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How to Tame Your Inner Critic | Anne Lamott

Brought to you by: LinkedIn Jobs recruitment platform with 1B+ users: http://linkedin.com/tim Eight Sleep’s Pod Cover sleeping solution for dynamic cooling and heating: http://eightsleep.com/Tim LMNT electrolyte supplement: http://drinklmnt.com/tim Show notes: https://tim.blog/2021/07/09/anne-lamott/ Anne Lamott (@AnneLamott) uses honesty, empathy, and humor to write about our world. In her beloved and bestselling books, like Operating Instructions (an account of her son’s first year), Bird by Bird (her classic book on writing), and Help, Thanks, Wow (a celebration of prayer), Lamott delves into what makes us human. She explores the wide experience of life that unites us: birth and death, parenthood and family, faith and doubt, love and loss, forgiveness and hope. In each of her 19 books, which have sold millions of copies worldwide, Lamott brings her distinctive mix of bracing candor, clarifying insight, and refreshing humor to convert serious subjects like addiction, motherhood, loss, and faith into human truths we can all share. She is the author of several essay collections on faith, including Traveling Mercies, Grace (Eventually), and Plan B, as well as several novels, including Imperfect Birds, Blue Shoe, and Rosie. Lamott has been honored with a Guggenheim Fellowship and has taught at UC Davis and writing conferences across the country. She is an inductee of the California Hall of Fame and the subject of Academy Award-winning filmmaker Freida Mock’s documentary Bird by Bird with Annie (1999). Her most recent book is Dusk, Night, Dawn: On Revival and Courage. Please enjoy! SUBSCRIBE: http://bit.ly/1dSzTkW LINK TO ALL SHOW TRANSCRIPTS: https://tim.blog/2018/09/20/all-transcripts-from-the-tim-ferriss-show/ About Tim Ferriss: Tim Ferriss is one of Fast Company’s “Most Innovative Business People” and an early-stage tech investor/advisor in Uber, Facebook, Twitter, Shopify, Duolingo, Alibaba, and 50+ other companies. He is also the author of five #1 New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestsellers: The 4-Hour Workweek, The 4-Hour Body, The 4-Hour Chef, Tools of Titans and Tribe of Mentors. The Observer and other media have named him “the Oprah of audio” due to the influence of his podcast, The Tim Ferriss Show, which has exceeded 500 million downloads and been selected for “Best of Apple Podcasts” three years running. Connect with Tim Ferriss: Sign up for "5-Bullet Friday" (Tim's free weekly email newsletter): https://go.tim.blog/5-bullet-friday-yt/ Visit the Tim Ferriss PODCAST: https://tim.blog/podcast/ Visit the Tim Ferriss BLOG: https://tim.blog/ Follow Tim Ferriss on TWITTER: https://twitter.com/tferriss/ Follow Tim Ferriss on INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/timferriss/ Like Tim Ferriss on FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/TimFerriss/ [00:00] Intro [01:43] What is it about Bird by Bird that has affected so many people so deeply? [05:30] Where did the title of Bird by Bird originate? [07:55] How Anne’s husband, fellow writer Neal Allen, works to help people tame (but not discard) their inner critic. [08:58] Who controls the dial when you’re tuned in to KFKD radio? [10:08] The effects of having a writing father in the house. [23:07] An event that catalyzed radical self-care. [30:52] The dark night that turned Anne’s son Sam’s life around. [35:18] An episode of Sam’s podcast I recently enjoyed immensely and recommend. [37:16] When grace found Anne during her three-day blackout. [41:27] Childhood “oversensitivity” and Tom Weston’s 5 rules for being a grown-up that changed Anne’s life. [44:47] Anne's life philosophy. [50:18] A misattributed quote. [51:05] What has been helpful in treating Anne’s anxiety disorder? [56:13] Where did Anne pick up her habit of writing in silence? [1:02:58] A writing exercise and Anne’s new “pod” trick. [1:05:02] If you’re tempted to spare the feelings those featured in your autobiographical scrawlings. [1:08:22] If you’re a writer struggling to find your story’s direction. [1:13:11] On having a documentary made about her. [1:18:10] The greatest prayer [1:25:21] Does Anne pray as needed, or per a set routine? What is the purpose of these prayers? [1:28:34] Who is “Horrible” Bonnie, what wisdom has she imparted, and what earned her the name? [1:36:35] Anne's new book Dusk, Night, Dawn: On Revival and Courage. [1:38:56] A writing prayer. [1:40:49] We share our all-time favorite movies. [1:47:41] Parting thoughts and a final, quick story about grace and goodness.

