Top 100 Tim Ferriss Quotes
#1. I'm not a big believer in long-term planning and far-off goals. In fact, I generally set 3-month and 6-month dreamlines. The variables change too much and in-the-future distance becomes an excuse for postponing action.
Tim Ferriss
#2. I value self-discipline, but creating systems that make it next to impossible to misbehave is more reliable than self-control.
Tim Ferriss
#3. One can steal ideas, but no one can steal execution or passion.
Tim Ferriss
#4. The best way to improve mental performance, is to improve physical performance
Tim Ferriss
#5. You can lose money and make it back, you can't do that with time.
Tim Ferriss
#6. There are two types of mistakes: mistakes of ambition and mistakes of sloth.
Tim Ferriss
#7. Compile your to-do list for tomorrow no later than this evening.
Tim Ferriss
#8. Being called a huckster and a charlatan started several years ago, so that's something I'm accustomed to. In most cases, it doesn't bother me.
Tim Ferriss
#10. Just a few words on time management: forget all about it.
Tim Ferriss
#11. The way that you become world-class is ... by asking good questions.
Tim Ferriss
#12. Changing the world doesn't require much money. Again, think in terms of empowerment and not charity. How much were Gandhi's teachers paid? How much did it cost to give Dr. Martin Luther King the books that catalyzed his mind and actions?
Tim Ferriss
#13. Personally, I now aim for one month of overseas relocation or high-intensity learning (tango, fighting, whatever) for every two months of work projects.
Tim Ferriss
#14. Think big and don't listen to people who tell you it can't be done. Life's too short to think small.
Tim Ferriss
#15. The bottom line is that you only have the rights you fight for.
Tim Ferriss
#16. Doing the unrealistic is easier than doing the realistic.
Tim Ferriss
#17. There are no statues erected to critics.
Tim Ferriss
#18. With a decrease in the number of pirates, there has been an increase in global warming over the same period. Therefore, global warming is caused by a lack of pirates. Even more compelling: Somalia has the highest number of Pirates AND the lowest Carbon emissions of any country. Coincidence?
Tim Ferriss
#19. I'm not averse to making a lot of money. But where does that end? I hang out with people with hundreds of millions of dollars. Is that the standard by which I should measure myself? Where does that take you if you're in my business? I think it takes you to pretty dark, corrupt places.
Tim Ferriss
#21. $1,000,000 in the bank isn't the fantasy. The fantasy is the lifestyle of complete freedom it supposedly allows.
Tim Ferriss
#22. Just because you are embarrassed to admit that you're still living the consequences of bad decisions made 5, 10, 20 years ago shouldn't stop you from making good decisions now. If you let pride stop you, you will hate life 5, 10, and 20 years from now for the same reasons.
Tim Ferriss
#23. The best entrepreneurs I've ever met are all good communicators. It's perhaps one of the very few unifying factors.
Tim Ferriss
#24. Slow down and remember this: Most things make no difference.
Tim Ferriss
#25. The only rules and limits are those we set for ourselves
Tim Ferriss
#26. Three ingredients of luxury lifestyle design are time, income, and mobility.
Tim Ferriss
#27. Writing is thought crystalized on a piece of paper, which can then be reviewed.
Tim Ferriss
#29. Fear is your friend. It is an indicator. Sometimes it shows you what you shouldn't do, more often than not it shows you what you should do.
Tim Ferriss
#30. If you take a strong stance and have a clear opinion or statement on any subject online, you're going to polarize people. And without that polarity, there's no discussion. Discussion is what I want, which means that I'm fine with the consequences.
Tim Ferriss
#31. For uncommon solutions, you have to look in uncommon places.
Tim Ferriss
#32. To have an uncommon lifestyle, you need to develop the uncommon habit of making decisions, both for yourself and for others.
Tim Ferriss
#33. I've seen the promised land, and there is good news. You can have it all.
Tim Ferriss
#34. Creating demand is hard. Filling demand is easier. Don't create a product, then seek someone to sell it to. Find a market - define your customers - then find or develop a product for them.
Tim Ferriss
#35. I take notes like some people take drugs ...
Tim Ferriss
#36. It isn't enough to think outside the box. Thinking is passive. Get used to acting outside the box.
