The Tim Ferriss Show - #142: How to Achieve Self-Ownership

Episode Date: February 28, 2016

This is one of my favorite letters from Seneca. Before you listen, I want you to think about this philosophy from Fight Club: "The things you own end up owning you." - Tyler Durden Understanding this mindset will help you to explore the practical philosophies found in this episode. Please enjoy Letter 42, On Values, by Seneca the Younger. If you find this useful, you can pick up the whole collection at the Tao of Seneca. Enjoy! Show notes and links for this episode can be found at www.fourhourworkweek.com/podcast. This podcast is brought to you by 99Designs, the world's largest marketplace of graphic designers. I have used them for years to create some amazing designs. When your business needs a logo, website design, business card, or anything you can imagine, check out 99Designs. I used them to rapid prototype the cover for The 4-Hour Body, and I've also had them help with display advertising and illustrations. If you want a more personalized approach, I recommend their 1-on-1 service. You get original designs from designers around the world. The best part? You provide your feedback, and then you end up with a product that you're happy with or your money back. Click this link and get a free $99 upgrade. Give it a test run. This podcast is also brought to you by Wealthfront. Wealthfront is a massively disruptive (in a good way) set-it-and-forget-it investing service, led by technologists from places like Apple. It has exploded in popularity in the last two years and now has more than $2.5B under management. Why? Because you can get services previously limited to the ultra-wealthy and only pay pennies on the dollar for them, and it’s all through smarter software instead of retail locations and bloated sales teams. Check out wealthfront.com/tim, take their risk assessment quiz, which only takes 2-5 minutes, and they’ll show you—for free–exactly the portfolio they’d put you in. If you want to just take their advice and do it yourself, you can. Well worth a few minutes to explore: wealthfront.com/tim.***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/timferrissFacebook: facebook.com/timferriss YouTube: youtube.com/timferrissPast 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.

optimal minimal at this altitude i can run flat out for a half mile before my hands start shaking can i ask you a personal question now what is your name i'm a cybernetic organism living tissue i will never end this this episode is brought to you by ag1, the daily foundational nutritional supplement that supports whole body health. I do get asked a lot what I would take if I could only take one supplement, and the true answer is invariably AG1. It simply covers a ton of bases. I usually drink it in the mornings and frequently take their travel packs with me on the road. So what is AG1? AG1 is a science-driven

formulation of vitamins, probiotics, and whole food sourced nutrients. In a single scoop, AG1 gives you support for the brain, gut, and immune system. So take ownership of your health and try AG1 today. You will get a free one-year supply of vitamin D and five free AG1 travel packs with your first subscription purchase. So learn more, check it out. Go to drinkag1.com slash Tim. That's drinkag1, the number one, drinkag1.com slash Tim. Last time, drinkag1.com slash Tim. Check it out. This episode is brought to you by Five Bullet Friday, my very own email newsletter. It's become one of the most popular email newsletters in the world with millions of subscribers. And it's super, super simple. It does not clog up your inbox. Every Friday,

I send out five bullet points, super short, of the coolest things I've found that week, which sometimes includes apps, books, documentaries, supplements, gadgets, new self-experiments, hacks, tricks, and all sorts of weird stuff that I dig up from around the world. You guys, podcast listeners and book readers, have asked me for something short and action-packed for a very long time. Because after all, the podcast, the books, they can be quite long. And that's why I created Five Bullet Friday. It's become one of my favorite things I do every week. It's free. It's always going to be free. And you can learn more at Tim.blog forward slash Friday. That's Tim.blog forward slash Friday.

I get asked a lot how I meet guests for the podcast, some of the most amazing people I've ever interacted with. And little known fact, I've met probably 25% of them because they first subscribed to Five Bullet Friday. So you'll be in good company. It's a lot of fun. Five Bullet Friday is only available if you subscribe via email. I do not publish the content on the blog or anywhere else. Also, if I'm doing small in-person meetups, offering early access to startups, beta testing, special deals, or anything else that's very

limited, I share it first with Five Bullet Friday subscribers. So check it out, tim.blog forward slash Friday. If you listen to this podcast, it's very likely that you'd dig it a lot and you can, of course, easily subscribe any time. So easy peasy. Again, that's tim.blog forward slash Friday. And thanks for checking it out. If the spirit moves you. Hello, boys and girls. This is Tim Ferriss. And welcome to another episode of the Tim Ferriss show. This is an in-between-isode of sorts. It is not a long form interview, but rather it is an excerpt. It is one of my favorite letters from Seneca, a mere 2000 or so years old. And it explores a number of different practical philosophies that I encourage you to digest. Now, the first few paragraphs might seem a little off the reservation, but then we get

quickly to what you could call the fight club philosophy, meaning, of course, the bar conversation, the things you owned end up owning you. So let me try that again. The things you own end up owning you. I need more caffeine. And the exploration thereof, I think is extremely valuable. If you want more of these letters, you can check them out in the Tao of Seneca. It is a compilation that I put together and you can find those volumes at audible.com forward slash Tim's books. That's audible.com forward slash Tim's books, where you can find my book club, which includes I think seven or eight other books that have had a huge impact on my life. So without further ado, please enjoy Letter 42 on values by Seneca the Younger. Letter 42 on values. Has that friend of yours already made you believe that he is a good man?

