Last week, I met Yoda.
Well, not THE Yoda, but one of my personal Yodas: Tim Ferriss, New York Times bestselling author, human guinea pig, and giant nerd. I had the opportunity to interview Tim via Skype and ask him about all sorts of nerdy awesomeness: his recently released Four Hour Chef, how to get started with cooking even if you have never actually turned your oven on, how to get over failure, Star Wars, James Bond, and more.
True statement: after reading Four Hour Workweek five years ago (cover to cover in a day and a half), I came up with the idea for Nerd Fitness and purchased the domain NerdFitness.com the very next day. It was a real honor for me to speak with one of my heroes and a lot of fun to find out that he’s a normal, everyday nerd just like you and me.
I tried to keep my giggling like a school girl down to a minimum, but it wasn’t easy.
The interview is 33 minutes long, so I’ve provided the video, audio, and a link to a transcription of the interview as well. How’s THAT for service!
Tim and his team was also nice enough to give me a bunch of copies of the Four Hour Chef to give away to Nerd Fitness Rebels, so make sure you read the end of this article to learn how to win a copy.
Tim Ferriss and Nerd Fitness
Tim Ferris and Nerd Fitness interview
If you’d like to READ the interview, you can check out an entire transcription of the interview as well.
And last but not least, you can download all sorts of free content and free chapters of the book by visiting FourHourChef.com – there are also hundreds of MBs of free content on BitTorrent as well.
My thoughts on the Four Hour Chef
Here are my thoughts on the Four Hour Chef: This book should be read by anybody that loves learning, is afraid of cooking, or is convinced a zombie apocalypse is right around the corner (not even kidding).
It might appear to be a “learn how to cook” book, but it’s actually more of a “use cooking to learn how to learn” book. Don’t expect a regular cook book! Tim breaks down his thought process for rapid skill acquisition, including how to quickly learn languages, memorize a deck of cards, or how to shoot 3-pointers.
If that wasn’t enough, he covers in tremendous detail how to survive if you are stranded out in the wilderness and plan on finding food or eating only what you can kill (with lots of graphic photos). Hell, he even explains how to catch a pigeon with your bare hands!
This book pretty much has something for everybody. Not all sections will appeal to all people, but I’d bet that most Rebels will be fascinated by most topics.
The massive section on cooking will probably be of particular interest for most chef-in-training Rebels – Tim provides you with all of the information on specifically what to buy if you’re going to start cooking (specific spatulas, bowls, spices, etc), a series of recipes that increase in difficulty, and a gamification system to make this concept of cooking more enjoyable for those of us that don’t spend very much time in the kitchen.
I’ve become a HUGE fan of e-books since switching to an Amazon Kindle two years ago, but I’ll tell ya – the hardcover version of the Four Hour Chef should be the one you buy. The book is over 600 pages with hundreds and hundreds of color photos. If you plan on following the recipes in the book, the physical book will prove invaluable so that you can use it you on your countertop.
What are you going to learn?
Tim and his team were gracious enough to give us a handful of copies of the Four Hour Chef to give out to the Nerd Fitness Rebellion, but I’m going to make you work for it.
Tim is a huge fan of finding the most efficient path to learning a new skill, whether it’s dancing, learning a new language or martial art, or learning to cook.
Today, I’d like you to answer this question:
What is one skill that you’ve always wanted to learn but haven’t started yet, and what is one specific step that you are going to take TODAY to get started?
Simply leave a comment by Thursday, December 13th at 11:59pm EST with your answer and we’ll pick five winners at random to win a copy of the Four Hour Chef.
Thanks again to Tim for this opportunity! Now go cook something 🙂
-Steve
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I want to learn to write novels. And I’m going to work on my third one this afternoon…
Music. I dropped out of the band I was playing about three years ago. It was only supposed to be temporary. But then I got switched jobs, got married, bought a house, had kids…
Now theres no room for a keyboard or a drum set at our place right now,
I bought a harmonica today! I spend a lot of time alone at work. So my job is going to pay me to learn a new instrument.
I’ve always wanted to learn a second language. I am going to find a primer on studying for the defense language aptitude battery and get started.
I want to learn how to dance. I am going to find some ballerina exercises to begin to build up my strength and form for dancing.
I’d like to learn how to play the guitar (acoustical). I will do some research on the computer tonight regarding an appropriate guitar, recognizing I don’t need an expensive one to learn on. I will possibly play a little RB3 to motivate me 😉
I’ve always wanted to learn how to start my own busines…so today I’m going to buy The Four Hour Workweek and get reading…and brainstorming 🙂
I want to improve my flexibility. I am going to do some research on the topic and figure out what I need to do to get more flexible.
I want to be able to do a pull up. My training regimen starts today!
I’ve always wanted to learn how to put together a successful blog that can help people live better and happier lives (similar to this one, btw kudos to the overall branding and design, pure awesome) and tonight I will sit down and write 1000 words for the next article and take 5 marketing actions.
I’ve always wanted to learn to code programs, today I’ll look up some online courses to get me underway.
It’s silly and petty, but I’ve always wanted to be able to juggle. Well, I’m home alone tonight – so I guess I’ll start watching those VideoJug advisory videos!
