Screenshot of my first video “letter” to Quarterly subscribers.
Roughly 2-3 weeks ago, my first Quarterly package shipped out to subscribers, including many of you.
The theme of my Quarterly mailings is obsession–the ideas and objects I just can’t get out of my head. I get obsessed with all kinds of things. Sometimes I’m hooked on a great health product or travel gadget. Other times, I find a new productivity booster or incredible book through my experiments and research.
I never know what I’ll get obsessed with next, and that surprise factor is what makes obsessions great.
Here’s what the first box looked like (click to enlarge)!
The descriptions are below… and just wait until you see what’s next!…
Quarterly is now accepting 500 more subscribers — first come, first served. Just click here to check out the details. International is no problem — just a $10 shipping fee for Canada and a $15 shipping fee for all other non-US countries.
Anything in particular you’d like to see in future boxes? Please let me know in the comments.
In the meantime, here are all of the products from the first box ($200+ value):
2. Bird by Bird
4. Buddha Board
5. Prismacolor Col-Erase Colored Pencil Light Blue
6. Bigger, Stronger, Faster (DVD)
OR
BioTrust Low-Carb Protein (This was only for some international subscribers, who could not receive Athletic Greens due to customs regulations)
###
Odds and Ends: Live Event and Merrell Winners
Live Event: “Building the Perfect Human: Tracking Biomarkers for Performance and Health Enhancement”
I use a start-up called WellnessFX for all of my comprehensive blood testing.
Be one of the first 200 people to purchase a WellnessFX package between now and March 28, and you’ll receive an exclusive invitation to see me speak live in downtown San Francisco on March 28th from 6pm-7:30pm. It will be an intimate group, and there will be plenty of time for audience Q&A.
Check out all the details here.
Merrell Winners
The 10 winners of the last comment competition are listed below. To the winners: keep an eye on your email! Also, since so many people have asked about my default shoes, here are my two current favorites:
– For all-around use: The Reach Glove
– For walking and (carefully) running: The Vapor Glove, their most minimal “barefoot-like” shoe
http://bit.ly/13VVpCk – Men’s
http://bit.ly/Z7TOoB – Women’s
THE 10 WINNERS:
It was hugely difficult to narrow these down, but here are 10 that my magic elves and I particularly liked. Thank you to everyone how commented!
1. Adam Brady
Connection for me occurs when purpose meets emotion. You can do things with purpose but without emotion and you can do things emotionally but without purpose, “connection” is when the two sentiments converge. Many individuals work with the purpose of making a living, and many play for the pure emotion of joy but, when one finds a calling or activity that speaks to them they become connected, and that work/activity is executed with both purpose and joy.
My favorite body weight exercises are pull-ups, push-ups, mountain climbers, deep squats and planks. 5 exercises, whole body, simple and effective.
2. Connor Grooms
It is inherently foolish to try to put words to connection. Connection is not possible to describe, just like the tao, “The Tao that can be spoken is not the eternal Tao. The name that can be named is not the eternal name”. Connection is what makes life worth living, what makes relationships deep, and what makes being alone in wild Nature feel so freeing. There are more literal meanings, but those are insufficient.
Best body weight exercise is Pullups, especially ones on door frames (grip strength)
3. Rachel
When we feel our hearts beating, blood pulsing in our veins, and our breath moving inside of us we are fully alive…we are in connection with ourselves and we are connected to all other living things. Connection is life.
Yoga is connection and is by far my favorite body-weight only exercise for mind, body and spirit!
4. Mike Gopsill
Connection is the noun for Kevin Bacon, who is always connected, by 4GEE and by six degrees.
My favourite bodyweight-only exercises are dips because they are isolated and intense, a one-handed pushup (Rocky-style) and I like a Turkish getup with no weight if that counts.
Great post Tim, looking forward to getting outside myself when the UK summer kicks in.
