitions—some of which were
This Is the Secret to Business and Artistic Success
One of the strangest things about business to me has always been how damn far everyone is from the products they create and the customers who use them. You have a problem with a product you bought and
If You’re Not Seeking Out Challenges, How Are You Going to Get Better?
If it’s easy, you’re not growing. It’s like lifting weights: if you can do it without trying, you’re not going to get any stronger. The whole point—of life, of working out, of work—is to push
This Is Something I’ve Turned To Over and Over Again When The World Seems Dark
I guess I could try to put into words how much I love this book. I could try to explain how this 84-year-old book about an obscure 16th-century philosopher is uniquely relevant to our times. Or I
24 Things I Wish I Had Done Sooner (or my biggest regrets)
Of all the things in life we don’t control, the past is the clearest. It already happened. It’s done. It’s set in stone. Perhaps we could have controlled and changed it, but the fact is, we didn’t.
These Books Made Me A Better Parent And Partner
When people ask how our bookstore, The Painted Porch, is doing, I usually reply “Well, Samantha and I are still married, so pretty good.” That was one of my biggest fears when she and I were sitting
9 Short Quotes That Changed My Life and Why
Like a lot of people, I try to collect words to live by. Most of these words come from reading, but also from conversations, from teachers, and from everyday life. As Seneca, the philosopher and
9 Amazing Books They Tried To Ban (That Everyone Should Read)
I was surprised to find out that many people seem to not understand what a banned book is. ‘Banned Book Week’ wrapped up yesterday, and I was continually surprised by some of the comments people
This Is Something You Should Always Carry With You
I’ve brought it to the Grammys. I’ve brought it to NFL games…and kids BJJ practices. I’ve brought it into the green room backstage before talks. I’ve brought it to restaurants and bars. I’ve carried
7 Books To Read When It Feels Like The World Is Falling Apart
Obviously, we are not the first people to live in a time when it feels like the world is falling apart. Nor, sadly, are we the first to live through political dysfunction or when cruelty is
8 Books Worth Reading Again (And Again)
It can be hard sometimes, with all the things we have going on and with all the wonderful books out there (and all the new ones coming out), to justify going back and reading something you’ve already
Really Long Books That Are Worth Every Page
Oh man, there is nothing I love more than a big, long, thick biography. Last month, we talked about short books you could finish on a plane, well I’m talking about the opposite of that now, the ones
This Habit Is Making You Miserable
Stop watching cable news, it’s bad for you. Stop filtering the world through social media, it’s a cesspool. Turn off those breaking news alerts on your phone—none of them are as important as you
Why A Stoic Wakes Up Early
One morning in the middle of the second century AD, the most powerful man in the world was awakened by his orderly. It could have been in his tent on the front lines of the war in Germania. It could
All Success Is A Lagging Indicator
The other day I sat down to write. But it didn’t happen. It just wasn’t there. The words. The momentum. One thought leading into the next. I knew I wanted to say something. I knew what I wanted it to
12 Extraordinary Stoic Moments
Unlike the “pen-and-ink philosophers,” as the type was derisively known even 2,000 years ago, to the Stoics, Stoicism is something you DO. They were most concerned with how one lived. The choices you
19 Rules For A Better Life (From Marcus Aurelius)
Marcus Aurelius never claimed to be a Stoic. Gregory Hays, one of Marcus Aurelius’s best translators, writes in his introduction to Meditations, “If he had to be identified with a particular school,
20 Best Lessons From Interviewing Today’s Top Performers
I’m not saying everyone should start a podcast. In fact, I have said the opposite many times. There are way too many of them out there…and most are not good. I’m just saying that having a podcast is
24 Leadership Principles From The Greatest Business, Military, Political and Sports Leaders
People think that leadership is something that just happens. One is anointed a leader. One is promoted to leadership. One is born into leadership. And of course, this is not the case. “Leadership,”
You Can’t Succeed In Life Without This Skill
Preparation is important. Planning is important. Reflection is important. I mean, I wrote a whole book called, Stillness is the Key, because it’s true. And I was just saying earlier this month that I
If You Want to Be Smart, You Must Do This
There are lots of smart people. There are not a lot of people who can do this smart thing. The poet John Keats called it “negative capability”—the mental fortitude to be able to entertain multiple
Everything I’ve Learned From My Small-Town Bookstore
My wife and I were sitting at a cafe in Bastrop, Texas, looking across Main Street at an empty historic storefront. “You know what would be amazing there?" she said. “A bookstore.” We started
This Strategy Is The Key To Every Victory
It is easy to confuse strategy and boldness. “Given the same amount of intelligence,” Clausewitz dictum goes, “timidity will do one thousand times more damage in war than audacity. It was a favored
10 Habits That Will Help You Live And Be Better
