Top 3 Interviews - Branson, Huffington & Ferriss

8/17/2019 Top 3 Interviews - Branson, Huffington & Ferriss

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The youngentrepreneur’sguide to success

according to

r a n s o n

.

UCCESS

TORY


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f there is one man who has defined entrepreneurialsuccess for a generation of young and ambitiousbusiness hopefuls, it’s Sir Richard Branson. Poster-boy for the anti-establishment and underdog turnedbenchmark-of-accomplishment, his sincere smile

and candid approach to business are wonderfullyalluring. He also evokes an every-man quality that

says, “hey, if I can do this, you can too”, and since Foundr Magazine isfounded on many of the values and driving forces that Branson is famousfor, we thought he would be an absolute goldmine of advice for those ofus who are starting out on our own entrepreneurial journeys. He’s also abit of a rock star of the business world, so we were a little bit star-struck

by his offer to answer some of our questions in an exclusive interview.

Does the world’sgreatest mentorhave a mentor of hisown?

Something that many peopledefine as critical to their successis identifying great mentors.For most of us, that meansfinding someone who can helpyou develop your business andleadership skills, or coach and

guide you through specific challenges. Andwhen you’re starting out, it might seem likethere is the potential for mentoring from lotsof the people you meet. But what about whenyou’re at the top of your game – is having agreat mentor still important? Branson claimsthat it is, but when you’re already at the top,who is it you can look to for guidance?

“In the past, I’ve had some wonderful mentors.Outside my friends, family and staff [there hasbeen] Freddie Laker, Nelson Mandela, DesmondTutu, Peter Gabriel, the late, great Mo Mowlamand the aviation genius Burt Rutan [have] allgiven me some great guidance and inspiration.”

Branson offers a stellar list of heavy hitters tosay the least.

But he also recognises the potential for a kindof mentoring from those he works with on aday-to-day basis:

“With all my employees,

I listen to them, trust inthem, believe in them,respect them and letthem have a go. I neverbelieve I know better thanthey do and have beenfortunate over the years

to build up a very strongmanagement team whomI can trust and takeadvice from.”It’s this respect for each individual person that alot of people find so irresistible about Branson’sleadership style. Regardless of status or title, hehas an uncanny ability to distinguish the valuein a person’s ideas and their contribution to his

business.

I


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When it comes to facing setbacks and dealing with

failure, Branson has had his fair share of experi-

ence:

“I’ve had many challenges

every entrepreneur does.It’s the nature of the beast.”

But what it is about the way that he deals with

these challenges that sets him apart from the rest

of us? How is he able to consistently turn failure

into success?

Everyone’sfavourite

underdog

“It can be a challenge not tolet failure, or negativity fromothers, prevent you from goingafter what you believe in, andwhat in your gut you know canwork. However, it’s important toface these challenges head onand give them a go – and im-portantly, don’t beat yourself upif you fail. Just pick yourself up,learn as much as you can fromthe experience and get on withthe next challenge.”

Photo by:Mark Greenber


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2011Branson Centre inJamaica launched

Published ScrewBusiness as Usual

Served on the GlobalCommission on Drug Policy with former political andcultural leaders of LatinAmerica and elsewhere, "in a

bid to boost the effort toachieve more humane andrational drug laws”

2011

Formation of the B Team aglobal nonprofit initiativeco-founded by Sir RichardBranson and Jochen Zeitz thatbrings together internationalCEOs and business leaders to"make business work better”

Virgin Money

was launched

2012

2012Virgin Galactic announces the developmentof orbital space launch system LauncherOne

2012Assura Medical becomesVirgin Care

2012Virgin Money acquiresNorthern Rock

2010Virgin launches Virgin Produced, afilm and television development,packaging and production companybased in Los Angeles, California

Virgin launchesVirgin Racing, a

Formula One teampreviously knownas Manor Grand Prix

20102010

Unless you dre

am, you’re not

going to achieve anything.

www.keytosuccessmag.com

Business

Business as a force for good


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Thestratosphericrise of VirginGalactic

Never has Branson’s reputation as a bravevisionary been more evident than in hisVirgin Galactic business. This once-in-comprehensible venture was consistently

championed by Branson, despite facing unfavour-able odds of success. But his unfaltering belief inthe concept, and his trust in his team’s ability toexecute the concept successfully, has meant thatVirgin Galactic trips are no longer just an ‘if’, but

are a ‘when’.

It can seem hard to relate such a huge endeavourto the everyday goals we set ourselves in our livesand businesses. But even though sending a pas-senger aircraft into space might seem dispropor-tionate to what you think is achievable, rememberthat it is the process of dreaming, and of goal set-ting, that gets you to the endpoint:

[I started dreaming up the concept] “back in 1969at my family home in England [while] watching the

live pictures of astronauts travelling to the moon. Iwas spellbound, and from then on was determinedthat one day I would follow them into space.”

Dreams. Determination. This stuff isn’t rocket sci-ence (well, apart from in the example of Virgin Ga-lactic). Branson has a brave imagination, and he’sfearless in his pursuit. After all, who else can layclaim to having sailed across the Atlantic in recordtime, completed the fastest crossing of the EnglishChannel in an amphibious vehicle and attemptingto circumnavigate the entire planet in a hot air

balloon? His appetite for extreme achievement isinsatiable:

It’s a trait you’ll see time and timeagain in successful leaders, andBranson’s optimistic nature andpositive outlook are critical to hisability to bounce back. After all,

the hardest lesson to learn aboutfulfilling your potential as an en-trepreneur is that the path to suc-cess is often paved with slabs offailure – but it’s what you learnfrom the process of creating thatpath that makes it smoother thefurther you progress. And if youcan keep on smiling the wholeway, as Branson does, even in the

face of adversity, your journey to-wards your dream future will beall the more rewarding. “You’vegot one go in life,” Bransonquotes his grandma, “so makethe most of it.”

SUCCESS STORY

Photo by : Richard Burdett


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D

r e a m

s .

