How to Create an Interesting Life with Tynan

 

“Who is this dude without a last name?”

Tynan has been a friend for years with a very interesting story… but I never knew all the details.

Fortunately, I got him delirious on green tea to get him to share his wild life so far. A few of the highlights:

• One of most famous pickup artists in the world — and a main character in the New York Times bestselling book The Game
• Created and built two companies: SETT and CruiseSheet
• Former professional gambler and poker player 💰💰💰

Hell, he even bought an entire ISLAND with nine of his friends.

With so many crazy experiences, it’s no wonder Stan Lee — the creator of Iron Man, Spider-Man, Thor, and more — gave Tynan his own superhero name: “Quintessential Man.”

To learn more about Tynan, and his tips on living your own interesting life, I flew to Las Vegas and talked to him on my podcast. During our conversation we discuss:

• Lessons from being a professional pickup artist — including some of his insane experiences
• Why you shouldn’t follow others
• How to buy your own island
• The “5% challenge” (and how it’s changed the way I spend my money)
• What life is like as a professional gambler
• Hacking airport lounges to get free food
• How to stop wasting your time
• Why you shouldn’t share your full name with people
• And much more…

1. Why You Shouldn’t Follow Others
2. How to Stop Wasting Time
3. Change Doesn’t Have to Be Permanent

1. Why You Shouldn’t Follow Others

I have a strong aversion to doing something everybody else is doing.

Are you living the life you think you should live?

Or are you living the life which makes you EXCITED to wake up? Aka the life you want to live?

You only get one shot at life. Don’t waste your time copying someone else because you think it’ll make you happy.

With a career as a professional gambler, pickup artist, bestselling author, and entrepreneur, I was inspired hearing from Tynan. He constantly strays off the conventional path to try new things.

When you try new things, you learn what works for you (and what makes you happy).

Tynan’s philosophy reminds me of Tim Ferriss’ approach to experimentation. He’s always trying to learn new life hacks, productivity habits, and unconventional health tricks (which lead to him discovering the Slow-Carb diet, for example).

If Tim or Tynan followed the rules and paths set out by everyone else they never would have had the same level of success.

This is especially true of business.

To build a successful business, don’t blindly copy what’s already out there. You have to build an advantage over your competitors:

• Maybe you have a new take on an existing industry, like Airbnb with vacation rentals
• You might simplify a process that saves people time, like Uber
• You could make growing a business online easier and quicker, like we do at Sumo

It’s crazy how many competitors and copycats pop up once a new product has become successful. Truth is, the world doesn’t need 100 Twitter bots that all offer the same functionality.

Take a look at Product Hunt, search for a product sector, and you’ll find 99% of products with basically the same features and capabilities.

A copycat approach usually leads to either minimal success or complete failure.

To stand out, don’t blindly follow others.

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2. How to Stop Wasting Time

In life, I believe there’s a trifecta of things which affect our overall happiness:

• Work
• Health
• Relationships

I’ve found the more I align my life with what I really want from these three pillars, the more satisfied and happier I feel.

For me this means:

• Work: I optimize my work to spend more time doing what I truly love (marketing and creating content)
• Health: I block out time in my calendar to hit the gym, so I feel more energized
• Relationships: I focus my time with people who enhance my life. For example, to record this episode of Noah Kagan Presents, I flew out to Las Vegas to spend time with Tynan

There’s no rewind in life — you don’t get the time you waste back. Focus on doing more things you enjoy with people you learn from.

The idea of making the most of your time isn’t something new, but most people don’t truly own their time.

I’ve heard from THOUSANDS of readers who dream of about starting a business and being their own boss. But very few of my readers actually start their business.

Most people dream about being entrepreneurs… then freak themselves out by saying “I could never do that!” or “now’s not the time.”

Three years later, these people are still wasting away in an office they hate.

Stop wasting time doing something you hate. Think about what matters to you most in life and try to spend more time there.

 

BONUS: Get Tynan’s 3 most important life lessons in a printable PDF

 

3. Change Doesn’t Have to Be Permanent

Change can be daunting. But one thing people often forget is that change doesn’t have to be permanent.

For example: Choosing to go vegan forever is a huge decision.

But, choosing to eat vegan for a month to see what it’s like is a much simpler choice to make. If it doesn’t work out, no big deal. You can always go back to your normal eating.

Recently, I’ve been experimenting with changes to my lifestyle — including a new car and a new apartment. I call it my “Test Shit Out Strategy.”

Here’s a recent example of the “Test Shit Out” strategy in action from my own life:

I was thinking about buying a condo, so I reached out to the realtor and asked if I could rent it before buying (I ended up deciding not to buy the condo, because I didn’t enjoy renting it). If I hadn’t tested it out before buying, the condo could have become an expensive mistake.

Another experiment I’ve been trying recently is being less committed about plans I’m on the fence about.

In other words, in the past if someone asked me to hang out next week I’d usually say “yes.”

But now, I’ll think about it, and if I’m not sure I’ll be honest: “I’m not sure right now, but how about you text me a day before and I can let you know?”

This gives me more spontaneity in life, and allows me to try a bunch of different things without committing. The lesson here is to approach change openly. Just because you want to try something doesn’t mean you have to do it forever.

Break down potentially large changes into smaller chunks that give you chance to see how it affects your life. For example:

• Don’t go vegan right away, try it for a week or a month to see how you get on
• Don’t purchase your dream car until you’ve rented it for a while
• Airbnb a place in a new city for a month before you commit to moving full-time

Take a full listen to the podcast for even more Tynan knowledge bombs.