Business, Life, Popular
Alex Wieckowski
How To Get An Internship

An internships is a great way to gain professional experience and learn about an industry or company you're interesting in working. Internships allow for networking, skill building and possible full-time job offers. Now, let's get you an internship!

How To Get An Internship

Podcast

TRJ #18. Blas Moros: Lessons From Reading 600+ Books & Connecting Big Ideas With The Latticework

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My guest today is Blas Moros, a talented writer and the creator of a very popular blog called The Rabbit Hole, where he's shared 600+ book summaries, along with dozens of essays and other educational resources.

In our conversation, Blass shares advice on how to choose what book to read next, the value of taking notes and writing summaries, how to find time to read more, and more great reading tips.

He also talks about the importance of playing infinite games, explains the opportunity paradox, and shares details about his newest project, The Latticework–a multidisciplinary learning roadmap that curates, organizes, and interconnects valuable ideas.


TIMESTAMPS:

  • [00:55] - How Blas discovered his love for reading

  • [05:10] - How Blas chooses what book to read next

  • [06:10] - How to find more time to read

  • [08:48] - Blas's note-taking & book summary process

  • [10:48] - Ebooks vs audiobooks vs print books

  • [11:52] - How Blas uses his book summaries to grow as a person

  • [13:51] - What makes a book worth rereading

  • [16:55] - Helpful reading tips for people just getting into reading

  • [20:00] - Lessons from Blas's essay The Infinite Game

  • [25:50] - Lessons from Blas's essay The Opportunity Paradox

  • [31:30] - Why more discipline equals more freedom

  • [33:24] - Blas's newest project: The Latticework

  • [36:00] - What is first-principle thinking & how did Elon Musk use it to build SpaceX & Tesla

  • [40:10] - Explaining second-order thinking

  • [41:40] - Two books that had a huge impact on Blas


Resources:

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TRJ #17. Scott Young: How To Learn Skills Faster & Retain More Knowledge

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My guest today is Scott Young, the WSJ bestselling author of Ultralearning: Master Hard Skills, Outsmart the Competition, and Accelerate Your Career.

Scott is a prolific writer who writes about learning, productivity, and habits. He is known for documenting learning challenges such as completing 4-years of MIT computer science classes in one year and learning four languages in one year.

In our conversation, Scott talks about how to learn skills faster, the paradox of learning and why sometimes learning strategies that feel that easiest are the least effective, how to remember more from the books you’ve read, how to prevent yourself from forgetting a skill, and much more.

TIMESTAMPS:

  • [00:44] - What is Ultralearning?

  • [04:02] - How Scott completed 4 years of MIT classes in 12 months

  • [08:37] - How to deal with distraction and procrastination

  • [13:08] - The importance of direct learning

  • [20:20] - The paradox of learning (sometimes learning that feels easy is the least effective)

  • [26:31] - How to remember more of what you’ve learned & prevent yourself from forgetting information

  • [29:25] - Why you want to space your learning and not cram for an exam

  • [31:15] - How to remember more from the books you’ve read

  • [37:55] - Advice to people starting their first ultralearning project

  • [40:26] - How to maintain skills and prevent yourself from losing them

  • [45:40] - How to raise your kids to be ultralearners

  • [50:50] - Two books that changed Scott’s life

Learn more about the author:

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TRJ #16. Alex Banayan: How To Achieve Your Dreams, Overcome Rejection, & Network With Anyone

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My guest today is Alex Banayan, the author of the #1 international bestseller The Third Door: The Wild Quest to Uncover How the World's Most Successful People Launched Their Careers.

At 18-years old, Alex won The Price Is Right and sold the grand-prize to fund his journey of tracking down the world’s most successful people to uncover how they launched their careers. He interviewed Bill Gates, Tim Ferriss, Steve Wozniak, Warren Buffett, Larry King, Maya Angelou, and many more incredible individuals.

In our conversation, Alex shares advice on how to pursue your dreams, overcome setbacks and rejection, the books that changed his life, how he met Tim Ferriss and learned his secret cold email technique, an exclusive look into Alex’s new book, and so much more.

This is a podcast you do not want to miss.

TIMESTAMPS:

  • [00:39] - How the book Delivering Happiness by Tony Hsieh changed Alex’s life

  • [07:40] - Why Alex Banayan and I love books

  • [09:30] - How to find the courage to pursue your dreams

  • [12:24] - The Third Door analogy explained

  • [16:17] - Alex & Books’ Third Door journey

  • [19:00] - How to deal with setbacks and rejection

  • [27:06] - How Alex used The Third Door method to interview Tim Ferriss

  • [36:00] - Lessons from being over persistent

  • [41:35] - Two books that changed Alex’s life

  • [45:42] - EXCLUSIVE: Alex’s talks a bit about his upcoming book


Learn more about the author:

***

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Got to meet Alex Banayan on his book tour.

