“Billionaires can’t take a week off? What’s the point of having a billion dollars if they have fewer options than I do?” –Tim Ferriss
In this episode of Deviate, Rolf and Tim discuss common travel fantasies, and the fears that keep people from traveling (5:00); how we can redefine what “wealth” is and live fuller lives (18:00); why keeping a healthy perspective on information intake, technology, and “efficiency” is important, both on the road and in daily life (25:00); the “beginner’s mind,” and tips for writing and creativity (54:00); the merits of going on foot and “getting lost” on the road, and how this figured into Rolf’s writing classes (1:17:00); notions of “success,” and how to definite the notion of success in a way that enhances one’s way of being in the world (1:37:00); and Rolf’s recommendations for drinks, food, documentaries, books, and poetry (1:50:00);
Tim Ferriss (@tferriss) is a best-selling author and podcaster.
General Links:
Paris Writing Workshops (Rolf’s summer writing classes)
Vagabonding, by Rolf Potts (audiobook)
The Game Camera (short film cowritten by Rolf and Kristen Bush)
Tim Ferriss on how to create a successful podcast (Deviate episode)
Arnold Schwarzenegger on The Tim Ferriss Show
LeBron James on The Tim Ferriss Show
Cheryl Strayed on The Tim Ferriss Show
Jerry Seinfeld on The Tim Ferriss Show
Tortuga (bags design for long-term travel)
Unbound Merino (travel clothing company)
AirTreks (round-the-world flight planner)
BootsnAll (online travel community)
Interview Links:
Van Life before #VanLife (Deviate episode)
Man bites dog (aphorism about journalism)
“War is God’s way of teaching Americans geography” (quote)
Beginner’s mind (attitude of openness)
Adaptation (2002 film)
Anne Lamott (American author)
Kurt Vonnegut (American author)
The Hero’s Adventure with Joseph Campbell (podcast remix)
Flâneur (urban wanderer)
Situationists (1960s social and artistic movement)
Psychogeography (exploration strategy)
Dave Chappelle (comedian)
John Hughes (filmmaker)
Rachel Kaadzi Ghansah (American essayist)
Grizzly Man (2005 documentary film)
Werner Herzog Reads Curious George (satire)
Con Air (1997 film)
Aimee Nezhukumatathil (poet)
Naomi Shihab Nye (poet)
Major Jackson (poet)
Donald Hall (poet)
Books mentioned:
Walden, by Henry David Thoreau (book)
The 4-Hour Work Week, by Tim Ferriss (book)
The Art of Nonfiction, by Ayn Rand (book)
Writing Tools, by Roy Peter Clark (book)
To Show and to Tell, by Phillip Lopate (book)
Screenplay, by Syd Field (book)
Story, by Robert McKee (book)
Save the Cat, by Blake Snyder (book)
A Moveable Feast, by Ernest Hemingway (book)
Leaves of Grass, by Walk Whitman (book)
Good Hope Road, by Stuart Dischell (poetry)
Alien vs. Predator, by Michael Robbins (poetry)
The Deviate theme music comes from the title track of Cedar Van Tassel’s 2017 album Lumber.
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