I’ve said before that one of the best parts of hosting Infinite Loops is the chance to connect with people who consistently make me think differently — and few do that quite like Tiago Forte. Tiago Forte joins Infinite Loops for the first time, and within minutes we closed the door on his best-selling “Building A Second Brain” and were off to the races: from digitizing 50,000+ words of personal data to build an AI-powered life coach, to the emotional intelligence hiding inside envy, to the surprising lessons he learned walking through a tiny historical museum in Coconut Grove. We also dig into the messy magic of identity shifts, how fit dads triggered a personal transformation, and why letting go of productivity-as-performance might be the most productive thing you can do. Plus: the power of NotebookLM, building AI-native systems of self-awareness, and why the future will belong to those who embrace the one-way door. Unsurprisingly, this was a fun one. For the full transcript, episode takeaways, and bucketloads of other goodies designed to make you go, “Hmm, that’s interesting!”, check out our Substack - https://8ca54796.streaklinks.com/CJPd0z7cXCh07hc4JAiMaKTC/https%3A%2F%2Fnewsletter.osv.llc%2F. Important Links: - Tiago Forte’s Website - https://fortelabs.com/ - Tiago Forte on X - https://x.com/fortelabs - Tiago Forte on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/fortelabs - Tiago Forte’s Annual Reviews - https://fortelabs.com/blog/tiago-fortes-annual-reviews/ - Building A Second Brain Book - https://www.buildingasecondbrain.com/book - The PARA Method Book - https://www.buildingasecondbrain.com/para - I Replaced my $700/hour Coach with NotebookLM — Here’s What Happened - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vu6sGg4xKVs (YouTube) - What I Learned About the Future By Reading 100 Science Fiction Books - https://fortelabs.com/blog/what-i-learned-about-the-future-by-reading-100-science-fiction-books/ Show Notes: - Closing the Door on Second Brain - The Power of the Annual Review - Tiago's Family: Incredibly Vibrant, Visual, Auditory - Incorporating AI Into Work & Life - Joe Hudson: Mentorship and Emotional Intelligence - Miami: The Most Introspective Place on Earth - Irreversible Decisions - Archival Material: Underrated Forcing Function - The Future of Book Publishing - The Hard Truth on Performance Reviews - AI Skepticism & Building Moats - AI-First Mentality for Early Adopters - Learning From Sci-Fi Books - Cumulative Cultural Evolution - Tiago as Emperor of the World Books Mentioned: - Building A Second Brain: A Proven Method to Organize Your Digital Life and Unlock Your Creative Potential; by Tiago Forte - The PARA Method: Simplify, Organize, and Master Your Digital Life; by Tiago Forte - How Emotions are Made: The Secret Life of the Brain; by Lisa Feldman Barrett - Tiny Experiments: How to Live Freely in a Goal-Obsessed World; by Anne-Laure Le Cunff - Why Greatness Cannot Be Planned; by Kenneth O. Stanley and Joel Lehman - Molecules Of Emotion: The Science Behind Mind-Body Medicine; by Candace B. Pert - What Works on Wall Street; by Jim O’Shaughnessy - The Beginning of Infinity; by David Deutsch - One Summer: America, 1927; by Bill Bryson - White Mirror; by Tinkered Thinking - The Forever War; by Joe Halderman
Sign Up for "Writing Examples" and Learn From The Best Writing of All Time: https://www.writingexamples.com Tiago grew up reading in Barnes and Noble — up to six hours at a time! Now, his bestselling book, Building a Second Brain, is the perfect combination of his favorite genres: self-development, business, and tech. Come learn how Tiago has helped thousands of people unlock their creative potential. SPEAKER LINKS: Website: https://fortelabs.com/ Blog: https://fortelabs.com/blog/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/fortelabs YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TiagoForte Book: https://www.buildingasecondbrain.com/book WRITE OF PASSAGE: Want to learn more about the next class for Write of Passage? Click here: https://writeofpassage.school TIMESTAMPS: 00:00:00 Introduction 00:02:15 "Building A Second Brain" 00:03:35 Value of Writing retreats 00:05:55 Art & writing 00:09:30 Quality vs quantity 00:11:00 How to get over writers block 00:11:45 Twitter / X 00:12:35 Editing process 00:15:45 Taylor Swift 00:17:00 "The Godfather" 00:19:00 How to get feedback 00:19:55 Finding a mentor (like Venkatesh Rao) 00:23:30 Tiago's Top 5 intellectual move 00:27:00 Compression vs Context 00:32:15 Value of book summaries 00:35:20 Toyota manufacturing process 00:37:30 Creative process 00:40:50 Creating "The PARA Method" 00:44:10 Becoming an Author & YouTuber 00:46:00 Tiago's biggest weakness 00:48:50 Writing annual reviews 00:52:25 Why do you have to curate 00:53:50 The surprises of book publishing 00:56:15 Easy mediums for writing 00:57:30 Building "Write of Passage" PODCAST LINKS: Website: https://writeofpassage.school/how-i-write/ Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-write/id1700171470 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2DjMSboniFAeGA8v9NpoPv ABOUT THE HOST: I’m David Perell and I’m a writer, teacher, and podcaster. I believe writing online is one of the biggest opportunities in the world today. For the first time in human history, everybody can freely share their ideas with a global audience. I seek to help as many people publish their writing online as possible. How I Write is a podcast by Write of Passage // Production by Adam Soccolich