Got to meet Alex Banayan on his book tour.

TRJ #15. Robin Hanson: Understanding The Hidden (& Darker) Motives of Human Behavior

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My guest today is Robin Hanson, the co-author of The Elephant in the Brain: Hidden Motives in Everyday Life. Robin is an associate professor of economics at George Mason University and a research associate at the Future of Humanity Institute of Oxford University.

In his book, Robin explores the hidden (and sometimes darker) motives in everyday life. Robin talks about the hidden meaning of body language, how humans deceive themselves and others, the dark motivation behind charity donations, how sex, status, and politics all play a role in our motives, and much more.

If you’re into evolutionary psychology or ever wondered why humans act the way they do, you’ll find this conversation fascinating.


TIMESTAMPS:

  • [00:45] - What is the elephant in the brain?

  • [03:45] - Hidden motives in chimps

  • [05:54] - The 3 main games people play: sex, status, and politics

  • [07:58] - Social norms & hiding our darker intentions

  • [13:20] - Understanding the secret message of body language

  • [18:12] - The hidden motives behind buying luxury items

  • [23:32] - The darker motives of why people give to charities

  • [27:47] - Hidden motives of speaking

  • [31:29] - Why people laugh & how it serves as a signal to others

  • [36:17] - How this book can help you develop a new mental model of the world

  • [41:06] - The hidden motive behind the educational system

  • [44:52] - Two books that had a big impact on Robin


Learn more about the author:

If you enjoyed this podcast, please subscribe & write a positive review.

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TRJ #14. Nir Eyal: How To Become Indistractable & Control Your Attention

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My guest today is Nir Eyal, the author of Indistractable: How to Control Your Attention and Choose Your Life. Nir Eyal is a bestselling author, former Stanford lecturer, and behavioral design expert.

In Indistractable, Nir explains the hidden psychology behind distractions and shares practical advice on how to get the best out of technology without letting it get the best of us. In our conversation, Nir talks about what really drives human behavior,  what to do when you get distracted, how to prevent distractions such as email and smartphones, how to raise kids to use technology properly, and much more.
 

TIMESTAMPS:

  • [00:43] - What it means to be Indistractable

  • [03:17] - Why discomfort is the root cause of our distraction

  • [05:33] - The opposite of distraction is traction

  • [10:14] - Why you shouldn't shame or blame yourself when you get distracted

  • [15:17] - The role of willpower and mindset in minimizing distractions

  • [17:46] - How knowing your values & planning ahead helps avoid distractions

  • [22:51] - Greg McKeown & Essentialism

  • [24:11] - How to hack back emails

  • [31:17] - How to hack back your smartphone

  • [36:22] - How to make your kids Indistractable

  • [41:50] - Kids & social media

  • [43:48] - Two books that had a big impact on Nir Eyal

Learn more about the author:


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TRJ #13. Eric Jorgenson: Health, Wealth, & Wisdom from Naval Ravikant

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My guest today is Eric Jorgenson, the author of The Almanack of Naval Ravikant: A Guide to Wealth and Happiness.  Naval Ravikant is the co-founder of AngelList, an investor in 200+ companies, and considered by many to be a modern-day philosopher.

This book is a collection of Naval's wisdom and experience shared as a curation of his most insightful interviews, essays, and podcasts. In our conversation, Eric shares Naval's advice on how to build wealth, learn the skill of happiness, become a better reader, and much more.

You can get a free ebook copy of the book here: navalmanack.com

TIMESTAMPS:

  • [00:41] - The background story of this book  

  • [03:18] - Who is Naval Ravikant?

  • [05:13] - How to get rich without getting lucky

  • [08:12] - If you want to get rich, you have to own equity

  • [11:23] - How you can use leverage to create wealth

  • [16:27] - Why you want to productize yourself

  • [21:27] - Happiness is a skill you can learn

  • [32:03] - The benefits of meditation & how it can make you happier

  • [37:25] - How Naval reads books & reading tips

  • [43:33] - How has Eric evolved after studying Naval

  • [46:12] - How to apply what you read 

  • [49:50] - Books that had a huge influence on Eric & how they changed him

  • [54:50] - Update on Alex & Books 

Learn more about the author:

***

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TRJ #12. James Altucher: How To Choose Yourself & Live Your Dreams

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My guest today is James Altucher, the author of several books including the WSJ bestseller Choose Yourself! He is an entrepreneur, angel investor, chess master, comedian, and prolific writer. He is also the podcast host of "The James Altucher Show" which has had over 30 million downloads.

In our conversation, James shares advice on how to find your passion, why you should choose yourself and not wait for the approval of others, advice from billionaires, how to be happy, and much more. 
  

