Tim Ferriss on Mastery: Start with End Game and Make Space for Creativity | Big Think
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- čas přidán 17. 12. 2016
- Tim Ferriss on Mastery: Start with End Game and Make Space for Creativity
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Amid all the powerhouse, brilliant minds Tim Ferriss has interviewed for his podcast and new book Tools of Titans, one idea kept springing up: creating empty space. A second concept, by contrast, came up only once, through conversations with Joshua Waitzkin, an American chess player who takes an ‘endgame’ approach to every pursuit he undertakes. Ferriss explains these two concepts in detail, why they’re so vital, and how they can be applied across many fields.
Tim Ferriss' most recent book is Tools of Titans: The Tactics, Routines, and Habits of Billionaires, Icons, and World-Class Performers.
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TIM FERRISS:
Tim Ferriss has been listed as one of Fast Company's “Most Innovative Business People," one of Forbes's “Names You Need to Know," and one of Fortune's “40 under 40." He is an early-stage technology investor/advisor (Uber, Facebook, Shopify, Duolingo, Alibaba, and 50+ others) and the author of three #1New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestsellers: The 4-Hour Workweek, The 4-Hour Body, and The 4-Hour Chef. The Observer and other media have called Tim “the Oprah of audio" due to the influence of The Tim Ferriss Show podcast, which has exceeded 90 million downloads and was selected for "Best of iTunes" in 2015. His latest book is Tools of Titans: The Tactics, Routines, and Habits of Billionaires, Icons, and World-Class Performers.
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TRANSCRIPT:
Tim Ferriss: One of the concepts that comes up over and over again with prolific creative minds that I've interviewed for the Tim Ferriss Show or for the book Tools of Titans is creating empty space. And one of the guests Josh Waitzkin, who never does any media, can I curse on this? He always texts me with profanity laden SMSs because I'm the only one who can pull him out of his cave to do media. But he is best known perhaps as the chest prodigy, and I'll explain why I put that in air quotes, besides how funny it looks on camera, that formed the basis or who formed the basis for Searching for Bobby Fischer, both the book and the movie. He was a very well known chess player and continues to be an incredible chess player. But he has applied his learning framework to more than chess. So he was a world champion in tai chi push hands, he was the first black belt in Brazilian jujitsu under the phenom probably the best of all time Marcelo Garcia, who trains in New York City and he's a nine-time world champion something like that. And he's now tackling paddle surfing and he can apply it to just about anything. He works with some of the top financial mines in the world, hedge fund managers and beyond, the best of the best; top one percent.
So, why? What are the principles that he shares? One of them is creating empty space, cultivating empty space as a way of life, and these are all tied together so I'll mention another one. Learning the macro from the micro and then beginning with the end in mind. And these all work together. So I'll explain in fact the last two first. Josh learned to play chess or I should say more accurately was coached by his first real coach in the opposite direction when compared to most training and most chess books. He was taught in reverse. What does that mean? He began with the end game and with very few pieces. So they cleared all the pieces off the board, instead of starting with openings, meaning what do you do first the first five to ten moves, he started with the ending game with king and pawn versus king. What does this do? Well this forces you to focus on principles like opposition, creating space, zugzwang, which is a principle of forcing your opponent to do anything that will destroy their position or anything they can possibly do will worsen their position. And these types of principles that you learn when there's an empty board with a few pieces accomplish a few things.
Number one, you are learning the macro, the principles that you can apply throughout the game of chess in almost any scenario through the micro, this end game situation. And these principles are adaptable. You become a machine that can bob and weave with the circumstances very effectively. Compared to that, as Josh...
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Anyone who tells you games are a waste of time give them a little smack please
@@jonathanjollimore7156 XD
I learned something similar for writing books. So, you also start with the end and then you let your characters tell how they ended up here. It's like a switch in your mind how to think about things.
Nice.
1. Have an end in mind at the beginning
2. Get back to what you enjoy doing most
3. Create slack time to learn uninterruptedly
'Learning How to Learn' is what everyone should be focusing on. Barbara Oakley has a great free Course on Coursera on this subject and she also has written a very beneficial book titled 'A Mind for Numbers' If I remember correctly. Tim always delivers valuable content.
what does she has to do with anything?
bruno3833 She delivers the same ideas in a more detailed way. She is an excellent resource to learn about effective learning.
bruno3833 She delivers the same ideas in a more detailed way. She is an excellent resource to learn about effective learning.
prisoneroftech Thank you for sharing that info. I'm going to go look her up. I really appreciate helpful comments.
