TL;DL: Ali Abdaal with Cliff Weitzman

I can't imagine I'm alone in this.

The idea of having a transparent conversation with some of the world's most brilliant minds is fascinating.

But I always find myself needing to sit down and really focus on podcasts to learn the lessons these experts speak about.

Some of these episodes are 2 hours long and I simply don't have the time to chunk out that block whenever a new episode that comes out.

That is why I created TL;DL as a summary for episodes that I personally find fascinating and want to ensure that their lessons are learned by as many people as possible.

Welcome to the first post of TL;DL or Too Long; Didn't Listen which summarises the key lessons of some of my favourite podcast episodes.

Deep Dive with Ali Abdaal with Cliff Weitzman, Founder of Speechify

Today's post covers the key lessons from Ali Abdaal's Deep Dive with Cliff Weitzman, founder of Speechify, a text-to-audio software that helps turns any written material into an audiobook.

If you are interested in listening to the full version, here's the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfALZJcurZw

13 Key Lessons from the Episode

1. Overcoming challenges:

Cliff has dyslexia. He built Speechify to help himself through school, while his brother Tyler taught himself app development.

To have the mindset of overcoming your challenges instead of letting them hinder you is arguably the most important aspect of success.

Sharing how you overcame the challenges you face can be a great way to monetise something that will help millions.

2. Importance of relationships

Cliff emphasises the significance of investing in relationships and spreading love and compassion. Balancing personal success with nurturing connections is crucial for a fulfilling life.

Cliff speaks about how every evening at college, he would have 3 dinners because he would sit with a different group of people every time he ate.

Eating is a social act and he formed relationships that he knew would help him later in his career just by being curious about other people.

3. Benefits of audiobooks

Listening to audiobooks can be an effective way to learn and improve language skills. It allows for faster intake of information and can be particularly helpful for individuals with learning differences.

Being dyslexic, Cliff really goes into how language processing can happen quicker through listening than reading.

He is able to listen on audiobooks on 5x speed and digest key points from the book allowing to learn faster and apply new skills quicker. It keeps him ahead of the game.

4. Education and diverse interests

Both Cliff and Ali pursued diverse educational paths, studying subjects like renewable energy engineering, design, philosophy, and more. They highlight the value of exploring multiple disciplines to broaden knowledge and skills.

Much like one of Ali's favourite points of working in a startup to expose yourself to new skills, having a broad education range allows you to take different skillsets and apply them to the work you do.

5. The power of listening

Listening is emphasised as a primary mode of learning and absorbing information. It is highlighted as an essential skill that can be developed and leads to faster processing and understanding.

As touched upon, Cliff listens to things on 5x speed and finds normal speed boring.

If you want to learn whilst listening at a faster pace, you can teach yourself this like you would working out.

Listen to it at 1.1x speed, then 1.2x speed and slowly build up your resilience until you can comprehend at the fastest of speeds.

6. Leveraging technology

The conversation emphasises the role of technology in enhancing productivity and learning. Platforms like Speechify, ad-blocking software, and calendar scheduling tools are mentioned as helpful resources.

Ali is a sucker for sharing his favourite pieces of technology that help make his life easier. It is key that you find technology you can utilise to maximise your output.

7. Taking initiative and building relationships

The podcast emphasises the importance of taking action, reaching out to people, and building connections. Cold messaging, networking, and expressing gratitude are highlighted as effective ways to connect with others.

Not only did Cliff eat dinner with several different people at college, he is also a keen cold-emailer to try and learn from someone.

Any material he finds beneficial to him, he will find the author's email, thank them for their work and ask for them for 1-2 hours of their time over coffee.

This allows him to continually improve and learn from those that deeply impact him.

8. Mindset and self-improvement

The podcast encourages adopting a positive mindset, giving more than receiving, and adding value to others' lives. It emphasises personal growth, continuous learning, and being open to new experiences.

A key message I love, that comes from outside of the podcast, is 'just because you've left school, doesn't mean you should stop learning'.

Continually looking to broaden your horizons and learn new skills and you will go further than most.

9. Efficient communication and organisation

Strategies such as maintaining organised contacts, focusing on important messages, and managing communication platforms effectively are discussed as ways to streamline communication and save time.

To aid with the relationship building, Cliff is a keen advocate for organising his contacts by date order of when he met them.

If he knows that he met them at a Christmas party, he can easily find the contact and remember 'ahh yes, it was Jim who I met'.

10. Authenticity and vulnerability

Sharing personal stories, going beyond small talk, and embracing vulnerability can lead to more meaningful conversations and connections.

A lot of body language and social books will tell you to turn the entire conversation on the other person.

But likelihood is, if someone is wanting to talk to you, they want to learn something about you. So tell them!

11. Health and well-being

The importance of physical health, such as maintaining a balanced diet and being frugal, is mentioned as a factor that contributes to overall well-being.

Living below your means and exercising are two sure fire ways to ensure you're heading in the right direction.

It means you can slowly start to accumulate your wealth and your health at the same time.

Take an analysis of your finances and understand where your money goes. It can be a great way to start heading in the right direction.

As for exercise, you don't have to go to the gym. You can just go outside for a 30 minute walk every day. That will be game-changing!

12. Comedy and effective communication

The power of comedy and making impactful statements through low-status humour is highlighted as an effective communication technique.

By laughing at the things that people may mock you for, it empowers you in a way that makes you appear more confident. The more confident you are, the more likely you are to be memorable for those you want to network with.

13. The evolution of media

The podcast acknowledges the evolving landscape of media consumption, with podcasts becoming a valuable source of cutting-edge information.

The whole reason I started TL;DL, there is so much value in podcasts. So much to miss out on because you can't chunk out some time to listen to it intently.

There is almost a podcast out there for everything in today's world.

Understand what you want to learn more about, find a podcast for it and either let me know about it so that I can summarise it for you, or add it to your regular listens and be sure to gain insight from it!

H2> There you Have It!

And there is 90 minutes of conversation summarised into 13 points. Each more important that last.

Thanks for reading and hope to see you at the next one!

Note: The blog post summarises the key points from the podcast conversation. For a more comprehensive understanding and to hear the personal anecdotes and details, please do tune in to the full episode here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfALZJcurZw.