The first thing to recommend is that they don’t work in some place that they don’t like, that they don’t do things that they don’t like. That they look for what they really want to do and what kind of thing they want to be involved in, or if they want to go it alone by themselves, to find that.
What advice would you give your twenty-year-old self, and what should they ignore?
Question
What are you most proud of?
Identity & self
Question
What problem are you still trying to solve?
Craft & work
Question
What purchase of $100 or less has most positively impacted your life in the last six months?
Money & investment
Question
Which living person do you most admire, and why?
Values & belief
Question
Aside from a property, what is the most expensive thing you have bought?
Money & investment
Question
What is an unusual habit or an absurd thing that you love?
Daily life
Well, 20 is still slightly too old, but like my 18-year-old self, I would just tell to – I would say to just not bother going to college at all. Because like the year that I spent at Berkeley was a total waste of my time, basically. Not because there’s anything wrong with Berkeley, but because I just wasn’t passionate about what I was studying, and there’s no – there was no point in me like grinding out a year of studies that I didn’t care about.
Tim Ferriss, The Tim Ferriss Show, The Blog of Author Tim Ferriss, 1 January 2018 source ↗
Others on this question
View all 90 →
Carlos Slim Helú
Businessman and investor; chairman of Grupo Carso and América Móvil
Jeff Bezos
Founder and former chief executive of Amazon; founder of Blue Origin
My grandfather looked at me, and after a bit of silence, he gently and calmly said, “Jeff, one day you'll understand that it's harder to be kind than clever.”
Óscar Arias Sánchez
President of Costa Rica, 1986–1990 and 2006–2010
History was not written by men who predicted failure, who gave up their dreams, who abandoned their principles, who allowed their laziness to put their intelligence to sleep. If certain men at times were alone in seeking victory, they always had at their side the watchful spirit of their peoples, the faith and destiny of many generations.
Patti Smith
Musician, poet and photographer
Build a good name. Keep your name clean. Don’t make compromises. Don’t worry about making a bunch of money or being successful. Be concerned about doing good work and protect your work. […] Protect your work and if you build a good name, eventually that name will be its own currency.
Recorded
Christian Lund, Louisiana Literature festival, Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, 24 August 2012, Louisiana Channel, Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, 24 August 2012
source ↗
More from Alex Honnold
View profile →I think I’m most proud of the speed record on Moonlight, because I broke a team record by myself by climbing it in a different style. It feels more “new” to me than simply climbing a route a little quicker, which is what all my other speed records are.
Anyway, it's very much a work in progress, but I'm basically just hoping to do something useful in the world besides just climbing rocks...
Yeah, I mean, no question. I mean the last van that I bought, a $10,000 van and lived in it for 10 years. And then this new van that I bought, it’s a new van so it’s obviously a bit pricier, but it’s like pretty awesome and I’ll probably live in it for another ten years. Well, maybe not actually live in it, but, you know, I’ll be based out of it.
Recorded
Tim Ferriss, The Tim Ferriss Show, The Blog of Author Tim Ferriss, 1 January 2018
source ↗
And, you know, Chris Sharma obviously was like setting all kinds of world record type things when I was a kid. I was just like, “Oh, he’s so amazing.” And Tommy Caldwell was also a big hero, which has been cool because now I get to climb with Tommy as an adult and I’m just like, “Oh, that’s pretty cool.” I’m still always excited to climb with Tommy.
Recorded
Tim Ferriss, The Tim Ferriss Show, The Blog of Author Tim Ferriss, 1 January 2018
source ↗
I mean, definitely my van.
Recorded
Tim Ferriss, The Tim Ferriss Show, The Blog of Author Tim Ferriss, 1 January 2018
source ↗
No, I use like a 2-liter bottle, just like some random plastic bottle. And I basically use it over and over until it’s like this is repulsive, and then I recycle it. And then I move on to another.
Recorded
Tim Ferriss, The Tim Ferriss Show, The Blog of Author Tim Ferriss, 1 January 2018
source ↗
More on time & hindsight
- When were you happiest? 585 answers
- What is the most important lesson life has taught you? 149 answers
- What scares you about getting older? 69 answers
- What is the best advice you have ever received? 37 answers
- What is something you were told by a parent, teacher, or mentor that you still repeat to yourself? 26 answers
- If you could have a gigantic billboard anywhere, what would it say and why? 25 answers
Also answered this
Eliud Kipchoge, Abby Wambach, Simone Biles, Susan Butcher, Naomi Osaka, Megan Rapinoe
Search the directory for somebody in particular.
Explore further
- All time & hindsight questions
- Explore the archive — by field, age, era, and subject