Tim Ferriss
#37. Being selective-doing less-is the path of the productive. Focus on the important few and ignore the rest.
Tim Ferriss
#38. Effectiveness is doing the things that get you closer to your goals. Efficiency is performing a given task (whether important or not) in the most economical manner possible. Being efficient without regard to effectiveness is the default mode of the universe.
Tim Ferriss
#39. Pacifists become militants. Freedom fighters become tyrants. Blessings become curses. Help becomes hindrance. More becomes less.
Tim Ferriss
#40. Focus on impact, not approval. If you believe you can change the world, which I hope you do, do what you believe is right and expect resistance and expect attackers. Keep calm and carry on!
Tim Ferriss
#41. The goal is not to simply eliminate the bad, which does nothing more than leave you with a vacuum, but to pursue and experience the best in the world.
Tim Ferriss
#42. Personal branding is about managing your name - even if you don't own a business - in a world of misinformation, disinformation, and semi-permanent Google records. Going on a date? Chances are that your "blind" date has Googled your name. Going to a job interview? Ditto.
Tim Ferriss
#43. The key to having more time is doing less, and there are two paths to get there, both of which should be used together: (1) Define a short to-do list and (2) define a not-to-do list.
Tim Ferriss
#44. For the employee, the goal is to have full access to necessary information and as much independent decision-making ability as possible. For the entrepreneur, the goal is to grant as much information and independent decision-making ability to employees or contractors as possible.
Tim Ferriss
#45. Most people can do absolutely awe-inspiring things. Sometimes they just need a little nudge.
Tim Ferriss
#46. Companies that start by redesigning the economics of an industry often finish by redesigning the whole industry-and owning it.
Tim Ferriss
#47. Learn the art of the pitch and of messaging.
Tim Ferriss
#48. Awareness, even at a subconscious level, beats fancy checklists without it, track or you will fail.
Tim Ferriss
#49. An entrepreneur isn't someone who owns a business, it's someone who makes things happen.
Tim Ferriss
#50. People who avoid all criticism fail. It's destructive criticism we need to avoid, not criticism in all forms.
Tim Ferriss
#51. I think time management as a label encourages people to view each 24-hour period as a slot in which they should pack as much as possible.
Tim Ferriss
#52. Just because something has been a lot of work or consumed a lot of time doesn't make it productive or worthwhile.
Tim Ferriss
#53. People are smarter than you think. Give them a chance to prove themselves.
Tim Ferriss
#54. Doing less is not being lazy. Don't give in to a culture that values personal sacrifice over personal productivity.
Timothy Ferriss
#55. Which 20% of sources are causing 80% of my problems and unhappiness? Which 20% of sources are resulting in 80% of my desired outcomes and happiness?
Tim Ferriss
#56. You and your friends could plan the trip of a lifetime in 6-18 months to visit the completed school, teeming with dozens or hundreds of students who greet you with smiles and thank you letters. You'll know it's your school because your names will be on the door.
Tim Ferriss
#57. Get good at being a troublemaker and saying sorry when you really screw up
Tim Ferriss
#58. It's not enough to have the right answers. You have to have the right questions.
Tim Ferriss
#59. If you don't have time, the truth is, you don't have priorities. Think harder; don't work harder.
Tim Ferriss
#60. I encourage active skepticism - when people are being skeptical because they're trying to identify the best course of action. They're trying to identify the next step for themselves or other people.
Tim Ferriss
#61. Lacking an external focus, the mind turns inward on itself and creates problems to solve, even if the problems are undefined or unimportant. If you find a focus, an ambitious goal that seems impossible and forces you to grow, these doubts disappear.
Tim Ferriss
#62. What do you want?' is too imprecise to produce a meaningful and actionable answer.
Tim Ferriss
#63. Slowing down doesn't mean accomplishing less; it means cutting out counterproductive distractions and the perception of being rushed.
Tim Ferriss
#64. Information is useless if it is not applied to something important or if you will forget it before you have a chance to apply it.
Tim Ferriss
#65. Reality is negotiable. Outside of science and law, all rules can be bent or broken, and it doesn't require being unethical.
