meta_pixel
Tapesearch Logo
Log in
The Tim Ferriss Show

#92: Maria Popova on Being Interesting, Creating More Time in a Day, And How to Start A Successful Blog

The Tim Ferriss Show

Tim Ferriss: Bestselling Author, Human Guinea Pig

Lifestyle Design, Business, The 4-hour Workweek, Productivity, Timothy Ferriss Show, Startups, Tim Ferris, Entrepreneurship, Longform Interviews, Tools Of Titans, Timothy Ferriss, The Tim Ferriss Show, Tim Ferriss

4.617.4K Ratings

🗓️ 24 July 2015

⏱️ 34 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

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. null 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!

***

If you enjoy the podcast, would you please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts/iTunes? It takes less than 60 seconds, and it really makes a difference in helping to convince hard-to-get guests. I also love reading the reviews!

For show notes and past guests, please visit tim.blog/podcast.

Sign up for Tim’s email newsletter (“5-Bullet Friday”) at tim.blog/friday.

For transcripts of episodes, go to tim.blog/transcripts.

Interested in sponsoring the podcast? Visit tim.blog/sponsor and fill out the form.

Discover Tim’s books: tim.blog/books.

Follow Tim:

Twitter: twitter.com/tferriss 

Instagram: instagram.com/timferriss

Facebook: facebook.com/timferriss 

YouTube: youtube.com/timferriss

Past guests on The Tim Ferriss Show include Jerry Seinfeld, Hugh Jackman, Dr. Jane Goodall, LeBron James, Kevin Hart, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Jamie Foxx, Matthew McConaughey, Esther Perel, Elizabeth Gilbert, Terry Crews, Sia, Yuval Noah Harari, Malcolm Gladwell, Madeleine Albright, Cheryl Strayed, Jim Collins, Mary Karr, Maria Popova, Sam Harris, Michael Phelps, Bob Iger, Edward Norton, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Neil Strauss, Ken Burns, Maria Sharapova, Marc Andreessen, Neil Gaiman, Neil de Grasse Tyson, Jocko Willink, Daniel Ek, Kelly Slater, Dr. Peter Attia, Seth Godin, Howard Marks, Dr. Brené Brown, Eric Schmidt, Michael Lewis, Joe Gebbia, Michael Pollan, Dr. Jordan Peterson, Vince Vaughn, Brian Koppelman, Ramit Sethi, Dax Shepard, Tony Robbins, Jim Dethmer, Dan Harris, Ray Dalio, Naval Ravikant, Vitalik Buterin, Elizabeth Lesser, Amanda Palmer, Katie Haun, Sir Richard Branson, Chuck Palahniuk, Arianna Huffington, Reid Hoffman, Bill Burr, Whitney Cummings, Rick Rubin, Dr. Vivek Murthy, Darren Aronofsky, and many more.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

optimal minerals.

0:02.0

If there's altitude I can run flat out for a half mile before my hands start shaking.

0:06.0

Can I also see a person question?

0:08.0

Now I just see the number of people coming.

0:10.0

What if I get the island?

0:12.0

I must have a nettie organism living this year over never in the sky.

0:16.0

Three, two, one, Ferris and show.

0:23.0

This episode is brought to you by Athletic Greens.

0:26.0

I get asked all the time what I would take if I could only take one supplement.

0:30.0

The answer is invariably Athletic Greens.

0:34.0

I view it as all-in-one nutritional insurance.

0:36.0

I recommended it, in fact, in the four-hour body.

0:38.0

This is more than 10 years ago and I did not get paid to do so.

0:42.0

With approximately 75 vitamins, minerals and whole food sourced ingredients,

0:46.0

you'd be very hard-pressed to find a more nutrient dense and comprehensive formula on the market.

0:50.0

It has multi-vitamins, multi-mineral greens complex, probiotics,

0:54.0

and prebiotics for gut health and immunity formula.

0:58.0

Digestive enzymes, adaptogens and much more.

1:00.0

I usually take it once or twice a day just to make sure I've covered my bases

1:04.0

if I miss anything I'm not aware of.

1:06.0

Of course, I focus on nutrient dense meals to begin with.

1:10.0

That's the basis.

...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Tim Ferriss: Bestselling Author, Human Guinea Pig, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Tim Ferriss: Bestselling Author, Human Guinea Pig and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.

Copyright © Tapesearch 2025.