D

e t e r m

i n a t i o

n

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“I like challenges in life andpushing myself out of my comfortzone… I was very impressed, and

must say a little jealous, of FelixBaumgartner’s recent record forthe highest and fastest everskydive jump from space.”

he reality is,that could

very well havebeen Branson

jumping fromthe deck downto Earth – hehas set himself

a precedent for this kind of fearlessactivity, and we probably wouldn’t havebeen that shocked if it was Branson inthe space suit. It’s what we’ve come toexpect from him. So what’s next?

“I am yet to decidewhat my next bigchallenge will be, butwatch this space…”

We absolutely will Sir Richard!

Improver to innovator

Until the creation of Virgin Galactic,Branson’s businesses within theVirgin group were largely pitched asalternatives sent into an establishedsector to act as an activist brand.Branson purposely pursued the bestperformers in stable categories:British Airways, British Rail, BritishTelecom – he even chased down CocaCola and Pepsi. And what stood outto many people (and was likely a

contributing factor to his immensepopularity and success) was the

remarkable and endearing panachewith which he launched each venture.

However, coming at an existingcategory from the angle of disruptorto the status quo, is very differentfrom what he is now attempting to dowith Galactic: that is, to become theinnovator. Does it require a differentapproach when switching fromimprover to innovator?

“Not really. The core principles are the

same,” was Branson’s response. “Ibelieve that a great company, whetherimproving a sector or creating anew one, needs to have an excellentproduct or service at its core, needsstrong management to execute theplan and [needs] a good brand to giveit the edge over its competitors.” – allof the qualities that the Virgin Groupare known and respected for.

And it’s more than just theoretical

principles: “providing quality service,combined with value for money[achieved] in an innovative wayensures you offer real value.” Bransonis also very passionate about, “beingresponsible to society and the planet.”

SUCCESS

STORY

T

So what if he were to start fromscratch, or had his time over again.Which project or business would hechoose to work on if he could

only pick one?


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“It’s difficult to pick just one, as wehave had many successes to be proudof over the years! For me, the triumphsthat stand out the most are when, despitea lot of doubt and criticism, Virgin has

entered a sector and truly turned it on itshead in a positive way.”

Branson’ssatisfac-tion in dis-proving thehypothesisis one of his

most endearing char-acteristics. In a mar-

ketplace where Virginbrands are quite oftenthe underdog when go-ing head to head against

the category leaders,the reward of success ismore than just profit:

“Watching my staff’sfaces, whether thatbe at Virgin Atlanticwhen we first launched

in 1984 or at VirginTrains in 1997, whenthe doubters and thecritics – who said we’d

never do it, we’d neverturn an industry around,we’d fall flat on ourbacksides – were beingproved wrong. There’sno better satisfactionthan watching the peo-ple around you, who

have worked day andnight to get somethingright, realising thatdream.”

Advice for youngentrepreneurs of todayThe opportunity to tap Bran-son’s brain for insights intobeing a young entrepreneur atthe start of their career gaveus the chance to ask him whathe would do if he were a start-up with no money today:

“First and foremost, asuccessful businessmust have a soundknowledge of its mar-ket, and work on how itsproduct or service willbe different, stand outand improve people’slives. If you can ensure

it responds to a realneed out there in themarketplace, yourbusiness can punchwell above its weight.”

That’s encouraging advice forthe majority of us who havevery little to leverage finan-cially. As long as your marketresearch is accurate and thor-

ough, and you’ve identified theneed for your product, a suc-cessful business is possible.

What about the internet? Backwhen Branson created StudentMagazine and Virgin Records,the lay of the land was verydifferent, especially in terms ofpublishing and marketing. Weasked if he thought that the in-

ternet had levelled the playingfield for young entrepreneurs:Photo by : Bing Norton

Photo by : Burt Rutan


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SUCCESSSTORY

“I am yet todecide whatmy next bigchallenge

will be, butwatch thisspace…”

Photo by : Hardo Mülle


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So essentially yes, the internet hascreated a more level playing fieldin terms of finding your opportu-nities and getting your messageout there, but ultimately, you still

need to be focused on refining thatcore idea that drives your business.After all, without exacting researchand planning, no business will suc-ceed on internet exposure alone.

When it comes to deciding whichof your ideas to focus on fully de-veloping, Branson says there’s nowinning formula to help decidewhich ideas will work and which

won’t:

“I definitely go on gut instinct, butit has always had the back up ofresearch and information. Never…be frightened of taking risks, andalways follow your instincts! Don’tbe afraid to take that leap into theunknown.”

The wonderful thing about Bran-son is, he could be meaning that

quite literally.

“I’ve taken many knocks over theyears, but it has only made mestronger and more determined tosucceed. I always say: the bravemay not live forever, but the cau-tious do not live at all!”

And if fortune favours the bold,Branson’s personal wealth is sure-

ly testament to the fact that helives by his statement.

On

leadershipStudying the qualities that arepresent in successful leaders isthe fastest way to nurture your ownfledgling potential. Determining thestrengths you admire in others, aswell as identifying areas for per-sonal development, can help youbecome a successful leader in yourown business and projects. Bran-son offers perspective on his own

approach:

“I believe a good leaderbrings out the best in peo-ple by listening to them,trusting them, believingin them, respecting themand letting them havea go.”

A

Photo by : Jedimentat44

with access to an incredible wealthof information. This has changedthe way we see the world and isalso a great source of innovationand entrepreneurial opportunities.

ll in all,the In-ternet isa forcefor good,provid-ing youngentre-

preneurs


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Providing this crucialdevelopment for thenext generation ofleaders means that

Branson is able to ensurehe has a positive impact,even after his own entre-preneurial days are over. Bycoaching and empoweringyoung entrepreneurs, he isnot only gifting them witha head start in terms ofknowledge, but also in termsof networks. Branson rec-ognises that it is the rela-tionships that you form withyour peers that are criticalto success: bouncing ideasaround, getting constructive

feedback, picking holes ineach other’s plans in orderto make them better, this iswhat turns a great idea intoa brilliant idea, and inevita-bly helps you achieve yourdream.

