#713: Matt Mullenweg — The Art of Crafting a Sabbatical, Tips for Defending Against Hackers, Leveraging Open Source, Thriving in an AI World, and Tips for Life’s Darkest Hours

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Matt Mullenweg (@photomatt) is co-founder of the
open-source publishing platform WordPress, which now powers over
40 percent of all sites on the web. He is the founder and CEO of
Automattic, the company behind WordPress.com,
WooCommerce, Tumblr, WPVIP, Day One, Texts, and Pocket Casts.
Additionally, Matt runs Audrey Capital, an investment and
research company. He has been recognized for his leadership by
Forbes, Bloomberg Businessweek, Inc., TechCrunch, Fortune, Fast
Company, Wired, University Philosophical Society, and Vanity
Fair.


Matt is originally from Houston, Texas, where he attended the
High School for the Performing and Visual Arts and studied jazz
saxophone. In his spare time, Matt is an avid photographer. He
currently splits his time between Houston and San Francisco.


Please enjoy!


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


[05:12] The Argentine Dr. Mullenweg.


[08:15] Open source.


[10:19] Secret hiring.


[12:59] Matt is always on tour.


[15:14] Texts.


[17:39] How Matt chooses his next project(s).


[21:51] Building a digital Berkshire Hathaway.


[29:01] Why Matt’s excited about messaging.


[32:03] How Matt discovers companies he buys.


[32:53] RIP, Charlie Munger.


[33:28] Worthy rereads.


[37:10] My reflections on blogging, writing, and podcasting.


[48:55] Tyler Cowen’s inimitable style.


[49:42] Matt’s high school economics competition.


[57:05] Cables.


[57:59] AI spellcasting and community.


[1:01:09] Developments that will amaze the future.


[1:04:51] AI-proofing jobs.


[1:07:23] Why Matt’s optimistic about future generations.


[1:12:17] Data Liberation Front.


[1:14:12] More open app stores.


[1:18:53] Invisible tools (and weapons) of competition.


[1:23:40] Online security advice for the layman.


[1:26:21] WordCamp Asia.


[1:32:12] Taking a sa-Matt-ical.


[1:45:25] Rethinking nuclear energy.


[1:47:20] Rethinking psychedelics risks.


[1:57:59] Rethinking breathwork.


[2:02:05] Coping with depression.


[2:15:16] Rethinking TikTok.


[2:16:40] Blogging: absurd and beautiful.


[2:18:40] Rethinking Vienna sausages.


[2:19:57] Pocket ranch.


[2:21:36] Answering ancient emails.


[2:22:45] The curse of the ultra-critical eye.


[2:25:51] Rethinking meditation.


[2:28:38] Bacterial dentistry.


[2:32:06] Pocket party.


[2:32:55] 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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