5. Edmundo Gurza
What does “connection” mean to you??A connection is the perfect mix of focus and calmness, which allows you to be in the moment with all your senses. Whether it is with a person, a task or nature, being in the moment and allowing the connection to happen opens your senses to bring clarity and be able to focus on what is surrounding you.
What are your favorite bodyweight-only exercises??- squats (such a natural movement that has been so lost in our culture)?- anything handstand-ish (pushups, holds, one handed, etc)?- and of course pullups
6. Rebecca
Connection is intangible, invisible and undeniable. Felt as an energy toward someone or something, our ears perk up, our eyes open wide and our hearts start to flutter.
It sneaks up on you when you least expect it. It grabs you by the heart and says “listen up!” It is the extra “something” that we often cannot put words to because there are some things in life that are too unique and special to name or label.
Best body weight exercise is full body squats in sets that make you wonder if you are going to be able to get off the toilet later! :0)
7. Drew
Connection, to me personally, is what I felt the first time I went to Brazil, speaking no Portuguese, and met a Japanese Brazilian girl who didn’t speak English. We had the strongest CONNECTION I had ever felt. We had a “chemical”, as she said, using her English dictionary.
8 years later: she is fluent in English, I am fluent in Portuguese, and we are married.
My favorite bodyweight exercises are the ones that use leverage and creativity to create extreme difficulty – one-armed pushup and one-armed pullup.
8. Ryan Ripley
Connection – a strange attractor that leads to unpredictable interractions and consequences.
Favorite body weight exercise: Face the wall squats (RKC)
9. Monica Ridgway
For me, “connection” means surrender, at least to some extent, allowing unity with whatever one is connecting with – be it nature, God, oneself, a dance partner, a spouse, a friend, or whatever. In order to connect, we have to let go of our own need for control, let go of preconceived ideas and agendas, and allow the external to enter and exert power over us. This surrender and connection changes us, the whole more than the sum of its parts.
As for favorite body-weight-only exercises, my top choice has always been dance. From the strict forms of ballet and modern dance, to ballroom and swing, to the nearly-formless bouncing and shimmying to be witnessed in nightclubs, to break dancing, dance involves all parts of the body – particularly the core – and it is also a great cardio workout. Dance is also an excellent way of connecting, be it with music – giving your body over to the music to drive your movement – or with a partner – surrendering the self to move together as one body.
10. Mark Greenman
1. For me, “connection” means a lot of things, but when I first read it, the connection I thought of was the feeling I get when I connect with a particularly well designed piece of gear, something that has been designed for exactly what I need it to do, and expresses itself instantly. But then I’m a gear nerd!
The Tim Ferriss Show is one of the most popular podcasts in the world with more than one billion downloads. It has been selected for "Best of Apple Podcasts" three times, it is often the #1 interview podcast across all of Apple Podcasts, and it's been ranked #1 out of 400,000+ podcasts on many occasions. To listen to any of the past episodes for free, check out this page.
Comment Rules: Remember what Fonzie was like? Cool. That’s how we’re gonna be — cool. Critical is fine, but if you’re rude, we’ll delete your stuff. Please do not put your URL in the comment text and please use your PERSONAL name or initials and not your business name, as the latter comes off like spam. Have fun and thanks for adding to the conversation! (Thanks to Brian Oberkirch for the inspiration.)
Cool post Tim, tempted to subscribe to your box!
I was really hoping to get ahold of some of those Merrell’s 🙁
Do you think they’ll ever make a stealth “business loafer?” Like a barefoot style shoe that looks good enough to wear into the office or boardroom?
Check out the Reach Glove link above. It’s pretty close and what I were to a lot of business stuff in SF.
Thanks! I must’ve missed that one when I looked through their site!
Tim…got my Quarterly box a while back and loved it! I can’t wait for more to show up! Thanks again!
The Quarterly box was awesome! I can’t wait for the next quarter.
Tim!
This subscription thing is genius… my question is – if I (hypothetically) ran a company and wanted to give you free things to see if you thought they were worthy of inclusion in the NEXT mail-out… what would be the best way to woo you?
