#719: Walk & Talk with Greg McKeown — How to Find Your Purpose and Master Essentialism in 2024

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Greg McKeown (@GregoryMcKeown) is the author of
two New York Times bestsellers, Essentialism: The
Disciplined Pursuit of Less and Effortless: Make
It Easier to Do What Matters Most. Together they have
sold more than two million copies in 37 languages. He is also a
speaker, host of The Greg McKeown Podcast and founder of The
Essentialism Academy with students from 96 countries. More than
175,000 people have signed up to his 1-Minute Wednesday
newsletter.


He is currently doing a doctorate at The University of Cambridge,
and he is easily one of my favorite thinkers on all things
related to effectiveness, efficiency, and—at the end of the
day—quality of life. 


Greg is originally from London, England, and he and his wife Anna
are parents to four children.


Please enjoy!


This episode is brought to you
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supplements! Momentous offers high-quality
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[00:00] Start


[10:02] How 2023 informed 2024’s highest priorities.


[16:09] Greg’s system for effortless execution of daily tasks.


[27:42] Directional documents, shameless repentance, and shifting
success.


[36:53] Poetic mysticism and matchmaking introspection.


[41:51] What compass guides you toward purpose?


[45:10] The truth as a path to your best possible future.


[50:34] Maslow’s forgotten pinnacle of self-transcendence.


[54:28] Why self-actualization is an insufficient foundation for
meaningful relationships.


[1:03:09] Recommended reading for relationship cultivation.


[1:07:43] A true, bittersweet tale of progressively deepening
love.


[1:13:28] The benefits of treating social media as an option
rather than an obligation.


[1:16:12] AI: good servant, poor master.


[1:17:23] Blocking time for a top priority.


[1:27:55] “It’s the tools, stupid.”


[1:30:56] Embracing the constraints that stack the decks in your
favor.


[1:35:41] How to sign up for Greg’s free “Less, But Better”
30-day email program.


[1:37:09] Employing the George Costanza opposite life hack.


[1:40:53] Parting thoughts.


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Past guests on The Tim Ferriss
Show include Jerry Seinfeld, Hugh
Jackman, Dr. Jane Goodall, LeBron James, Kevin
Hart, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Jamie Foxx, Matthew
McConaughey, Esther Perel, Elizabeth
Gilbert, Terry Crews, Sia, Yuval Noah
Harari, Malcolm Gladwell, Madeleine
Albright, Cheryl Strayed, Jim Collins, Mary
Karr, Maria Popova, Sam Harris, Michael
Phelps, Bob Iger, Edward Norton, Arnold
Schwarzenegger, Neil Strauss, Ken Burns, Maria
Sharapova, Marc Andreessen, Neil Gaiman, Neil de
Grasse Tyson, Jocko Willink, Daniel Ek, Kelly
Slater, Dr. Peter Attia, Seth Godin, Howard
Marks, Dr. Brené Brown, Eric Schmidt, Michael
Lewis, Joe Gebbia, Michael Pollan, Dr. Jordan
Peterson, Vince Vaughn, Brian Koppelman, Ramit
Sethi, Dax Shepard, Tony Robbins, Jim
Dethmer, Dan Harris, Ray Dalio, Naval
Ravikant, Vitalik Buterin, Elizabeth
Lesser, Amanda Palmer, Katie Haun, Sir Richard
Branson, Chuck Palahniuk, Arianna Huffington, Reid
Hoffman, Bill Burr, Whitney Cummings, Rick
Rubin, Dr. Vivek Murthy, Darren
Aronofsky, Margaret Atwood, Mark Zuckerberg, Peter
Thiel, Dr. Gabor Maté, Anne Lamott, Sarah
Silverman, Dr. Andrew Huberman, and many more.


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