Member-only story
This One Question Changed Tim Ferriss’s Life
When I asked myself the same question, it changed mine too
Tim Ferriss is a highly successful author, podcaster, entrepreneur and investor. He has written five #1 New York Times bestselling books, and the success of his podcast, which recently exceeded over 900 million downloads, has seen him named “The Oprah of audio” due to its influence.
In 2017, however, as he turned 40, several of his close friends died in quick succession. It was a harsh reminder that time is a non-renewable resource, and life’s big questions started bubbling to the surface.
- “Were my goals my own, or simply what I thought I should want?”
- “How could I best reassess my life, my priorities, and my place in the world?
- “How can I be kinder to myself?”
Overwhelmed by the gravity of his personal interrogation, he asked himself one more question.
“What would this look like if it were easy?”
Tim had previously convinced himself that if he wasn’t pushing boundaries, he wasn’t trying hard enough. But this question made him wonder: “What if I reframed things in terms of elegance instead of strain?”
