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Some good ideas, but mostly felt like an advertisement for a lot of unnecessary products. Tim Ferris is well-known and loved, and therefore it is easy for him to push various products (not to mention expensive) in the guise of a productivity book.
Some of the interviews were informative, but others left a lot to be desired.
Some of the interviews were informative, but others left a lot to be desired.
Tools of Titans is a book comprising of curated segments from the Tim Ferris Show. The book is full of advice and anecdotes from experts in health, finance, and leadership. The book is divided into the sections 'healthy,' 'wealthy', and 'wisdom.' The pace of the book varies greatly. Some sections cause me to pause and reflect while others I skim through or skip altogether. It is a book that can be tailored to the season of life you are in. This, along with Tribe of Mentors, could be reread multiple times and teach new lessons on each occasion.
"You don't succeed because you have no weaknesses; you succeed because you find your unique strengths and focus on developing habits around them."
Let go of what's not working and really assess what is working and 'what can I be excited about?"
"There is a big difference between understanding something and simply knowing its name or labeling it."
"If you are depressed, you are living in the past. If you are anxious, you are living in the future. If you are at peace, you are living in the present. - Lao Tzu"
"Achieving the extraordinary is not a linear process."
"You don't succeed because you have no weaknesses; you succeed because you find your unique strengths and focus on developing habits around them."
Let go of what's not working and really assess what is working and 'what can I be excited about?"
"There is a big difference between understanding something and simply knowing its name or labeling it."
"If you are depressed, you are living in the past. If you are anxious, you are living in the future. If you are at peace, you are living in the present. - Lao Tzu"
"Achieving the extraordinary is not a linear process."
Pro: There are some thought-provoking interviews with interesting people.
Cons:
1) Author inserts himself far too often into the content, regardless of whether his input adds value; it's very clear he has a high opinion of himself, which gets very old.
2) For the most par this book is a transcript of his podcast. So there's very little new content if you listen to his podcast. Also, feels pretty lazy to transcribe interviews you've already conducted and provide a few essays and call that a book.
Cons:
1) Author inserts himself far too often into the content, regardless of whether his input adds value; it's very clear he has a high opinion of himself, which gets very old.
2) For the most par this book is a transcript of his podcast. So there's very little new content if you listen to his podcast. Also, feels pretty lazy to transcribe interviews you've already conducted and provide a few essays and call that a book.
I loved this.
It's easy to read, fascinating, and full of great ideas. A collection of interviews with famous, successful people, I found the commonalities to be intriguing: meditation and journaling.
This book had a strong effect on me. It helped me to see what it takes to really stand out and not merely fit in. Successful people do things differently than the rest of us, and those things are very likely what make them successful.
Read this book and find out what it takes to be extraordinary.
It's easy to read, fascinating, and full of great ideas. A collection of interviews with famous, successful people, I found the commonalities to be intriguing: meditation and journaling.
This book had a strong effect on me. It helped me to see what it takes to really stand out and not merely fit in. Successful people do things differently than the rest of us, and those things are very likely what make them successful.
Read this book and find out what it takes to be extraordinary.
I'll preface this review by saying that I've read one other book by Tim Ferris, [b:The 4-Hour Workweek|368593|The 4-Hour Workweek|Timothy Ferriss|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1442957271s/368593.jpg|1885647], and I didn't particularly care for it. I was hopeful that I would like this book slightly more than the last one, since it's mostly excerpts from Ferriss' interviews with major figures in various industries (rather than Ferris himself), but sadly that wasn't the case.
Most of the "insights" in this book either weren't applicable to my life, or weren't that insightful. Even the profiles for people that I already liked and respected just fell flat and didn't offer than much beyond what I knew before. Half the time this book was just Ferriss offering commentary on what his interview subjects said, rather than letting them speak for themselves, which to me defeats the whole premise of this book.
In particular, the health section offers dubious advice at best, and sometimes it seemed downright dangerous (psychedelics for health benefits, anyone?!). You know that corner of the gym where all the dudebros hang out, hogging machines, talking about gainz, and one-upping each other's protein powders? The health section read like that, plus as if all those dudebros had WAY too much time and money to spend on their weird, trendy exercise routines and supplements. 99.9% of the population will find this section almost entirely unusable.