Tim Ferriss
#66. Role models who push us to exceed our limits, physical training that removes our spare tires, and risks that expand our sphere of comfortable action are all examples of eustress - stress that is healthful and the stimulus for growth.
Tim Ferriss
#67. I have plenty of money to do what I want to do, and I have the relationships.
Tim Ferriss
#68. Massive elimination is the most important step and the most neglected step for entrepreneurs.
Tim Ferriss
#69. The commonsense rules of the "real world" are a fragile collection of socially reinforced illusions.
Tim Ferriss
#71. By working only when you are most effective, life is both more productive and more enjoyable. It's the perfect example of having your cake and eating it, too.
Tim Ferriss
#72. Language learning deserves special mention. It is, bar none, the best thing you can do to hone clear thinking.
Tim Ferriss
#73. The downstream effects are unknown. Do your best and hope for the best. If you're improving the world-however you define that-consider your job well done.
Tim Ferriss
#74. Resolve to do one thing every day that you fear.
Tim Ferriss
#75. Money is multiplied in practical value depending on the number of W's you control in your life: what you do, when you do it, where you do it, and with whom you do it. I call this the freedom multiplier.
Tim Ferriss
#76. Short, sweet, and to the point. Clear writing, and therefore clear commands, comes from clear thinking. Think simple.
Tim Ferriss
#77. As the author Tim Ferriss once wrote: "Develop the habit of letting small bad things happen. If you don't, you'll never find time for the life-changing big things.
Cal Newport
#78. Every time I find myself stressed out, it's because I do things primarily driven by growth.
Tim Ferriss
#79. If we define risk as 'the likelihood of an irreversible negative outcome,' inaction is the greatest risk of all.
Tim Ferriss
#80. Dreamlining is so named because it applies timelines to what most would consider dreams.
Tim Ferriss
#81. The problem with New Year's resolutions - and resolutions to 'get in better shape' in general, which are very amorphous - is that people try to adopt too many behavioral changes at once. It doesn't work. I don't care if you're a world-class CEO - you'll quit.
Tim Ferriss
#82. Are you better off than you were one year ago, one month ago, or one week ago? If not, things will not improve by themselves.
Tim Ferriss
#83. Luxury is feeling unrushed. It is designing a life that allows you to do what you want with high leverage, with many options, all while feeling unrushed.
Tim Ferriss
#84. Happiness can be bought with a bottle of wine and has become ambiguous through overuse.
Tim Ferriss
#85. There are two components that are fundamental to enjoy life and feel good about yourself: continual learning and service.
Tim Ferriss
#86. Everyone is going to binge on a diet, for instance, so plan for it, schedule it, and contain the damage.
Tim Ferriss
#87. Excitement is the more practical synonym for happiness, and it is precisely what you should strive to chase. It is the cure-all.
Tim Ferriss
#88. The most important actions are never comfortable.
Tim Ferriss
#89. I still feel there are much smarter self-promoters out there than me. I am very methodical about my messaging, and I know how to gain attention very quickly.
Tim Ferriss
#90. Tomorrow becomes never. No matter how small the task, take the first step now!
Tim Ferriss
#91. Fun things happen when you earn dollars, live on pesos, and compensate in rupees.
Tim Ferriss
#93. Be bold and don't worry about what people think. They don't do it that often anyway.
Tim Ferriss
#94. There is always more information than attention
Tim Ferriss
#95. Unbeknownst to most fun-loving bipeds, not all stress is bad. Indeed, the New Rich don't aim to eliminate all stress. Not in the least.
Tim Ferriss
#96. The first thing I would do for anyone who's trying to lose body fat, for instance, would be to remove foods from the house that he or she would consume during lapses of self-control.
Tim Ferriss
#97. Ninety-nine percent of people believe they can't do great things, so they aim for mediocrity.
Tim Ferriss
#98. If someone's criticism is completely unfounded on data, then I don't want to hear it. It doesn't hold up to scrutiny.
Tim Ferriss
#99. Most inputs are useless and time is wasted in proportion to the amount that is available.
Tim Ferriss
#100. There are tons of things in your home and life that you don't use, need, or even particularly want. They just came into your life as impulsive flotsam and jetsam and never found a good exit. Whether you're aware of it or not, this clutter creates indecision and distractions ...
Tim Ferriss
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