I’ve learned a ton from Tim Ferriss about exploiting life. A podcaster and author, Tim Ferriss has a way of cutting through the B.S. and getting down to what matters most.
And that’s a habit that will make you very successful (and probably rich, too).
Here are 12 life-changing quotes by Tim Ferriss that’ll change how you live.
1: “Focus on being productive instead of busy”
Being busy doesn’t mean you’re being productive. Ever heard of the phrase “Going nowhere fast”? That phrase hits directly at the meaning behind this Ferriss quote. Never confuse being busy with being productive.
2: “The first book was turned down by 26 publishers”
Even the best authors get rejected. Michael Jordan, one of the best basketball players to ever play the game, was cut from his high school varsity team because he wasn’t good enough. Our setbacks only make us stronger.
3: “Emphasize strengths, don’t fix weaknesses”
Focus your energy on improving your strengths because our strengths are what pay the bills. Your time is better spent exploiting your strengths than fixing your weaknesses.
4: “The most important actions are never comfortable”
As I like to say, your comfort zone is where your dreams go to die. Success is rarely comfortable. In fact, it’s often the opposite. Success scares most of us. Makes us nervous. That’s okay. It means we are growing.
5: “The common sense rules of the ‘real world’ are a fragile collection of socially reinforced illusions”
Following the rules mean you’ll only be as successful as most normal people. I don’t know about you, but that’s not good enough for me. My expectations for myself are considerably higher, and that’s a very healthy perspective. Don’t follow society’s real-world rules.
6: “Being busy is most often used as a guise for avoiding the few critically important but uncomfortable actions”
Have you ever uttered, “I’m too busy to…” then fill in the blank. Maybe “go to the gym,” “eat healthily,” or “go back to school,” or any number of things you probably should be doing, but being “busy” (but not necessarily productive) is keeping you from those things.
7: “Lack of time is actually lack of priorities”
I like to say that you never lack time. We all have the same 24 hours a day. How we spend that time is 100% up to us. If it’s important enough to you, you’ll make time.
8: “Dedication is often just meaningless work in disguise”
This is tough to hear, but it aligns with moving nowhere fast. The fact is your direction is more important than your speed. It’s more important to do the right work slowly than the wrong work quickly.
9: “Get good at being a troublemaker and saying sorry when you really screw up”
Don’t be afraid to rock the boat. You don’t want to go overboard with this, but being a bit of a troublemaker isn’t a bad thing. It means you’re standing up for what you believe in. And you might just stumble into a huge opportunity you never knew existed.
10: “Whatever you feel you have been assigned in life, the hand you have been dealt genetically, is actually very, very malleable”
Where you start wasn’t your choice. Where you end up is. There are so many rags-to-riches stories worldwide to prove that it doesn’t matter where you start. Smart work can right the ship, regardless of how off-camber it happens to be.
11: “The best results in life are often held back by false constructs and untested assumptions”
What you assume to be true isn’t necessarily true. Never design your life around what you assume to be true because our assumptions aren’t always accurate. You might be surprised at how often the things we assume to be true are flat wrong.
12: “When everything and everyone is failing, what is the cost of a little experiment outside of the norm? Most often, nothing”
You lose nothing by trying something different when things aren’t going right. Staying the course, after all, only means more of the same. Changing course gives you the chance to improve your situation.
