About Tim Ferriss
Tim Ferriss is a category of one. His innovative approach to life and business has helped him to launch 5 New York Times Bestellers, build one of the most influential podcasts in the world with over one billion downloads, become an early stage investor in companies like Uber, Facebook, Shopify, Duolingo and more. His #1 New York Times Bestselling Book, The 4-Hour Work Week, was part of the inspiration for me to quit my job and start my own company (you can here more of that story in my appearance on Tim’s podcast here). And now he has taken all of those skills and brought them to game design with the release of Coyote. We dive deep on all of these topics and learn how Tim selects and approaches each new arena he seeks to conquer. Tim deliver’s on many insights that will apply to you regardless of your creative field.
Ah-ha! Justin’s Takeaways
Design Experiments So You Can’t Lose: Tim shares how he structures decisions so that either outcome moves him forward. When you run experiments where your real goal is to learn, build skills, or build relationships, losing is not an option. Whether pr not a specific project succeeds or fails, it still generates value. The real trick is defining success clearly and choosing goals that deliver upside no matter what happens. Once you learn how to frame your decisions this way, you stop fearing failure and start building momentum.
Listen to the Quiet Signal: Tim demystifies intuition as a source of truth. Far from woo-woo pseudo-science, intuition is a practical tool to help get out of your head and use all of your senses to evaluate a situation. Pay attention to feelings that show up in your chest or gut when you are evaluating a project, creative work or potential partner. You can train this skill in simple situations like looking at a food menu, then leverage it for big decisions like knowing when a project is ready to launch.
Find the Channels No One Else Is Using: Tim points out that his highest ROI marketing efforts rarely come from mainstream platforms. Instead, they come from finding underutilized channels that punch far above their weight-class. That could be a niche blog, a tight-knit email list, or a corner of the internet most marketers ignore. Tim looks for places where attention is scarce and trust is high. They work because they feel personal. If you want your message to land, it helps to speak where others aren’t shouting.
Show Notes
“I would think about what you are uniquely positioned to do, or uniquely capable of doing.” (00:15:20)
Tim and I discuss how AI is changing the landscape for creators. Its going to be difficult to compete directly with the technology, so he suggests zooming out and asking what you are uniquely positioned to do. This is a practical strategy for identifying where your lived experience, network, or taste gives you a non-obvious advantage. As AI becomes more capable, the leverage shifts toward those who can combine those tools with irreplaceable human insight. In short, the more powerful the technology, the more important it is to know what only you can bring to the table.
“Just learning new things, new skills, and developing relationships that even if this project, this experiment doesn't work out, right? The book fails commercially, the game fails commercially, I lose all my money angel investing, that those learnings and those relationships are—they can transcend that project.” (00:39:19)
Tim shares a lesson about how he approaches creative work—including his new party game, Coyote. He frames each project as an experiment optimized for learning and relationships. It's a mindset that not only shaped Coyote, but can reshape how we all approach risk, creativity, and growth.
“This is the game that people want to play again, right?” (00:49:49)
This is a great section of the episode where Tim shares how he got started in game design—buying carloads of games, playing them all, and searching for one that people genuinely wanted to play again and again. That game was Poetry for Neanderthals. Intrigued, he began researching its designer, Elan Lee, and started considering this style of game for his own. Elan not only became a guest on his podcast, but ultimately the designer Tim teamed up with to create Coyote.
Want to hear more from Elan Lee? Check out this episode:
“The sort of code name for the book is The No Book. It's an entire book on how to say no and block out noise and the trivial many. But it's really a book about how to make decisions and choose wisely.” (01:09:24)
As Tim describes the development of his new game, he introduces The No Book—his working title for an upcoming project centered around the difficult but essential practice of saying no. On the surface, it's a guide to filtering out distractions and the “trivial many,” but at its core, it’s a book about decision-making. Tim emphasizes that learning to say no is about discipling yourself to listen to your instincts, then making space for the projects and relationships that matter most. This mindset has changed everything from his writing and investing to his game design journey with Coyote.
“One consideration or open question was how interesting is this to watch, right?” (01:40:33)
Tim shares some of the elements shaping the marketing for Coyote. Inspired in part by Exploding Kittens co-creator Elan Lee, who said, “We don’t make entertaining games, we make games that make people entertaining.” Tim realized the power of designing for the spectator experience. If players are laughing, bluffing, and performing, the game markets itself. This mindset helped guide Coyote into a game that’s not just fun to play, but fun to watch, making it far more likely to spread organically through word-of-mouth, livestreams, and social sharing.
"Do not be your own lawyer. There are certain places to spend money. That is one of them." (02:11:05)
Later in the episode, we discuss the world of book publishing—something that’s especially relevant for me as I prepare to release my own upcoming book. Tim brings a wealth of experience to the table and his wisdom on choosing between traditional publishing, self-publishing, and a few emerging hybrid models. He also emphasizes the importance of hiring skilled professionals. As Tim puts it, legal expertise isn’t optional: it’s an investment that protects the value of your work and helps you avoid major headaches down the road.
Exploding Kittens on Tik Tok — Publisher of Coyote
Check out my episode on Tim’s Podcast below:
