#305: Daniel Pink — How to Make Better Decisions and Be More Creative

This podcast explores how to make better decisions, ask better questions, and be more creative. The stories range from escapes to India and speechwriting for Al Gore, to writing bestselling books and using “motivational interviewing” with kids. The guest is Daniel H. Pink ( @danielpink ), the author of six provocative books, including his newest, WHEN: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing. WHEN is a New York Times, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Washington Post , and Publishers Weekly bestseller. Pink's other books include the long-running New York Times bestseller A WHOLE NEW MIND and the #1 New York Times bestsellers DRIVE and TO SELL IS HUMAN . His books have won multiple awards and have been translated into 37 languages. Pink lives in Washington, DC, with his family. Daniel was the host and co-executive producer of Crowd Control , a television series about human behavior on the National Geographic Channel. For the last six years, London-based Thinkers 50 named him as one of the top-15 business thinkers in the world. Enjoy! This podcast is brought to you by Four Sigmatic . While I often praise this company's lion's mane mushroom coffee for a minimal caffeine wakeup call that lasts, I asked the founders if they could help me -- someone who's struggled with insomnia for decades -- sleep. Their answer: Reishi Mushroom Elixir. They made a special batch for me and my listeners that comes without sweetener; you can try it at bedtime with a little honey or nut milk, or you can just add hot water to your single-serving packet and embrace its bitterness like I do. Try it right now by going to foursigmatic.com/ferriss and using the code Ferriss to get 20 percent off this rare, limited run of Reishi Mushroom Elixir. If you are in the experimental mindset, I do not think you'll be disappointed. This episode is also brought to you by WeWork . I haven't had an office in almost two decades, but working from home and coffee shops isn't always what it's cracked up to be. When I moved to Austin, one of the first things I did was get a space at WeWork, and I could not be happier. It's dog friendly and serves the best cold-brew coffee on tap I've ever had! WeWork is a global network of work spaces where companies and people grow together -- in fact, more than ten percent of Fortune 500 companies use WeWork. The idea is simple: you focus on your business, and WeWork takes care of the rest -- front desk service, utilities, refreshments, and more. WeWork now has more than 200 locations all over the world, so chances are good there's one near you. Check out we.co/tim to become a part of the global WeWork community! *** If you enjoy the podcast, would you please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts /iTunes? It takes less than 60 seconds, and it really makes a difference in helping to convince hard-to-get guests. I also love reading the reviews! For show notes and past guests, please visit tim.blog/podcast . Sign up for Tim’s email newsletter (“5-Bullet Friday”) at tim.blog/friday . For transcripts of episodes, go to tim.blog/transcripts . Interested in sponsoring the podcast? Please fill out the form at tim.blog/sponsor . Discover Tim’s books: tim.blog/books . Follow Tim: Twitter : twitter.com/tferriss Instagram : instagram.com/timferriss Facebook : facebook.com/timferriss YouTube : youtube.com/timferriss 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. Brené Brow