Trial by Fire Review, Interview with Tim Ferriss

Trial by Fire, a new TV pilot, debuted last night on the History Channel. In the premiere episode, lifehacker Tim Ferris attempts to learn the ancient art of yabusame, a type of Japanese archery performed while sitting atop a galloping horse. Unlike traditional archery, yabusame riders wear no helmets, using only body posture, skill and leg strength to stay atop the horse -- all while attempting to accurately shoot arrows at targets lined up along the sides of the track.

It is a formidable task, usually taking 10 years or more to truly master. But Ferris decided to learn the skill in under 5 days, a true Trial by Fire experience.

The idea behind the show is that everyday people, by focusing and using skills already in their arsenal, can reasonably perform difficult tasks that often take years to master.

"Most people are convinced that they have to specialize in one thing," Ferriss said during a phone interview the day of the show. "But they don't."

Trial by Fire for Tim Ferriss equals thrills for viewers

Trial by Fire was suspenseful, challenging notions about how people learn and ways to up the learning curve. I was both excited and inspired after watching this History Channel show and couldn't help thinking that now -- more than ever -- people need the kind of inspiration that a show like Trial by Fire provides. The innovation. The passion. The love of learning and outside-the-box thinking that can make seemingly insurmountable challenges possible. Plus, Ferriss has pure charisma, energy and a unique take on how to approach challenges. I was hooked immediately, watching him try to master archery on horseback.

In Trial by Fire, How does Tim Ferriss succeed at challenges others wouldn't attempt?

Without fuss or fanfare, Ferriss deconstructs seemingly impossible challenges, breaks them down into manageable tasks and gets the job done. When obstacles arise, he tries alternatives and isn't afraid to throw out conventional thinking. Through trial and error, he has fine tuned his methods and when the show ended, I felt like I'd not only see a great reality show but learned plenty from watching it. It has a place of honor in my saved list of Tivo shows.

I'm hoping Trial by Fire will become a regular series. Although rumors abound about when and where repeats of the show will air, you can see a clip of Trial by Fire at Ferriss' Four Hour Work Week blog here. You can also check the History Channel schedule and even email the channel if you'd like to catch the show.

Interview with Tim Ferriss, star of Trial by Fire

Before the premiere, I spoke with Ferriss about Trial by Fire. We talked about how and why anyone would take on the seemingly insane challenge of learning complex skills in only a week (or less, if pressed) -- skills that take the average person years to learn. I definitely wanted to know what drove him to undertake such challenges. Why risk his life for a chance to learn often ancient martial arts or other sports or activities that may be at risk of dying out? Why put a week's deadline on the line? What drove him to live life so clearly on the edge?

Trial by Fire - passion, drive, focus and a whole new way of learning (plus a spoiler alert)

Within minutes, I was hooked by his answers and enthusiasm. He was straightforward about his intense desire to inspire people's love of learning and their ability to rethink their own lives and goals.

When asked about what message he wanted people to get from Trial by Fire, he said, "a love of learning but also the realization that it is possible to attempt skills that seem impossible and do well at them." This he tries to model in his own life.

At the same time, he doesn't attempt every challenge that comes his way. He chose not to try to become a world class basketball player, adding that "he decided he didn't have the potential to improve beyond a certain level in that sport."

Admittedly "a bit OCD" (obsessive compulsive disorder), he sees the ability to focus as a potential asset for his work and lifestyle. After having a disappointing experience trying to learn Japanese in a traditional school setting, he taught himself the language in only 11 months and then went on to learn Chinese ("6 months"), German ("3 months), and Spanish ("6 weeks").

Trial by Fire - one of many successes for Tim Ferriss

Besides having major input when creating this show, Ferriss was already the best-selling author of "The 4 Hour Work Week" and has over 10,000 followers on Twitter as well as faithful readers of his four hour work week blog. Often called a lifehacker, he seems to be always looking for ways to approach learning. Not surprisingly, he is involved in trying to change the educational system and has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars toward that goal.

Trial By Fire Spoiler alert

And, oh yes... for Trial by Fire he had to push himself even harder, getting the nod for the show with only a 5-day window of time to master yabusame horseback archery. Win or lose, fail or succeed, the show was ready to air.

I sat down to watch it, hoping he'd pull off the challenge.

He succeeded, although the task came down to some last-minute, very tense moments.... at least, for this viewer. Then I was off to the live Q & A session online, where it was a blast to watch him try to answer the tons of questions by fans of the show.

Going beyond Trial by Fire and life hacks to inspire a love of learning

While yabusame or the Japanese horseback archery may not have universal appeal to some viewers, Trial by Fire revealed many fascinating ways of approaching life's challenges and learning quickly. These are skills Ferriss uses regularly, not just as a one-time gimmick. Not only has he written the bestselling 4 Hour Work Week book (you can read a sample here) but he has attempted -- and succeeded -- in goals such as losing 20 pounds of fat in 30 days, test driving a Tesla Roadster and getting into the the Tango World Championship Finals.

When he spoke to me, he described his system for learning languages, a system which helped him learn Japanese in a matter of months and other languages even more quickly after that.

Will Trial by Fire be a hit?

Even though I had some idea about how the series premiere would end, my heart raced as I watched Ferriss go through 5 days of training, all in preparation for his final test as a Japanese archer - on horseback. The first two days of training filmed for Trial by Fire left me wondering if he could pull it off. He had trouble adapting to the awkward posture used by many masters of the sport. But by intensely focusing on what his mentors were doing, he adapted their techniques to fit skills he already had. He didn't hesitate to come up with his own posture on the horse and had to fight an admitted "fear factor' to learn to let go of the reins, hold the bow and arrow and still stay on his galloping horse.

Hopefully, it will be picked up as a series on the History Channel.

Trial by Fire and the art of time management

Clearly his own person, Ferriss lives life by his own rules and one priority is not being a slave to time. Experience is what he seems to crave, along with an intense desire to keep pushing the envelope and learn new skills. As soon as I got finished watching the show, I ordered a copy of The Four Hour Work Week, along with a book he'd recommended, one by Seneca, Letters From a Stoic.

Sources:

Phone interview with Tim Ferriss about Trial by Fire

The History Channel: here

Live Q & A on Tim Ferris Four Hour Work Week (FourHourWorkWeek) blog: here

Trial by Fire premiere on December 4, 8pm, History Channel, recorded and watched