Tim FerrisshostAnne Lamottguest

Feb 17, 20221h 51mWatch on YouTube ↗

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EPISODE INFO

Released: February 17, 2022
Duration: 1h 51m
Channel: Tim Ferriss
Watch on YouTube: ▶ Open ↗

EPISODE DESCRIPTION

Brought to you by: LinkedIn Jobs recruitment platform with 1B+ users: http://linkedin.com/tim Eight Sleep’s Pod Cover sleeping solution for dynamic cooling and heating: http://eightsleep.com/Tim LMNT electrolyte supplement: http://drinklmnt.com/tim Show notes: https://tim.blog/2021/07/09/anne-lamott/ Anne Lamott (@AnneLamott) uses honesty, empathy, and humor to write about our world. In her beloved and bestselling books, like Operating Instructions (an account of her son’s first year), Bird by Bird (her classic book on writing), and Help, Thanks, Wow (a celebration of prayer), Lamott delves into what makes us human. She explores the wide experience of life that unites us: birth and death, parenthood and family, faith and doubt, love and loss, forgiveness and hope. In each of her 19 books, which have sold millions of copies worldwide, Lamott brings her distinctive mix of bracing candor, clarifying insight, and refreshing humor to convert serious subjects like addiction, motherhood, loss, and faith into human truths we can all share. She is the author of several essay collections on faith, including Traveling Mercies, Grace (Eventually), and Plan B, as well as several novels, including Imperfect Birds, Blue Shoe, and Rosie. Lamott has been honored with a Guggenheim Fellowship and has taught at UC Davis and writing conferences across the country. She is an inductee of the California Hall of Fame and the subject of Academy Award-winning filmmaker Freida Mock’s documentary Bird by Bird with Annie (1999). Her most recent book is Dusk, Night, Dawn: On Revival and Courage. Please enjoy! SUBSCRIBE: http://bit.ly/1dSzTkW LINK TO ALL SHOW TRANSCRIPTS: https://tim.blog/2018/09/20/all-transcripts-from-the-tim-ferriss-show/ About Tim Ferriss: Tim Ferriss is one of Fast Company’s “Most Innovative Business People” and an early-stage tech investor/advisor in Uber, Facebook, Twitter, Shopify, Duolingo, Alibaba, and 50+ other companies. He is also the author of five #1 New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestsellers: The 4-Hour Workweek, The 4-Hour Body, The 4-Hour Chef, Tools of Titans and Tribe of Mentors. The Observer and other media have named him “the Oprah of audio” due to the influence of his podcast, The Tim Ferriss Show, which has exceeded 500 million downloads and been selected for “Best of Apple Podcasts” three years running. Connect with Tim Ferriss: Sign up for "5-Bullet Friday" (Tim's free weekly email newsletter): https://go.tim.blog/5-bullet-friday-yt/ Visit the Tim Ferriss PODCAST: https://tim.blog/podcast/ Visit the Tim Ferriss BLOG: https://tim.blog/ Follow Tim Ferriss on TWITTER: https://twitter.com/tferriss/ Follow Tim Ferriss on INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/timferriss/ Like Tim Ferriss on FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/TimFerriss/ [00:00] Intro [01:43] What is it about Bird by Bird that has affected so many people so deeply? [05:30] Where did the title of Bird by Bird originate? [07:55] How Anne’s husband, fellow writer Neal Allen, works to help people tame (but not discard) their inner critic. [08:58] Who controls the dial when you’re tuned in to KFKD radio? [10:08] The effects of having a writing father in the house. [23:07] An event that catalyzed radical self-care. [30:52] The dark night that turned Anne’s son Sam’s life around. [35:18] An episode of Sam’s podcast I recently enjoyed immensely and recommend. [37:16] When grace found Anne during her three-day blackout. [41:27] Childhood “oversensitivity” and Tom Weston’s 5 rules for being a grown-up that changed Anne’s life. [44:47] Anne's life philosophy. [50:18] A misattributed quote. [51:05] What has been helpful in treating Anne’s anxiety disorder? [56:13] Where did Anne pick up her habit of writing in silence? [1:02:58] A writing exercise and Anne’s new “pod” trick. [1:05:02] If you’re tempted to spare the feelings those featured in your autobiographical scrawlings. [1:08:22] If you’re a writer struggling to find your story’s direction. [1:13:11] On having a documentary made about her. [1:18:10] The greatest prayer [1:25:21] Does Anne pray as needed, or per a set routine? What is the purpose of these prayers? [1:28:34] Who is “Horrible” Bonnie, what wisdom has she imparted, and what earned her the name? [1:36:35] Anne's new book Dusk, Night, Dawn: On Revival and Courage. [1:38:56] A writing prayer. [1:40:49] We share our all-time favorite movies. [1:47:41] Parting thoughts and a final, quick story about grace and goodness.

SPEAKERS

Tim Ferriss
host
Entrepreneur, author, and host of The Tim Ferriss Show.
Anne Lamott
guest
Author known for books on writing and life, including Bird by Bird.

EPISODE SUMMARY

In this episode of Tim Ferriss, featuring Tim Ferriss and Anne Lamott, How to Tame Your Inner Critic | Anne Lamott explores anne Lamott on Grace, Inner Critics, Writing, and Radical Self-Care Lamott explains that Bird by Bird resonates because it rejects the promise that publishing heals you, instead teaching people to write shitty first drafts, take tasks in small pieces, and quiet perfectionism and the critical voice she calls KFKD radio.

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