I first met filmmaker Adam Patch, courtesy of David Brundage on Facebook, over Thai food in San Francisco.
It was a warm evening in the Mission district, a good omen and unusual blessing. The goal of our meeting was simple: to see if we clicked and, passing that hurdle, to plot the making of “the best book trailer ever made.”
Whether we pulled it off or not, that ambitious mission statement was necessary to survive the many all-nighters and hiccups that would follow.
August of 2010 was the starting point.
On November 30th, the end product was a 59-second trailer, which debuted on Huffington Post Books. It immediately took The 4-Hour Body from near #150 to #30 on Amazon, where it later climbed to #1.
The launch was initiated by a simple poll post, which was followed by an analytical second post. Due to its high production value, the video then made the jump from online to offline, eventually making it to national TV for The Dr. Oz Show (see the clip at :40).
This post will explain exactly how the trailer was created, including early concepts, tools, the team, and more… Read More
This will be my shortest post to date.
For fun (and karma), I’ve been quietly working to compile two cookbooks with simple and delicious recipes for The Slow-Carb Diet™.
Now, both volumes are done!
NOTE: THIS OFFER HAS EXPIRED. THANKS!
The Slow-Carb Diet™ Cookbook – Volume One
The Slow-Carb Diet™ Cookbook – Volume Two (includes recipes from Vol. 1)
Thanks to full-color printing through Blurb, the books are gorgeous. Volume 1 contains 50+ recipes and is printed in paperback to make it as affordable as possible. Volume 2 contains more than 80 recipes and is only available in hardcover.
They’re not inexpensive, but 100% of my proceeds are being donated directly to QuestBridge, which helps put the smartest, low-income students in the US into the best colleges. I don’t receive a single penny.
It’s a highly leveraged program, and some of the brightest minds in Silicon Valley are advisors. $25,000 covers the cost of financial aid applications for 2,000 low-income high school students!
I hope you love the cookbooks. The goal is to make The Slow-Carb Diet™ more effective and fun for you, all while changing the lives of 1,000s of students. As a test, these books are available for the next 72 hours only, ending Tuesday, March 22, at 6pm PST.
Enormous thanks to all of the contributors, including chefs, foodies, successful readers, and friends like Mark Sisson, Darya Pino, and Jaden Hair.
Rock on.
NOTE: THIS OFFER HAS EXPIRED. THANKS!
(For those interested, I plan on posting further updates on the official blog of The Slow-Carb Diet)
###
P.S. Would you like to have your recipe in the next printing, with full credit and link to the website of your choice? If so, please click here! Also, Learn more about the slow carb diet in my upcoming book.
Human flight in the form of judo. (Photo: Fabiogis50)
Pavel Tsatsouline was punching me in the ass.
It’s not every day that you have a former Soviet Special Forces instructor punch you in the butt cheeks. But it was the second day of Russian Kettlebell Certification (RKC), and we were practicing constant tension, one of several techniques intended to increase strength output. In this case, we spot-checked each other with punches. Pavel, now a U.S. citizen and subject matter expert to the U.S. Secret Service Counter Assault Team, wandered the ranks, contributing jabs where needed.
Two hours earlier, Pavel had asked the attendees for someone stuck at a 1-rep maximum (1RM) in the one-arm overhead press. He then proceeded to take the volunteer from 53 lbs. to 72 lbs. in less than five minutes: a 26% strength increase. Translated into more familiar terms, this would represent a jump in one-repetition max from 106 pounds to 144 pounds in the barbell military press.
There were dozens of such demonstrations throughout the weekend, and each was intended to reinforce a point: strength is a skill.
Not only is strength a skill, but it can be learned quickly.
The following article, authored by Pavel, describes how he helped his father become an American record holder in powerlifting with just one hour of training per week… Read More
(Photo: Sybren A. Stüvel)
Neil Strauss has written six New York Times bestsellers and is a contributing editor for Rolling Stone magazine. From the standpoint of most aspiring writers, he’s reached the pinnacle of success.
That’s why I first sent him an e-mail in 2005.
I attached a draft book proposal and asked for his feedback, hat in hand. To my astonishment, he responded with words of encouragement, and that book proposal later became The 4-Hour Workweek.
We’ve since become good friends and — who would have imagined? — have even taken retreats together while on deadline. Our latest jam sessions took place in a beach cabin in Malibu. I was finishing The 4-Hour Body and Neil was wrapping up his latest opus, Everyone Loves You When You’re Dead: Journeys into Fame and Madness.
Evenings were spent force-feeding Neil protein (that’s when he gained 10 pounds), drinking Cocoladas, and trading war stories from publishing and writing.
Neil wrote one chapter in his new book about the trials and torture of editing. I almost died laughing (crying inside) when I read a draft, and I made him promise I could put it on this blog… Read More
Charlie’s job entails many things. Feeding tigers not excluded.
Charlie Hoehn first reached out to me through Ramit Sethi in 2008. Almost three years later, he is still working with me.
Here is his initial e-mail routed to Ramit, which I think is instructional for those looking for mentorship of some type:
———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Charlie Hoehn
Date: Wed, Jul 30, 2008 at 11:25 PM
Subject: Re: Response requested
To: Ramit Sethi
Hi Ramit-
Below is the email I wrote up for Tim Ferriss. Thanks again so much for your insight on how to approach this, and for your willingness to pass it along. If you have any suggestions, I’d love to hear them. Also, I’d be willing to help you out in any of the ways I outlined below.
Mr. Ferriss-
After visiting your site countless times since May ’07, I’ve come up with a few suggestions that could improve your readers’ experience. Here are two of the things I think you need… Read More
One common challenge for readers of The 4-Hour Workweek is the creation of a “muse”: a low-maintenance business that generates significant income. Such a muse is leveraged to finance your ideal lifestyle, which we calculate precisely based on Target Monthly Income (TMI).
I’ve received hundreds of successful case studies via e-mail, and more than 1,000 new businesses were created during a recent Shopify competition, but I’ve presented only a handful of them.
In this installment, I’ll showcase three diverse muses, including lessons learned, what worked, and what didn’t. Income ranges from $2,500 – $25,000 per month… Read More
