Podcast Summary: Tetragrammaton with Rick Rubin

Guest: Joseph Nguyen

Date: January 14, 2026
Episode Theme:
A deep-dive into the creative, spiritual, and unexpectedly entrepreneurial journey behind Joseph Nguyen’s bestselling book Don’t Believe Everything You Think, exploring intuition, the writing process, self-publishing innovation, overcoming fear, and how personal evolution shapes creative output.

Main Theme & Purpose

In this episode, Rick Rubin interviews Joseph Nguyen, author of Don’t Believe Everything You Think, exploring Nguyen’s journey from personal crisis to creative breakthrough, the origins and impact of his book, his unconventional self-publishing and marketing strategies, and broader philosophical insights about intuition, fear, belief, and personal transformation.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Genesis of the Book and its Title

• Title Origin
  • The title came after the book was finished, arriving in a moment of intuition while walking or showering.
  • Nguyen resisted “self-help-y” or “salesy” titles:

    “No title could encapsulate what it was ... and then it just hit me out of nowhere: Don’t Believe Everything You Think.” (00:55)

• Writing as Transmission
  • Joseph describes the book as something that wrote itself when he stopped striving for an external goal:

    “Once I removed the pressure of trying to make it good, ... then the book came through.” (02:56)

• Therapeutic Writing
  • The writing process was as much a journey of self-realization as an act of creation.

    “I was learning just as much, if not more, from writing than not writing it.” (03:34)

• Writing Process & Minimal Editing
  • Each chapter started as a question; editing was minimal to preserve authenticity and energy:

    “The book isn’t written in the most flowery way ... It’s the energy.” (04:43-04:49)

2. Inspiration, Intuition, and Vulnerability in Creativity

• Letting Go of the Ego
  • Removing the desire for external validation freed his creativity.

    “I just approached it from a lens of pure curiosity ... and then whatever came through came through.” (03:44)

• Process Driven by Intuition
  • Parallels between music and writing:

    “Getting out of the way and letting it flow through.” (06:13 - Nguyen/Rubin)

• Rapid, Organic Creation
  • The first draft took only 1.5-2 months of daily writing (09:49).

3. Self-Publishing & Grassroots Marketing

• Business Background Meets Intuition
  • Used skills from previous failed businesses to market the book successfully online and via TikTok.

    “Every time I tried to apply it to my own things, every single thing failed. ... But it wasn’t until the book came out that it was the right vehicle.” (10:19)

• TikTok as a Platform
  • Started posting short readings (30–60 seconds) of the book, which led to viral growth (11:53, 31:44).
• Amazon Self-Publishing
  • Book was printed on demand via Amazon (12:08), later expanded to traditional publishing for bookstore distribution while retaining self-publishing rights online (21:03).
• Advertising Strategies
  • Used targeted Amazon ads and associated his book with popular self-help titles:

    “Now people buy my book and Atomic Habits all the time because they’re so closely related.” (18:54)

• Impact and Scale
  • Book hit 10,000 monthly sales within two months, doubling again by month 6–7 (15:39-16:24).

4. Creative Autonomy vs. Traditional Publishing

• Negotiating Control
  • Nguyen retained creative and marketing autonomy in subsequent publishing deals:

    “Only way I would [work with a publisher] was if they allowed me to keep doing what I was doing … and retain all of the control ... and the royalties.” (21:03)

  • Uses a “dual publishing” model: self-published paperback for online, hardcover with publisher for retail (21:39).
• Global Reach
  • The book is now available in 40+ languages, with surprising international success (notably in India) (27:26-28:35).

5. Personal Beliefs, Influences, & Transformation

• Non-Attached Seeking
  • Breakthroughs came after “giving up seeking,” replacing the compulsion to find answers with surrender (54:00):

    “As soon as I stopped seeking, the answer came.”

• Meditation & Therapy
  • Found meditation (inspired by The Power of Now) more transformative than therapy:

    “In meditation, I learned how to observe without attachment ... and through that process of surrender ... be free and to heal.” (55:53)

• Intuition vs. Thought
  • Nguyen developed a personal “SAGE” acronym to help distinguish intuition from thoughts:
    • Serenity
    • Alignment
    • Growth
    • Emotion (rooted in love, not fear) (45:42)
• Relationship with Fear
  • Sees fear as an indicator of meaningful new directions rather than an obstacle:

    “Fear is not in the way, it is the way.” (58:48)

• Transformation Through Creation
  • Writing led to deep personal change, especially in patience, openness, and letting go of beliefs.

