Tools of Titans

by Timothy Ferriss

  Go-To Multivitamin

  The whole-food based Nutriforce WODPak (Nutriforce Sports).

  One Tactic for Chronic Pain—Use a Close Cousin of the Movement That Injured You

  “Movement and pain get mapped. If you experience pain during a given movement for a month, for instance, it’s a chronic pain condition. Your brain starts to map the pain pathway with the movement motor pathway and those become conjoined. The brain starts to remember the movement that created pain (got you injured), and even if there is no trauma, every time you move that particular way, you still get the pain sensation. So, one of the ways that we’re able to help people get out of chronic pain is to give them a new motor program (e.g., don’t squat with your knees in).”

  Go “Zero Drop” for Your Kids

  Get your kids (and yourself) flat “zero drop” shoes, where the toes and heel are an equal distance from the ground. I wear Vans for this reason, my favorite model being Vans Classic Slip-On skate shoe (unisex, gum sole) in black. These can be used for hiking in a pinch, or worn to a business meeting when traveling light. Kelly elaborates on the rationale of zero drop: “Don’t systematically shorten your kids’ heel cords (Achilles) with bad shoes. It results in crappy ankle range of motion in the future. Get your kids Vans, Chuck Taylors, or similar shoes. Have them in flat shoes or barefoot as much as possible.”

  * * *

  * Almond, Christopher SD, Andrew Y. Shin, Elizabeth B. Fortescue, Rebekah C. Mannix, David Wypij, Bryce A. Binstadt, Christine N. Duncan et al. “Hyponatremia among runners in the Boston Marathon.” New England Journal of Medicine 352, no. 15 (2005): 1550–1556.

  “When you make it, the job gets harder.”

  Spirit animal: Lion

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  Paul Levesque (Triple H)

  Paul Levesque, more popularly known as Triple H (TW/FB/IG: @TripleH), is a 14-time world champion in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). He is also the Executive Vice President of talent, live events, and creative at the WWE.

  Behind the Scenes

  Paul has three kids, and business and family duties run late. He typically trains in the gym between 10 p.m. and 1 a.m. with Joe DeFranco, who appeared in The 4-Hour Body in the “Hacking the NFL Combine” section. Paul wakes up at ~6 a.m. and starts it all over again. One of his common warmup movements is an unweighted version of Cossack squats (page 87).

  * * *

  “Kids don’t do what you say. They do what they see. How you live your life is their example.”

  * * *

  The Keto “Frappuccino”

  He often works with bodybuilder Dave “Jumbo” Palumbo on diet in preparation for WrestleMania, WWE’s largest event of the year (more than 100,000 live attendees in 2016). Dave has Paul follow the ketogenic diet, and Paul has developed a healthy “frappuccino” that suits his needs:

  “I use [Palumbo’s] protein powder, by Species Nutrition. Every morning, I roll downstairs and: 2 scoops of whey protein [Isolyze], ice, a bunch of powdered Starbucks coffee, some macadamia nut oil, and I make a shake. That’s the start.”

  Overcoming Jet Lag

  During his peak travel period, Paul traveled 260+ days per year, performing in a different city each night. Here is one of his rules:

  “When I landed, I would check into the hotel. The second we checked in, I’d ask them: ‘Is the gym open? Can I go train?’ Even if it was to get on a bike and ride for 15 minutes to reset things. I learned early that it seemed any time I did that, I didn’t get jet lag.”

  TF: This absolutely seems to work, even if done at 1 a.m. and for 3 to 5 minutes. I don’t know the physiological mechanism, but I use it.

  Is That a Dream or a Goal?

  “[Evander Holyfield] said that his coach at one point told him, something like his very first day, ‘You could be the next Muhammad Ali. Do you wanna do that?’ Evander said he had to ask his mom. He went home, he came back and said, ‘I wanna do that.’ The coach said, ‘Okay. Is that a dream or a goal? Because there’s a difference.’

  “I’d never heard it said that way, but it stuck with me. So much so that I’ve said it to my kid now: ‘Is that a dream, or a goal? Because a dream is something you fantasize about that will probably never happen. A goal is something you set a plan for, work toward, and achieve. I always looked at my stuff that way. The people who were successful models to me were people who had structured goals and then put a plan in place to get to those things. I think that’s what impressed me about Arnold [Schwarzenegger]. It’s what impressed me about my father-in-law [Vince McMahon].”

  Worrying About It Now Isn’t Going to Change a Damn Thing

  “I’m friends with Floyd Mayweather, and I was walking him to the ring one time, I think when he fought Marquez. I wanted to watch some of the undercard, and we got there early. Then his guys came and got me and said, ‘Floyd just wanted to say hi before he starts getting ready, chat with you for a few minutes.’ So Steph—my wife—and I went backstage, we get in his locker room, and he’s lying down on the couch watching a basketball game. He said, ‘Hi, have a seat.’ We’re talking a little bit, but I’m trying to be ultra-respectful of him. He’s about to go into this massive fight.