Is there a P.O box where we can send you free stuff? Or an email where we can send an elevator pitch?
Keep being awesome,
Reuben.
Hi Reuben,
Easy – I’ll have Quarterly ping you 🙂
Cheers,
Tim
http://bit.ly/16yh6s2
^ Just sayin’
I subscribed to the first Quarterly package. While it was nice that it contained a lot of different stuff (including two books on my to-read list), I would prefer fewer items that I would actually use in my daily life.
Hi Mehmet,
Thanks for subscribing! For daily use, if it helps:
– I use Athletic Greens (from the box) every morning.
– I also revisit both books included on a weekly or bi-weekly basis.
With the boxes, I am trying to offer a combination of practicality, creativity, and “Holy $%#&, I never would have found this on my own”-type goodies. Much like my books, I suppose.
Hope that helps,
Tim
Hey Tim, Check out our product, Drinkwel, for some future box, or just for yourself. With serious inspiration from 4HWW, I quit my job, started this company (2010), and can work from anywhere with an internet connection. Big thanks to you, sir! -Mike
Looks like I owe quarterly some money…… your video showed greens AND biophase, so I threw a fit. A big one…..and they sent me biophase to shut me up. Oops….. I assume they will take money, but if they give me a dont worry response, donors choose will get a donation in their name. And TIm? You might want to be even clearer for literal types like me………
Well, now I just HAD to subscribe. Feel bad I missed this first one but never again!
Just wanted to say thanks for the Quarterly box, more than I expected. I had already been reading Seneca’s letters but I will tell you that Bigger, Stronger, Faster was an eye opener that I am still debating what I should take away from it.
Good chance to let you know your books have changed my life, I am quite literally 60 pounds lighter, learning to cook and working on my muse which may be backwards but follows the order in which I read them.
Only question I have is I am interested what is the best way to get into investing in startups from outside, what you and Kevin Rose have an inside track to currently. I understand until proven being an advisor is a far reach being involved in startups and creative minds is what gets me excited, and hopefully an upcoming “muse” i am working on will help me get there.
Thanks for the comment, Mark, and huge congrats! Also happy you enjoyed the Quarterly box. Here’s the story of how I got involved with investing:
http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/2010/06/28/mba/
Be well,
Tim
Tim, from your post on How To Create Your Own Real World MBA, you mentioned you’d have a clearer picture on the Tim Ferriss Fund by 2013. Would us viewers be able to see some of the bigger picture in a blog post later this year as a recap on the Tim Ferriss Fund?
Good idea for a follow up. Let me see what I can do!
All the best,
Tim
I wonder how many people pushed play on that screenshot of the video and wondered why it wasn’t playing. It can’t just be me who falls for this every single time…
Hey Tim!
I loved the first mailing! I really like how there were items that I totally expected (Letters from a Stoic) and some that I would have never guessed (a Japanese saw???). It was really a treat. Thank you very much for putting in the time.
I can’t wait for the next one!
Hey Tim,
Seriously considering purchasing the Athletic greens and the Biotrust but I have a question for you. It indicates all over the place that it’s for active people.
I am not currently that active and therefore I am wondering if I should measure my use in a different way because I haven’t been working out for 3 months.
Suggestions ?
Also [Moderator: website deleted] we’re building a wireless broadband network that will bring 1 gigabit per second to the home, business, and mobile device.
Check out Aeonex is what I meant haha. Follow on to my high concept pitch:P
Just FYI: Was notified of this post in under 4 hours, which is I think record speed. (Last one took 5 days.) If you changed something, it’s working!
