#808: Stephen West — From High School Dropout to Hit Podcast, and from Stocking Groceries to Reading Philosophy for a Living

Stephen West is a father, husband, and host of
the Philosophize This! podcast.


Sponsors:


Gusto simple and easy payroll, HR, and
benefits platform used by 400,000+ businesses:
https://gusto.com/tim (three months
free)


Momentous high-quality
supplements: https://livemomentous.com/tim (code
TIM for up to 35% off)


Eight Sleep’s Pod 4 Ultra sleeping
solution for dynamic cooling and
heating: https://eightsleep.com/tim (save
$350 on the Pod 4 Ultra)


Timestamps:


[00:00:00] So it begins.


[00:06:11] Stephen’s challenging childhood — from San Diego to
Child Protective Services.


[00:07:55] How Stephen supported himself after dropping out of
school at 16.


[00:09:37] The physical wear and tear of warehouse work (and
unexpected upsides of the job).


[00:11:48] How Stephen discovered philosophy through googling
“wisest person in history.”


[00:14:07] Defining philosophy as a “disruption of common sense”
and “gym for rethinking.”


[00:16:06] The 4-Hour Workweek as a philosophical text.


[00:19:27] A philosophical shift around Ralph Waldo Emerson.


[00:22:18] The transition from warehouse work to starting
Philosophize This! with friendly encouragement.


[00:27:47] Authenticity as the secret sauce to Philosophize This!


[00:32:24] The discomfort of comparing old episodes with new.


[00:34:15] The current state of Philosophize This!: 225 episodes,
Patreon, ads, upcoming book deal.


[00:37:18] The value of focusing on content quality before
monetization.


[00:38:44] Most popular Philosophize This! episodes thus far.


[00:40:00] Philosophize This! episodes I’d like to hear.


[00:41:20] Thinking of philosophy as a verb, not a noun.


[00:46:44] The concept of amor fati (love of fate) and its
practical application.


[00:48:41] Wittgenstein’s ladder as a metaphor for philosophical
growth.


[00:51:36] Stephen’s perspective on philosophy as a process
rather than a set of protocols.


[00:54:43] Philosophies that have personal meaning to Stephen:
Nietzsche, Kierkegaard, Simone Weil.


[00:56:40] Simone Weil’s concept of attention and self-emptying.


[00:59:26] Stephen’s approach to simplicity and sacrificing
efficiency for meaning.


[01:04:07] Valuing time and playing the long game.


[01:06:01] How philosophy lives “in the shadow” of what we give
credit to (science, psychology).


[01:08:31] The value of philosophy in generating better
questions.


[01:10:06] Stephen’s future plans: possibly writing philosophical
fiction.


[01:19:05] Stephen’s billboard.


[01:21:41] Recommendations for getting started with philosophy.


[01:24:29] Gilles Deleuze and concepts as machines.


[01:26:55] Why do we believe what we believe?


[01:30:40] Stephen’s evolving relationship with religion after
starting as a New Atheist.


[01:32:33] Exploring mysticism and religious phenomenology.


[01:37:51] Parting thoughts.


*


For show notes and past guests
on The Tim Ferriss Show,
please
visit tim.blog/podcast.


For deals from sponsors of The Tim
Ferriss Show, please
visit tim.blog/podcast-sponsors


Sign up for Tim’s email newsletter (5-Bullet Friday)
at tim.blog/friday.


For transcripts of episodes, go
to tim.blog/transcripts.


Discover Tim’s
books: tim.blog/books.


Follow Tim:


Twitter: twitter.com/tferriss 


Instagram: instagram.com/timferriss


YouTube: youtube.com/timferriss


Facebook: facebook.com/timferriss 


LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/timferriss


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.


See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California
Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.