So what would his advice

be to a young version of

himself if he could speak to

him from the other side of

success? What would be the

question that a young Bran-

son would have valued the

answer to the most?

“That’s a very difficult ques-tion, as I have learnt somuch over my forty years ofbusiness which would havebeen valuable to me when Iwas younger. Maybe: is it ok

to take big risks?”

Judging by his own prece-dent, the answer is yes – aslong as the risks are miti-gated as far as possible (ashe states previously, marketresearch and an accurateassessment of the public de-sire or need for your productand service helps to answer

this question).

Branson’s key to success?For a man who has broughtmany ideas to fruition overthe years, clearly there mustbe some consistent process-es or definitive steps to de-livery. Branson summarisessome of his keys to success:

“First we develop a soundknowledge of the marketusing many different chan-nels including social me-dia, and then we work onhow our product or servicewill be different, stand outand improve people’s livescompared to other existingones.”

“Our brand appreciateswhat the customer wantsand is always delivering anextremely high standard ofproduct and service. Ourstaff believes in what theysell and would buy the prod-uct themselves. We wouldneed to ensure that ourbrand is not at risk of dis-repute and would adopt itto local cultures whilst stillstaying true to the core ofwhat the brand stands for, atVirgin that is: quality, valuefor money, innovation, com-petitive challenge and fun.”

“I am a great believer thatyou need passion and energyto create a truly successfulbusiness. Remember, many

new businesses do not makeit and running a businesswill be a tough experience,involving long hours andmany hard decisions – ithelps to have that passion tokeep you going.”

And there you have it, theFoundr Magazines gospelaccording to an entrepre-

neur of the highest order –Sir Richard Branson.

Lucy Piper is a freelance writerspecialising in sport, travel, health &wellbeing, and motivation. A monthlycolumnist in Triathlon & MultisportMagazine, she’s on track to be triathlon’sanswer to Carrie Bradshaw.

Search out good mentors bothon a peer level and a more

senior level than your own

Mistakes are inevitable – it’s howyou use them to your advantagethat defines your path tosuccess.

Set goals, and then pursuethem fearlessly and withdetermination.

Lots of people will tell you thatsomething isn’t going to work.It’s your choice whether youlisten to them, or prove them

wrong.

Research meticulously. Mitigateas much risk as you can sothat as soon as you’re readyto launch, you know that yourproduct and service will be indemand.

Build a reliable, enthusiastic andenergetic team, and trust themto develop and lead projects.

Branson’sKeys to Success


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Beyond Money & Power

The NewUnderstanding ofSuccess with

Huffington

Success

Story

ARIANN


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Undisputedly Americanmedia royalty, Arianna

Hufngton is the

editor-in-chief of theHufngton Post MediaGroup. She graces the

covers of magazines,makes and maintains

myriad connectionsacross industry and

political divides, and

is considered amongthe foremost thought

leaders in digital mediaand business.

SUCCESS STORY

Now, after a lifetime of

success, her most recent

book Thrive is about the

need to unplug, rest, and

re-instill a sense of wonder

and appreciation for the

world. All this, in order to

best answer the questiononce famously posed by

Socrates: What is the

good life?

Arianna Hufngton is a hard woman to dene. She

dons many hats, her most widely-recognized onebeing editor-in-chief of The Hufngton Post MediaGroup. It’s no stretch to say that Hufngton is oneof the titans of the world of digital media. She

was named in the Forbes World’s Most Powerful

Women list in 2013, graced the TIME 100 list both

in 2006 and in 2011, and was also named in TIMEmagazine’s list of the world’s 100 most inuentialpeople. Now, in an exclusive interview with Foundr

Magazine, Arianna Hufngton expounds on her life,her achievements, and the reasons behind needing

to redene the way western culture understandssuccess.

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tarted by Hufngtonin 2005, news outlet,content aggregator, and

blog The Hufngton Postis currently listed amongst

the most popular 100

sites on the Internet. In

2012 it was named asthe most popular political

site by eBizMBA Rank,with over 110,000,000

monthly visitors. The

Hufngton Post has beena tremendous force of

change in the news, bothin the way it’s reported

and the way we consume it. The site boasts 9,000 bloggers,

many of whom are high-prole personalities, including

President Barack Obama, who penned an Op Ed in June

2014 touting the needs of a family-friendly workplace.

THE HUFFINGTON POST

Hufngton has repeatedlytaken on the big guns in

the media industry, and

repeatedly come out on top,with The Hufngton Post nowreceiving more web trafcthan the New York Times. Theonline publication was the rstdigital media enterprise to win

a Pulitzer Prize — generally

considered journalism’s

highest honour — in 2012,less than a decade after the

news site was launched.

Hufngton has since sold it to AOL for $315 million.

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orn in Athens,

Hungton grew up inGreece nurtured onthe works of famousphilosophers. Despitegrowing up with afather who worked

as a newspaperman, she cites her

mother as her biggest inuence —a humble and powerful womanof simplicity and vision.

ARIANNA HUFFINGTON

From an early age, Hufngton

had a knack for visualizing

and planning long-term goals.

In a widely known anecdote, a

young Arianna found a picture of

Cambridge University in a magazine

while still in her mid-teens. On the

spot, she decided that would be

the university she would one day

attend. In support of her daughter’s

dream, her mother moved the family

to England and within a handful of

years, Hufngton was attending

Cambridge on a partial scholarshipand later became Cambridge

University’s rst female captainof the famed debating society,

Cambridge Union.

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hroughout her career, Hufngton

has captured the essence of anidea that drives the information age:that social connections and socialmedia are our new entertainment.More than anything else, sheunderstands the addictive appealof media devices, herself owningthree BlackBerrys. Yet through thisendless connectivity also comesthe knowledge of its price.

