Launch Week Over: Questions and Answers (FAQ + Q&A)

Over the last 10 days I have been an unusually active correspondent.

I have received many emails or messages on social media that have been the same.

I’ve also gone through email that I previously missed in my inbox. In doing so, I have noticed certain patterns of questions that were either identical or roughly similar. I will now clear those questions up.

This article will be divided in two parts:

  1. General questions.
  2. BOOH-related questions.

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Part 1: General Questions:

Q: You say you don’t follow the media or read the news. Still, it seems like you manage to stay up to date. How?

A: I know or hang out with people from different walks of life and they tell me things. I figure if it’s important enough, I’ll hear about it.

 

Q: How does a typical day look like for you?

A: Depends on what I’m working on. I don’t really have a standard day, not for the past 2 years. I go by (commonplace) systems. The constant factors are: (1) I tend to shift between creative process and practical process. (2) I also shift between being social and antisocial (there are periods when I just think and work). (3) I go to the gym, read, and take several short walks on most days.

 

Q: What is your opinion on crypto currency?

A: Don’t really have one. But the social implications are interesting.

 

Q: What’s the last book you read?

A: I re-read the bio of Charlie Munger (Damn Right–by Janet Lowe). For 2018, one of my learning goals is to do a lot of re-reading (of items stored in my Review File), and less reading of new stuff. Repetition over novelty.

 

Q: I have many interests but they are taking me nowhere. How can I succeed as a generalist and aspiring renaissance man?

A: I have a video and blog coming up where I sit and talk to Sebastian Marshall of Ultraworking. We cover this for like 20 minutes. Here’s what we came up with: (1) you need an outlet that allows you to combine your many interests (could be a blog, a podcast, a side-gig, a business, etc), you need (2) the right combination of skills that amplify each other synergistically, and (3) you need to practice doing different short projects (like: writing an essay series) to find your “thing” that you can stick with.

 

Q: Do you still work out according to your “how I got ripped” article?

A: Almost. I still go to the gym 4-6 times per week, but for the past 6 months my sessions have become shorter (30-45 min effective work out time). I do one compound exercise of heavy lifts for ~10 sets, 3-8 reps, followed by different exercises for variation (to increase dopamine). Then I take a cold shower and sit in the sauna. My pain tolerance towards heat has improved much (and I can easily press my back against the warm wall).

 

Q: What will you do next?

A: Not another book… but it has to do with learning from masters.

 

Q: When will your next book come?

A: I have two solid book ideas in me, but I don’t know when I’ll complete them. Nor if it’ll be in the form of a book. The financial opportunity cost for producing BOOH was tremendous, but I did it because I felt compelled to.

 

Q: What has been your main lesson over the past week of launching BOOH?

A: That the evolutionary mismatch for not valuing information at its proper value due to abstractness is enormous. This is also known as Availability bias. Only very rational people value information and learning. That’s perhaps why most people are not successful.

Q: …and your biggest mistake?

A: That I didn’t make use of Amazon’s pre-order option. You can use this to sell a book 90 days in advance. If I write another book, I will use it.

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Part 2: BOOH-Related Questions:

Q: I missed the launch and only now noticed your resurgence to blogging. Where can I learn more about Breaking out of Homeostasis and its contents?

A: Here are some instructive posts:

Q: Do you think BOOH will keep selling well?

A: I don’t know. I assume it will slow down over the next few weeks. What I’m hoping is that the book continues to sell over the long-term. Like the 80/20 Principle by Richard Koch. Richard gave me some great advice (which I’ll follow) on how to improve my chances at this… He also said his magnus opus The 80/20 Principle (which has sold more than 1 million copies in 20 years) has never been on any bestseller list.

For now, I’m happy that–at its peak–BOOH became a bestseller in two relevant categories.

Short-term doesn’t mean much. But it’s still fun. As for the long-term, I leave that in your capable hands :-)

 

Q: When I look at the Amazon page it says “this title is not available for your country”. How can I buy the book?

A: Temporarily change the country and address listed on your Amazon account to U.S. Then it will work and you can buy. If confused, read this easy how-to article.

Accounts & lists > Your content and devices > Settings > Country settings: change your current country to U.S > make up an address.

 

Q: When will a pdf version be for sale?

A: In a week or two. I will write it in the blog and newsletter.

 

Q: When will a print version be for sale?

A: In 1 month. I will announce this too.

 

Q: What was your goal in writing the book?

A: The goal was always that winners should read it, use it, and then tell their friends (or people who ask them) how they too can become a winner. The end game is this: 5-20 years from now, there’ll be a tiny group of people in the cognitive elite running things, and they’ll all have read my book.

 

Q: I wrote a review and emailed you at [email protected] but didn’t receive any bonuses. Why?

A: Sorry about that! I worked 16 hour days to keep up with the correspondence. This caused me to be sloppy and make mistakes. The correct email is [email protected]

Speaking of reviews, I love this one:

“At last, a book that does not tell me “it’s not your fault”, its the society, culture, my skin.”

 

Q: Can I translate BOOH to my native language?

A: Yes, with my permission (I own the international rights). Please email me about this before you start. Most interesting are Japanese, Chinese, Russian, Spanish.

 

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Finally, I am considering whether I should put an FAQ bonus chapter at the end of the book, in time for the print edition. Please contribute:

IF you’ve read BOOH, was there anything that was unclear?

Are there any other questions you have?