The other two sections, wealthy and wise, improved on the first one marginally, but not enough to make me like this book. I did enjoy a few of the interviews, but they didn't redeem the rest of the 670+ page book, or the nearly two weeks of my life I gave to reading it. Tim Ferris appeals to a very narrow demographic — 18 to 34 year old white, affluent male, who is simultaneously nerdy/techy and obsessed with his physical fitness and how he looks — which is a category that I fundamentally do NOT fall into. This book was just not for me on every level, and the only thing I gained by reading it was the knowledge that The Four-Hour Work Week was not a fluke, and I can avoid all of Tim Ferriss in the future without any FOMO.
Most of the "insights" in this book either weren't applicable to my life, or weren't that insightful. Even the profiles for people that I already liked and respected just fell flat and didn't offer than much beyond what I knew before. Half the time this book was just Ferriss offering commentary on what his interview subjects said, rather than letting them speak for themselves, which to me defeats the whole premise of this book.
In particular, the health section offers dubious advice at best, and sometimes it seemed downright dangerous (psychedelics for health benefits, anyone?!). You know that corner of the gym where all the dudebros hang out, hogging machines, talking about gainz, and one-upping each other's protein powders? The health section read like that, plus as if all those dudebros had WAY too much time and money to spend on their weird, trendy exercise routines and supplements. 99.9% of the population will find this section almost entirely unusable.
The other two sections, wealthy and wise, improved on the first one marginally, but not enough to make me like this book. I did enjoy a few of the interviews, but they didn't redeem the rest of the 670+ page book, or the nearly two weeks of my life I gave to reading it. Tim Ferris appeals to a very narrow demographic — 18 to 34 year old white, affluent male, who is simultaneously nerdy/techy and obsessed with his physical fitness and how he looks — which is a category that I fundamentally do NOT fall into. This book was just not for me on every level, and the only thing I gained by reading it was the knowledge that The Four-Hour Work Week was not a fluke, and I can avoid all of Tim Ferriss in the future without any FOMO.
I’d give this a 3.5.
Overall, I enjoyed this book. I love anything that shares tips to better your life. There’s common questions Tim Ferris asked many ‘successful’ people.
I was worried initially that most people would be from start up culture in tech world, which there was a lot. But there’s also athletes, musicians, writers and more.
Common questions were: Best purchase under $100? What would you put on a billboard? What books / docs / movies / shows would you recommend?
I mostly flipped through this book. If I found someone I didn’t agree with on much, I would flip past it. I also skipped much of the workout section once i came across an overwhelming comparison to how much time in a sauna or hot bath can affect your muscles. Just tell me it’s good for me. If I’m curious about exacts, I’ll look into it...
I wish I had looked at the back of the book to see that there was a section of condensed book recommendations. That’s what I really enjoyed from this book.
In my opinion, a good book to have on hand. Lots of resources, solid advice. I’d share them but the app I’m reading from won’t let me copy and paste 🙃
Overall, I enjoyed this book. I love anything that shares tips to better your life. There’s common questions Tim Ferris asked many ‘successful’ people.
I was worried initially that most people would be from start up culture in tech world, which there was a lot. But there’s also athletes, musicians, writers and more.
Common questions were: Best purchase under $100? What would you put on a billboard? What books / docs / movies / shows would you recommend?
I mostly flipped through this book. If I found someone I didn’t agree with on much, I would flip past it. I also skipped much of the workout section once i came across an overwhelming comparison to how much time in a sauna or hot bath can affect your muscles. Just tell me it’s good for me. If I’m curious about exacts, I’ll look into it...
I wish I had looked at the back of the book to see that there was a section of condensed book recommendations. That’s what I really enjoyed from this book.
In my opinion, a good book to have on hand. Lots of resources, solid advice. I’d share them but the app I’m reading from won’t let me copy and paste 🙃
A bunch of interviews with different entrepreneurs and successful (by some definitions) people.
A good book to practice skimming with. Most of it is a typical self-help book with generic advice and so, it is easy to fall in the trap of reading and taking the advice too seriously.