ADDICTION TO DEVICES

Hufngton argues that

technological deviceshave a place, and at

night, that place is not in

the bedroom. According

to Hufngton, sleep is asacred thing. Now she

relegates all devices to

the bathroom to charge

overnight. Sleep is valued

to the point that in 2012,The Hufngton Postinstalled “nap pods” in its

ofces for employees tocatch up on some much-

needed shut-eye.

It’s only when one of the

most connected people

in the world suggests that

we disconnect from our

devices and re-establish

a sense of connection

with the physical world

that we sit up and takenotice.

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S

The inspiration behind

Hufngton’s newestbook came when,

chronically exhausted

and lacking sleep

in 2007, Hufngtoncollapsed, breaking

her cheekbone and

receiving a gash

over one eye. As a

celebrated personality

who has achievedwide-reaching

international success,

she was compelled

to wonder whether

success came at too

high a price, and in

fact, whether we might

have our thinking on

success all wrong.

uccess is traditionallybased around the

pursuit of two metrics:

power and money.

Chasing these at the

expense of all else,

Hufngton found,leads to a decline

in quality of work,relationships, and

eventually, complete

burnout. The mad

drive for these two

conventional goals can

be unhealthy to the

point of being fatal.Hufngton realized

that there’s more to

success than the size

of your paycheck or

the location of your

ofce. And that as a

society, we need acomplete overhaul of

what we deem to be

successful. In thinking

this, she’s not alone.

So if the rst twometrics are power

and money, what is

the third metric? Put

simply, it’s rounding

out your life bypursuing four pillars:

well-being, wisdom,

wonder and giving

with equal vigor as youwould pursue wealth

and inuence.

Throughout Thrive,

Hufngton maintainsthat despite all our

connectivity, we

have lost touch withwhat matters. She

shares the wisdom

gleaned from ancient

philosophy and

corridors of inuence,and communicates it

in simple, digestible

language. And her

advice is so practical

it’s refreshing.

THRIVE AND THE THIRD METRIC

Arianna Hungton’s most

recent book,Thrive, looks at

what it means to besuccessful in today’s

hyper-connectedworld. Throughout,Hungton arguesa compelling casefor the necessityof resetting theparameters by

which our successes

are measured.She provides aninsightful look into

the challenges facingwork practices

globally, enhancedwith guidance on

how we might best

adjust to the often-negative impacttechnology is having

on our wayof life.

SUCCESS STORY

S


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QFOUNDR: Your

book Thrivecovers just about

every facet ofhuman life and aplethora of wise

writings fromauthors acrosshistory. Thesewritings seem

more ttingand necessarynow than ever. At what pointdo you think

humanity lostits way focusingon money andpower at the

expense of allelse?

ARIANNA HUFFINGTON:

“What is a good life?”

has been a questionasked by philosophersgoing back to the ancient

Greeks. But somewhere

along the line we

abandoned the question

and shifted our attention

to how much money we

can make, how big a

house we can buy, and

how high we can climb

up the career ladder.

As Jean-Francois Revelput it, the “conjunction

of intellectual

contemplation of truth

and the attainment

of happiness through

wisdom … was only seen

for the last time at the

end of the seventeenth

century in Spinoza’s

Ethic. From that time on,

Socrates’ question, ‘Howshould I live?’ was

abandoned.”

AH: I wouldn’t say

my inner voice was

silenced, but it didn’t

have the strength it

could have, or that

it deserved to have,

because all the signals

the world sends us do

not value or reinforcethis voice. It’s a little

bit like that great Iain

Thomas line: “And

every day, the world

will drag you by the

hand, yelling, ‘This isimportant! And this is

important! And this is

important! You needto worry about this!

And this! And this!’

And each day, it’s upto you to yank your

hand back, put it on

your heart and say,

‘No. This is what’s

important.’”

ut I

remember it

as if it were

yesterday,

that rstrevelation: I was

twenty-three years

old and I was on a

promotional tour for

my rst book, TheFemale Woman,

which had become

an unexpected

international bestseller.

I was sitting in

my room in some

anonymous European

hotel. The room could

have been a beautifully

arranged still life.

There were yellow

roses on the desk,

Swiss chocolates by

my bed, and French

champagne on ice.

The only noise was

the crackling of theice as it slowly melted

into water. The voice

in my head was

much louder. “Is that

all there is?” Like a

broken record, the

question famouslyposed by Peggy Lee

(for those old enough

to remember) keptrepeating itself in my

brain, robbing me ofthe joy I had expected

to nd in my success.“Is that really all there

is?” If this is “living,”

then what is life? Can

the goal of life really

be just about money

and recognition?

From a part of myself,

deep inside me—

from the part of methat is my mother’s

daughter— came a

resounding “No!” It is

an answer that turned

me gradually but rmlyaway from lucrative

offers to speak and

write again and again

on the subject of “the

female woman.” It

started me instead on

the rst step of a long journey.

Q FOUNDR: Your rst

revelation that life wasmore than just money andrecognition came when youwere only 23. What happenedin your story that led to that

inner voice being silenced?

S U C C E S S S

T O R Y


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W h at i s a G o o d L i f e ?


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FOUNDR: Scienticdata has suggested thatthe modern way of lifeis damaging. (Stress-related illness is the

leading cause of doctors’visits in the UK). Whythen is the third metric anew discovery in the ageof information? Why as aspecies have the majorityof us opted to live in away that is fundamentallyunfullling to us?

Q

Q

Q AH: The rst stages of the Internet wereabout data and more data. But now we

have plenty of data — indeed, we’re

drowning in it — and all the distraction

we could ever hope for. Technology has

been very good at giving us what we want,but not always what we need. Wherever

we look around the world, we see smart

leaders — in politics, in business, in media

— making terrible decisions. What they’re

lacking is not IQ, but wisdom. Which is no

surprise; it has never been harder to tap

into our inner wisdom, because in order

to do so, we have to disconnect from all

our omnipresent devices — our gadgets,

our screens, our social media — and

reconnect with ourselves.