And yet it is impossible in so short a time for one either to become good or be known as such. Do you know what kind of man I now mean when I speak of a good man? I mean one of the second grade, like your friend. For one of the first class perhaps springs into existence, like the phoenix, only once in five hundred years. And it is not surprising, either, that greatness develops only at long intervals. Fortune often brings into being commonplace powers which are born to please the mob. But she holds up for our approval that which is extraordinary by the very fact that she makes it rare. This man, however, of whom you spoke, is still far from the state which he professes to

have reached. And if he knew what it meant to be a good man, he would not yet believe himself such. Perhaps he would even despair of his ability to become good. But, you say, he thinks ill of evil men. Well, so do evil men themselves, and there is no worse penalty for vice than the fact that it is dissatisfied with itself and all its fellows. But he hates those who make an ungoverned use of great power suddenly acquired. I retort that he will do the same thing as soon as he acquires the same powers. In the case of many men, their vices being powerless escape notice. Although, as soon as the persons in

question have become satisfied with their own strength, the vices will be no less daring than those which prosperity has already disclosed. These men simply lack the means whereby they may unfold their wickedness. Similarly, one can handle even a poisonous snake, while it is stiff with cold. The poison is not lacking, it is merely numbed into inaction. In the case of many men, their cruelty, ambition, and indulgence only lack the favor of fortune to make them dare crimes that would match the worst. That their wishes are the same, you will in a moment discover in this way. Give them the power equal to their wishes. Do you remember how, when you declared that a certain person was under your influence, I pronounced him fickle and a bird of passage,

and said that you held him not by the foot, but merely by a wing? Was I mistaken? You grasped him only by a feather. He left it in your hands and escaped. You know what an exhibition he afterwards made of himself before you, how many of the things he attempted were to recoil upon his own head. He did not see that in endangering others he was tottering to his own downfall. He did not reflect how burdensome were the objects which he was bent upon attaining, even if they were not superfluous. Therefore, with regard to the objects which we pursue, and for which we strive with great effort, we should note this truth. Either there is nothing desirable in them, or the undesirable is preponderant. Some objects are superfluous. Others are not worth the price

we pay for them. But we do not see this clearly, and we regard things as free gifts when they really cost us very dear. Our stupidity may be clearly proved by the fact that we hold that buying refers only to the objects for which we pay cash, and we regard as free gifts the things for which we spend our very selves. These we should refuse to buy, if we were compelled to give in payment for them, our houses or some attractive and profitable estate, but we are eager to attain them at the cost of anxiety, of danger, and of lost honor, personal freedom, and time, so true it is that each man regards nothing as cheaper than himself. Let us therefore act in all our plans and conduct, just as we are

accustomed to act whenever we approach a huckster who has certain wares for sale. Let us see how much we must pay for that which we crave. Very often the things that cost nothing cost us the most heavily. I can show you many objects the quest and acquisition of which have wrested freedom from our hands. We should belong to ourselves, if only these things did not belong to us. I would therefore have you reflect thus, not only when it is a question of gain, but also when it is a question of loss. This object is bound to perish. Yes, it was a mere extra. You will live without it just as easily as you have lived before.

If you have possessed it for a long time, you lose it after you have had your fill of it. If you have not possessed it long, then you lose it before you have become wedded to it. You will have less money, yes, and less trouble, less influence, yes, and less envy. Look about you and note the things that drive us mad, which we lose with a flood of tears. You will perceive that it is not the loss that troubles us with reference to these things, but a notion of loss.

No one feels that they have been lost, but his mind tells him that it has been so. He that owns himself has lost nothing. But how few men are blessed with ownership of self. Farewell. Number one, this is Five Bullet Friday. Do you want to get a short email from me? Would you enjoy getting a short email from me every Friday that provides a little morsel of fun before the weekend?

And Five Bullet Friday is a very short email where I share the coolest things I've found or that I've been pondering over the week. That could include favorite new albums that I've discovered. It could include gizmos and gadgets and all sorts of weird shit that I've somehow dug up in the world of the esoteric as I do. It could include favorite articles that I've read and that I've shared with my close friends, for instance. And it's very short. It's just a little tiny bite of goodness before you head off for the weekend. So if you want to receive that, check it out. Just go to fourhourworkweek.com. That's fourhourworkweek.com all spelled out and just drop in your email and you will get the very next one. And if you sign up, I hope you enjoy it.

This episode is brought to you by Wealthfront, and this is a very unique sponsor. Wealthfront is a massively disruptive, in a good way, set it and forget it investing service, led by technologists from places like Apple and world-famous investors. It has exploded in popularity in the last two years, and they now have more than $2.5 billion under management. In fact, some of my very good friends, investors in Silicon Valley, have millions of their own money in Wealthfront. So the question is why?

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take the risk assessment quiz, which only takes two to five minutes, and they'll show you for free exactly the portfolio they put you in. And if you just want to take their advice, run with it, do it yourself, you can do that. Or as I would, you can set it and forget it. And here's why the value of wealth front is in the automation of habits and strategies that investors should be using on a regular basis, but normally aren't. Great investing is a marathon, not a sprint and little things that you may or may not be familiar with, like automatic tax loss, harvesting, rebalancing your portfolio across more than 10 asset classes and dividend reinvestment add up to very large amounts of money over longer periods of time. Wealthfront, as I mentioned,

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SEC regulations, companies that invest your money are not allowed to use client testimonials. So I couldn't be a user and have them on the podcast, but I've been so impressed by Wealthfront that I've invested a significant amount of my own money, at least for me, in the team and the company itself. So I am an investor and hope to soon use it as a client. Now back to the recommendation. As a Tim Ferriss show listener, you'll get $15,000 managed for free if you decide to open an account, but just start with seeing the portfolio that they would suggest for you. Take two minutes, fill out their questionnaire at wealthfront.com forward slash Tim. It's fast. It's free. There's no downside that I can think of. Just take a look, see what

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