A good book to practice skimming with. Most of it is a typical self-help book with generic advice and so, it is easy to fall in the trap of reading and taking the advice too seriously.
Ferriss is the author of the “4-Hour Workweek,” a book I loved, and this is his fourth book. He hosts a podcast and this book is primarily made up of parts of transcripts of podcast interviews with self-made people (titans), including many authors or famous people such as Arnold Schwarzenegger, Tony Robbins, Malcolm Gladwell, Ramit Sethi, Sebastian Junger, Seth Godin, etc. The book has large sections on Health, Wealth and Wisdom. The book is a brick (almost 700 pages), like his last two books, and my biggest complaint is that it would have been so much better with more editing. He says that the book is meant for someone to dip in here and there, and that you don’t have to read the whole thing, but I think this format is off-putting. Perhaps podcasts don’t translate that well to text (a lot of the excerpted interviews contain in-jokes and little stories about how Tim knows the interviewees which might be interesting to super fans, but I found them kind of annoying in a book that is already too long). I think the broad sections could have had more categories, e.g., for “Wealth,” subdivide it into sections on productivity, investing or business (there was a preponderance of information on startups). The best parts of the book, to me, were scattered articles from Tim’s own blog that were much better thought out and interesting pieces. He is an original thinker and I most enjoy his own perspectives. The book did contain lots of good advice here and there, but it was not easy to find. The book concluded with lists of recommended (from the interviewees) books and movies. I would like to give it 2 ½ stars, but will give it 3.
Thought I was sitting down to a healthy, hearty big meal of a book. But I found myself having eaten a child's fast food meal. Walked away from the book still hungry. I found very few little nuggets in the chapters of rambling. Disappointing to have so many people and so little useful information.
You can tell this is a product of many hours of work! Here are a few of my favorite parts...
'Why would I be wound up? I'm either ready or I'm not. Worrying about it right now ain't gonna change a damn thing. Right? Whatever's gonna happen is gonna happen. I've either done everything I can to be ready for this, or I haven't.' (Story about Floyd Mayweather right before a big fight)
Consider a Chilipad.
Consider pre-bed drinks: Honey 1 TBSP + 2 TBSP ACV or Yogi Soothing Caramel Bedtime Tea. Sleep Master sleep mask.
Consider morning pages or 5 minute journaling.
Pick a random person and say: "I wish for this person to be happy"
"The moment that you feel that, just possibly, you're walking down the street naked, exposing too much of your heart and your mind and what exists on the inside, showing too much of yourself. That's the moment you may be starting to get it right." - Neil Gaiman
Being busy is a form of laziness - lazy thinking and indiscriminate action. Being busy is most often used as a guise for avoiding the few critically important but uncomfortable actions.
The reason you're suffering is you're focused on yourself.
Forget purpose. It's okay to be happy without one. The quest for a single purpose has ruined many lives." - James Altucher
This from Scott Adams: http://dilbertblog.typepad.com/the_dilbert_blog/2007/07/career-advice.html
Asking the right dumb question is often the smartest thing you can do. - Alex Blumberg
"Frustration is a matter of expectation." - Luis Von Ahn
Inspiration is for amateurs - the rest of us just show up and get to work. - Justin Boreta
"If you find yourself saying, "But I'm making so much money" about a job or project, pay attention. "But I'm making so much money," or "But I'm making good money" is a warning sign that you're probably not on the right track or, at least, that you shouldn't stay there for long. Money can always be regenerated. Time and reputation cannot." - BJ Novak
Don't believer everything that you think. - BJ Miller
I think the paradox is that accepting the requests you receive is at the expense of the quality of the very work - the reason for those requests in the first place. - Maria Popova
"Ours is a culture where we wear our ability to get by on very little sleep as a kid of badge of honor that symbolizes work ethic, or toughness, or some other virtue - but really, it's a total profound failure of priorities and of self-respect." - Maria Popova
Discipline equals freedom. - Jocko Willink
The public is not a threat. When you realize that we all need each other, and that we can all learn from each other, your stage fright goes away. - Sebastian Junger
If you don't give young men a good and useful group to beong to, they will create a bad group to belong to. - Sebastian Junger
The purpose of life is a life of purpose. -Robert Byrne
Exercise is important because it puts discipline in the day. I find that if the day is terrible, but I worked out, at the end of the day I'll go, "Well, I had a good workout,' almost no matter what happens. - Stan McChrystal
Follow your passion misconstrues the nature of finding a satisfying career and satisfying job, where the biggest predictor of job satisfaction is mentally engaging work. - Will MacAskill
The Dickens Process: http://www.businessinsider.com/tim-ferriss-tony-robbins-exercise-2017-1
You have 80,000 working hours in the course of your life. It's incredibly important to work out how best to spend them. - Will MacAskill
"On one level, wisdom is nothing more than the ability to take your own advice. It's actually very easy to give people good advice. It's very hard to follow the advice that you know is good ... If someone came to me with my list of problems, I would be able to sort that person out very easily." - Sam Harris
"If something offends you, look inward...That's a sign that there's something there." - Whitney Cummings
Perfectionism leads to procrastination, which leads to paralysis. - Whitney Cummings
People pleasing is a form of assholery. - Whitney Cummings
And I think ultimately, sometimes when we judge other people, it's just a way to not look at ourselves; a way to feel superior or sanctimonious or whatever. My trauma therapist said every time you meet someone, just in your head say, "I love you" before you have a conversation with them, and that conversation is going to go a lot better. - Whitney Cummings
The material is like 10% of it. Being comfortable on stage is all of it. - Whitney Cummings
Lazy: A Manifesto by Tim Kreider: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWyV_GaH7K0
"The world is changed by your example, not by your opinion." - Paulo Coelho
"Honor those who seek the truth, beware of those who've found it." - Adapted from Voltaire
General fame is overrated. Eric Weinstein
"Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it's time to pause and reflect." - Mark Twain
"Trying to get everyone to like you is a sign of mediocrity. You'll avoid the tough decisions, and you'll avoid confronting the people who need to be confronted." - Colin Powell
I'm in my head a lot, and it kind of sucks...so there are certain tools that I have to use to get by. I've learned in my life that there are certain things I have to do to just be out of my head and get to normal. I'm not talking about being really super-effective. Just to get to normal, I have to do meditation, I have to do some exercise. If I can get into nature, great. If I can play some tennis, better, and acting is that same way. Acting, rehearsing, playing characters, these are the things that get me out of my head and out of analyzing every goddamn thing that comes down the pike and leaves me miserable and making really bad choices. - Rainn Wilson
What would you put on a billboard? I'd put it in Times Square and it would say, "None of these companies care about you." - Mike Birbiglia
It's not about being good; it's about being great. Because what I find, the older I get, is that a lot of people are good, and a lot of people are smart, and a lot of people are clever. But not a lot of people give you their soul when they perform. - Mike Birbiglia
When things are going bad, don't get all bummed out, don't get started, don't get frustrated. No. Just look at the issue and say: "Good." - Jocko Willink
'Why would I be wound up? I'm either ready or I'm not. Worrying about it right now ain't gonna change a damn thing. Right? Whatever's gonna happen is gonna happen. I've either done everything I can to be ready for this, or I haven't.' (Story about Floyd Mayweather right before a big fight)
Consider a Chilipad.
Consider pre-bed drinks: Honey 1 TBSP + 2 TBSP ACV or Yogi Soothing Caramel Bedtime Tea. Sleep Master sleep mask.
Consider morning pages or 5 minute journaling.
Pick a random person and say: "I wish for this person to be happy"
"The moment that you feel that, just possibly, you're walking down the street naked, exposing too much of your heart and your mind and what exists on the inside, showing too much of yourself. That's the moment you may be starting to get it right." - Neil Gaiman
Being busy is a form of laziness - lazy thinking and indiscriminate action. Being busy is most often used as a guise for avoiding the few critically important but uncomfortable actions.
The reason you're suffering is you're focused on yourself.
