
Riva Tez: Becoming A Free Thinker
10/18/23 • 84 min
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Riva Tez is one of the freest writers I know. It’s as if the boundaries of conventional thinking don’t apply to her. She’s allergic to dogma and passionate about questioning the taboos of our time, and her obsessive research gene has given her a knack for stumbling upon forgotten and under-explored ideas.
She’s a singular human being. Part of her brilliance is the way she combines her love for Rilke’s poetry with an interest in philosophy, theology, and consciousness. In all three areas, she goes right after dogma — and by asking the questions that only she can ask, she finds the answers that only she can find.
In a world of people who are obsessed with optimization, Riva is passionately unoptimized; in a culture of people who are obsessed with the news, Riva has cut out almost all the contemporary noise from Netflix to the New York Times.
If you feel constrained in your writing or thinking, this episode is for you. An hour with Riva will free you from the trappings of your mind, unleash your creative spirit, and lift your head up to a divine calling.
Twitter: @rivatez
Medium: Riva-Melissa Tez
Article: Walking with Nietzche
Forbes: 30 Under 30 Profile
Want to learn more about the next course with Write of Passage?
Click here: https://writeofpassage.school/hiw
Want to learn more about How I Write?
Website: https://writeofpassage.school/how-i-write/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DavidPerellChannel/videos
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-write/id1700171470
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2DjMSboniFAeGA8v9NpoPv
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Riva Tez is one of the freest writers I know. It’s as if the boundaries of conventional thinking don’t apply to her. She’s allergic to dogma and passionate about questioning the taboos of our time, and her obsessive research gene has given her a knack for stumbling upon forgotten and under-explored ideas.
She’s a singular human being. Part of her brilliance is the way she combines her love for Rilke’s poetry with an interest in philosophy, theology, and consciousness. In all three areas, she goes right after dogma — and by asking the questions that only she can ask, she finds the answers that only she can find.
In a world of people who are obsessed with optimization, Riva is passionately unoptimized; in a culture of people who are obsessed with the news, Riva has cut out almost all the contemporary noise from Netflix to the New York Times.
If you feel constrained in your writing or thinking, this episode is for you. An hour with Riva will free you from the trappings of your mind, unleash your creative spirit, and lift your head up to a divine calling.
Twitter: @rivatez
Medium: Riva-Melissa Tez
Article: Walking with Nietzche
Forbes: 30 Under 30 Profile
Want to learn more about the next course with Write of Passage?
Click here: https://writeofpassage.school/hiw
Want to learn more about How I Write?
Website: https://writeofpassage.school/how-i-write/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DavidPerellChannel/videos
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-write/id1700171470
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2DjMSboniFAeGA8v9NpoPv
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Previous Episode

Sam Parr: How To Make $2 Million A Month By Writing
Sam is a master copywriter and business builder. If there was ever somebody who knows how to turn online writing into cash, Sam is it.
In this episode, Sam shows how you can sell at scale and where to find the opportunities in the business of writing. We’ll teach you how to think through headlines, find content for your own writing, and torch the internet with your ideas.
Sam started in the early days of email newsletters and he was a master of writing viral content. He tells the story about plagiarizing his way onto Amazon’s bestseller list by looking at the intersection of romantic comedies, werewolves, and the Twilight Series. He combined many stories, self published his own book, sued by a publisher for plagiarizing, and ended up exploding on the self-publishing Reddit forum — all of which led to 1000s of new subscribers for his newsletter.
Since then, his success continues to multiply. First, by selling “The Hustle” for eight-figures to HubSpot. Then, by growing “My First Million” into one of the top ten business podcasts in the world. And now, he recently launched a company called Hampton.
One thing that stands out with Sam is how good he is at colloquial copywriting. His writing sells because it sounds like how people actually talk. First he builds trust with people. Then they open up their wallets. He gets people to open up their wallets by building trust with them very fast through writing. In this episode, he shows exactly how to do that.
Twitter: https://twitter.com/thesamparr
Website: https://www.Joinhampton.com
Podcast: https://www.mfmpod.com
Want to learn more about the next course with Write of Passage?
Click here: https://writeofpassage.school/hiw
Want to learn more about How I Write?
Website: https://writeofpassage.school/how-i-write/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DavidPerellChannel/videos
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-write/id1700171470
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2DjMSboniFAeGA8v9NpoPv
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Next Episode

Lenny Rachitsky: How This Ex-Airbnb Product Manager Created A Top Newsletter On Substack
Lenny writes one of the top five business newsletters on Substack — which has amassed over 500,000 subscribers. He hosts a podcast that makes him more money than he made in corporate America. And he’s built a raving X audience of over 188,000.
No training. No ego. And to top it all off, he writes in one of the most oversaturated markets on the Internet: product management.
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After his first Substack post went viral, “What Seven Years at Airbnb Taught Me About Building a Business”, Lenny saw the positive impact that his ideas had on his readers. He became obsessed with adding value. His motto?
“There’s always room for better content.”
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In this episode, you’ll see inside Lenny’s process. He opens up about creating high-signal content; following what energizes him; balancing storytelling with practicality; protecting his writing schedule; and above all, rising above the noise.
Twitter: https://twitter.com/lennysan
Website: https://www.lennyrachitsky.com
Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com
Podcast: https://www.lennyspodcast.com
Want to learn more about the next course with Write of Passage?
Click here: https://writeofpassage.school/hiw
Want to learn more about How I Write?
Website: https://writeofpassage.school/how-i-write/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DavidPerellChannel/videos
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-write/id1700171470
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2DjMSboniFAeGA8v9NpoPv
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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