What if the thing you’re known for—the very success that defines you—is actually holding you back?

Tiago Forte built an empire teaching millions how to organize their digital minds. Wall Street Journal bestseller. Sold-out courses. Eight-figure business. Then he walked away from 95% of his revenue.

In this conversation, Tiago shares why he reinvents himself every single year like clockwork, how meditation and fasting unlock his next chapter, and what it means to watch AI devour your entire industry and choose to ride the wave instead of drown.

For anyone who’s achieved everything they thought they wanted and still hears that whisper saying “this isn’t it”—Tiago maps the territory between success and fulfillment, between logic and intuition, between who you were and who you’re becoming.

Essential listening for anyone whose body knows something their brain hasn’t admitted yet.

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Covered In This Episode

• The mysterious chronic illness that forced Tiago to externalize his entire memory at 22—and how that limitation became the foundation for Building a Second Brain

• Why Tiago shut down his cohort course at the height of success, walking away from 95% of his revenue when every launch was selling out

• The exact body sensations Tiago looks for when making million-dollar decisions: from tingling feet to the flutter behind his ears

• His 17-year annual review practice that forces complete reinvention—and why he changes his diet, meditation, and routines to access deeper wisdom

• The moment he realized AI had “eaten” his entire industry—and why being the first victim meant he could be the first to recover

• How to know if a challenge is “character-building friction” worth embracing or “pointless slog” that AI should handle instead

• Why logic-based business decisions failed “like clockwork” while emotion-based pivots led to breakthrough success

• The unexpected parallels between SimCity and building an online business—and what video games taught him about strategy

• His framework for teaching children in an AI world: why nature exposure and creative projects matter more than traditional education

• The rule that saved his next book: never copy-paste AI content, but use it extensively as an editor and thought partner

• Why he moved his family from California to rural Mexico just when he thought he was “retiring” to write books

• The three criteria that make a business “AI-resistant”—and why he pivoted from B2C to B2B enterprise work

• How getting things done (GTD) gave him the confidence to leave his corporate job after just 18 months

• The difference between pivoting from desperation versus inspiration—and how to cultivate the latter through body-based practices

Chapters

00:00 Welcome to the Courageous Pivot Podcast
00:37 Tiago's Journey from Peace Corps to Silicon Valley
10:10 The Birth of Building a Second Brain
27:22 The Impact of AI on Productivity and Note-Taking
30:28 Embracing AI for a Joyful and Human-Centric Future
31:12 The Move to Mexico and Meeting Hayden Miyamoto
34:45 Demand and Success of the Program
36:51 Impact of AI on Jobs and Society
41:25 Navigating AI with Children
46:55 Redesigning Education with AI
49:44 Using AI in Writing
52:24 Annual Review and Personal Growth
1:03:12 Balancing Logic and Creativity

Special Offers

• Free Heart Coherence Masterclass – A complimentary session with Meghan Telpner exploring how to create alignment between your heart and mind, access inner calm, and live from your most authentic self.

• Click here to get 30% off Rise & Shine: A Guided Approach To Heart-led Living and Leadership. (Click here if you reside in Canada)

Links + Resources

Tiago’s Platforms and Pages

• Tiago Forte’s Website

• Tiago’s YouTube Channel

• Building a Second Brain

• Annual Review — Tiago’s yearly reinvention practice

• Building a Second Brain Foundation Course — Tiago’s self-paced flagship course

• The Master Prompt Method - Tiago’s framework for AI interaction

Books and Authors Referenced in This Episode

• Building a Second Brain Book by Tiago Forte

• Getting Things Done by David Allen — the book that changed Tiago’s approach to productivity

• David Whyte — poet whose work on courage inspired the podcast name

• Marie Forleo — early pioneer of cohort-based courses

• Seth Godin’s altMBA — another early cohort-based course model

Referenced in This Episode

• Evernote — the note-taking app where Tiago first developed his system

• ChatGPT — AI tool discussed for personal productivity

• Claude — AI assistant Tiago uses for book editing

• HeartMath Institute — heart coherence and heart rate variability research mentioned by Meghan

• SimCity — the video game that taught Tiago business strategy

More About Tiago Forte

Tiago Forte is one of the world’s foremost experts on productivity and has taught thousands of people around the world how timeless principles and the latest technology can revolutionize their productivity, creativity, and personal effectiveness. He is the author of Building a Second Brain and The PARA Method. Find out more at Fortelabs.com.