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What Does a Stormtrooper Costume Have to Do With Clutter? · The Tim Ferriss Show

The Tim Ferriss Show

#885: How to Simplify Your Life — Tips from Oliver Burkeman, Chip Conley, Elizabeth Gilbert, and More

Many of us feel like we’re drowning in invisible complexity. So I wanted to hit pause and ask a simple question: What are 1–3 decisions that could dramatically simplify my life?In this episode:Chip Conley shares how a near-death experience on stage changed his life.Greg McKeown reveals what a stormtrooper costume has to do with all the goddamn clutter in…

Notes

  1. Chip Conley says a speech in St. Louis in his late 40s forced a simpler life. Full answer

  2. Chip Conley draws a line between knowledge and wisdom. Knowledge is something you accumulate and add. Full answer

  3. Greg McKeown says the endowment effect is a brain habit that makes people value things more because they already have them. Full answer

  4. Greg McKeown says a stormtrooper costume shows the clutter that is not sitting in a closet. Full answer

  5. David Allen says a to-do list kept in your head costs a stack of broken agreements with yourself. Full answer

  6. Elizabeth Gilbert says telling the truth is not simple, and it gets harder the closer and more intimate the relationship. Full answer

  7. Elizabeth Gilbert says a simple no always begins with thank you, and there is never a but, because the teacher of the nine-day school feels the word but is… Full answer

  8. Oliver Burkeman says simplicity advice often backfires because every system creates overhead. Full answer

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