Day 13: Tools of Titans

                This journey all started on a beach in Cuba. I was going on my first vacation in over 4 years & one of my co-workers lent me Tim Ferriss’ new book ‘Tools of Titans,’ a book that looks at the ‘tactics, routines, & habits of billionaires, icons, & world-class performers’ & could have also doubled as a mallet for crushing my lobsters because it is HUGE.

                The very first world-class performer interviewed was Spartan Race World Champion & World’s Toughest Mudder, Amelia Boone. Just a few interviews later, Spartan Race creator Joe De Sena was up. Both interviews got me thinking that maybe there was something to this obstacle course thing. Later, actor & executive producer of the Office, BJ Novak, discussed the importance of scheduling things in advance to keep from backing out, & before I knew it I was signed up for the Spartan Race.

                Signing up for the Spartan Race wasn’t the only thing I took out of Tools of Titans, what follows are 7 habits that I picked up & have continued from reading the book about a month ago.

1. Meditation

According to Tim, “more than 80% of the world-class performers [he] interviewed have some form of daily meditation or mindfulness practice. Both can be thought of as “cultivating a present-state awareness that helps you to be nonreactive.” Chess prodigy & best-selling author Josh Waitzkin adds in that meditation (along with interval training) are “beautiful habits to develop to cultivate the art of turning intensity on & turning it off.”

The day I returned home from vacation, I downloaded an app called ‘Headspace’ which offers a free 10-day introductory course on meditation. It simply takes 10 minutes per day, & within 3 or 4 days I started to get a feel of what meditation was about. Fast forward to a month later, & I am still practicing daily but have moved on to an app called ‘Insight Timer’ as it contains much more free content.

For me, meditation has allowed me to clear my head in the mornings & carry this clarity through my work day. I have found that I am not nearly as quick to react emotionally & have a sort of happy, ‘high’ feeling throughout the day. Keep in mind, I am getting these results despite being brand new, & TERRIBLE at meditation. In my morning 20-minute sessions, about 15 minutes is spent returning to my breathing because I have become lost in thought – imagine the results when I can cut that wasted ‘thinking’ time to 5 minutes or less!  

If you’re still on the fence about at least trying meditation for a few days, the best advice that I can offer comes directly from Tim; “if you don’t have 20 minutes to delve into yourself through meditation, then that means you really need 2 hours”

2. Slow Carb Diet

                I have a bad habit of taking on very restrictive diets, following them to the letter for 2 to 3 weeks, then throwing them away completely & going on a pizza & burger binge. I have cycled through bouts of the paleo & ketogenic diets, among others, however over the past 4 weeks I have been following Tim’s ‘slow carb’ diet & have been thoroughly enjoying the results. The 6 rules of the ‘slow carb’ diet are below

                Rule #1: Avoid ‘white’ starchy carbohydrates

                Rule #2: Eat the same few meals over & over again, especially for breakfast & lunch

                Rule #3: Don’t drink calories

                Rule #4: Don’t eat fruit

                Rule #5: If possible, measure your progress in body fat percentage, NOT total pounds

                Rule #6: Take one day off per week & go nuts

                I have been following each rule over the past 4 weeks with the exception of rules #3 & #6. As stated above, I have a tendency to go right off the rails with cheat days, so instead of dedicating an entire day to poor eating, I will choose one night to enjoy a few drinks, usually revolving around a sports game. This does not mean I get black-out, but it does mean that I enjoy a few beers (therefore also breaking rule #3) or glasses of wine guilt-free. For me this is a good balance of feeling like I have freedom without completely going off of the rails.