Hi Tim,
I just watched your “Smash fear, learn anything” video on TED where you mentioned how you’re interested in developing a better education system. I’m VERY interested in the same thing. I was impressed with your stories of success and more importantly, the learning process that allowed you learn so many things. I feel that my life has been somewhat of a similar story where I have learned countless things- everything from sports, to composing full orchestras, to countless new softwares, to even learning Japanese(and some Chinese). I lived in Japan as a missionary for two years in Tokyo so it was kind of cool to hear of your experiences in Japan. Anyways, I feel that the educational system does SUCH a poor job with teaching and learning, and I would LOVE to talk more on how to provide a better system. I’ve been recently working towards creating my own online school whereby I (we, teachers) would have the freedom to teach as effectively as we want. I honestly think that gathering the best teachers who are constantly learning the most effective, engaging ways to teach/learn would reap benefits incomprehensibly non-existent today, but so incredibly valuable to mankind if accomplished. Please, I’d love to talk more about this. You’ve got some great ideas, and I love your exploratory, innovative ways of thinking. Here’s my contact info:
Thanks!
Richard
I checked the winners, just to see who had made it… and I won! Needless to say, that totally made my day. Thanks Tim – for a lot more than the shoes 😉
-mark
I have absolutely no idea when I’ll use this awesome saw but you were right – for now it looks cool on the wall 🙂 Apart from it – contents are marvelous. I’ve watched the documentary (shocking stuff, how we understand “cheating” only in the meaning of the current law), put the Buddha Board on my desk (and now doodle while writing) and there are just few pages left in Bird by Bird. It’s gonna be my new favourite book about writing, right next to “On Writing” by Stephen King. Anne Lamott has great sens of humor!
When it comes to my idea what could be added to the next shipment I recall you recommending a device that makes the best coffee in the world. I remember trying to find it once but since I’m from Poland there were no sellers nearby (even Amazon.co.uk couldn’t help on this one). Maybe? 🙂
Was mine disqualified for being too poetic or are you just against parents having shoes?
Honestly Tim?
It is guys of our age that have similar interests or what? I don’t know if you are really supper smart at gathering data and using the 80/20 to market products. Or both. Maybe we were separated at birth. You have managed to get into my head because I already have 80% of the things you are highlighting within a few feet of me right now.
Speaking to the obsession thing. I have had many obsessions in my life and am enriched because of each one of them. Currently I am obsessed with Winning a Gold Medal at the 2016 Olympics playing Water Polo for team USA. I train 3-a-days sometimes, because I am not coming from the prototypical background. I have used the techniques in your books to give me a competitive advantage in training smarter, and I have used mentors and coaches to help me along the way. I will be meeting you at the Mastermind event in May and I am sure I could share much more.
I can tell you other obsessions I have right now. Since Sports Illustrated Recently came out with the Swimsuit edition Kate Upton has been an obsession. Watches have been a lifelong obsession. Guitars, and instruments. Gadgets pertaining to music. Bags of all shapes and sizes. Training equipment. Art, dance, drawing, Painting, sculpture…. My great uncle was Pedro Delemos, and he was an integral part of the Palo Alto community curator and art educator, He served as director of Stanfords Art Collection. Both of my parents were artists. So to say art was important in my family is an under statement.
I truly believe that the humanities are being choked out, and we need to bring them back because these are the things that really enrich the human experience. We get so caught up on Money that we lose track and our field of view shrinks. My three year old said recently “daddy how come our eyes are so small but we can see so big” Well as you age in America, society slowly works to constrain your sense of individuality. We call people crazy, or we call them artists, but really they just have the courage to be themselves. I want to work to unlock that child inside all of us to really push the planet to new heights collaborating with a sense of wonderment and discovery. I think you could help.
What you are doing on your blog, and in the world is really cool. I am a big fan. Keep up the good work. I only hope you get a chance to read these from time to time.
Hi TIm,
As you mentioned, that Athletic Greens was replaced with BioTrust Low-Carb Protein for some international subscribers, due to customs regulations, I have a follow-up question regarding this very issue:
Does that mean, that for internation subscribers to your Quarterly mailings, customs regulations are always taken into account when you assemble these packages?
As a resident of Germany (as well as a huge fan of yours) this was the one thing that kept me from subscribing.
Thanks in advance and keep up your great work!