AH: Growing up in Athens, I was

brought up on the classics and the

Greek myths. They were taught

to me not as ancient history, as

my children learned them in their

American classrooms, but as my

personal roots and the sourceof my identity. Athena was the

goddess of wisdom, and, for me,

the idea of wisdom is forever

identied with her — weavingtogether strength and vulnerability,

creativity and nurturing, passion

and discipline, pragmatism and

intuition, intellect and imagination,

claiming them all, the masculine

and the feminine, as part of our

essence and expression.

AH: We are living through an incredible time, when

modern science is validating a lot of ancient wisdom.

That’s why, in Thrive, I’ve included 55 pages of

endnotes to convince even the most stubborn skeptic

that we need to unplug, recharge and reconnect with

ourselves, and by doing so, actually improve every

aspect of our lives.

So many of us have opted to live in a way that’s

fundamentally unhealthy and unfullling because, as asociety, we have been operating under the collective

delusion that burning out is the necessary price for

accomplishment and success. Recent scienticndings make it clear that this couldn’t be less true.Not only is there no tradeoff between living a well-

rounded life and high performance, performance is

actually improved when our lives include time for

renewal, wisdom, wonder and giving.

FOUNDR: On thesubject of wisdom, weseem to be information-rich and wisdom-poor.Could you explainfurther the paradoxthat connectednessisn’t making us wiser?

What sort of effect haveyou noticed this lackof wisdom having onsociety?

FOUNDR: Much ofThrive’s beauty lies inembracing the tenetsof ancient philosophyand wisdom andshowing how valuableand applicable it is inour lives. Was therea specic time whenyou came to thisrealization?

S U C C E S S

S T O R Y


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FOUNDR: Ifyou had to startyour careerall over again,what would youdo differently inyour approachto business?

AH: I wish I could

go back and tell

myself that not only

is there no trade-

off between living a

well-rounded life and

high performance,

performance isactually improved

when our lives

include time for

renewal, wisdom,

wonder and giving.

That would have

saved me a lot

of unnecessary

stress, burnout and

exhaustion.

FOUNDR: Arguably, youare where you are todaybecause you workedextremely hard. How muchof the success of TheHufngton Post is owed

to ceaseless dedicationto the point of physicaland spiritual exhaustion? And do you think if youhad adopted third metricprinciples earlier, TheHufngton Post would bewhere it is today?

AH: I’m convinced that if I hadincorporated these practices into my

life much earlier, I would still have

achieved all I have achieved with less

stress, worry and anxiety, and HuffPost

would be just as much of a success.

And most of HuffPost’s successes

have been over the past seven years,

after my wakeup call!

FOUNDR. Who do youlearn from currently?

Who are your mentorsand how do they differfrom the ones you had

in your formativeyears?

AH: I learn a lot from my daughters

— it’s one of the many joys of

being a parent that no one ever

tells you about. And though she’s

no longer here, I still learn a great

deal from my mother. One of her

favorite sayings, which embodied

the philosophy of her life, was

“Don’t miss the moment.” Earlier

in my life I was more likely to

look up to people for intellectual

reasons, but now it’s much more

about wisdom.

FOUNDR: Finally,could you explain whythe third metric is soimportant for youngentrepreneurs to learn?

AH: Young entrepreneursespecially can benet from thesepractices. The Western workplace

culture — exported to many

other parts of the world — is

practically fueled by stress, sleep

deprivation, and burnout. Even

as stress undermines our health,

the sleep deprivation so many of

us experience in striving to get

ahead at work is profoundly —

and negatively — affecting our

creativity, our productivity, and our

decision making: the very things

entrepreneurs need in order tosucceed.

Q Q

QQ

S

U C C E S S S T O R Y


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Let Go of

Something. At the end of the day, let

go of something that isn’t

serving your interests.

Examine your grudges,

resentments, or projects

that you don’t care about

enough to complete, and

pick one to jettison. Dropit and feel that weight

slide away. You’ll besurprised at how much

mental energy is wasted

needlessly on fruitless

burdens.

THRIVING: 3 STEPS YOU CAN EMBRACE TODAY

Arianna Huffingtonshares three tips guaranteedto change your life for the

more productiveand fulfilling.

David Halliday is a journalist and screenwriter. He’s written for creative studios in

Melbourne and New York, and a range of publications including GQ. He has authoreda book on food history and has received awards for screenwriting.

Sleep more. Wise people get enough

sleep. As little as 30minutes extra sleep

every night is enough

to transform your

quality of life markedly.We tend to value

being exhausted and

overworked as badges

of honor, but ultimately

burning yourself out is

an inherently unhealthy

practice. If you can’t

sleep at night, embrace

the idea of naps during

the day.

1 2 3Unplug.Turning off devices is hard,

but endless connectivity will

be harder on your health

in the long run. Pick a time

after work when you and

your devices part ways for

the night. That means they

should be switched off,

and out of the bedroom.

And don’t sleep with your

smartphone by your bed. Any

friends’ messages, tweets,

Facebook posts, or breaking

news can wait ‘til morning.Your sleep will be morerestorative without them.


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WHAT YOU CAN LEARNFROM

ARIANNAby

HUFFINGTON

THRIVE

Arianna Huffingon wroe Trive because we need o rehink success.

Why do hese mater? How can we ac on hem? Le’s look.

{ WELL-BEING } { WISDOM }{ WONDER } { GIVING }

Sociey’s old idea of success is cenered on wo hings: money

and power . Bu money and power are like a wo-legged sool

– wihou a third leg , you’ll fall. Ta hird leg manifess in he

Tird Metric of success. o lead worhwhile lives, we mus

welcome he four pillars of he Tird Meric:


26/42

-

We shouldn't neglect our lives infavor of work – that's what well-

being is about.WHY?

.

MOVE MORE. Physical activity –

walking, running,

stretching, dancing – is

integral to well-being.