3. The 5-Minute Journal

                Another enduring habit that I picked up from Tools of Titans was the 5-minute journal. The 5-minute journal is a 5-minute exercise first thing in the morning, & at the end of the day where you first look ahead to the day at hand, then look back on the day that transpired. I have a running word document that is now up to 38 pages long where I log these 5 simple things each day:

               

Each morning, you answer the following questions:

Three things I am grateful for

Three things that would make today great

Three daily affirmations (I am…)

               

Then each evening you answer the following two questions:

Three amazing things that happened today

Three ways I could have made today better

               

For me, this is a great exercise that, along with meditation, puts me in a great mindset to start my day. To begin each day thinking about what you are grateful for, & what awesome things are going to happen is magic. It instantly makes you feel grateful for your current situation, & the affirmations give you confidence to tackle the day. The evening journal allows you time to reflect on your day. I find it most powerful when I have a ‘bad’ day, as I often end up realizing that a lot of good things happened that day & it is perhaps only one or two things that went wrong that I’m dwelling on.  

                As Tim states, the journals don’t need to solve your problems, “they simply need to get them out of your head, where they’ll otherwise bounce around all day like a bullet ricocheting inside your skull.”

4. 20-Minute Sauna Sessions

                I will not belabour this point as I already discussed it in my recent post about recovery, but I have incorporated 20-minute sauna sessions post-workout 5 days per week on the advice of Rhonda Patrick & Spartan Race World Champion, Amelia Boone (probably a good person to take advice from).

                In short, it has been shown that regular sauna exposure post-workout can increase running endurance by as much as 32% & provide a whole host of other benefits including increased plasma volume, increased blood flow to muscles, & a release of human growth hormone. Just in case somehow you’re not yet convinced, perennial NHL all-star, Chris Pronger, also credits his career longevity to his daily sauna use.

               

5. Systems versus Goals

                Scott Adams, creator of the Dilbert comic strip & best-selling author, discusses the concept of choosing systems versus goals. What this refers to is choosing projects & habits that, even if you are not successful in the short-term, will help you cultivate transferable skills that will equate to success in the long-term. This is especially helpful for ambitious individuals like myself that want to take on projects, but are not sure how to best allocate their limited time.

                It was this advice that led me to begin this blog. Although I know there is an extremely high probability that I will be the only one reading this blog over the next 100 days, I am still motivated to post daily, as it will help me accomplish the following, even if not a single post is ever read:

1. Stay dedicated to my fitness goals
2. Get healthier & more fit
3. Learn about fitness & nutrition
4. Develop new healthy habits
5. Network with others in the fitness/OCR world
6. Improve my writing skills
7. Learn about blogging
8. Learn about social media
9. Become more creative
10. Develop discipline

                By focusing on the process & not necessarily the result, we can ‘rig the game’ to set ourselves up for success down the road, even if we don’t necessarily achieve success in the short-term endeavour of our choosing.

6. Schedule things in advance (to keep from backing out):

                BJ Novak, actor & executive producer of the Office, discussed a strategy that he originally used to get started in stand-up comedy, where he would schedule (in this case gigs) in advance to stop himself from backing out. As per Tim, you should “make commitments in a high-energy state so that you can’t back out when you’re in a low-energy state.”

                I used this exact strategy for my Spartan Race; I signed myself up after I read Tools of Titans & was super motivated about getting in shape, even though at the time that I was in a fitness ‘lull.’ Nothing forces you back into the gym quite like a commitment to run 20 KM through mountains, over walls, & under barbed wire fence!

7. Cold Showers:

                Last but not least, one of my favourite traditions; the ice cold shower. As Tim puts it, “sometimes, you think you have to figure out your life’s purpose, but you really just need some macadamia nuts & a cold fucking shower.” Tim & motivational speaking giant, Tony Robbins, both use cold showers as part of their morning routine which is all the evidence I need. 

                I have incorporated cold showers each morning & after every workout & I love it! The cold water wakes you up & I promise it becomes something you look forward to (ok not really but it becomes more bearable). What better way to prepare yourself for a gruelling Spartan Race than a form of self-administered torture twice daily?  

Conclusion

                In short (unlike this post), Tim Ferriss’ Tools of Titans has already lead me to develop 7 enduring habits one month post-reading, with more than a few that I am looking to adopt in the very near future. I have a Word Document of notes that is 14 pages & 7,000 words long from this book – I highly recommend that you pick a copy up a copy for yourself, regardless of what your goals or ambitions are!