Phil
Tim’s box made it through the Israeli customs to me so I guess it will make it through to anywhere else:)
Would love to see in the box the amazing uguard.me Smart Resin skins for mobile devices .
Hello Tim,
Yesterday out of the blue I decided to check my spam box and your name popped to my attention while quickly scanning through it (something I never do).. there goes another type of connection (telepathic maybe?). Those shoes will see tons of hikes and workouts as I blow away the stress at my recently new loft on the secluded beaches of Nova Scotia while writing my thesis on climate change in South America. Thank you for the shoes! PS: great job with the 4HourChef, it has been at arms reach in the kitchen since it came out.
Hey Tim,
Do you have any sort of before-and-after comparison for the use of Athletic Greens, i.e. have you taken any blood tests before you started taking the Athletic Greens every morning?
I was just curious whether they had a measurable impact on you.
Cheers,
Chris
Anyway to get an invite, if WellnessFX is not available in NY? I would LOVE to purchase WellnessFX, but not available… and I just happen to be in SF on March 28 for business.
Maybe a donation to a charity of your choice? Reading projects, etc.?
I’m obessed with minimalist travel. I’m prepping for a month somewhere near Thailand. I hope to make it with a backpack and my specially selected travel items. Perhaps you can squeeze something into the next box to help me out! My current short-trip pack includes most of your items already 😉
Hi Tim! Was great fun opening your first Quarterly box (vine here: http://vine.co/v/bHMpvX5BlzB ), I was a little surprised that there weren’t more items related to some of your start-up investments – trial subscriptions / credits / whatnot. Love hearing about the ideas and business *you* find interesting enough to put money behind!
Hi Tim!
Do you use Merrell shoes when you lift weights? If not, what shoes do you use?
Thanks!
Hey Tim, it would be great if the next box contained a video of how to do the PX speed reading project.
I love that you included a fitness/nutritional supplement.
Anything on how to day trade currencies(forex) to help get that 4 hour work week through trading would be awesome 🙂 or maybe some cool trainers like the M connect line 😉
Thanks for your books and posts, they are by far superior to anyone else I have come across.
Tim: I’d like to echo Rueben’s question and ask if Quarterly could “ping” me, too. My (hypothetical) product company might also be making something you’d deem worthy of a Quarterly shipment, and so — at the very least — a brief round of pinging would be a good way to start up a conversation.
Matt
P.S.: “Ping me” sounds a bit…. Errrrrhhh… Nasty. Doesn’t it?
Loved 4-Hour workweek. Ditto 4-Hour Chef (and congrats on the award!!!!).
Ahem.
The 4-Hour Body on Amazon. #1 rated review is 1-star. Comments?
Hi Tim!
Just wanted to say thanks for the contest and for the shoes! Looking forward to trying them out.
–Ryan
Mr. Ferriss, huge fan here. Do you know of a fitness site like Netflix or Hulu that for a fee streams all great fit videos like insanity? Was personal trainer for many years but now driving big rigs for a company out of Springfield, MO called Prime Inc. and wanting to get back in shape.
kind of off topic…
but what is the thought behind the banner photo of you and the squirrel ?
i have always wondered if there was any “branding” or “subliminal/contextualiztion” intent there? or if it is just a photo you like.
Haha… just a photo I like that a friend snapped. Nothing subliminal.
That’s a complete off-topic, but..
My Google Chrome browser keeps showing me “Malware ahead!” thing when I try to go to this blog.
I’m not sure if everyone else has this problem, but I though I’ll let you know, just in case.
*if anyone else has this problem
*I thought I’d let you know
Hi Tim –
I’d like to see if my recently funded Kickstarter project turned product is Quarterly worthy. Other than being seen on CreativeLive in my hands as an audience member, I haven’t been able to get any marketing.
Can I send a few units to you to check out?
Thank you kindly for your time & consideration.