We need to refocus on well-being – for the sakeof our work, and the sake of ourselves. HOW?

96%of leaderssay they'reburnt out. Tat damages their

decision-making.

MEDITATE TODAY. start with just five minutes ofmeditation. find a quiet place at an uninterrupted

time, relax your body, and observe your breath.

. t

. ' ,

, . : Set an alarm to alert you when

it's time to go to bed.

Science shows that SLEEP DEPRIVATIONcripples our mood, focus, and high-level cognitive functions.


27/42

Wonder is about our state of mind – weneed a perspective that embraces good things.

Tat state of mind must center on love.WHY?

. 75-

:

IMAGINE JOY.Find a mental picture that ignites

your joy: your kid, your pet, a

natural scene, artwork.

When you hit rough

times, summon

this image to renew

your wonder.

BE FORGIVING. Holding judgments againstyourself? Forgive yourself. Holding judgments

against other people? Forgive them.

.

?

– , , , .

10 .

Let's reinvigorate our sense of wonder about the worldaround us – and let's love the people in our lives. HOW?

E = m c 2

LIFE NEEDS WONDER.

HAPPINESS ISLOVE.

FULL STOP.

Einstein wrote that whoever sits is

unable to wonder, “whoever cannot

contemplate or know the deepshudder of the soul in

enchantment, might just as well

be dead for he has already

closed his eyes upon life.”


28/42

Arianna says ha “wisdom is abourecognizing wha we’re really seeking:

connecion and love.”WHY?

'

,

.

LET GO. Pick somehing –oday – ha drains your energy

wihou benefiing you or your loved

ones, and cu i ou of your life.

WISDOMfrees us from he rap of

obsessing over money

and power.

Wih wisdom, we can undersand why he Tird Meric maters. HOW?

Perspective on what's importantGEARS US UP TO DEAL WITH THE TRULYTOUGH THINGS: death, sickness, loss.

.

.

: You can also list ten things you're grateful for, and count them on your fingers.

BE THANKFUL. Start a “gratitude list” andwrite down things you're thankful for.

Share it with friends.


29/42

Giving encompasses love, care,compassion – going beyond

ourselves.WHY?

BETTER

BUSINESS. Companies led byCEOs who are “givers”

see higher, more sable

reurns. Oher business

areas see his, oo – givers

ge ahead.

It's key to SOLVING PROBLEMS atevery level, local to global.

-

$20,000

$75,000.

START SMALL.Litle gesures of kindness for hose

around you will beter heir lives.

You'll also improve your emoional

ouloook.

.

.

: 43%

,

,.

Helping ohers helps ourselves.WHAT CAN WE DO TO GIVE?

CONNECT MORE. Make the important effort to make apersonal connection with people you normally take for granted.

This connects you to the moment. And it brightens their day!


30/42

CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE ARIANNA’S BOOK


31/42


32/42

We’ve all been curious about the best way toget better at languages, sports, cooking, tness, and ofcourse, how to start a business. Using a grand total of fourhours per week, Tim Ferriss showed us how. Ferriss needs

no introduction. Multiple New York Times best-sellingauthor. Entrepreneur. Self-help guru. Investor. Celebrity.And now star of his own television show.


33/42

A recentstudy fromStanfordfound thatproductivityper hourdeclines

sharplywhen theworkweekexceeds50 hours.What’s more,productivitydrops oso muchafter a 55-hour week,that there’sno point inworking anymore.

Newsflash: If you’re workinga 70-hour week, you’re

getting about as much doneas someone working 55.Tim Ferriss was one of thefirst voices decrying longwork hours and the needto rethink time priorities,and this study only servedto reinforce his work. Ofcourse, like most thingsFerriss takes on, he tookthings to the extreme.

Even if you know nothingof entrepreneurialism, youprobably know the workof Tim Ferriss. The 4-hourWorkweek ring any bells?Chances are, it’s that bookyour roommate is alwaysgushing about. A #1 New

York Times and Wall Street Journal best-seller, it hasseeped into the zeitgeist

and changed more livesthan its detractors would

like to admit. The 4-HourWorkweek was on the New

York Times best-seller listfor four-and-a-half yearsstraight and stayed on otherlists for seven consecutiveyears. Released in 2007,this seductive and seminalbook was about escapingthe workaholic lifestyle to“find your muse.” For theuninitiated, that means abusiness that takes up littletime, yet turns over enough

revenue for you to enjoy asort of freedom from theoffice bullpen.

It’s a seductive enoughidea to nudge your careerinto a different directionpermanently. It might behard to admit, but it’s true: ifit weren’t for Tim Ferriss andThe 4 Hour Workweek, a lotof us wouldn’t be where we

are today.

SUCCESSSTORY


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The New

Yorker oncedescribedFerrissas “thisgeneration’s

self-help guru.”

Wired called Ferriss“The Superman ofSilicon Valley.” SinceWorkweek, Ferrisswent on to write twomore bestsellers,tackling fitness andthen cooking. He nowcommands legions ofdevotees, equal partsinspired and intrigued

by the number ofimpressive—albeitpeculiar—accoladeshe’s amassed. Theskills he’s masteredare as disparateas tango dancing,kickboxing, and curling.But for Ferriss, theachievements are neverthe focus; they’re morelike decor, useful when

swag points are neededin a hurry.

Speaking with Ferriss,you get the impressionthat he has a voracioushunger for learning,and an excessive thirstfor experimentationand novelty. Couplethose traits with endless

reserves of energy, andyou have somethingakin to a small, blonde,human hurricane.

With square-jawed,photogenic Scandinavianfeatures, Ferriss speakswith an easy baritonelilt. And despite hisunorthodox approachto work, it would be a

mistake to think thathe’s laid back or lazy. Onthe contrary, beneaththe veneer of boyishrecklessness and a devil-may-care thirst foradventure, he’s a man ofquite startling intensity.Affable? Yes. But intense.

