Jon Batiste — The Quest for Originality and How to Get Unstuck

Jon Batiste is a five-time Grammy Award-winning and Academy Award-winning singer, songwriter, and composer. His eighth studio album, Beethoven Blues, is set for a November 15th release: https://linktr.ee/jonbatiste

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Links to everything discussed:
https://tim.blog/2024/10/30/jon-batiste/

Tim Ferriss is one of Fast Company’s “Most Innovative Business People” and an early-stage tech investor/advisor in Uber, Facebook, Twitter, Shopify, Duolingo, Alibaba, and 50+ other companies. He is also the author of five #1 New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestsellers: The 4-Hour Workweek, The 4-Hour Body, The 4-Hour Chef, Tools of Titans and Tribe of Mentors. The Observer and other media have named him “the Oprah of audio” due to the influence of his podcast, The Tim Ferriss Show, which has exceeded 900 million downloads and been selected for “Best of Apple Podcasts” three years running.

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[00:00] Start
[01:46] Is the secret to long life embracing the mundane?
[03:16] The gift of mistakes.
[04:13] Why did Jon wait until he was 10 to speak?
[06:42] How music and performance entered the picture.
[07:31] An early exercise in winning over the room.
[09:08] Choosing the personal facets that art expresses.
[11:04] From a disappointing grade school performance to the Grammys.
[16:10] Cultivating suspense and shifting modes of creative expression.
[22:39] When perspective drives motivation more than stakes.
[27:44] Spiritual practice and grounding mantras.
[35:43] Surrender, acceptance, and growth through health challenges.
[38:48] The fuzzy line between blessing and curse.
[42:07] Growing up bullied as the “least talented” in a musical family.
[48:42] Jon’s visionary mother guided him toward piano.
[51:15] Parental support for Jon’s relocation to New York City.
[52:13] Serious setbacks that almost made Jon quit Juilliard and music altogether.
[57:07] Jon’s advice to a younger musician enduring a similar path of hardships.
[1:00:14] How Jon owns what comes his way rather than allowing it to overwhelm him.
[1:05:20] Cultivating generosity without being drained.
[1:07:39] Jon’s billboard is invisible — but with deep posts.
[1:09:49] My rough draft of five deep handfuls.
[1:16:16] Jon’s answer in musical improv.
[1:24:33] Jon’s upcoming album: Beethoven Blues (with bonus blues tutorial).
[1:38:35] Taking the hypotenuse to catharsis and other Parting thoughts.