Randy
Tim,
I am a long-time reader and extremely occasional commenter. Quick question about the greens: how would Michael Pollan feel about them? Put another way, can we trust those kinds of engineered nutritional products to really cover the bases that actual fruits and vegetables would? I’m sure one still eats fruits and vegetables even while taking this, but curious how we can know how much it really delivers, and if it has any side effects we can’t yet detect. Would really appreciate a response, as I am a big fan of all your books, and tend to trust your instincts, but am afraid to take that kind of substance daily.
Cheers,
Rizvi
Bird By Bird is an amazing book.
I am looking to subscribe to your box, but I cannot figure out the pricing. Is it $100 for the whole year or is it per shipment?
Rand, the box is $100 per quarter: https://quarterly.co/contributors/timothy-ferriss
Donna, Tim Ferriss’ Assistant
Tim your box items are intriguing. The Bird by Bird instructions on writing a life looks like something I would enjoy. Always interested in the things people find interesting. Thanks for sharing.
I wrote you a letter (with the story of my life) and now I realised that probably you’ll never see it.
so I put here only piece of it, maybe to encourage you to read all:
I’m very passionate about educational topic you’ve mentioned on that old TED talk, I fully agree that the current state of things is very outdated and numbing. I study psychology and what interests me the most is the educational path. Wygotsky is my idol, I love his concepts with all my heart, I love children, because they are creative and unlike adults, unspoiled. I just can’t take it any longer to watch that process of damaging them, I still vividly remember being under the influence of that process, it was too long and too much.
My other interests are posthumanism, theory of `situated knowledge’ and the “thesis-antithesis-synthesis” approach of Hegel. I’m already/only 22 years old, but I’m happy to learn and help you with your studies about school system.
Let’s just replace it, okay?
If the video letter is available for viewing by the non-subscribers, I haven’t found it. Can we watch it, please?
Hey Tim,
I hope all is well. I am reaching out as my mom and I met you on Saturday afternoon on the Embarcadero when you were sitting at the cafe. Unfortunately, I will not be able to make your event on Thurs.
However, I have a few suggestions for a new post that might be interesting to your local subscribers. Since you live in a foodie loving area why not post about SF local favs eats and things to do. This can be related to outdoor activities in and out the city.
You’ve mentioned how you moved to SF for some of those reasons and now you have a sponsor (Merrell) supporting an outdoor campaign. I have your 4 hour chef book and it could be an interesting combination to the local community where you currently live and work.
Also, if you could reach out to me I’m interested in getting involved in the entreprenurial community/start ups and would appreciate any suggestions on groups or forums to get involved in.
I appreciate your time and for considering my suggestion!
Have a great week- supposed to be sunny!
-Laura
BOOOM! I got mine too Tim 🙂
They are awesome, i’ve become an addict for the Athletic Greens stuff.
Looking forward to the next one
Shaqir
Signed up after I saw what was in that first box. Any chance of getting the first box shipment?
Tim,
To be honest…I was disappointed with the first shipment. Being part of a group of friends, (all big fan of yours) I decided to be the first to take the plunge and subscribe to Quarterly (Tim Ferris). When the shipment arrived, I was disappointed to say the least and my friends were glad that they did not subscribe.
For $100, if you had included kindle versions of your latest book or some cool gadgets (like a fitness device towards the 4 hour body), I would have def been happier. Anyways, it took me a while to get over it and get back to following you. I guess you can not please everyone. Good luck and I wish you the best!
Are only credit cards, and not debit cards, accepted to purchase a quarterly subscription?
Interesting blog post. Things i would like to bring up is that pc memory needs to be purchased but if your computer still can’t cope with whatever you do along with it. One can put in two RAM memory boards having 1GB each, for example, but not one of 1GB and one of 2GB. One should look for the company’s documentation for one’s PC to ensure what type of storage is necessary.
Tim, you should try Mental Mojo if you like Alpha Brain. Alpha Brain is not nearly as effective as Mental Mojo because only 10-12% of each pill is actually absorbed by the body, whereas nearly 70% of liquid supplements like Mental Mojo is absorbed.