Episode

#123: Rainn Wilson on Meditation, The Sexy Nostril Exercise, and Acting as Therapy
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1:14:48
Published: Mon Nov 30 2015
Description

Rainn Wilson (@rainnwilson) is best known for playing "Dwight" on NBC's Emmy-Winning, "The Office”. He has also acted in "Super", "Cooties", "Juno", "Monsters vs. Aliens" and "The Rocker" among other movies. He co-founded SoulPancake, a media company that seeks to tackle "Life's Big Questions." He's a board member of Mona Foundation and co-founded Lidè, an educational initiative in rural Haiti that empowers young, at-risk women through the arts. He is the author of the brand-new book, The Bassoon King, which is his laugh-out- loud memoir. We cover a lot in this episode, including: - The value of “as if” exercises from drama school - Meditation practices, and what constitutes a "win" in a session - The origins of SoulPancake and the Kid President video mega-hit - Favorite books, documentaries, and movies - Acting as therapy (even for non-actors) - The basics of Baha'i and what Rainn would put on a billboard - The Sexy Nostril exercise Show notes and links for this episode can be found at www.fourhourworkweek.com/podcast. This podcast is brought to you by MeUndies. If I’m not going commando, then I’m wearing MeUndies. I’ve been testing out pairs for about 3 or 4 months now, and, as a result, I've thrown out my other underwear. They look good, feel good, have options for men and women, and their materials are 2x softer than cotton, as evaluated using the Kawabata method. Not only does MeUndies offer underwear, but they also have incredible lounge pants. I wear them when I record the podcast, and when I’m out and about grabbing coffee. If by some chance you’re not happy with the first pair you try on, they’ll refund your purchase completely. Check out MeUndies.com/Tim to see my current faves (some are awesomely ridiculous) and, while you’re at it, don’t miss lots of hot ladies wearing MeUndies. This podcast is also brought to you by Wealthfront. Wealthfront is a massively disruptive (in a good way) set-it-and-forget-it investing service, led by technologists from places like Apple and world-famous investors. It has exploded in popularity in the last 2 years and now has more than $2.5B under management. In fact, some of my good investor friends in Silicon Valley have millions of their own money in Wealthfront. Why? Because you can get services previously limited to the ultra-wealthy and only pay pennies on the dollar for them, and it’s all through smarter software instead of retail locations and bloated sales teams. Check out wealthfront.com/tim, take their risk assessment quiz, which only takes 2-5 minutes, and they’ll show you—for free–exactly the portfolio they’d put you in. If you want to just take their advice and do it yourself, you can. Or, as I would, you can set it and forget it. Well worth a few minutes: wealthfront.com/tim. Mandatory disclaimer: Wealthfront Inc. is an SEC registered Investment Advisor. Investing in securities involves risks, and there is the possibility of losing money. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Please visit Wealthfront dot com to read their full disclosure.***If you enjoy the podcast, would you please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts/iTunes? It takes less than 60 seconds, and it really makes a difference in helping to convince hard-to-get guests. I also love reading the reviews!For show notes and past guests, please visit tim.blog/podcast.Sign up for Tim’s email newsletter (“5-Bullet Friday”) at tim.blog/friday.For transcripts of episodes, go to tim.blog/transcripts.Interested in sponsoring the podcast? Visit tim.blog/sponsor and fill out the form.Discover Tim’s books: tim.blog/books.Follow Tim:Twitter: twitter.com/tferriss Instagram: instagram.com/timferrissFacebook: facebook.com/timferriss YouTube: youtube.com/timferrissPast guests on The Tim Ferriss Show include Jerry Seinfeld, Hugh Jackman, Dr. Jane Goodall, LeBron James, Kevin Hart, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Jamie Foxx, Matthew McConaughey, Esther Perel, Elizabeth Gilbert, Terry Crews, Sia, Yuval Noah Harari, Malcolm Gladwell, Madeleine Albright, Cheryl Strayed, Jim Collins, Mary Karr, Maria Popova, Sam Harris, Michael Phelps, Bob Iger, Edward Norton, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Neil Strauss, Ken Burns, Maria Sharapova, Marc Andreessen, Neil Gaiman, Neil de Grasse Tyson, Jocko Willink, Daniel Ek, Kelly Slater, Dr. Peter Attia, Seth Godin, Howard Marks, Dr. Brené Brown, Eric Schmidt, Michael Lewis, Joe Gebbia, Michael Pollan, Dr. Jordan Peterson, Vince Vaughn, Brian Koppelman, Ramit Sethi, Dax Shepard, Tony Robbins, Jim Dethmer, Dan Harris, Ray Dalio, Naval Ravikant, Vitalik Buterin, Elizabeth Lesser, Amanda Palmer, Katie Haun, Sir Richard Branson, Chuck Palahniuk, Arianna Huffington, Reid Hoffman, Bill Burr, Whitney Cummings, Rick Rubin, Dr. Vivek Murthy, Darren Aronofsky, and many more.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Chapters
Tim Ferriss promotes his own email newsletter called Five Bullet Friday, where he sends an email every Friday with short and cool things he has discovered throughout the week.
00:00 - 01:27 (01:27)
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Newsletter
Summary

Tim Ferriss promotes his own email newsletter called Five Bullet Friday, where he sends an email every Friday with short and cool things he has discovered throughout the week.

Episode
#123: Rainn Wilson on Meditation, The Sexy Nostril Exercise, and Acting as Therapy
Podcast
The Tim Ferriss Show
Rainn Wilson, best known for his role on The Office, shares his experiences with acting as therapy, discusses the origins of Soul Pancake, and talks about finding peace in uncertain times.
01:27 - 05:50 (04:23)
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Rainn Wilson
Summary

Rainn Wilson, best known for his role on The Office, shares his experiences with acting as therapy, discusses the origins of Soul Pancake, and talks about finding peace in uncertain times.