Thank you @prisoneroftech for introducing Barbara Oakley and her course in course, I just came back to the video to send you a thank you note,cheers
When my dad taught me how to play chess, in the 1950s, he started with the end game, I.e., with just a queen and king against his lone king, and with other combination. In the 1950s.
i was taught in a similar way in the 1980s. and i have seen it more often. I have no idea how old it is. but it works
The strategic, goal pursuing mind of Tim Ferris reminds me of a Sith Lord.
He's just a genius. You guys are jelly.
INTJ ??
This video impacted my life in a great and positive way. Thank you for this. You are making a difference in the world.
Mark Dvoretzki, arguably the world's most recognized chess trainer, who sadly passed away last year, also set the focus on endgames when teaching chess.
Amen. As an artist, professionally and personally, I find my time under assault constantly.
"Me time" has to occur to allow for creation. Amen.
Thanks, man. Good to hear someone else say it too.
I learned that the "end game" also applies to writing books, mostly fiction. What is the ending? What is the plot building up to? I like to start here, then build the beginning, then put the middle together to connect the dots. This allows me to read the end of the story, go back to the beginning and add in some epic foreshadowing, then slowly build back up to the ending. Sadly I learned this over years upon years of research, so I had to rewrite my book several times, because when I read the original story again, I saw it was crap. .-.
Please provide this advice to George R. R. Martin. ...We are still waiting. lol
If you want to learn more about what he's talking about in regards to Josh Waitzkin I advise you to read Josh's book, The Art of Learning. He explains how he transferred his knowledge of learning chess into learning and mastering Jiu-jitsu. It's good, but I don't think you can transfer everything he says in every aspect of your life. Like everything, it has to be taken with a grain of salt. Maybe you can get an insight but trying to force the concepts from that book into everything, like startups (cause it's trendy and makes people want to buy my book) is wrong. Josh shares his experience and what you take out of it is up to you, but there's never a magic bullet that will make you happy and successful.
This is a beautiful video. The advice Mr. Ferriss gives is so succinct, immediately actionable and invaluable; t’s just breathtaking.
True. I've done this. Not on the calendar yet, but my natural laziness and self-satisfaction, helps me create creative time, in chunks. I'm self-employed, so that makes it easier. I'm a musician, and all of this applies.
This is probably the most value I've ever gotten out of a CZcams Video. Thank you do much!
Nikonas Davis What did you get? (Serious question.)
As soon as I saw the title of this video, I knew Josh Waitzkin would be mentioned. I highly recommend everybody pick up a copy of his book, "The Art of Learning".
It's just a shame that guys like this come along, grab a juicy idea from another book and market it like it's the holy grail of success.
Start with the end in mind, but once you get your feet wet the goal must be forgotten. Truly skillful mastery of anything requires giving up conscious attention, which is slow to react or adapt once it becomes focused on something, allowing one's subconscious to learn the dance without being constantly analyzed or second guessed by the clumsy conscious mind.
Your first sentence read like Eisenhower: “The Plan is Nothing, Planning is Everything.” The rest, however, misses something. You don’t give it up, instead, I believe you’re referring to practicing to a point that you can “flow.” Look at Sutherland’s discussion regarding Shu Ha Ri in his Scrum book in which the master is beyond the rules. Look also to Bader “Rules are for the Obedience of Fools and Guidance of Wise Men,” though here perhaps we should replace ‘fool’ with ‘novice.’ With forgetting the goal, you could also look to the difference in Complex as opposed to Complicated. In ordered systems, you can keep the goal. In Complex, you’re correct, directionality is more important than ends. Cynefin and Infinite Game should meet.
I loved those interviews with Josh. As Tim was talking my memory recalled different snippets like how Marcelo (?) was not concerned with his opponents watching him train before a competition. Also the importance of learning principles that can be applied to many domains. Interestingly I also recalled where I was when tuned in.
For more on the subject of learning how to learn I highly reccomend Josh Waitzkins own book: The Art of Learning
Great tips. I wish I could communicate more effectively like Tim, he’s got such a knack for it.
Great advice, thanks for this. really helpful and definitely going to start implementing the morning creative space.
Thank you for the alternative point of view. Awesome.
For the first part, being put in tough spaces in life will teach you some of this even if you don't want to learn that way, but it is a seemingly vital method. Most of us practice it and agree with it. Sometimes it's the only way to learn. Although it's not so nice to be taught that way without a fair warning.
