Jim Collins has published multiple international bestsellers that have sold in total more than eleven million copies worldwide, including the perennial favorite Good to Great . His new book is What to Make of a Life: Cliffs, Fog, Fire, and the Self-Knowledge Imperative . This episode is brought to you by: AG1 all-in-one nutritional supplement: DrinkAG1.com/Tim Cresset family office services for CEOs, founders, and entrepreneurs: CressetCapital.com/Tim Momentous Fiber+ 3-in-1 formula with soluble fiber, insoluble fiber, and Solnul® resistant starch: LiveMomentous.com/Tim Gusto simple and easy payroll, HR, and benefits platform used by 400,000+ businesses : Gusto.com/Tim Timestamps: [00:00:00] Start. [00:02:43] More energy at 68 than 37: Jim’s mysteriously expanding battery. [00:04:57] Two mornings a day. [00:08:24] How Marcelo Garcia avoids the “simmering six.” [00:10:24] The portable coffee ritual. [00:12:44] Side passions of high performers: Disco dancing, the occult, and Sunday school. [00:18:20] Genesis of “ What to Make of a Life ” and the sage down the hall: John W. Gardner. [00:20:51] Joanne’s IRONMAN triumph: winning by 90 seconds on a shattered hamstring — then the cliff. [00:26:01] Cliff events, matched pairs, and the bigger question that swallowed the smaller one. [00:31:35] The fog-clarity inversion: clear on life, foggy on projects. [00:34:56] Fog happens to everyone — don’t freak out about it. [00:40:38] Jim’s wife’s one-word review of life with him. [00:47:29] When the fire went from red molten rage to a green-yellow warming glow. [00:54:18] Encodings vs. strengths: The window frame metaphor and John Glenn’s click moment. [01:01:49] My encoding candidates. [01:08:07] 70 points on trust: Discovering your encodings matters, but trusting them matters more. [01:12:43] Enneagram as an acceptable horoscope for tech guys. [01:15:21] The 1,000 creative hours rule and Warren Buffett’s punch card: Life is the ultimate finite resource. [01:23:37] “The most wonderful, disappointing answer”: How Jim’s team says no with grace. [01:27:14] Right people, right seats, encoded edition: When management angst shrinks to almost nothing. [01:38:23] Return on luck deep dive: What luck, who luck, and zeit luck. [01:46:24] Natalie moments: Not all time in life is equal. [01:46:52] Maximizing surface area of luck, return on luck, and Jim’s chain of who luck. [02:04:47] Cardiss Collins and return on bad luck: Cliff events that expose encodings you never knew you had. [02:08:33] A warning for founders: Sell your company, lose a decade — the cliff nobody plans for. [02:11:23] “An option to come back has negative value”: Irv Grousbeck’s counterintuitive wisdom. [02:14:22] Signing the Declaration as a death warrant: When there’s no option, the mind focuses. [02:16:01] The hunt for Roger Sherman: Choosing matched pairs and the man who saved the Constitution twice. [02:20:48] The mythology of youthful creativity: Jim’s rebuttal — Toni Morrison wrote Beloved at 56. [02:34:35] Flipping the arrow of money: Is money fuel for your work, or is your work fuel for money? [02:38:42] Commonwealth Club event: Jim Collins live in San Francisco, April 9th. [02:39:44] The ultimate definition of success: “My spouse likes and respects me evermore as the years go by.” [02:43:08] A plus-two day and parting thoughts. * For show notes and past guests on The Tim Ferriss Show , please visit tim.blog/podcast . For deals from sponsors of The Tim Ferriss Show , please visit tim.blog/podcast-sponsors Sign up for Tim’s email newsletter ( 5-Bullet Friday ) at tim.blog/friday . For transcripts of episodes, go to tim.blog/transcripts . Discover Tim’s books: tim.blog/books . Follow Tim: Twitter : twitter.com/tferriss Instagram : instagram.com/timferriss YouTube : youtube.com/timferriss Facebook : facebook.com/timferriss LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/timferriss See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .