How Tim Ferriss Gave Us a New Writing Prompt
If you’re a veteran reader of self-help books and articles, Tim Ferriss is a household name. Ferriss’s 2007 best-selling classic, The 4-Hour Workweek remains a seminal work of informative nonfiction.
My passion for Ferriss’s work only accelerated as I entered the post-collegiate world. His 2016 piece, Tools of Titans has become one of my favorite daily reads, having a permanent home in my office. But what I’m here to talk about today is his fifth and most recent book, Tribe of Mentors.
For a decade, Ferriss has interviewed over 100 of the world’s top performers. The result is Tribe of Mentors, a volume that aims to educate the next generation of great achievers. At the core of Tribe of Mentors are 11 critical questions. From these answers, we can gain wisdom on life, health, wealth, and the pursuit of happiness.
These questions provide a unique writing prompt that is worth doing at any stage of your life. These questions, when answered over the course of years, can help us better understand our values and principles.
To document my transition into the workforce, I will answer Ferriss’s questions, based on the lessons I’ve learned so far. I plan to update these answers every five to ten years, as I continue to progress in my life and career.
I hope that I may inspire you to do the same thing by completing this prompt yourself. If you would like to try it, here is a template to get you started.
With that said, here is my “Tribe of Mentors” entry:
Life Lessons at Age 23
“…I think what you’re doing is that you’re sitting at home and waiting for the phone to ring.… but what did you do today in the absence of a ringing phone?”
- Stewart K. Robertson to Leslie Odom Jr.
BRYCE ALLEN is a programmer and data analyst in Central Pennsylvania. He is a self-educated enthusiast of business, marketing, psychology, finance, and esports. While completing his bachelor’s degree, Bryce began networking with Ohio’s growing esports community. His passion for gaming and esports continues to this day. Bryce regularly travels and competes at fighting game tournaments. He also leads Penn FGC, a promotional hub for fighting game events held in the state of Pennsylvania. Bryce hosts EX Dragon Punch, a monthly podcast that chronicles the history of Ohio’s fighting game community. He is also the principal programmer of KI Tracker, a data analytics platform for the fighting game, Killer Instinct (2013).
1. What is the book (or books) you’ve given most as a gift, and why? Or what are one to three books that have greatly influenced your life?
Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki rewrote my perspectives on money and time. It shifted my understanding of the value that your work can bring. It’s the first book I recommend to anyone who asks me for financial advice.
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. For better or worse, I see a lot of my (for lack of a better term) younger self in the character of Victor. Bright and ambitious, almost to the fault of himself and everyone around him. It’s a cautionary tale of how following one’s mission can bring untold destruction. As a creator, it demonstrates the necessity of being accountable for your work.
The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli. One of the most formative works presented to me during my high school years. It put to words a perspective of human nature that I was, almost too optimistic to see. My mindset on business, marketing, and competition draws on concepts from this text.
2. What purchase of $100 or less has most positively impacted your life in the last six months (or in recent memory)?
I recently picked up the Extra debit card, which is a debit card that allows you to build your credit score. It pairs with your primary checking account and provides an app to track your spending. I went with their Credit Building plan for $84/year. The credit limit dynamic adjusts, based on your current bank balance. Making your payments on time also increases your limit. This is a viable alternative for those who do not want to place a security deposit for an entry-level card. I made my first expense with it in May 2022 and, roughly six months later, I built a credit score of 700 with no debt.
3. How has a failure, or apparent failure, set you up for later success? Do you have a “favorite failure” of yours?
As a high school senior, I wanted to attend Carnegie Mellon University for my Bachelor’s degree. I scored well on the SAT. I even went the extra mile by taking the SAT Subject tests in Mathematics and Physics. I had to visit a local school in a neighboring district on a Saturday just to take both tests back to back. I eagerly waited for a response letter from CMU, but I never got anything back.
It was devastating. Until that point, no university rejected me. I was on my way to graduating as valedictorian of my high school class (and ended up doing so with a 4.448 out of 4.0 GPA). I felt like I did everything right and still didn’t even get verification if they got my application.
In the end, I decided to attend the University of Akron, after my second visit to their campus in Akron, Ohio. This one decision lead to my richest life experiences to date. I completed my bucket list item of traveling to Japan. I competed in Evolution — the world’s biggest fighting game tournament series — in Las Vegas, Nevada. I traveled across the country with the Ohio’s Pride Marching Band. I found my family in the Ohio Fighting Game Community who I continue to speak to every day.
And I managed to do all that and get my degree without taking on any student debt. If I had gone to CMU, even with the same amount of financial aid, that would not have been the case. This allowed me to get a head start on my investments and helped me get my first car, a blue 2009 Chevrolet Malibu. Looking back now, I have no regrets.
4. If you could have a gigantic billboard anywhere with anything on it, what would it say and why?
Questions like this are always difficult for me! 😅
Mary Shelley once said,
“I am not a person of opinions because I feel the counterarguments too strongly.”
So here are a few of my favorite quotes that I would view as reasonable candidates:
“Well, I think what you’re doing is that you’re sitting at home and waiting for the phone to ring. When the phone rings, you’re there, and… sometimes that can get you a gig. But what did you do today in the absence of a ringing phone?”