Forget purpose. It's okay to be happy without one. The quest for a single purpose has ruined many lives." - James Altucher
This from Scott Adams: http://dilbertblog.typepad.com/the_dilbert_blog/2007/07/career-advice.html
Asking the right dumb question is often the smartest thing you can do. - Alex Blumberg
"Frustration is a matter of expectation." - Luis Von Ahn
Inspiration is for amateurs - the rest of us just show up and get to work. - Justin Boreta
"If you find yourself saying, "But I'm making so much money" about a job or project, pay attention. "But I'm making so much money," or "But I'm making good money" is a warning sign that you're probably not on the right track or, at least, that you shouldn't stay there for long. Money can always be regenerated. Time and reputation cannot." - BJ Novak
Don't believer everything that you think. - BJ Miller
I think the paradox is that accepting the requests you receive is at the expense of the quality of the very work - the reason for those requests in the first place. - Maria Popova
"Ours is a culture where we wear our ability to get by on very little sleep as a kid of badge of honor that symbolizes work ethic, or toughness, or some other virtue - but really, it's a total profound failure of priorities and of self-respect." - Maria Popova
Discipline equals freedom. - Jocko Willink
The public is not a threat. When you realize that we all need each other, and that we can all learn from each other, your stage fright goes away. - Sebastian Junger
If you don't give young men a good and useful group to beong to, they will create a bad group to belong to. - Sebastian Junger
The purpose of life is a life of purpose. -Robert Byrne
Exercise is important because it puts discipline in the day. I find that if the day is terrible, but I worked out, at the end of the day I'll go, "Well, I had a good workout,' almost no matter what happens. - Stan McChrystal
Follow your passion misconstrues the nature of finding a satisfying career and satisfying job, where the biggest predictor of job satisfaction is mentally engaging work. - Will MacAskill
The Dickens Process: http://www.businessinsider.com/tim-ferriss-tony-robbins-exercise-2017-1
You have 80,000 working hours in the course of your life. It's incredibly important to work out how best to spend them. - Will MacAskill
"On one level, wisdom is nothing more than the ability to take your own advice. It's actually very easy to give people good advice. It's very hard to follow the advice that you know is good ... If someone came to me with my list of problems, I would be able to sort that person out very easily." - Sam Harris
"If something offends you, look inward...That's a sign that there's something there." - Whitney Cummings
Perfectionism leads to procrastination, which leads to paralysis. - Whitney Cummings
People pleasing is a form of assholery. - Whitney Cummings
And I think ultimately, sometimes when we judge other people, it's just a way to not look at ourselves; a way to feel superior or sanctimonious or whatever. My trauma therapist said every time you meet someone, just in your head say, "I love you" before you have a conversation with them, and that conversation is going to go a lot better. - Whitney Cummings
The material is like 10% of it. Being comfortable on stage is all of it. - Whitney Cummings
Lazy: A Manifesto by Tim Kreider: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWyV_GaH7K0
"The world is changed by your example, not by your opinion." - Paulo Coelho
"Honor those who seek the truth, beware of those who've found it." - Adapted from Voltaire
General fame is overrated. Eric Weinstein
"Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it's time to pause and reflect." - Mark Twain
"Trying to get everyone to like you is a sign of mediocrity. You'll avoid the tough decisions, and you'll avoid confronting the people who need to be confronted." - Colin Powell
I'm in my head a lot, and it kind of sucks...so there are certain tools that I have to use to get by. I've learned in my life that there are certain things I have to do to just be out of my head and get to normal. I'm not talking about being really super-effective. Just to get to normal, I have to do meditation, I have to do some exercise. If I can get into nature, great. If I can play some tennis, better, and acting is that same way. Acting, rehearsing, playing characters, these are the things that get me out of my head and out of analyzing every goddamn thing that comes down the pike and leaves me miserable and making really bad choices. - Rainn Wilson
What would you put on a billboard? I'd put it in Times Square and it would say, "None of these companies care about you." - Mike Birbiglia
It's not about being good; it's about being great. Because what I find, the older I get, is that a lot of people are good, and a lot of people are smart, and a lot of people are clever. But not a lot of people give you their soul when they perform. - Mike Birbiglia
When things are going bad, don't get all bummed out, don't get started, don't get frustrated. No. Just look at the issue and say: "Good." - Jocko Willink