    “The structures that build us become our shackles … we have to let go ... to explore new territory.” (37:13)

6. Family, Religion, & Acceptance

• Complex Family Ties
  • Grew up deeply Catholic; parents wish for him to return to the faith. He honors their beliefs without sacrificing his own:

    “One of the highest forms of love ... is to allow other people to suffer. ... Rather than try to take it away.” (49:58-50:05)

• Bonding Through Vulnerability
  • Sharing honest desires and expectations brought greater closeness, despite religious differences (51:34-52:50).

7. The Second Book: New Challenges

• External Pressure
  • Writing under a publisher’s schedule was more demanding and changed the creative process:

    “The pure existence of something like a publisher or an external entity, it alters the art.” (37:56)

  • Used spoken-word transcription to speed drafting (39:44).

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “When you know, you know.” — Joseph Nguyen on finding the book’s title (00:57)
• “Once I removed the pressure of trying to make it good … then the book came through.” (02:56)
• “I come with questions, never answers.” (03:36)
• “The energy [of the writing] was more important than the writing itself.” (04:49)
• “It was an egoic death … the floodgates were open.” (08:06)
• “I knew I was reaching the reader because I was the reader. That was me.” (19:21)
• “The structures that build us become our shackles. And then we have to let go of those structures and therefore the shackles.” (37:13)
• “All I can do is be at peace with [the book]. And if it helps, awesome. And if it doesn’t, that’s okay too.” (42:20)
• “Fear is not in the way, it is the way.” (58:48)
• “As soon as I stopped seeking, the answer came.” (54:10)
• “Nobody told me that I didn’t have to think about everything. I didn’t have to judge everything.” (60:46)

Timestamps for Important Segments

| Timestamp | Section | Description | |---------------|-----------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------| | 00:24 | Title & inspiration | Title revealed as an intuitive “cherry on top” | | 02:20 | Motivation for writing | Emergent from “rock bottom” | | 03:30 | Therapeutic effect of writing | Writing as self-transformation | | 04:47 | Emphasis on energy over perfect prose | Writing for feeling | | 10:08 | Transition to self-publishing and online marketing | Applying a business background | | 15:39 | Timeline to viral sales | 10k monthly sales milestone | | 18:54 | Book positioning next to “Atomic Habits” etc. | Strategic ad campaigns | | 21:03 | Dual publishing and negotiating creative autonomy | Retaining control despite partnership | | 27:26 | International publishing (40+ languages) | Overcoming industry gatekeepers | | 31:44 | TikTok strategy & audience reaction | Viral short readings, positive feedback | | 37:13 | Letting go of the book’s attachment for growth | Moving beyond previous creations | | 42:53 | Joe Dispenza retreat experience | Power of extended group meditation | | 45:42 | SAGE: strategy for distinguishing intuition | Practical tool | | 53:05 | The downside of “seeking” | Breakthrough from surrender | | 55:53 | Meditation vs. therapy | The liberating power of observation and non-attachment | | 58:48 | Reading from new book: “Fear is not in the way ...” | Key insight reframing fear | | 60:46 | Letting go of the need to judge everything | Suffering as a byproduct of unnecessary thought |

Additional Insights & Engaging Details

• Family Influence
  Nguyen’s relationship with his deeply Catholic parents reveals compassion and respect for generational, philosophical differences, underscoring his ethos of honoring different paths (48:34–52:50).
• Building Community via Authenticity
  His grassroots approach (sending books to influencers, reading for TikTok, responding to comments) models a modern, accessible path for authors (34:57–35:57).
• Philosophical Synthesis
  Nguyen’s influences span Catholicism, Buddhism, Zen, Plato, Socrates, Alan Watts—synthesized not to preach any doctrine but to “harmonize” East and West (32:54–33:47).
• Self-Editing and Artistic Ownership
  Maintains editing as part of creative process:

  “The editing is still part of the art.” (56:09)

Conclusion

This episode reveals Joseph Nguyen as a thoughtfully modern creative: deeply intuitive but strategically shrewd, driven as much by surrender and curiosity as by any grand ambition. Nguyen’s story offers a compelling case for trusting the creative process, embracing new technology and platforms, and approaching both setbacks and success as teachers. Ultimately, Nguyen champions a message of humility, continuous questioning, and openness—a practical spiritual wisdom for the digital age.