- Stewart K. Robertson to Leslie Odom Jr.
“My goal is to learn things once and use them forever.”
- Tim Ferriss, Tools of Titans
“Judge a man by his questions rather than his answers.”
- Pierre-Marc-Gaston
“Those who know do not speak. Those who speak do not know.”
- Lao Tzu
“A smart man or woman must regularly remind themselves of the limits of their power and reach.”
- Ryan Holiday, Ego is the Enemy
5. What is one of the best or most worthwhile investments you’ve ever made?
My education. This doesn’t just include formal education. I read books, watch videos, and take courses to satisfy my curiosity. I also take notes as I go along. I absorbed everything I know about psychology, finance, business, and marketing this way.
I was never an avid reader before college. In my small hometown, I kept to my bubble; I didn’t bother with the larger world. But when I received Malcolm Gladwell’s Blink, a love of reading developed and my world expanded. We all need to better understand the world and those around us. Education is the way to achieve that.
6. What is an unusual habit or absurd thing that you love?
I love breaking down are things are made.
For example, I’ve known how to knit for over a decade. So when I see a nice sweater, I observe it and try to form a mental map of how it was crafted and stitched together.
I also do this with TV shows, films, and videos on social media. I’m looking at shot composition, narrative flow, choices of B-Roll/visual aids/VFX/music, etc.
I like to understand how things work so that I can learn how to do them myself.
I also color-coordinate highlighters with every book I read. The colors I pick either match or are intended to directly contrast with the art on the cover. Ultimately, it comes down to how I’m feeling when I start a new book.
7. In the last five years, what new belief, behavior, or habit has most improved your life?
During my college years, I read a lot of literature on the topics of minimalism and essentialism. One concept that I’ve learned from one of Marie Kondo’s books is the idea of only keeping things in your life that “spark joy.” If I’m not 100% for something — clothes, an activity, or even certain people — then I cut it out of my life.
In the coming months/years, if I miss them, then I’ll introduce them back into my life and give them a second chance. Most of the time, the things I cut stay cut.
I’m living a happier life with less in my life and it feels very fulfilling.
8. What advice would you give to a smart, driven college student about to enter the “real world”? What advice should they ignore?
Get a credit card. Many of the biggest purchases you make in life — houses, cars, etc. — are based on having a credit score. The salary of most entry-level positions will not be enough to pay for these expenses in full.
Get a no-fee credit card, set up automatic payments, and use it for regular expenses like gas and groceries. Above all else, MAKE SURE YOU PAY IT OFF ON TIME!!
There are plenty of options out there for entry-level cards that fit these criteria. You could get a secured card, where the credit limit is based on the security deposit you place. You could also get a special debit card, like Extra, and use your debit card purchases to build your credit score.
[NOTE: This is not financial advice. I am not a financial advisor. I am also not paid by Extra to promote their service. It is just a product that I like.]
9. What are bad recommendations you hear in your profession or area of expertise?
Many content creators in my niche only do live streams because “streaming is easier.”
Livestreams are not discoverable content. Livestreams are for building a relationship with your existing audience. They are not for growing a new one, especially from scratch.
If you want to grow as a content creator, you have to create content on platforms where people can find you. When you’re streaming, people can only see you while you’re live. When you put up a video, people can watch it at any time of day. You don’t have to actively trade your time to entertain them when they’re ready to watch. You do your job once and the video takes care of the rest.
Your time is a valuable asset. Use it to make something that lasts and brings value to others and back to you.
10. In the last five years, what have you become better at saying no to?
I now have increased caution when starting new projects. A new undertaking means I lose time that I would’ve spent on other projects. Nothing is worse than denying an exciting opportunity because you made other commitments. In the past, this has gone to the extremes of downsizing my sleep schedule to make everything fit. In the long run, the body cannot handle this. I now take great efforts to assess my workload capacity before starting anything new. It hurts because I always have new ideas. But, it makes the opportunities when I can pursue new projects all the more valuable.
11. When you feel overwhelmed or unfocused, or have lost your focus temporarily, what do you do?
I usually stand up from my desk and pace my workspace for a few moments to try and empty my mind. Once I manage that, I draft a list of what needs to be completed. I break each list down into micro-steps that I can mark off to show my progress. I prefer to write these lists out on either a sticky note or a dry-erase board so that way I’m always able to see them.
During extreme burnout, I will alternate between different hobbies and side hustles. So when I get tired of gaming, I’ll pick up knitting again, or start playing the guitar again. I’ve found it helps to have multiple interests in life so that you never get bored.
Let me know your answers to these questions in the comments.
Here is a template of this writing prompt to get you started!
If you want to continue the conversation, check out my social media profiles below.
Thanks for reading.
Socials:
Substack: bryceallenreads.substack.com
Twitter: twitter.com/bryceallenreads
Threads: threads.net/@bryceallenreads
Glasp: glasp.co/#/bryceallen
For more articles on reading, writing, and the creative process, subscribe to my free Substack newsletter!
You can support my writing by buying me a coffee!
You can also show support by purchasing from the affiliate links in this article.