Between our son's wedding, and our daughter's newly found interest in boys, Dawn and I have been doing a lot of sitting home at night watching Netflix series and generally being indentured servants to The Littles, our three small dogs.
We have been going to the movies more often and taken some afternoon drives on the weekend. Yes, we are experiencing the empty nest that I've heard so much about. The bright side is our grocery bill has gone down.
I've also been reading more. I used to read three books a month as my overflowing bookshelves can attest. I read almost exclusively non-fiction books of historical, political or spiritual nature. A lot of my reading time is being taken over with podcasts. I listen to them on the drive to work and on my walks at lunchtime. One of the books I am currently reading came from a podcast where I heard Tim Ferriss talking about his book Tribe of Mentors. It seemed like a great read. To quote Tim's website description:
A compilation of tools, tactics, and habits from 130+ of the world’s top performers. From iconic entrepreneurs to elite athletes, from artists to billionaire investors, their short profiles can help you answer life’s most challenging questions, achieve extraordinary results, and transform your life.
I don't know about the transforming your life part, I think if you want to sell books that's just something you have to say these days, but it is very interesting. So to give you a inside peek, here are the 11 questions Tim asked all those successful people.
1. What is the book or books you’ve given the most as a gift, and why? Or what are one to three books that have greatly influenced your life?
2. What purchase of $100 or less has most positively impacted your life in the last six months( or in recent memory)? My readers love specifics like brand and model, where you found it, etc.
3. How has a failure or apparent failure, set you up for later success? Do you have a “favorite failure” of yours?
4. If you could have a gigantic billboard anywhere with anything on it- metaphorically speaking, getting a message out to millions or billions- what would it say and why? It could a few words or a paragraph.
5. What is one of the best or most worthwhile investments you’ve ever made?
6. What is an unusual habit or an absurd thing that you love?
7. In the last five years, what new belief, behavior, or habit has most improved your life?
8. What advice would you give to a smart, driven college student about to enter the “real world”? What advice should they ignore?
9. What are bad recommendations you hear in the profession or area of expertise?
10. In the last five years, what have you become better at saying no to? What new realizations and/or approaches helped? Any other tips?
11. When you feel overwhelmed or unfocused, or have you lost your focus temporarily what do you do? What questions do you ask yourself?
Pretty cool. So what are yours answers?
