Brought to you by ButcherBox premium meats delivered to your door (http://butcherbox.com/Tim), Oura smart ring wearable for personalized sleep and health insights (https://ouraring.com/), and Vuori comfortable and durable performance apparel (http://vuoriclothing.com/Tim). Dax Shepard (@daxshepard) is an American actor, writer, director, and podcast host. He is known for his work in the feature films Without a Paddle, Zathura: A Space Adventure, Employee of the Month, Idiocracy, Let’s Go to Prison, Hit and Run, and CHiPs, the last pair of which he also wrote and directed, and the MTV practical joke reality series Punk’d. He is also known for portraying Crosby Braverman in the NBC comedy-drama series Parenthood. Since 2018, Dax has hosted the juggernaut podcast Armchair Expert , 2018’s most downloaded new podcast on Apple Podcasts, and winning “Breakout Podcast” at the 2019 iHeartRadio Podcast Awards. His roster of guests includes Kristen Bell, Ashton Kutcher, Alicia Keys, Chelsea Peretti, Sarah Silverman, Conan O’Brien, Seth Rogen, 50 Cent, Jimmy Kimmel, Alanis Morissette, and hundreds more. You can find Armchair Expert on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Please enjoy! This episode is brought to you by ButcherBox! ButcherBox delivers delicious, 100% grass-fed, grass-finished beef; free-range organic chicken; heritage-breed pork, and wild-caught seafood directly to your door. For a limited time, new members can get 6 free grass-fed, grass-finished steaks when they go to ButcherBox.com/Tim. Act quickly! This offer is only good through Cyber Monday, November 30th. This episode is brought to you by Oura, the company behind the smart ring that delivers personalized sleep and health insights to help you optimize just about everything. It is the only wearable that I wear on a daily basis. With advanced sensors, Oura packs state-of-the-art heart rate, heart-rate variability, temperature, activity, and sleep monitoring technology into a convenient, non-invasive ring. It weighs less than 6 grams and focuses on three key insights—sleep, readiness, and activity. Try it for yourself. For $299, you can give or get the gift of health by visiting http://OuraRing.com. This episode is brought to you by Vuori clothing! Vuori is a new and fresh perspective on performance apparel. Perfect if you are sick and tired of traditional, old workout gear. Everything is designed for maximum comfort and versatility so that you look and feel as good in everyday life as you do working out. Get yourself some of the most comfortable and versatile clothing on the planet at http://VuoriClothing.com/Tim. Not only will you receive 20% off your first purchase, but you’ll also enjoy free shipping on any US orders over $75 and free returns. SUBSCRIBE: http://bit.ly/1dSzTkW About Tim Ferriss: 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 500 million downloads and been selected for “Best of Apple Podcasts” three years running. Connect with Tim Ferriss: Sign up for "5-Bullet Friday" (Tim's email newsletter): https://go.tim.blog/5-bullet-friday-1/ Visit the Tim Ferriss PODCAST: https://tim.blog/podcast/ Visit the Tim Ferriss BLOG: https://tim.blog/ Follow Tim Ferriss on TWITTER: https://twitter.com/tferriss/ Follow Tim Ferriss on INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/timferriss/ Like Tim Ferriss on FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/TimFerriss/ Start [00:00] How Dax and I connected [00:14] Upping my game [02:26] A powerful interview with Dax's mom [03:40] Substance abuse [12:32] Levers that make Dax happy [16:46] Going public with his relapse [18:42] How did the relapse happen? [29:04] Who is Armchair Expert cohost Monica Padman? [31:33] What did the planning stages of Armchair Expert look like? [34:18] Splitting podcast responsibilities [37:14] Vulnerability: the key to Armchair Expert's success [39:34] Dyslexia [45:38] Improving as an interviewer [48:01] The confusion of runaway success [53:03] Becoming less outcome-dependent as an actor and person [55:27] Has success changed what Dax will say yes or no to? [57:53] How to keep things fresh without losing the core audience [1:00:28] Expanding too early [1:03:32] Howard Stern [1:05:26] Dream guests [1:12:45] Dax's advice for starting a podcast now [1:14:26] Books Dax gifts most. [1:19:29] The payoff of a heartbreaking failure [1:30:05] What would Dax’s billboard say? [1:36:00] Parting thoughts [1:37:14]