Many of you have asked me how I have built a popular blog and podcast. I've contemplated writing a long post about this, and then Mari Takahashi (@atomicmari) -- a successful ballerina, gamer, and content creator -- sent me some very good questions that I decided to answer in this episode.

The Tim Ferriss Show has almost 300 million downloads and is the first business interview podcast to cross a hundred million downloads -- but with its fair share of mistakes and trials by fire along the way. Additionally, my blog receives between three and four million unique visitors per month.

There are certainly bigger podcasts and blogs, but I share how I've been able to grow both with only a couple full-time employees and a few part-time assistants. Enjoy!

This podcast is brought to you by Four Sigmatic. While I often praise this company's Lion's Mane Mushroom Coffee, I asked the founders if they could help me improve my sleep. Their answer: Reishi Mushroom Elixir. They made a special batch for me and my listeners that comes without sweetener; you can try it at bedtime with a little honey or nut milk, or you can just add hot water to your single-serving packet and embrace its bitterness like I do.

Try it right now by going to foursigmatic.com/ferriss and using the code Ferriss to get 20 percent off this rare, limited run of Reishi Mushroom Elixir. If you are in the experimental mindset, I do not think you'll be disappointed.

This podcast is also brought to you by FreshBooks. FreshBooks is the #1 cloud bookkeeping software, which is used by a ton of the start-ups I advise and many of the contractors I work with. It is the easiest way to send invoices, get paid, track your time, and track your clients.

FreshBooks tells you when your clients have viewed your invoices, helps you customize your invoices, track your hours, automatically organize your receipts, have late payment reminders sent automatically and much more.

Right now you can get a free month of complete and unrestricted use. You do not need a credit card for the trial. To claim your free month and see how the brand new Freshbooks can change your business, go to FreshBooks.com/Tim and enter "Tim Ferriss" in the "how did you hear about us" section.