Tim Ferriss is also a

divisive figure. Hisdetractors question hismethods, or get hungup on what they see asa focus on obtainingthe maximum effect forthe minimum effort, orchampioning shortcutsfor their own sake. Butto his followers, it’s moreabout working smarter.Taking apart traditional

constructs, analyzingtheir core componentslike a curious child withan old clock, and figuringout which parts makeit go. In a sense, he isthe ultimate pragmatist.Deconstructing the timeand energy traditionallyrequired to perform atask, he sifts through the

necessary componentsand delivers a new modelthat is sleeker, faster, andmore effective.


35/42

S

o who is this guy? Ferrissgrew up with his parents andyounger brother in the townof East Hampton, which he

describes as “rural Long Island,” onlytwo-and-a-half hours from New YorkCity. “It’s a seasonal town, meaningit attracts a lot of rich Manhattanitesout of the Hamptons who are out forthe summer,” he says.

If there’s one thing that usuallyisn’t helpful to a writer, it’s a happychildhood. But Ferriss recalls thetime with fondness. “We were middleclass, and my parents probably nevermade more than 50 or 60 thousanddollars per year combined.” Ferrissmaintains that didn’t affect hischildhood at all. “If anything, Ithink it helped,” he says. “If I lookat the kids I met who were comingout of wealthy families in the city,they struck me as being unhappyand miserable. I spent a lot of time

skateboarding, biking around to seemy friends.”

Education was always top priorityin the Ferriss household. “Despitenot having much money, myparents made it really clear thatI couldn’t get the new bike or BBgun, but there was always a budgetfor books. If I wanted to read, theywould find the money.” So, was he

the most precocious child in New York State? Possibly. “I had a rat tailat one point,” he confesses with atrademark grin. “I owe my parentsa debt of gratitude. They allowedme to find things that excited me.But I’ve always been a weird kidthough,” he admits. “I’ve always beenan odd fellow who marched to hisown drummer. That malfunction orblessing or both has alwaysbeen with me.”

ORIGIN STORY


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Even at early age, the trademarkdiversity of Ferriss’ ranging interestsbecame evident. “I wanted to be acomic book penciller for about 10years. And so I did a lot of illustration.My grandfather was an artist, my

uncle was an artist. And I continuedthat all through college where I wasa paid illustrator. And that fell bythe wayside when I graduated andresigned myself at the time to being a‘serious’ adult and doing‘serious’ work.”

Ferriss completed a degree in East Asianstudies at Princeton, graduating in 2000,before working in a data storage company.It was there where he toyed seriously withentrepreneurialism. When recalling howhe started his first company, Ferriss isquick to note that he had a number of other“ill-fated attempts at entrepreneurship,”before finally selling nutritionalsupplements online

SUCCESS STORY


37/42

STARTING OUT

B

rainQuicken (laterrenamed Body Quick)was in his view, Ferriss’

first attempt at a “proper”company. “All the documentswere in order, accountants,payment processors and so on,”he says. “I launched the companywhile I was still employed at afull-time job, because I didn’twant to jump and then find thesafety net. I wanted to test [thenet] and only jump when I knewit could work.”

After making his first saleonline, Ferriss describes themoment as “this incredibleepiphany and happiness, whereI realized I don’t need to be inone location and I don’t needto sell my services by the hourto make money. I had alwaysbelieved that, but it was always

a speculative hope. I knew it waspossible, but I hadn’t tasted it.”

Regarding the first 12 months ofrunning a business, he says, “It’sa rollercoaster. If you’re thinkingof doing your own thing, it’s aneducation. You’ll learn more inthe first six months than in twoyears at the best business schoolin the country, bar none. It’s a

real experience. Emotionally.Psychologically. Financially.Physically. It’s a hell of a lotcompressed into a really shortperiod of time.”

SUCCESS STORY


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Yet even goodcompanies can turnugly. BrainQuickentransformed quicklyfrom a startup laborof love into an all-consuming, 80-hour-

per-week slog. It was around this timeFerriss realized all his waking hours

were spent on his business, and notchasing any of the dreams that werebubbling through his mind.

Which led to testing out various timehacks and starting the work thatwould lead to The 4-Hour Workweek.He transformed a business that wasbecoming a behemoth into a sleek andsimple operation that required very

little of his time daily.

Ferriss admits that The 4-HourWorkweek was written to scratch hisown itch. “It’s the book that I alwayslooked for, but couldn’t find. So I wroteit for myself. I always found these work/life books that told you money wasn’timportant, or books by Jack Welch onhow to build a Fortune 500 company.But I didn’t want either-or. I wanted

something in the middle.”

SUCCESS STORY

80-HOUR WORKWEEK?


39/42

Even traditionalmarketing methodscan be hacked.Once a publisher

accepted The 4-Hour Workweek (afterit was rejected byno less than 25publishers), Ferrisstook the marketingeorts upon himself.So how did he createthe snowball eect?

It wasn’t accidental, and did not areup overnight. Its success was the result

of careful planning and highly targetedmarketing.

Describing how The 4-Hour Workweekgained such traction, Ferriss explainshis rst two steps to marketing. First,he recommends people read The 22

Immutable Laws of Marketing. “Readthe old version, not the updated Internetone.” Second, “before you can makeintelligent marketing, promotional, andeven product decisions, you have to knowwho your customer is.” In fact, you couldcomfortably say much of his success couldbe attributed to Ferriss’ encyclopaedicknowledge of his target market.

THE MAKING OF A BESTSELLER

SUCCESS STORY


40/42

“You donot need toappeal to

the entireworld. If youtry to appealto everyone,you’ll getnowhere,” hesays. “It’s tooexpensive

and doesn’twork.” Histarget marketis narroweddown to “techsavvy malesbetween20 and 40,primarilyon the coastof the USmainland,either in NewYork or SanFrancisco. Youcan create abestselling

book by justtargetingthose peopleif you do itright.”

