I’ve said before that one of the best parts of hosting Infinite Loops is the chance to connect with people who consistently make me think differently — and few do that quite like Tiago Forte.

Tiago Forte joins Infinite Loops for the first time, and within minutes we closed the door on his best-selling “Building A Second Brain” and were off to the races: from digitizing 50,000+ words of personal data to build an AI-powered life coach, to the emotional intelligence hiding inside envy, to the surprising lessons he learned walking through a tiny historical museum in Coconut Grove.

We also dig into the messy magic of identity shifts, how fit dads triggered a personal transformation, and why letting go of productivity-as-performance might be the most productive thing you can do. Plus: the power of NotebookLM, building AI-native systems of self-awareness, and why the future will belong to those who embrace the one-way door.

Unsurprisingly, this was a fun one. For the full transcript, episode takeaways, and bucketloads of other goodies designed to make you go, “Hmm, that’s interesting!”, check out our Substack - https://8ca54796.streaklinks.com/CJPd0z7cXCh07hc4JAiMaKTC/https%3A%2F%2Fnewsletter.osv.llc%2F.

Important Links:

- Tiago Forte’s Website - https://fortelabs.com/
- Tiago Forte on X - https://x.com/fortelabs
- Tiago Forte on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/fortelabs
- Tiago Forte’s Annual Reviews - https://fortelabs.com/blog/tiago-fortes-annual-reviews/
- Building A Second Brain Book - https://www.buildingasecondbrain.com/book
- The PARA Method Book - https://www.buildingasecondbrain.com/para
- I Replaced my $700/hour Coach with NotebookLM — Here’s What Happened - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vu6sGg4xKVs (YouTube)
- What I Learned About the Future By Reading 100 Science Fiction Books - https://fortelabs.com/blog/what-i-learned-about-the-future-by-reading-100-science-fiction-books/

Show Notes:

- Closing the Door on Second Brain
- The Power of the Annual Review
- Tiago's Family: Incredibly Vibrant, Visual, Auditory
- Incorporating AI Into Work & Life
- Joe Hudson: Mentorship and Emotional Intelligence
- Miami: The Most Introspective Place on Earth
- Irreversible Decisions
- Archival Material: Underrated Forcing Function
- The Future of Book Publishing
- The Hard Truth on Performance Reviews
- AI Skepticism & Building Moats
- AI-First Mentality for Early Adopters
- Learning From Sci-Fi Books
- Cumulative Cultural Evolution
- Tiago as Emperor of the World

Books Mentioned:

- Building A Second Brain: A Proven Method to Organize Your Digital Life and Unlock Your Creative Potential; by Tiago Forte
- The PARA Method: Simplify, Organize, and Master Your Digital Life; by Tiago Forte
- How Emotions are Made: The Secret Life of the Brain; by Lisa Feldman Barrett
- Tiny Experiments: How to Live Freely in a Goal-Obsessed World; by Anne-Laure Le Cunff
- Why Greatness Cannot Be Planned; by Kenneth O. Stanley and Joel Lehman
- Molecules Of Emotion: The Science Behind Mind-Body Medicine; by Candace B. Pert
- What Works on Wall Street; by Jim O’Shaughnessy
- The Beginning of Infinity; by David Deutsch
- One Summer: America, 1927; by Bill Bryson
- White Mirror; by Tinkered Thinking
- The Forever War; by Joe Halderman