Episode
#123: Rainn Wilson on Meditation, The Sexy Nostril Exercise, and Acting as Therapy
Podcast
The Tim Ferriss Show
SoulPancake started as a blog and social networking site where people could interact with each other by writing their life's big questions.
05:50 - 13:25 (07:34)
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Video production
Summary

SoulPancake started as a blog and social networking site where people could interact with each other by writing their life's big questions. However, after realizing their talent in making videos, they shifted their focus to creating meaningful and joyful content such as Kid President's Pep Talk.

Episode
#123: Rainn Wilson on Meditation, The Sexy Nostril Exercise, and Acting as Therapy
Podcast
The Tim Ferriss Show
The host talks with a guest about how playing a role of a depressive, pill-popping dad in the movie "Hesher" helped him cope with the thought of losing his wife and his own experiences with prescription drugs.
13:25 - 18:29 (05:04)
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Mental Health
Summary

The host talks with a guest about how playing a role of a depressive, pill-popping dad in the movie "Hesher" helped him cope with the thought of losing his wife and his own experiences with prescription drugs.

Episode
#123: Rainn Wilson on Meditation, The Sexy Nostril Exercise, and Acting as Therapy
Podcast
The Tim Ferriss Show
In this episode, the guest talks about how playing the character of Everett Backstrom was challenging and exhilarating during a difficult time in their life.
18:28 - 23:15 (04:46)
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Resilience
Summary

In this episode, the guest talks about how playing the character of Everett Backstrom was challenging and exhilarating during a difficult time in their life. They also discuss the importance of being resilient and finding ways to overcome low points in both personal and professional settings.

Episode
#123: Rainn Wilson on Meditation, The Sexy Nostril Exercise, and Acting as Therapy
Podcast
The Tim Ferriss Show
Even just a couple of minutes of clear, focused meditation can have a powerful impact on your day and your mental state, whether you are an actor or not.
23:15 - 31:54 (08:38)
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Meditation
Summary

Even just a couple of minutes of clear, focused meditation can have a powerful impact on your day and your mental state, whether you are an actor or not.

Episode
#123: Rainn Wilson on Meditation, The Sexy Nostril Exercise, and Acting as Therapy
Podcast
The Tim Ferriss Show
The speaker discusses how he admires people who are experts in their field, such as the interviewer who is a fitness expert, but he struggles with admiring billionaires who haven't achieved that same level of expertise.
31:54 - 38:38 (06:44)
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Self-reflection
Summary

The speaker discusses how he admires people who are experts in their field, such as the interviewer who is a fitness expert, but he struggles with admiring billionaires who haven't achieved that same level of expertise.

Episode
#123: Rainn Wilson on Meditation, The Sexy Nostril Exercise, and Acting as Therapy
Podcast
The Tim Ferriss Show
This podcast episode discusses the benefits of using an air channel to improve air quality and breathing at night, as well as the recent developments in incorporating virtues, such as determination, into education with the use of exercises like the Family Virtues Guide.
38:38 - 47:25 (08:47)
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Air Quality, Virtues, Education, Family
Summary

This podcast episode discusses the benefits of using an air channel to improve air quality and breathing at night, as well as the recent developments in incorporating virtues, such as determination, into education with the use of exercises like the Family Virtues Guide.

Episode
#123: Rainn Wilson on Meditation, The Sexy Nostril Exercise, and Acting as Therapy
Podcast
The Tim Ferriss Show
In this transcript fragment, the speaker talks about the difference between constructive and destructive criticism and identifying antecedents as a starting point towards agreement.
47:25 - 52:43 (05:18)
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Communication
Summary

In this transcript fragment, the speaker talks about the difference between constructive and destructive criticism and identifying antecedents as a starting point towards agreement.

Episode
#123: Rainn Wilson on Meditation, The Sexy Nostril Exercise, and Acting as Therapy
Podcast
The Tim Ferriss Show
The idea of a universal language spoken by everyone on the planet would be a crucial building block to world peace.
52:43 - 1:05:31 (12:47)
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Universal Language
Summary

The idea of a universal language spoken by everyone on the planet would be a crucial building block to world peace. Gratitude can shift one's perspective from negativity and reframe priorities.

Episode
#123: Rainn Wilson on Meditation, The Sexy Nostril Exercise, and Acting as Therapy
Podcast
The Tim Ferriss Show
Joe Rogan discusses the documentary "The Act of Killing" with Jocko Willink, a Navy SEAL commander, and how it highlights the complexity of the human condition when dealing with atrocities committed in war.
1:05:31 - 1:11:13 (05:41)
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Jocko Willink
Summary

Joe Rogan discusses the documentary "The Act of Killing" with Jocko Willink, a Navy SEAL commander, and how it highlights the complexity of the human condition when dealing with atrocities committed in war.

Episode
#123: Rainn Wilson on Meditation, The Sexy Nostril Exercise, and Acting as Therapy
Podcast
The Tim Ferriss Show
The podcast offers a number of resources such as SoulPancake, lead a Haiti.org and links to girls' education, arts education and informal education as well as show notes available at four hour work week.com.
1:11:13 - 1:14:45 (03:32)
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Podcast Resources
Summary

The podcast offers a number of resources such as SoulPancake, lead a Haiti.org and links to girls' education, arts education and informal education as well as show notes available at four hour work week.com.

Episode
#123: Rainn Wilson on Meditation, The Sexy Nostril Exercise, and Acting as Therapy
Podcast
The Tim Ferriss Show