Whether you’re looking to unlock the secrets of success, live a happy life, or just crush at Crossfit, then the bestselling ‘Tribe of Mentors’ from productivity guru Tim Ferris has some interesting answers…
** ‘Wisdom Is Supreme’ Terry Crews, Actor And Former NFL Star @terrycrews* Terry Crews followed a career in gridiron by storming Hollywood to stomp heads in The Expendables franchise and currently stars in sitcom Brooklyn Nine Nine.
‘There is a big difference between intelligence and wisdom. Many are fooled into thinking that they are the same thing, but they’re not. Intelligent human beings have been given this trumped up position in society where, just because they are intelligent, they are to be listened to and I have found this extremely dangerous. I was in a Christian cult along with other very intelligent people, but looking back if I had heeded wisdom I would have seen we were all on the wrong path.’
** ‘Suffering Is The Greatest Teacher I Have Ever Had’ Kyle Maynard, Author, MMA Athlete And Quadruple Amputee @kylemaynard** The man Arnold Schwarzenegger calls a ‘champion human’ was born with arms that end at the elbows, and legs that end at the knees. He has become a champion wrestler, Crossfit Certified Instructor and MMA athlete. He is also first quadruple amputee to have climbed to the top of both Mt Kilimanjaro and Mt Aconcagua without prosthetics.
‘I think that suffering is probably the most absurd thing I that I love. Suffering is the greatest teacher I have ever had. Feeling different to the other kids because I was born without arms or legs, being pancaked by bigger kids in football, having my nose broken through the states and nationals in wrestling, feeling freezing cold and physically broken on the side of a mountain, being nervous and wondering if I could make payroll at my gym – they weren’t always fun at the time but they are some of my favourite moments.’
It’s not how well you play the game – it’s deciding what game you want to play
** ‘Separate Striving From Strategy’ Graham Duncan, Co-Founder of East Rock Capital** Graham Duncan’s East Rock Capital manages $2 billion for a group of families and their charitable foundations, while being a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and serving as co-chair of the Sohn Conference Foundation, which has a role funding pediatric cancer research.
‘“It’s not how well you play the game, it’s deciding what game you want to play,” Kwame Appiah. This quotes separates striving from strategy and reminds me to take a macro view of what I am doing, like in a video game where you can zoom out and you suddenly see that you’ve been running around in one corner of the maze. It loosens someone’s relationship to the game too, helping to separate ambition from being ambitious, or accessing hustle without being a hustler.’
** ‘Have Something Every Day That Lights You Up’ Soman Chainani, Author @SomanChainani** Soman Chainani’s fiction series The School For Good And Evil has sold more than a million copies, after beginning his career as a screenwriter and director.
‘Make sure you have something every day you’re looking forward to. Maybe it’s your job, maybe it’s a basketball game after work or a voice lesson, or your writing group; maybe it’s a date. But have something every day that lights you up. It’ll keep your soul hungry to create more of these moments.’
** ‘The First No Is By Far The Easiest And Cleanest’ Dustin Moskovitz, Co-Founder of Facebook @moskov** After co-founding Facebook as CTO and then VP of engineering, Dustin Moskovitz went on to co-found Asana, the tool that helps to track your team’s work and manage projects.
‘The first ‘no’ is by far the easiest and cleanest. Declining a request is uncomfortable, so it’s tempting to equivocate, say you’ll hear someone out before deciding, or agree to a smaller version of the request… As soon as you open that door, however, you’ve almost always ensured at least one more request that you’ll have to accept or decline in the future. Worst still you’ve crossed a psychological barrier by establishing yourself to the asker as someone who is interested in the type of request being made.’
** ‘Sugar Is Toxic’ Lewis Cantley, Professor Of Cell Biology at Harvard** Lewis Cantley is a pioneering researcher who has made significant strides in the fight against cancer, and his research has resulted in treatments for cancer, diabetes and autoimmune diseases.
‘My message would be: “Sugar is toxic.” Sugar and other natural or artificial sweeteners are among the most addictive agents in our environment. When consumed in quantities that exceed the rate of metabolism, in muscle or the brain, sugar is converted into fat, resulting in insulin resistance, obesity, and an increased risk of many other diseases, including cancers.’
‘While consuming fats and proteins evokes a feeling of satiety, consuming sugars induces a desire for more sugar within an hour or so… sugar is available all year around and is one of the cheapest foods available. So we continually add fat to our bodies. We may be approaching a time when sugar is responsible for more early deaths in America than smoking.’
The key to self-sufficiency is breaking free of the mindset that someone will come to your rescue
** ‘No One Owes You Anything’ Amelia Boone’ Obstacle Course Racing World Champion* The so-called ‘Queen Of Pain’ is the only person to have won The World’s Toughest Mudder three times, and after 24 hours covering 90 miles and over 300 obstacles in the 2012 race she finished second – overall – out of a field of over 1,000 competitors, 80% of whom were men.
‘No one owes you anything. We live in a world rampant with entitlement, with many people believing that they deserve to be given more. My parents raised me to be self-sufficient, and impressed upon me that the only person you can really rely on in life is yourself. If you want something, you work for it… I believe that the key to self-sufficiency is breaking free of the mindset that someone, somewhere, owes you something or will come to your rescue.’
** ‘Would It Help?’ Andrew Ross Sorkin, Financial Columnist for The New York Times** Bestselling author and financial columnist Andrew Ross Sorkin also founder and is editor-at-large of DealBook, The New York Times’ online daily financial report.
‘Whenever I’m feeling like I need to prioritise what I’m doing or overthinking a particular situation that is making me anxious, I try to remember this great exchange in the film Bridge Of Spies. Tom Hanks, who plays a lawyer, asks his client, who is accused of being a spy: “Aren’t you worried?” His answer: “Would it help?” I always think: “Would it help?” That is the pivotal question I ask myself every day. If you put everything through that prism, it is a remarkably effective way to cut through the clutter.’
WHAT NEXT? Watch Tim Ferriss explain what [Tribe Of Mentors]](https://www.youtube.com/redirect?q=https%3A%2F%2Ftribeofmentors.com&redir_token=AXYzj-gyxF8XWHxwD62LWuv0niR8MTUzMjQ1NTY2MkAxNTMyMzY5MjYy&event=video_description&v=veRIlVdIuyI) is in less than 60 seconds…
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