TIMESTAMPS:

  • [1:14] About James Altucher & his background  

  • [2:49] The benefits of trying new things

  • [4:54] What it means to Choose Yourself

  • [9:56] We live in a Choose Yourself era

  • [12:52] How to find your passion

  • [23:21] You don't have to quit your day job to be an entrepreneur

  • [25:47] Dealing with failure & how to keep going when things get tough

  • [29:53] Why you should experiment often & share your ideas 

  • [32:13] How to be happy & the role money plays in happiness

  • [35:04] How James was able to overcome depression & rebuild himself from nothing

  • [41:10] Things James learned from interviewing billionaires

  • [46:06] It's never too late to Choose Yourself

  • [49:00] Books that had a huge influence on James & how they changed him

  • [53:38] How James inspired me to choose myself & start this podcast


Learn more about the author:

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TRJ #11. Greg McKeown: How To Master Essentialism & Focus On What Matters

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My guest today is Greg McKeown, the NYT bestselling author of Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less. He teaches and lectures about the importance of living and leading as an Essentialist around the world. He is among the most popular bloggers for the Harvard Business Review. He also holds an MBA from Stanford University.


In our conversation, Greg teaches us how to be an Essentialist, the importance of trade-offs, why it's important for adults to play and get plenty of sleep, how to say no to opportunities, how you can apply Essentialism to leadership, and much more.
  

TIMESTAMPS:

  • [00:41] Defining Essentialism & why Greg wrote this book   

  • [02:49] Why trade-offs can be a good thing 

  • [06:34] Zoom fatigue & work-life balance

  • [13:00] Why being always busy can be dangerous  

  • [16:28] The benefits of play as an adult

  • [20:55] Greg McKeown & BJ Fogg's conversation 

  • [24:49] The role of sleep in being a high performer

  • [29:28] How to say No & when to pass on opportunities

  • [35:39] How to uncommit from a project or opportunity

  • [40:56] How to apply Essentialism to leadership 

  • [50:31] Books that had a huge influence on Greg & how they changed him


Learn more about the author:

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TRJ #10. BJ Fogg: How To Create Tiny Habits That Will Change Your Life

My guest today is BJ Fogg, PhD, the bestselling author of Tiny Habits: The Small Changes That Change Everything. Fogg founded the Behavior Design Lab at Stanford University and has been researching social behavior for over 20 years.

In our conversation, Fogg shares how tiny habits can create major changes, why emotions (not repetition) wires in habits, the role of motivation & ability in behavior, the importance of celebrating after completing a habit, how to develop a reading habit, and much more.

 
TIMESTAMPS:

  • [00:45] Background about BJ Fogg & his passion for habits 

  • [02:11] Anyone can learn how to create new habits 

  • [03:45] The power of tiny habits  

  • [06:59] The one tiny habit everyone should do 

  • [12:15] People change best when they feel good

  • [13:12] The importance of celebrating after completing a habit

  • [14:58] To develop new habits seek rewards, not incentives

  • [18:08] Emotions create habits, not repetition

  • [19:35] Why it doesn't take 21 or 60 days to create a habit

  • [22:10] Behavior = Motivation & Ability & Prompt

  • [27:55] Look for habits that you actually want to do

  • [29:58] How prompts create action

  • [33:42] How to create a reading habit

  • [38:11] How to wire your reading habit faster

  • [43:00] Pearl habits & stoicism

  • [46:381] Books that had a huge influence on BJ & how they changed him


Learn more about the author:

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TRJ #9. Morgan Housel: The Psychology of Money & How to Become A Better Investor


My guest today is Morgan Housel, the author of The Psychology of Money: Timeless Lessons on Wealth, Greed, and Happiness. Housel is a partner at The Collaborative Fund and a former columnist at The Motley Fool and The Wall Street Journal.

In his book, Housel shares 19 short stories exploring the strange ways people think about money and teaches you how to make better sense of one of life’s most important topics. In this episode, you’ll learn what money can and can’t buy, the difference between being rich and being wealthy, how you 50% of your investments can go wrong but still make a fortune, what to do to become a better investor, and more wonderful advice.

 
TIMESTAMPS:

  • [00:54] How people view money differently & why you shouldn’t buy lotto tickets

  • [04:36] How money buys you freedom & some happiness

  • [08:07] Things money can’t buy you

  • [11:13] Looking rich versus being rich

  • [13:37] The importance of savings rate to becoming wealthy

  • [16:12] How 50% of your investment can fail & you can still make a fortune

  • [20:15] Warren Buffett & the power of the compound effect

  • [23:09] Why you need to increase your time horizon to become a better investor

  • [25:23] Volatility is the fee you pay the stock market for great returns

  • [27:21] Bernie Madoff & how to prevent yourself from getting greedy

  • [30:02] The role of luck & risk in investing

  • [34:08] When you should & shouldn’t take investment advice

  • [36:28] Investment advice for listeners

  • [40:11] Possible explanations for why the stock market keeps going up

  • [43:03] Morgan’s personal investment strategy

  • [45:07] Books that had a huge influence on Morgan & how they changed him


Learn more about the author:

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