What other questions would you ask me?
2025-07-14 · Short · Ali · recording, 3:00 · watch on YouTube
Topic: Relationships and personal life (also: Books and reading, Productivity and time, Tools, apps and tech, Health, sleep and habits, Goals, purpose and life design, Mindset, motivation and happiness) · mode: Answering questions · tags: Family
In a rapid-fire Short of 23 questions, Ali gives his favourites and habits and defines success as a calendar that would not change with 100 million in the bank and happiness as forgetting you are chasing it.
What is said
The parts of the video and what is said in each (★ — how much it matters to the video).
00:00:00 — 23 questions: café order and how he started his day
- ★ Ali's go-to café order is an iced latte. — 00:00:06
- ★★ Ali started the day of this video with a shower and then filmed two YouTube videos. — 00:00:09
00:00:13 — The book that changed his life
- ★★ Ali names Tim Ferriss's The 4-Hour Workweek as the one book that changed his life. — 00:00:14 · The 4-Hour Workweek, Tim Ferriss
00:00:18 — Favourite productivity hack
- ★★ Ali's favourite productivity hack is finding a way to make whatever you are doing far more enjoyable. — 00:00:19 · feel-good productivity (concept)
00:00:22 — The one app he would keep
00:00:32 — Favourite way to exercise
- ★★ Ali's favourite exercise is racket sports: squash, badminton and tennis. — 00:00:33
00:00:37 — Unwinding, ideal weekend and guilty pleasure
- ★★ To unwind after a long day, Ali reads fantasy fiction and increasingly plays on his PlayStation 5. — 00:00:38
- ★ Ali's ideal weekend mixes socialising with friends, a little sport, sitting around reading a book and hanging out with his wife. — 00:00:45 · Izzy Sealey
- ★★ Ali's guilty pleasure is romantasy books. — 00:00:57
00:01:00 — Best advice he has received
- ★★ The best advice Ali has received: you can't steer a stationary ship, so if you are not sure what you want, start moving towards something and change direction as you go. — 00:01:03
00:01:11 — Biggest fear
- ★★ Ali's biggest fear is going broke and homeless. (hedged) — 00:01:12
00:01:16 — Balancing work and family, favourite video game, what he cannot live without
- ★★ Balancing work and family is very easy for Ali because he works from home: he can have lunch and dinner with his wife and go on date nights in his remote entrepreneur life. — 00:01:18 · Izzy Sealey
- ★★ Ali's favourite video game these days is Expedition 33. — 00:01:31
- ★★ The one thing Ali says he cannot live without is his wife. — 00:01:34 · Izzy Sealey
00:01:37 — How he stays motivated
- ★★ Ali stays motivated by connecting whatever he is doing to the impact it can have on someone else, such as his family or his audience. — 00:01:39
00:01:49 — Favourite music
- ★ Ali's favourite music is very mainstream pop and singer-songwriter music such as Ed Sheeran. — 00:01:50
00:01:54 — How he handles stress
- ★★★ To handle stress, Ali journals to work out why he feels stressed, finds the fear that usually lies underneath, tries to feel that fear fully, and then realises it is not that bad. — 00:01:56
00:02:13 — What success means to him
-
★★★ Ali defines success as the point where his calendar would not change if he suddenly had 100 million in the bank: he no longer does things for the sake of money. — 00:02:15
“success is where my calendar wouldn't change if I suddenly had like 100 million in the bank.”
00:02:30 — Favourite book genre
- ★★ Ali's favourite book genre is fantasy. — 00:02:31
00:02:33 — His morning routine
- ★★ Ali's morning routine is only to shower, brush his teeth, get dressed and start work, and it is sporadic, depending on how early he wakes up. — 00:02:34
00:02:42 — Favourite quote and how he defines happiness
- ★★ Ali's favourite quote is "Life before death, strength before weakness, journey before destination". — 00:02:43 · journey before destination
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★★★ Ali defines happiness as the state of doing something that makes you forget you are chasing happiness. — 00:02:48
“The state where you're doing something that makes you forget you're chasing happiness.”
00:02:53 — A skill he would like to learn
- ★★ Ali would love to get better at the guitar. — 00:02:53
Threads in this video
- refine · How do you balance ambitious work with family life? — Balancing work and family is very easy for Ali because he works from home: he can have lunch and dinner with his wife and go on date nights in his remote entrepreneur life. (00:01:18)
- refine · How do you reduce stress? — To handle stress, Ali journals to work out why he feels stressed, finds the fear that usually lies underneath, tries to feel that fear fully, and then realises it is not that bad. (00:01:56)
- refine · What keeps you motivated once money is no longer the goal? — Ali defines success as the point where his calendar would not change if he suddenly had 100 million in the bank: he no longer does things for the sake of money. (00:02:15)
- refine · What morning routine should you have? — Ali's morning routine is only to shower, brush his teeth, get dressed and start work, and it is sporadic, depending on how early he wakes up. (00:02:34)
- refine · How do you become happier? — Ali defines happiness as the state of doing something that makes you forget you are chasing happiness. (00:02:48)
- refine · How do you find your purpose or what to do with your life? — The best advice Ali has received: you can't steer a stationary ship, so if you are not sure what you want, start moving towards something and change direction as you go. (00:01:03)
Mentioned
People: Ed Sheeran · Izzy Sealey · Tim Ferriss
Works: Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 · The 4-Hour Workweek
Concepts: feel-good productivity (concept) · journey before destination
Products: Notion · PlayStation 5
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