There aren’t too many of us who are satisfied with the person we currently are. That is, we know we could be better. We know we should be better. And by better, we don’t mean at our jobs, at lifting
Books You Should Read This Month
I had to go to Maui last month. I had to. Really, I tried to see if I could push it until a later date, but both my wife and my publisher told me I was out of my mind. There was a certain lady famous
18 Little Stories That Will Have Massive Impact On Your Life
When I was 18 years old, I was a research assistant to Robert Greene. My job was to find stories he could use in his writing. Nearly seventeen years later, I still use so much of what Robert taught me
37 Pieces of Career Advice I Wish I’d Known Earlier
My first job was working at a small deli and grocery store in Lake Tahoe when I was 15. It was a job that came full circle some twenty years later when my wife and I bought a place called Tracy’s
Don’t Go To Business School. Read These 18 Books Instead
Warren Buffett considers the foundation of his multi-billion dollar empire to be a book. At 19 years old, he bought a copy of The Intelligent Investor by Benjamin Graham. We don’t know exactly what he
These 14 Small Mindset Shifts Will Change Your Life
For the most part, we can’t change the world. We can’t change the fundamental facts of existence–like the fact that we’re going to die. We can’t change other people. Does that mean that everything is
The Diet That Is Making You Miserable
A few weeks back, I was down near Phoenix and swung out to talk to the Chicago Cubs and the Arizona Diamondbacks who were in the middle of Spring Training. These are elite athletes. Preparing for the
34 Lessons From Writing Every Day for Two Decades
I remember driving home from my high school graduation, excited. I was excited not because I was done with school but because of what I was about to start. I’d been working with a friend to put up my
The Secret To Avoiding Burnout
Two years into writing my latest book, Discipline is Destiny, I hit a wall. There is no word other than “despair” for what I was feeling. Doubt? One always has that. This was deeper. No, this was a
This Is Why You Don’t Want To Tell Yourself Stories
The thing about success is that it messes with your brain. It messes with other people’s brains, too. I’m not saying that it gives you amnesia, but it does change how you see yourself and the events
Always Try To Do It The Hard Way
I was coasting on fumes when he asked me the question, so I don’t think I got the answer right. To be fair, I was 90 or so minutes into being on stage for my talk in Sydney when I was asked: “If
You Must Avoid Getting Corrupted By This
My study of history has led me to believe that there is a kind of dark matter inside the human race. It’s some combination of evil, cruelty, ignorance, cowardice, mob-ness. It is a kind of dark
You Slipped Up. Here’s How To Get Back On Track
It was a long winter. You got sick. You lapsed on a resolution. You slipped up. You’re tired, distracted, out of sorts. So you’re going to write off the rest of 2026? That’s crazy. In one of my
Please Don’t Do This To Yourself
It wasn’t exactly a nervous breakdown, but it was something close. Around the time I was finishing Ego is the Enemy, I ran into a wall. I had just watched American Apparel implode. I had lost a
How To Declutter Your Life This Spring
It doesn’t exactly keep me up at night, but like most people, I have a low-level suspicion that I’m paying for a bunch of stuff I don’t need. At the beginning of the year, I went through all the
11 Books You Can Finish In One Sitting
Ok, so I have a secret that I use when I am in a reading rut: I read something really short. I love the feeling of sitting down and finishing a book…in that sitting. I get the whole rush of cracking
This Hobby Can Change Your Life
I have a hobby and it’s weird. It started in a pretty normal way. I’d always liked taking walks and then I had young kids. Because it was often the only way I could get them to sleep–or to keep them
This Is A Lesson I Hope To Pass Down
Poems have always been earnest. That’s why some of them are so cringe. Rhapsodizing about nature. Pouring out your heart to a lover. Finding deep meaning in small things. Brooding on mortality. But a
31 Lessons I’ve Learned About Money
–It’s important to remember what once seemed like a lot of money to you. When I dropped out of college to work as an assistant in Hollywood, I took a salary of $30,000. I remember saying to myself–no
Are You Noticing This?
Honestly, it’s been so bad for so long, I didn’t even notice. When we moved out to rural Texas in 2015, there was basically no cell phone service at our house or on our dirt road. We tried to fix it
Things Heavy Metal Taught Me About Life
I can no longer remember the first heavy metal song I ever listened to, but I assume it was something by Metallica. I can tell you the first album I fell in love with: Brave New World by Iron Maiden.
How To Recover When The World Breaks You
There is a line attributed to Ernest Hemingway — that the first draft of everything is shit — which, of all the beautiful things Hemingway has written, applies most powerfully to the ending of A
This Is Why You Can’t Wait Until Later
At 6:45pm on Wednesday, April 23rd, 2014, I got an email from my friend Seth Roberts, the pioneering and peerless scientist. I opened it, saw that it was to be the first of a long awaited column
This Is What You Should Read Every Day
Reading is not just something you should do on vacation, or when you have free time. It should be, like all important things in your life, a daily practice, something you’re working to get better at.