#578: Tim Ferriss and Matt Mullenweg in Antarctica: Exploring Personal Fears, Bucket Lists, Facing Grief, Crafting Life Missions, and Tim’s Best Penguin Impressions

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Matt Mullenweg (@photomatt) is a co-founder of
the open-source publishing platform WordPress, which now powers
more than one-third of all sites on the web. He is the founder
and CEO of Automattic, the company behind WordPress.com,
WooCommerce, Tumblr, WPVIP, Day One, 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, Vanity Fair, and the University Philosophical
Society. 


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 Jackson Hole.


For my first interview with Matt, way back in 2015, go to
tim.blog/matt.


Please enjoy!


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In Antarctica, even your neatest scotch is served on the rocks —
and you have to take it with you when you’re finished. [06:12]


How we’re dealing with perpetual daylight and zero access to the
internet. [08:26]


For anyone who hasn’t caught his past appearances and mentions on
this show, who is Matt Mullenweg, and what keeps him busy when
he’s not camping on Antarctican sea ice? [11:12]


What our morning immersed in the “patient” landscape of
Antarctica has been like so far. [13:56]


Why a total solar eclipse needs to be experienced firsthand to
understand why it’s such a big deal. [17:15]


Antarctican skin care and rollicking penguin imitations. [20:52]


What’s happened in Matt’s world since the last time we talked on
this podcast? How does he keep each day interesting? [24:30]


What Matt has found most helpful for enduring the grieving
process since his father passed away. [26:36]


You probably have a smartphone. Here’s why you should use it to
record some of the time you spend with loved ones when you have
the chance, and what you might talk to them about. [32:25]


Podcast tech spec updates since our last conversation that make
recording possible at any temperature on Earth. [34:39]


As Matt says, “You can’t spell ‘Tim’ without ‘TMI.’” That’s why
I’m going to talk about the time I sampled my own urine. [40:04]


We each answer the question posed by a card from the Holstee
Reflection Deck: “What is one fear you would like to conquer?”
[42:13]


Strange comfort I derived from a recent existential revelation,
and where I found it. [50:48]


Next card: “If a crystal ball could tell you the truth about your
life, the world, or anything else, what would you want to know?”
[1:00:29]


Another card: “If you knew that in one year you would die
suddenly, what would you change about the way you’re living now?
Why?” [1:08:35]


At the time of this conversation, what would I put on my
billboard? [1:19:20]


New card: “What are two things still on your bucket list?”
[1:19:38]


We need more billionaires exploring the oceans and the
non-Western worlds of ritual and myth with the same exuberance as
the ones currently exploring space. [1:26:39]


Would I clone my dog Molly? Matt shares his own experience with
getting to know a cloned animal after its genetically identical
predecessor passed away. [1:38:49]


More bucket list items. [1:43:12]


Why Matt doesn’t curse, and what he does when he gets really
angry. [1:43:42]


The next card: “Do intentions matter more or less than actions?”
[1:47:29]


The last card: “What are you grateful for right now?” [1:52:07]


Parting thoughts. [1:55:07]


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For show notes and past guests, please
visit tim.blog/podcast.


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at tim.blog/friday.


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Past guests on The Tim Ferriss
Show include Jerry Seinfeld, Hugh
Jackman, Dr. Jane Goodall, LeBron James, Kevin
Hart, Margaret Atwood, 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, Balaji
Srinivasan, Sarah Silverman, Dr. Andrew
Huberman, Dr. Michio Kaku, and many more.


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