  “The second there’s a lull in the conversation, I say, ‘All right, man. We’re gonna get outta your hair and head back, and we’ll come back here when it’s time for us to get ready for your deal.’ And he’s like, ‘Man, you don’t gotta take off. You can sit down. I’m enjoying the conversation.’ He’s completely relaxed.

  “So at another lull in the conversation, I say, ‘We’re gonna run, Floyd. I don’t wanna be in your way,’ and he says, ‘Hunter, I’m telling you: I’m just chilling, watching the game.’ I said, ‘You’re not wound up about this at all?’ and he goes, ‘Why would I be wound up? I’m either ready or I’m not. Worrying about it right now ain’t gonna change a damn thing. Right? Whatever’s gonna happen is gonna happen. I’ve either done everything I can to be ready for this, or I haven’t.’”

  TF: Whitney Cummings (page 477) told me something similar, on big standup specials: “My work isn’t done tonight. My work was done 3 months ago, and I just have to show up.”

  One Lesson from His Early Mentor, Killer Kowalski

  “There are a lot of things that he said to me then that I find myself telling the young guys now. . . . For example, if you don’t do something well, don’t do it unless you want to spend the time to improve it. Still, to this day, I see a lot of guys do stuff in the ring and think, ‘He doesn’t do that well, but he does it all the time.’ You shouldn’t do that.”

  TF: This led me to ask myself, usually during my quarterly 80/20 reviews of stress points, etc., “What am I continuing to do myself that I’m not good at?” Improve it, eliminate it, or delegate it.

  “I’ve learned an important trick: To develop foresight, you need to practice hindsight.”

  “The opposite of play isn’t work. It’s depression.”

  Spirit animal: Coconut octopus

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  Jane McGonigal

  Jane McGonigal, PhD (TW: @avantgame, janemcgonigal.com), is a research affiliate 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 10 million times.

  Tetris as Therapy

  Have trouble getting to sleep? Try 10 minutes of Tetris. Recent research has demonstrated that Tetris—or Candy Crush Saga or Bejeweled—can help overwrite negative visualization, which has applications for addiction (such as overeating), preventing PTSD, and, in my case, onset insomnia. As Jane explains, due to the visually intensive, problem-solving characteristics of these
games:

  “You see visual flashbacks [e.g., the blocks falling or the pieces swapping]. They occupy the visual processing center of your brain so that you cannot imagine the thing that you’re craving [or obsessing over, which are also highly visual]. This effect can last 3 or 4 hours. It also turns out that if you play Tetris after witnessing a traumatic event [ideally within 6 hours, but it’s been demonstrated at 24 hours], it prevents flashbacks and lowers symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder.”

  Little-Known Fact

  I’ve interviewed two people who have identical twins: Jane McGonigal and Caroline Paul (page 459). Both have experienced real-time “spooky action at a distance”: feeling or perceiving what their twin is experiencing.

  ✸ Recommended documentaries

  G4M3RS: A Documentary (can be found for free on YouTube)

  The King of Kong

  TF: The latter is also one of Kevin Kelly’s (page 470) favorite documentaries of all time.

  ✸ Most-gifted or recommended books

  Finite and Infinite Games by James Carse

  Suffering Is Optional by Cheri Huber

  TF: Cheri also has a podcast, Open Air.

  ✸ Best recent purchase of under $100?

  BabyBjörn baby carrier.

  ✸ Do you have any quotes that you live your life by or think of often?

  “‘Any useful statement about the future should at first seem ridiculous’ by Jim Dator. Also, ‘When it comes to the future, it’s far more important to be imaginative than to be right’ by Alvin Toffler. Both are famous futurists. These quotes remind me that world-changing ideas will seem absurd to most people, and that the most useful work I can be doing is to push the envelope of what is considered possible. If what I’m doing sounds reasonable to most people, then I’m not working in a space that is creative and innovative enough!”

  ✸ What is something you believe that other people think is crazy?

  “That you should never publicly criticize anyone or anything unless it is a matter of morals or ethics. Anything negative you say could at the very least ruin someone’s day, or worse, break someone’s heart, or simply change someone from being a future ally of yours to someone who will never forget that you were unkind or unfairly critical. It’s so common today to complain or criticize others’ work on social media, or dogpile on someone for a perceived offense. I won’t do it. It’s not my job to be the world’s critic, and I’d rather not rule out any future allies.”

  Spirit animal: Silver fox

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  Adam Gazzaley

  Dr. Adam Gazzaley (FB/TW: @adamgazz, neuroscape.ucsf.edu) earned his MD and a PhD in Neuroscience at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York, then did postdoctoral training in cognitive neuroscience at UC Berkeley. He is now the director of the Gazzaley Lab at UC San Francisco, a cognitive neuroscience laboratory.

  Dr. Gazzaley is co-founder and chief science advisor of Akili Interactive, a company developing therapeutic video games, and is also a cofounder and chief scientist of JAZZ Venture Partners, a venture capital firm investing in experiential technology to improve human performance. Additionally, he is a scientific advisor to more than a dozen technology companies, including Apple, GE, Magic Leap, and Nielsen.

  Behind the Scenes

  Adam has a bet over virtual reality with Kevin Rose (page 340). Adam is bullish and Kevin is bearish. The prize: a bottle of 25-year-old Suntory Hibiki whisky, which you have to fly to Japan to track down. They’d go and drink it together, so, as Kevin put it, it’s a win-win bet.