I always wanted to be able to speak another language but was always too lazy to learn and hated French class in highschool. Now I’m living with 17 bilingual people and decided that I want to take this opportunity to learn Spanish. Tonight I’m going to spend 1 hour studying vocab and grammar.
I would really like to learn how to speak Spanish since it is a skill set that is more and more coveted by employers. When I graduate with my engineering degree, I want to be as employable as possible. I’ll download a Spanish app for my phone today. 🙂
I have always wanted to create my own song on any DAW. So what I am going to do is finish my school stuff as soon as I can, pack my backpack, prepare clothes for tomorrow and then sit and start to make my own song on Reason till the 12 pm to get a good sleep!
I’ve always wanted to be a long distance runner. I personally consider that a skill, and my goal is to be able to go out running with my extremely fit runner cousin this summer. For three weeks now I have been running everyday for at least 15 minutes on a treadmill. Today I ran 3 miles in 22minutes and 30 seconds
I started this semester two things that I always want to do, how to program and ride a bike, so I will continue with this two skills for now!!
I bought the 4H Chef in kindle, and I’m becoming a huge fan of Tim! But, I need to point that his pronunciation of “Espanhol” in Português-Br is not so accurate!
By the way, I’m brazilian and don’t like Carnaval!
I’ve always want to learn to start my own business. Today I started bottling my own bitters–we shall see where that takes me!
I’ve always wanted to improve my confidence in the kitchen– so I’ve just taken a knife skills class at a local cooking store, and am signed up for classes on how to properly portion out a whole chicken and how to clean and filet whole fish.
Tim is an inspiration. He’s had nothing but massive success yet he’s one of the most accessible and humble people I have ever heard of. His work ethic is awe inspiring. He’s had several of these interviews promoting his new book and yet he still answers every question with enthusiasm. Great guy!
I want to (and will) learn how to make electronic music (please don’t think techno). I’ll be taking four different online courses on the subject, starting January. In the meantime (starting NOW) I’ll read what I can about how to do certain stuff and I’ll create songs every week, even if they suck (and I’m sure they will).
Hey, learning how to cook, my wife always give a hard time that I don’t know even how to make a decent omelete (yeah, shame on me), so I will learn how to make an excellent omelete, haha.
i have always wanted to learn spanish i have already taken some spanish classes so i know some words but i think i will get a spanish/ english dictionary and slowly learn so i can fully understand everythang
its actually really wasy its just takes a LONG time to finish something… i have never finished
I have always wanted to learn how to solve a Rubik’s Cube. So I looked it up on youtube, and 20 minutes later, I can solve it! That was easy.
Now it’s time to learn how to brew a good cup of tea. Going to buy a thermometer and some tea leaves from the local Chinese grocer. Then I’m going to scour the internet and Amazon for a good book on tea, and hope to glean some insights on making the perfect cup.
Here’s where I make a shameless comment expressly for the slim chance to get the book!
I’d like to learn Danish. My wife’s parents were both born there and while my wife can speak a little I know she’d love it if she were fluent so we could teach our 11 month old daughter as she got older. Rosetta Stone no longer makes a Danish version (discontinued – jerks) so I guess my first step tonight will be to talk to the in-laws.
I have always wanted to learn to play the guitar. Today I am going to talk to my friend about borrowing a guitar and I will download the guitar lessons in GarageBand.
I have always wanted to learn how to knit so today I went out and bought some patterns and knitting needles, I already have yarn from other projects.
I watch enough DIY and HGTV that I should really be far more handy than I am. I’d like to learn how to make more sweat equity in my home, to start I am buying a dremmel tool from harbor freight.
There are so many things I want to learn… But it’s cold and I’m sick so today I’ll go with video editing. I think it would be cool and I have a friend who makes short films so I’ll start by giving him a call and seeing what the Internet has to offer.
The Four Hour Work Week was a great read. I never made it through Four Hour Body but am asking for Four Hour Chef for Christmas. In case I don’t get it, I’d love to win a copy 😉
And let’s see — I have always felt badly about not knowing how to drive a stick-shift! Apparently that’s the norm in Ireland and I want to travel there in 2014! I will commit to hunting for resources today.
Would love to read this one! Pick me! 😉
Did you know that it’s possible to develop a photographic memory? Ever since I found that out, I’ve always wanted to learn how to develop one. I keep putting it off because it requires at least a month-long commitment and there’s not a lot of room for slip ups (i.e. if one day is missed, then you basically lose a week of progress).
But at this moment, I have no real excuses to hide behind since I’m out of school for 5 weeks (the perfect amount of time!) and this article reminded me about my goal at such a convenient time. So, today will be Day 1. I’ve already done the research, so now it’s time to print off a paragraph of words (in fact, I may use one from this article) and begin the memorization process.
I’ve always wanted to learn how to cook. Starting today by cooking a recipe from a new cookbook I bought.
The book “Juggling for the Complete Klutz” by John Cassidy taught me how to juggle and i am a klutz
The book “Juggling for the Complete Klutz” by John Cassidy taught me how to juggle and i highly recommend it.
awesome!
Have you tried duolingo.com ? It’s free and pretty neat! I learned englosh and french that way in 10 weeks.