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Comments

  1. Hey Ludvig, raw lemons are for kids. I suggest eating garlic (alone ofc) instead, especially if you want to check the look/smell weird on purpose box.
    The book is fantastic, although during reading the first chapter I did wonder how well it conveys the idea to someone who never heard about BOOH before. I also remember you mentioning this somewhere (while talking about the curse of knowledge). Any insights since the launch?

  2. Hey do you invest in Bitcoin now? I am thinking to put money in while it dropped. Any suggestions?

  3. What will you do in 2018?
    Will you write another yearly lesson post?
    For BOOH FAQ… I’m not sure it is required. I didn’t feel anything was missing or confusing after finished. Only I felt a little overwhelmed by all the hundreds of tips and ideas….so perhaps a quick repetition of the most *fundamental* advice? (Similar to the review bonus you made with the 15 implications, that was very clear and helpful, I printed it out and put it next to my whiteboard.)

  4. Liked the book a lot and learned a lot. I have read maybe 20 self improvement books this year – and that includes brain and body and diet books – and i still thought your book was different in ways.

    How important is it to make a book a bestseller on Amazon? I mean, if I want to write a book there in the future.

  5. How will you market the book in the future?

  6. Cool post. Tip I use myself on the news part, I use this for film and tv as well; you can read and watch as much as you want but it can’t be in your mother tongue, so I stay clear of Danish or English content. So I’ll use German news apps, or watch Netflix with either French audio or subtitles.

  7. I get my “news” exactly the same way. Everything presented by the media is misleading, distorted, misrepresented, or outright false, unless it’s something too many people already know about for them to get away with lying.

    For example, most of the many “polls” that are published during every American election cycle are phony, except those a day or two before the election. It would be an embarrassment to predict a Landslide for Landon on election night, but for a poll a week before the election they can pretend that public opinion shifted. That’s why “polling” results that are all over the place in October start converging in November, while random sampling of voters at the polls is almost never wrong in forecasting the result.

    Except for stupid and trivial “human interest” type stories, most of what appears in the media also has a motive, beyond merely getting attention. Sometimes they are trying to manipulate stock prices, sometimes elections or public policy. Other times they’ve been paid in money or favors; sometimes they have a grudge. What they never, ever do is report something merely because the public needs to know.

    I have some experience with “investigative” reporting, and I can promise you that the *conclusion* of any story is written first. The “investigation” comes later.

    Why do most people believe that the media are honest investigators? Well, the media told them so! Who would doubt /that/ kind of evidence?

  8. Yo Ludvig, been following your stuff on and off for a while. Congrats on the book launch!
    I actually had a question on an old post if you happen to have the time…
    https://www.startgainingmomentum.com/15-lessons-learned-from-mikael-syding/

    How does one implement lesson number 11 (using cable ties to protect your teeth in the gym)? And why wouldn’t you just use a gum shield?

    Thanks!

  9. What are the 2 other book ideas – similar follow-up topics or different?

  10. You could consider adding a bonus chapter from some of the ideas or tips or chapters out of the (originally) 700 pages manuscript? Or maybe it was all cut with good reasons. I would be curious for it however.

  11. Finally finished up a review of your book, actually way ahead of schedule. I put aside the other articles I was working on (namely stuff on Marcus Aurelius), in order to get it out. Check it out!

    As for things that were unclear. I would like to have had a bit more on social fears, since this is something that I have always struggled with. The chapter has some good stuff, but I feel that there is something still missing there.

    Interesting question on the Renaissance Man stuff. Actually I think these types of multilateral and multidisciplinary skills are the way of the future and that’s why I dedicated my blog to them. The advice on blogging is good, since it does help you put your thoughts down and you end up discovering how things from so many disciplines are in fact related.

    I am a person who has many interests and this has served me pretty well. Still working the corporate life, but due to my multidisciplinary skills, I have managed to figure out things that the vast majority of homeostasis dwellers working these types of jobs can’t.

    • Hey Peter,

      Sweet — I’ll read it and add it to the list of BOOH content in this post right away.

      I agree with you that it’s beneficial for the future. But it also requires taking extra responsibility over your personal development and learning. You have to be more deliberate about how you’ll make your way when you’re young.

      Regarding social fears: If you could turn that into a question for an FAQ section, what would it be?

      • Good question :) I will attempt to come up with a question.

        How do you overcome your social fears and start connecting with change-makers and influencers?

    • I laughed a little at these parts!

      “Luckily, one man has come up with one simple hack that will magically change this and help you to turn into a superhero, without any effort! Seriously, no effort required on your part. Guaranteed! You can trust me, I am a consultant.”

      “I am a fan of Ludvig’s blog, probably mostly because I get massive amounts of confirmation bias from it.”

      That monkey-wearing-shorts selfie picture is hilarious.

      • Thanks! :)

      • I also liked the part about James Hutton. I didn’t know that.

        On connecting: You make a list of people you admire or are interested in, then you set about finding their contact info, then you email them something you think they might find interesting or helpful. The worst that can happen is you don’t get a reply. Oh well, email is free!

  12. How long do your sit in the sauna or do cold showers?

  13. Nice to hear about the good early results. I got the book in the first few days and have almost finished it.

    What advice did Richard Koch give you? I have read two of his books and liked them very much.

    As for questions, I am curious about something you mentioned in an earlier post this week about free will and determinism being outdated. That could perhaps be explained more clearly at the end in a FAQ.

    • Richard’s advice had to do with making sure the book gets into the right people’s hands *more easily* on an International level. As opposed to a focused audience of my podcast or blog.

      I will write down your question, thanks.

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