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Welcome to another episode of The Tim Ferriss Show, where it is my job to deconstruct world-class performers to tease out the routines, habits, et cetera that you can apply to your own life.

You\u2019ll get plenty of that in this special episode, which features my interview with Bill Rasmussen from my 2017 TV Show Fear{less}. The \u201cless\u201d is in parentheses because the objective is to teach you to fear less, not to be fearless.

Fear{less} features in-depth, long-form conversations with top performers, focusing on how they\u2019ve overcome fears and made hard decisions, embracing discomfort and thinking big.

It was produced by Wild West Productions, and I worked with them to make both the video and audio available to you for free, my dear listeners. You can find the video of this episode on YouTube.com/TimFerriss, and eventually you\u2019ll be able to see all episodes for free at YouTube.com/TimFerriss.

Spearheaded by actor/producer and past podcast guest Vince Vaughn, Wild West Productions has produced a string of hit movies including The Internship, Couples Retreat, Four Christmases, and The Break-Up.

In 2020, Wild West produced the comedy The Opening Act, starring Jimmy O. Yang and Cedric The Entertainer. In addition to Fear{less}, their television credits include Undeniable with Joe Buck, ESPN\u2019s 30 for 30 episode about the \u201985 Bears, and the Netflix animated show F is for Family.

Please enjoy!

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This episode is brought to you by \u201c5-Bullet Friday,\u201d my very own email newsletter that every Friday features five bullet points highlighting cool things I\u2019ve found that week, including apps, books, documentaries, gadgets, albums, articles, TV shows, new hacks or tricks, and\u2014of course\u2014all sorts of weird stuff I\u2019ve dug up from around the world.

It\u2019s free, it\u2019s always going to be free, and you can subscribe now at tim.blog/friday.

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A recap of ESPN\u2019s opening night. [05:34]

What accounts for Bill\u2019s lifelong obsession with sports? [07:41]

How Bill\u2019s family \u2014 especially his father \u2014 encouraged him to excel from an early age. [09:46]

By the time he got to college, what did Bill imagine he would do for a career \u2014 and what ultimately put a crimp in his ambitions? [11:20]

What did Bill learn during his initial foray into the working world, and how did this lead to the start of his first business? [13:47]

How did Bill segue from this first business into the world of sports broadcasting? Was his lack of experience at the beginning any hindrance? [17:01]

What does Bill\u2019s self-talk sound like when he\u2019s trying to convince himself to try something new? [21:33]

As confident as Bill is in trying new things, he\u2019s not lived a life without self-doubt-inducing setbacks. Here\u2019s one that led to the much bigger success that would become ESPN. [23:04]

What ESPN looked like in the conceptual stages \u2014 when its financial reserve consisted of a $9,000 credit card advance. [29:40]

How Bill and his team drummed up additional funds for the fledgling network. [31:50]

The clever reason behind shrink-wrapping the early NCAA pitch deck. [35:29]

Enter Walter Byers. [37:07]

What launch day and the days leading up to it looked like. [39:06]

The best decision made at ESPN. [41:32]

24 hours, seven days a week is a lot of television to fill. What are some of the more esoteric ways that time has been filled at ESPN? [42:33]

Why did Bill leave ESPN at 2:05 p.m. on June 25th, 1984? [44:08]

Bill\u2019s secret to effective pitching and negotiation, and a few book recommendations. [45:09]

ESPN has the power to bring people together \u2014 except for when someone needs a scapegoat for divorce proceedings. [46:44]

What does success mean to Bill, and who does he think of when he hears the word? Does he consider himself a success? [47:45]

If Bill had to give a high-profile, 20-minute talk about something unrelated to what made him famous, what would the topic be? What book would he recommend to someone who wanted to learn more about this topic? [48:57]

Current challenges. [50:19]

Bill\u2019s best advice for someone seeking to launch their own business. [52:00]

What Bill\u2019s billboard would say. [53:17]

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For show notes and past guests, please visit tim.blog/podcast.

Sign up for Tim\u2019s email newsletter (\u201c5-Bullet Friday\u201d) at tim.blog/friday.

For transcripts of episodes, go to tim.blog/transcripts.

Discover Tim\u2019s books: tim.blog/books.

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Past 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. Bren\xe9 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.

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