  Humans Use Only 10% of Their Brains? Not Quite . . .

  “The most complex structure in the entire universe doesn’t have just a vacant parking lot waiting for someone to drive in and start building. It’s all used all the time, and in complex ways that we don’t always understand.”

  How He Hires for Coveted Spots in His Lab

  “I don’t really have a tight methodology for how I do that. A lot of it is that connection you get with someone when they’re talking about what they do, what excites them. That’s usually where I start: ‘What do you think about that really gets you excited?’ Because I’m more interested in what drives someone and motivates them and makes them want to get out of bed in the morning than a list of classic résumé check-boxes.”

  All Work and No Play Makes Jack a Dull Boy

  Since 2008, Adam has hosted a party for diverse friends of his (usually 40 to 80 people) the first Friday of every month, called First Friday. He has vetted every type of alcohol imaginable for these events, and his current favorite is rye whiskey. His recommendation in our conversation was Whistle Pig rye.

  “Ryes are an interesting whiskey because they really were the dominant form of American whiskey pre-Prohibition, because the industry was more northern—Pennsylvania, Vermont, New York, etc.—where rye did really well. And then, with Prohibition and the move south with corn, bourbon exploded, which is still, by far, dominant. But rye is coming back, and I love it.”

  ✸ Favorite documentary

  Carl Sagan’s Cosmos series inspired Adam to become a scientist, which is true for many of the top-tier scientists I’ve met and interviewed. [TF: Neil deGrasse Tyson has a revised version of Cosmos that is also spectacular.]

  “It was a really powerful, friendly way of being introduced to the complexities and wonders that were gripping to me as a kid. I watched it with my dad. It was great bonding for us. The way [Sagan] delivered it was just captivating, and it was really what sealed the deal for me that I wanted to be a scientist.”

  ✸ Advice to your 30-year-old self?

  “I would say to have no fear. I mean, you’ve got one chance here to do amazing things, and being afraid of being wrong or making a mistake or fumbling is just not how you do something of impact. You just have to be fearless.”

  As context, Adam said the following earlier in our conversation: “I want to do fundamental breakthroughs, if possible. If you have that mindset, if that’s how you challenge yourself, that that’s what you want to do with your life, with your small amount of time that you have here to make a difference, then the only way to do it is to do the type of research that other people would think of as risky or even foolhardy. That’s just part of the game.”

  5 Tools for Faster and Better Sleep

  As a former lifelong insomniac, I’ve tried everything to fall asleep faster and remain asleep longer.

  Here are five tricks that work. I deliberately omitted melatonin and prescription medications, which I don’t use unless adjusting to large time zone differences. I use the following in the order listed, starting 60 to 90 minutes before bed. Omit what you don’t like and try what you do.

  (Optional) If I Have a Partner with Me, Acro Basing

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  I’ll put them in Folded Leaf and base them for a few minutes (detailed on page 55). After a day of sitting, this will push the head of my femur back to where it should be in the hip. This isn’t undone by the next step.

  Decompress the Spine

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  I learned daily decompression from Jerzy Gregorek, a 60-something-year-old emigré from Poland and world record holder in Olympic weight lifting. He also wrote The Happy Body, which contains the morning mobility work that both Naval Ravikant (page 546, who introduced us) and I do on a near-daily basis. Jerzy considers hanging upside down mandatory after load-bearing training sessions. Keep in mind that Jerzy, at around 135 pounds body weight, can still throw hundreds of pounds overhead and land in a perfect ass-to-heels snatch position. Take off a little weight, and he can do the same on a wobble board (Indo Board). He’s unapologetically and refreshingly no-bullshit. Before my first training session with him, we sat down to have tea (he only drinks Mariage Frères Marco Polo black tea) and discuss goals. Midway through, he narrowed his eyes and looked me over. He reached across the table, pinched my tit, and announced, “You’re too fat.” My kinda guy.

  Below are
three options, listed in increasing order of safety. My protocol for any of them is 2 to 3 sets of 5 to 7 seconds and no more:

  Teeter EZ-Up Gravity Boots: This is my default and I often hold onto weights (20 to 50 pounds) to increase traction, but gravity boots can be fatal if misused, as you’ll fall on your neck. Do us all a favor and don’t die. Definitely skip this if you can’t easily do a strict pull-up or touch your toes with straight legs.

  Inversion table: I don’t use one myself, but several Special Operations friends swear by daily use. These are advertised on infomercials and are infinitely less likely to kill you than gravity boots.

  The Lynx Portable Back Stretcher or Teeter P3 Back Stretcher: This is a portable gadget roughly the size of a large camera tripod. I use this several times a week, when it’s too much hassle (after a late dinner) or risk (after booze) to hang upside down in gravity boots. It allows you to lock in your ankles, lie down, and use a dip-like movement to unlock lower back tightness. This is the fastest of the three options, but it doesn’t allow you to relax your upper (thoracic/cervical) back. If you have a human with you, the “Leg Love” on page 56 is a great substitute.