Whenmarketingyourproduct,“dene

specic target numbers.Mine were ten to twenty

thousand books per week. Iknew I could achieve that ifI targeted my demographiccorrectly.”

To his credit, Ferriss didn’tstart o with any outlandishadvertising gimmickry;rather, he just went wherehis audience was. “I askedmyself who are these peopleand where are they already

going? Who are the thoughtleaders in that space? Whatare the ve to 10 websitesthey visit? And I foundwho the trac leadersread, the highly regardedthinkers who might not havemassive platforms of theirown. And I chose the leastcrowded channel to try toconnect with them.” That

ruled out email and phone.He contacted his thoughtleaders at conferences.

“I spent my [book] launchbudget ying to conferencesand trying to spend timewith thought leaders overcoee in the hallway orin bars. I bought a lot ofdrinks for a lot of people,”he confesses. “It was Southby Southwest specically, ina couple of lounges wherethey served drinks.” Ferrissdescribes his process ofmeeting people, havingorganic conversations, andonly bringing up the topic ofhis book when asked aboutwhat he did. “I never pitchedvery hard,” he says. “That iswhat created the snowball

that turned into a massive

monster: those one-on-onepersonal interactions thatwere not cold, hard sells. Andninety-plus percent of thosepeople I am still friends with.I identied exactly who wasmost interested and who was

most receptive.”

His books are now knownfor his application of boththe Pareto Principle (the80/20 rule) and Parkinson’sLaw (work expands so as toll the time available for itscompletion) to business andpersonal life. Which wereobviously both used to greateect in the book’s launch

phase.

Ferriss refers to histeachings broadly as“lifestyle design.” Thepopularization of notabletechniques like nding“muses,” virtual assistants,and drop-shipping signaled aparadigm shift for wannabeentrepreneurs globally.

The fact that those termshave entered the commonparlance? You’ve got TimFerriss to thank for that. Butperhaps more importantly,the beneciaries of The4-Hour Workweek includedregular business peoplelooking for a way to stopbusiness hours gobblingup their private lives. In anendlessly connected society,it granted many the abilityto reclaim their time from24/7 business demands. Andtherein lies one of the keysthe books’—and Ferriss’—success. It was the perfectmessage for a time of ultra-connectivity, when everyonewas getting more than a littleweary with the boss emailingat 2 a.m. and expecting a

quick reply.SUCCESSSTORY


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THE TIM FERRISSEXPERIMENT

Studying under

Pulitzer Prize-winning authorJohn McPhee at

Princeton must have hadsomething to do with it.Ferriss learned that youcould jump to the frontof the line if you learnedstraight from the best,mano a mano. And maybethat’s revealing of Tim

Ferriss’ major gifting:the simple ability to talkhimself into anything, withan air of genial authority.

And by doing so, learnfrom the best.

That’s more or less whathe does in his show, TheTim Ferriss Experiment,

which lets the viewer intohis process of turninghimself into a guinea pigto try out his newest ideas.“It’s Mythbusters meetsJackass,” Ferriss says.“Or how to become JasonBourne.” Each episodesees him tackling a newskill. With 13 episodes intotal, he is both producer

and presenter, all inservice of demonstrating

accelerated learning.

“And then I have a crazytest at the end of eachepisode.” The frst episodesdebuted in late 2013,but only two ever aired.Now Ferriss has boughtthe rights himself. “It’s afascinating explorationof human potential,” hesays. “And what seemingly‘normal’ people can do

to appear superhuman. You get to see somehorrifc accidents and theoccasional miracle.”

Finally, as our allotted timedraws to a close, we pitchhim the question: Out of allthe success he’s achieved,what does he value the

most? The cars? Thehouses? The social kudos?He muses for a moment.“The freedom to work onwhat I want to work on,”he says fnally. “It’s not abelonging. It’s the abilityto say ‘no.’ And just workon what I want to work on.

And I hope it’s a force forgood. That’s the intention

anyway.”

In his Commentaries

on the Civil War,Julius Caesar wrote

that experience is theteacher of all things.It’s a good axiom to

remember, but toughwhen your interestsare far-reaching. In

the highly specialized21st century economy,

where every industryis broken down

into innite niches,you might think

that having diverseprofessional interests

would be a quickroad to the land ofcareer stagnation.However, Ferriss’

personal missionseems to prove that

anyone is capable of,well, anything. And

that competencyin any skill isn’t as

distant as traditionaleducational models

would have youbelieve.

SUCCESS STORY


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1. Evernote. Full disclosure: Ferriss is anadviser to Evernote, but he says he used

it before he became involved. “It’s whereI do all my note taking, all my research-gathering. It’s also how I do all of myscreenshots with Skitch, which is part ofEvernote.” 2. Onepassword. Losing track of all yourpasswords? This sorts it out for you. Theycan help you generate very difficult-to-crack passwords without it taking upmental real estate.

3. Emailgame and Boomerang. “Thesetwo tools will increase your emailprocessing speed 50 to 100 percent, I kidyou not,” Ferriss says. You can scheduleemails to be sent later. It also reminds youautomatically if someone hasn’t replied,removing the need to remember to follow

you back on track. Every time you opena new tab, it reminds you of your main

focus for the day. It also shows a beautifulphotograph, an inspirational quote andthe time. 5. Headspace or Calm, both meditationapps. “Use these to start meditating for10 to 20 minutes at the start of everyday. Meditating in the morning beforeyou go into any kind of reactive mode isa complete game changer.”

PRESS PLAY TO LISTEN TO

THE FULL INTERVIEW

David Halliday is a journalistand screenwriter. He’s writtenfor creative studios in Melbourneand New York, and a range of

TIM FERRISS’TOP 5 PRODUCTIVITY

TOOLS

SUCCESS STORY

Curious as to which apps Tim Ferriss

uses every day without fail? These are hisessentials for hacking time and gettingthings done, in no particular order. Don’tleave home without them.

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Top 3 Interviews - Branson, Huffington & Ferriss