This is very helpful advice. Although very general advice it's also very true and applies across the board. Have the end game in mind and make space for creativity
I play chess like this even before coming to this video because when playing against droidfish I realized I could trade but had trouble planning throughout the middle and endgame and would get crushed. but one day I said no more I will trap them so I started cutting off they're exit squares and playing solid defense next thing you know I'm doing OK not winning but OK so anyone watching this know this is a great philosophy kudos sir for sharing
Tim Ferriss is my favourite book salesmen. He makes books about what interests him and compiles the knowledge he "found" in a nice manageable book.
Love this thank you !
This is great advice!
awesome thoughts there. thanks a lot.
This is another essential video, well-explained and straight to the point. Thanks a ton for videos like this.. they truly help! :)
where were other videos?
Very SOUND and LIFECHANGING advice!! Thank you
Oh i needed this..
this man is truly amazing
amazing...The genius that is tim ferris
More of this sort of thing pls
Yes please
Nice talk.
This is not a new idea, but it's a good one and it remains relevant.
Someone please reply so I may confirm my understanding or redefine it. When Tim was talking about starting with the end game, that's essentially learning the basics with a complex idea? Such as by following the most complex recipe you learn other fundamental skills rather than just one or two when starting with a basic recipe?
great speech... I like the way Tim explains it.... but I like his books more...
Thank you
Thanks Tim 🙏
Effective ideas for novices, explained with captivating enough sophistry. I'll buying what Tim is selling!
Excellent
this is awesome
awesome!!
this channel is da bomb
welcome to basic game design
good talk... good talk
Time blocked out. Yes! Just because I’m present doesn’t mean I’m available. Interrrupting could wreck my thoughts as they’re a house of cards till set. Goes for reading, thinking, writing. Similar to my working out, have a home gym, doesn’t mean I’m “home.” Slack in the system, yes! But also not necessarily engaged time. Sid Meier’s A Memoir notes has creativity happened when he left for vacation. Stephen Budiansky’s Blackett’s War notes that at the Cavendish they closed early and intermingled socially which both got you away from problems and got you hearing heterogeneous crossings. Nimitz played tennis during the war; Marshall road horses. Creativity requires some focused time but also usually benefits from time away after the focused work time. Can’t always be on the clock.
I can attest to this, some of the first dishes I ever made were meringue pies from scratch including the crust and biscuits. Also learning out to read cookbooks, I can now cook anything. Also I worked for a startup that should have been "the next facebook" but it was ran by someone who had no real end goal in mind and was constantly changing things and finally the backers left.
Eggs were what I started with, great blank canvas, can cook in multiple fashions with many techniques and even when you screw up it's usually still edible. That was 12 years ago. Now I'm no chef but I can cook a nice variety of things and would say I have an adequate skill set in the kitchen for a home cook, certainly better off than my friends who can only put together those 5 recipes they pull from a book every year. Principles and concepts really matter so much, learn a couple basic principles and cooking really just becomes a question of connecting the dots.
your first example was great, your second one: not so much.
Damn now I just might get his book now.
"If ["slack in the system"] is not on your calendar, then it's not real. You need to put it there and defend it, just like you would anything else."
Words of advice on how to exist in a reality paradigm with external locus of control, and an unhealed-narcissistic conscious perception of self and reality.
Great plan. :/
Searching for Bobby Fischer is one of my favorite movies of all time
Good business plans begin with exit strategies.
To be fair, he's not the first chess GM to learn "backwards", JR Capablanca learned the endgame first. To this day, nearly every GM tries to be as good as Capablanca in liquidation and endgame technique.
What's with all the namedropping and "jokes"? Here's a recap without the sales talk:
1. Figure out the end situation of your process and how you wish for it to play out
2. Figure out the central principles that apply to that situation and apply them to the bigger picture by reverse-engineering the whole process
3. Remember to have at least one uninterrupted 3-5 hour block of time for creative work each week.
How this is supposed to be a formula for "mastery", I don't know. Robert Greene wrote a brilliant book about mastery, called "Mastery".
Thank you so much. I watched the first 3 minutes of the video and got little to none information on the main topic that was discussed. Thanks for TL/DW.
Ankhbayr Ts No problem... I think this was a sales pitch for Tim Ferriss more than anything. I'd say that kind of advice doesn't go very far unless he explains *how* to "learn the macro from the micro". Either that, or I'm just too dumb.
Right, how dare he joke? We need the strategies....NOW!!!!!! GIVE ME THE STRATEGIES SO I CAN BE HAPPY!!!!! STOP JOKING!!! DO YOU THINK THIS IS FUN OR A GAME?!...
