5-Bullet Friday — Self-Publishing 101, Devices for Anti-Inflammation, Mitochondria as Motherboards, and Short Books Full of Joy

"Psychedelic experiences are usually not about visiting some transcendent realm of angels and demons (though that does happen); more often than not...  ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­

5-Bullet Friday   The latest from author and investor Tim Ferriss   Hi All!   Here is your weekly dose of 5-Bullet Friday, a list of what I'm pondering and exploring. I threw in an extra bullet for some spice.   This edition is brought to you by COYOTE, the hit card game I created with Exploding Kittens. 10 minutes to play, roughly $10 to get, and 10,000 ways it can make you laugh. The game is currently #1 in its category on Amazon. Check it out here. Non-U.S. friends, please see the P.S. at the bottom of this email.   And now, here are a few goodies from this past week…   Interview I'm revisiting ​My Next Guest with David Letterman and Shah Rukh Khan. If you know who Shah Rukh Khan is, you'll want to see this. If you don't know who Shah Rukh Khan is, you will especially want to see this. The scale and charm of everything about SRK is truly mind-boggling. He's a consummate pro.   Blog post I'm reading "Everything I Know about Self-Publishing" by Kevin Kelly. Kevin is the founding editor of WIRED magazine and a listener favorite on the podcast. His latest blog post on self-publishing covers practically everything: going the traditional route, on-demand, digital, distribution, crowd-funding, promotion, subscriptions, and more. Here's the introduction: ​ ​In my professional life, I've had several bestselling books published by New York publishers, as well as many other titles that sold modestly. I have also self-published a bunch of books, including one bestseller on Amazon and two massive hit Kickstarter-funded books. I have had lots of foreign edition books released by other publishers around the world, including bestsellers in those countries. Every year I also publish a few private books to give away. I've contracted books to be printed in the US and overseas. I've sold big coffee-table masterpieces and tiny text booklets. Together with partners, I run some notable newsletters, a very popular website, and a podcast with 420 episodes. I accumulated followers on various platforms. I'm often asked for advice about how to go about publishing today, with all its options, so here is everything I have learned about publishing and self-publishing so far.   Short audiobook I'm loving ​Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl, read by Douglas Hodge. After finishing When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi, I needed a light palate cleanser. This is what I chose. ​ Did you know that, in addition to selling something like 300 million copies of his children's books worldwide, Roald Dahl was an intelligence officer and ace fighter pilot? But back to the book, it only struck me in the mountains of Montana two weeks ago, as friends and I were trying to remember the brat girl's name from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Veruca Salt), that I was flying blind. I have watched a lot of films based on Roald's books (Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, The BFG, James and the Giant Peach, Fantastic Mr. Fox, etc.), but I haven't actually read the books that started it all! So I started with Charlie, and the voice performance by Douglas Hodge made it a joy to listen to.   Science I'm tracking closely "Why Mitochondria Are More Like a Motherboard Than the Powerhouse of the Cell" (Scientific American). Alternate link: https://archive.is/OiSlu. From the article: ​ ​All well and good, you may think. What does all this mean for my health or how long I'm going to live? ​ The short answer is that it may have everything to do with human health. Diabetes, neurodegenerative conditions, cancer and even mental health illnesses are all emerging as metabolic disorders involving malfunctioning mitochondria. And these findings are indicating new routes for intervention. ​ ​... ​ ​When cells are injured or stressed, they may leak mtDNA into the cell's interior, the cytoplasm, or even into the blood. Along with Caroline Trumpff of Columbia, Anna Marsland and Brett Kaufman of the University of Pittsburgh, and other co-workers, I found that mental stress induced by having to speak in public for five minutes increased the amount of free-floating mtDNA in the blood. People in intensive care units who are grievously ill tend to have very high levels of mtDNA in their blood. Because mtDNA rings resemble bacterial DNA, immune cells see them as pathogens and mount an attack that can develop into inflammation. And inflammation, clinicians know well, is linked to the onset and progression of a host of chronic health conditions [including depression].   Device I'm using for anti-inflammation and tissue decongestion ​​Marc Pro | Recovery Tool for Sore Muscles & Pain Relief. Kelly Starrett (@thereadystate) of The Ready State originally recommended the Marc Pro to me for decreasing swelling after a snowboarding accident years ago. Or maybe it was when he tricked me into a 280-mile mountain bike ride that he promised would be "like a beach cruiser in Santa Monica"? Either way, it works, and both he and a top MLB physio and performance coach recommended I use it for hours a day after my elbow surgery this week.   Reviews I'm reading Due to said elbow surgery, I've been laid out completely. I decided to take a break and read every COYOTE game review on Amazon (and elsewhere). Thank you all SO much for the kind words, and I still have a lot of down time! If you got the game on Amazon and played it—whether you loved or hated it—could you please take 60 seconds and leave a review by clicking here? I'll read all of them this weekend.   Book highlight I'm pondering "Psychedelic experiences are usually not about visiting some transcendent realm of angels and demons (though that does happen); more often than not, they are about experiencing the here and now in a very intense way." ​— Dennis McKenna, The Brotherhood of the Screaming Abyss (Click here to share on X) You can complement this edition of 5-Bullet Friday with my brand-new interview with Dr. Jeffrey Goldberg on cutting-edge science for eye health, red light therapy, and the future of eyesight restoration. ​ And, as always, please give me feedback on X. Which bullet above is your favorite? What do you want more or less of? Other suggestions? Please let me know. Just send a tweet to @tferriss and put #5BulletFriday at the end so I can find it. ​ Have a wonderful weekend, all. ​ Much love to you and yours, ​ Tim ​ P.S. If you are outside of the U.S. and you would like to purchase COYOTE, you can find below the currently available options. All links lead to the English language edition of the game: ​Canada​ ​United Kingdom​ ​Poland​ ​Germany​ ​Italy​ ​Spain​ ​The Netherlands​ The game is also available in Italian (Amazon) and Dutch editions (Spellenwinkel.nl, Despelletjesvrienden.nl). ​ And for everyone in the U.S., you can always grab a copy of the game at Amazon, Target, Walmart, or directly from Exploding Kittens. Forwarded this message? Sign up here. Join millions of monthly readers. Get exclusive content, private Q&As, giveaways, and more. No spam, ever. Just great stuff.   Sign Up   Listen to The Tim Ferriss Show Podcast 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.     Podcasts   Apple Podcasts   Overcast   Spotify   Tim's Blog Read Tim's Books     Amazon   Audible  B & N   Tim's Blog Follow Tim: DO NOT REPLY HERE: Due to volume, please do not reply to this email. Sadly we are unable to read 1000+ email replies daily. To reply to Tim, please do so in the blog comments here.   No longer want these emails?  Unsubscribe 3​11​2 Win​dso​r R​d., Box #UNS, Austin TX 78703, United States   ​