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How listening to @tferriss saved my life ... 1/
June 2019: my short 2nd marriage had imploded. I moved to a Super 8 motel. #depression had swirled around my life for decades. 2/
Until now, few know of the 4 suicide attempts in my youth: all related to the psychological trauma of dealing with my now departed mother. I had long ago put away those feelings of despair. 3/
My life, since age 25, has been one of optimism and good luck. But the wave of despair came back in 2019, hitting unexpectedly hard on a summer day while walking on a footbridge on campus as I left work. 4/
I felt dizzy but managed to push back the darkest of thoughts. Needing a distraction in my car, I pulled up a podcast. For a while I had been listening to the @goodlifeproject and @jonathanfields . I listened to his conversation with Tim Ferris https://www.goodlifeproject.com/podcast/tim-ferriss-tribe-mentors/ 5/
Honestly, I had avoided Tim Ferris for years. I thought he seemed like a jerk, an impression formed by his article on how to live like a rock star in Buenos Aires https://tim.blog/2007/03/30/how-to-live-like-a-rock-star-or-tango-star-in-buenos-aires/ I was also living in Buenos Aires at the time & his article just struck me the wrong way 6/
In finally listening to Tim, I started to understand him. The first podcast of his that I listened to was a heart touching tribute to swim coach Terry Laughlin. I had no interest in swimming but there's so much more in that podcast https://tim.blog/2017/10/29/terry-laughlin/ 7/
I started listening to more & more of Tim's podcasts where he gently probes for insights in those conversations. I started with names I knew: @timoreilly , @alaindebotton , @JackKornfield . Inspired to learn meditation, I attended my 1st meditation retreat that summer. 8/
Through Tim's podcast, I was uplifted in learning about others: @PeterAttiaMD & many more names new to me. A new appreciation for @SamHarrisOrg formed from Tim's podcast, and Sam's @wakingup app has changed my life. 9/
But in that June darkness, the conversation that really touched me the most was one with a man I had never heard of before: @jerrycolonna The Coach with the Spider Tattoo. I listened & listened again. These two men talked with such care about the difficulties in life. 10/
The podcast featured Jerry's new book "Reboot: Leadership and the Art of Growing Up". I eagerly got the book & was delighted that the audio version was read by Jerry himself. It's a remarkable book filled with encouraging guidance. 11/
I'm older than Tim & just slightly younger than Jerry. I was raised in a family of strong women with no male role models in my life. My feminist friends justly abhor #toxicmasculinity & #patriarchy. But men need to listen to good men. The male voice makes a difference to men. 12/
Through Tim's podcast I learned of so many people, and each guest leads to other voices. Many female voices provided solace for me: @TaraBrach , @brainpicker , @SharonSalzberg , @kristatippett , @BreneBrown . 13/
I was pulled from the edge of despair by the thoughtful conversations Tim has with his many guests, nearly 500 episodes now. An endless education is found in those dialogues. I'm thankful that they have helped silence the distracting voices in my head. 14/end