+dnanidref1 Thanks for your satirical input. There's nothing wrong with joking of course - and I'm already happy, thank you - but for the whole duration of the video Ferriss is dropping stale jokes and big names *instead* of talking about the supposed subject of the video. So, I was merely commenting on the content of the video.
If you thought the clip was brilliant, good for you! If you will, please share how you applied these principles to real life? Apart from the last one, they seem a bit abstract to me. (Almost as if you need to buy a course from Tim Ferriss to have them broken down and explained...)
"Almost as if you need to buy a course from Tim Ferriss to have them broken down and explained".
I see this almost everywhere now. Vague content that plays to your emotions with a click-bait title which ends with a link to signing up to an exclusive program that is conveniently on sale for a limited period.
We should note that endgame in mind or backward planning works great for ordered situations. Such is obvious in the Clear hence you don’t need to consciously look to the end while such is critical to planning in the Complicated. But in the Complex, such doesn’t work so well. Better instead to look to more positive adjacent possibles moving toward more acceptable while realizing there are many possible good “ends” that can be had though likely you won’t get to a specified “best” endgame. Need to combine Snowden’s Cynefin here with Sinek’s Infinite Game. Micro to Macro is great though not everything scales up nor is everything fractal. In the case of national economies, we see micro never builds to macro while applying lessons and concepts of micro actually wrecks macro - see Keynes and Krugman. Endgame in mind tends to get you working sequentially or serially though sometimes you need to be looking at multiple parallels. Consider how we look to risk mitigation though apply such to both risk and opportunity (recognizing means limits may restrict you from chasing too many opportunities though you can still learn from seeing various potentials potentially enabling a change in focus/effort). In this, you could still say risk mitigation is still somewhat end in mind as you’re looking to multiple possible ends while trying to reduce certain chances and/or blunt effects should they occur.
Another thought here: hearing a lot of uses by successful persons yet these ideas won’t guarantee success. Plenty of failed efforts came from persons also aware of and using these techniques. We should be studying those who failed too not just looking to those who succeeded. Veritasium Role of Luck has a good talk here. So does Snowden regarding mere statistical chances with various market spaces having voids that will be filled by some “successes” while others fail simply for inadequate space in the market.
Pretty interesting! :)
I think that way of teaching chess isn't way off than what most teachers would use. What happens is that it isolates more the logic elements, with less pieces, less problems to consider. Focus on the more basic, intrinsic patterns, rather than larger, contextual, patterns of openings and mid-game. I guess most chess instructors don't teach much of chess openings until the student is quite proficient already. But I guess it makes for a better story to say one has learnt in a different, special way.
How can i apply these principles to master mathematics?
Kool thnx
Whether it's true or not i'd like to try implementing these and see for myself. Any music producers thought about how to start from the endgame and work backwards? Start from the mastering phase?? Or maybe practice arranging first before starting from a blank slate.
Would this translate? In the Chess case, starting at the endgame really means you’re starting small and building up. Yes, you’re building backwards, but you’re also small to big. In the Chess case, you’re also building pattern recognition which is different than creating new patterns. I don’t know music, do these apply? If so, it certainly isn’t from starting at mastery. Does “mastering phase” have a different meaning? Is your last sentence a statement or question? It reads more like small to big. Another thought here, Chess is closed. Music is open. What’s the impact in that?
golf is a great analogy
GET ON WITH IT
I had to use captions to figure out "Zugzwang" :) not quite the way we would pronounce it here in Germany.
THIS IS TRUTH ‼️
Love u tim❤️🇮🇳
Excellent video. “BUT.” - Tim Ferriss
There's a lot of wisdom in this. Look at how many great philosophers did their work in isolation, and praised it; Nietzsche, Marx, Seneca, Schopenhauer... You need to find a home within yourself, and defend it.
Is the micro-to-macro model another way of saying induction? As in you sort of build an over arching concept/structure out of the details
That's the concept.
emptyskullify Not quite... Understanding the micro/macro model involves making distinctions between the elements that operate on a smaller level and those that work on the larger level (and also understanding how those elements are interrelated). Or in other words, to distinguish between the details and the overarching concept/structure (as you put it). To "see the forest for the trees" but while still being able to see the trees.
Let's use preparing for a marathon as an example. The micro would entail proper breathing technique and proper running form. The macro would entail pacing strategies and other forms of preparation like dieting and a workout schedule. In understanding these different elements, you'll reach a point of understanding: "Oh. Breathing correctly is important because it will more easily allow me to sustain a certain pace throughout the entire marathon." You achieve understanding by clearly understanding the distinct elements and making the connections.
Induction is a form of reasoning that derives larger assumptions from already given premises (building an overarching concept out of the details as you say)--to make predictions based off of info that is generally true and already known. Induction would say: "You know, if you diet this way and work out this way, you might be able to win the marathon."
Micro/macro is a tool to understand the system. Induction is a tool to arrive at a certain end.
Know the rules, play the game.
It appears rather that time in relation to position is the takeaway so as to say the early “moves” are not guided by early outcome formulas that are unlikely scripted as such at advanced levels of play.
If anyone understands this concept well can you explain how it can be applied to learning a new coding language?
I'm not an expert on coding but maybe start with debugging code written by other people who know what they are doing. I imagine it would force you to understand the principles of what works and what doesn't work in the end, thereby also giving you a good understanding of how to get there.
Subtitling errors:
0:35 chest = chess
1:17 mines = minds
9:45 not = naught
what were the titles of all the books referenced in this video? for example, "for our body" etc.
TheTraverser Four Hour Body
I know a guy that tried this technique. He was going to become a chef . He would shit his pants all the time. "End game"
I will love to hear that bjj concepts from josh
I know what TF says has to be taken with a grain of salt. That being said, he is hitting on how DoD thinks about strategic planning. Begin with the endstate in mind. I'm also not saying that is the best way, it is just a way.
"marcelo garcia´s first black belt".....you got my attention
okay for one thing stay on point and finish the thought before you go into the next one because you keep bouncing around from point-to-point without finishing the last point before you go to the next point
ehtlentils you are consuming in the morning are also..wait for it...CARBS which will prevent you from going into ketosis. and as you know the body does not and cannot burn fat until it burns off all carbohydrate stores... which it cannot do if you are feeding it lentils every morning. Some biochemistry and cell biology would have been a good background to have.
Ya that's a good recipe for anxiety
Love how the bog standard way of teaching chess is presented as revolutionary and new. Also love how that method is generalized to other areas. Especially when Chess is all about how the particulars trump the general in every case. I guess it it is all in he buzzwords.
yayyyy development group..
can anyone give me some names of great books that can help with productivity?
The ONE Thing book by David Keller and Jay Papasan
The One Thing, Essentialism and the compound effect. 3 books in the whole year instead of dabbling here and there. Read and internalize it. Good luck.
DARK TREE look up Napoleon Hill's collection of books
Tim Ferriss, best talker I heard in a long while
can someone please explain what he's talking about in simpler terms, less words please. I'm confused.
...Make Time for YOURSELF tate
...Peace;n God Bless. ....
Dexter Lacy figure out how to do things on principle /small scale before you imitate bigger things [recepys a whole chess game]
This is the most important video on CZcams.
This is the tip all chess players get. It's just much more boring than learning opening traps :p
Absolutely, I cosign the fuck out of that shit!!!! Micro-distractions are the worst because you don't think of it as a distraction, but they add up
I am Musician and I Loved it! Who Else Liked?
liked
liked
liked
liked
Can anyone please say what is an endgame in exams?
Alls Cram Attempting to answer the questions before you’ve learnt the material. This helps focus your learning and enhances future memory.
First principle thinking
Maker here, let's create
As soon as he mentioned creating space, I thought BJJ.
How does this apply to math?
"Solving" equations backwards?
@Always Productive I will check it out, thanks.
XOX
Temporal pincer for an objective?
Uhm, I get the rationale behind all of this but how is it different from the common and perhaps fundamenal stragegy of setting goals and doing actions in favour of them?
Big Think is starting to give much better insights than Ted talks. Ted talks are starting to become a bit more fluffy. Good job guys
Video starts at 2:00
Videos like this fail to separate correlation from causation.
They say X is amazing. X does something. You should the same thing to become as amazing as X.
For all we know this something can be a coreelative with no causation and everybody's wasting time.
Also, it's unlikely IMO that these people are good because of just one or two things they do.
Very true! Thx for the insight.
That's the impression I got as well. It seems to me that Tim Ferriss is superimposing his ideas on these examples and implying there is a common causal principle at work, but when you take apart any of these stories, it doesn't seem to be true.
Studying the endgame is an absolute necessity and is brutally hard. I doubt he's (TF) studied it for himself so you can fault him in that way but the advice is still essential
I agree, never enter a game if you don't exactly know how it can end, and all the rules...
That said I mostly retain the "empty space" concept from this video, something other well known people have been recommending as a method for creation...
I feel like you missed the entire conversation.
Chess.com 😍😍