
Tools of Titans
The Tactics, Routines, and Habits of Billionaires, Icons, and World-Class Performers
By Tim Ferriss
About the book
Drawing on interviews with world-class performers on his podcast, Tim Ferriss collected the routines, tactics and habits his guests rely on, then tested many of them in his own life before writing them down. The guests range from celebrities and athletes to special operations commanders, and Ferriss asked them practical questions: how they spend the first hour of the morning, how they train, which books they give most often and which supplements they take. He notes patterns, such as daily meditation for most guests and shared favorites like Sapiens and Poor Charlie's Almanack. Arnold Schwarzenegger wrote the foreword, and the book debuted at number one on The New York Times bestseller list.
Ramit Sethi included it in his list of 50 books he recommends, and James Altucher said he keeps it out on his floor and reads a page or two whenever he passes it.
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This book has 18 recommendations
Nick Janetakis (Founder/NickJanetakis.com)
Tools of the Titans by Tim Ferriss has awesome stories from some of the most successful people in the world.
Cristina Riesen (Founder/We Are Play Lab)
Most recent favourite book is Tim Feriss' Tools of Titans. I am a huge fan of Tim.
James Altucher (Entrepreneur, investor)
It only came out recently. I had so many questions about it that I flew to California and interviewed him about it for my podcast.
It’s the collection of all the knowledge and wisdom he gained from the 100s of people he interviewed.
I leave it out on my floor and read a page or two whenever I pass it.
It’s already filled with 100s of my notes (see below). It’s maybe the one physical book I keep around. The rest, including my own books, I keep on my Kindle.
Jilliene Helman (CEO/Realty Mogul)
Tools of Titans is another great one, which is the new Tim Ferris book, but I read veraciously that it's so hard when people ask me my favorite book or what I recommend. I think part of it depends on what stage you're in.
Recommended by Irina Botnari (Managing Partner & Co-Founder/Bucur's Shelter Hostel)
Source: Irina Botnari, Co-Founder at Bucur's Shelter Hostel, on Books, Her Love for Stories and Biographies
Sergey Sapelnyk (Co-Founder/Society Socks)
Tools of Titans by Tim Ferriss has many practical tips that can generally improve your life or career. I particularly enjoy how he combines the two to provide a general ‘playbook’ on improvement. For example, I particularly enjoyed his interview with Marc Andreessen (Partner at VC firm Andreessen Horowitz), where he discussed his approach to decision making (‘Strong views, loosely held’). Another example is the numerous interviews Tim Ferriss has conducted about fitness, health, nutrition, etc. Plenty of great advice in his books/podcasts!
Recommended by Marvin Liao (Partner/500 Startups)
Source: Book-Talk with Marvin Liao, Partner at 500 Startups, Avid Reader & Tsundoku
Omar Taheri (Founder & CEO/Spark Plus)
My favorite book on the business side would be “Tools of Titans” by Timothy Ferriss. The reason is that I was able to learn from top performers in their respective industry be it from health, business and spirituality. The book dives into how elites of their respective industry think, perform, and dives into their “drive”. To be able to understand what an elite business leader who founded a listed company is driven by is very intriguing to me and gave me the confidence to set up my own business.
Theresa Evanoff (Founder/Gift-it-Forward)
It’s hard to choose a favourite, as I love to read. One that recently stands out is “Tools of Titans” by Tim Ferris – a combination of business, personal stories, and philosophies. It’s an interesting read as the author summarizes some of the lessons he learned through his own work and life trials, as well as from many successful people he has met along the way. A memorable quote for me was, “You always have three options. You can change it, you can accept it, or you can leave it. What is not a good option is to sit around wishing you would change it but not changing it, wishing you would leave it but not leaving it, and not accepting it.” No truer words!
Armina Sirbu (Serial Entrepreneur)
Tools of Titans - by Tim Ferriss - inspiration from awesome people, and so far I feel like underlining everything.
Lex Na Wei Ming (CEO/Bountie.io)
For me Tools of Titans’ an insight into the best and brightest in the world. Learning what makes them tick and who are they really like in real life. I have always been curious about the world class performers and what makes them truly world class. This book really goes deep into the insights and Tim asks really great questions.
Nicolae Andronic (Founder/Echoz)
I'm currently reading “Tools of Titans” by Tim Ferriss. It’s an ongoing long read for more than three months, as I usually read only one-two chapters (interviews) per week. I really think this is the way that this book is meant to be read.
It’s amazing that so many people I admire give their hard-gained life lessons in this book. I admire Tim Ferriss for his ability to see patterns in these people’s behavior and thoughts. “Mindfulness meditation” is something I picked up from this book and started to practice.
Erik Rostad (Founder/Books of Titans Project)
The biggest change was starting this Books of Titans reading project. I started the project as a direct result of reading Tools of Titans. I loved all of the book recommendations and thought it would be a great challenge to try to read 52 of those suggested books in a year. I started it in 2017. All of the 52 books from my 2017 reading list were suggested in Tools of Titans. Half of my 2018 reading list came from books suggested by podcast guests of the Tim Ferriss Show podcast. For 2019, there are probably only a handful that were suggested in Ferriss podcast episodes. I take my suggestions from wherever I can find them.
Kamal Ravikant (Entrepreneur & Author)
I’m reading Tools of Titans which is just amazing.
Anant Jain (Co-Founder/CommonLounge)
If you're looking for a reliable source for book recommendations, I recommend Tim Ferris' "Tools of Titans". It’s a collection of 300+ interview summaries by some of the most inspirational and successful people in the world. At the end of each interview, he asks each of the interviewees for their book recommendations.
Yuriy Zaremba (Co-Founder & CEO/AXDRAFT)
This is the most actionable book I have ever read. It's packed with short, actionable advice and is 700+ pages long (there is a lot of good advice there). I read many business books, but way to often they have several ideas, which are mulled over in several hundred pages. This book is not like that.
After Tools of Titans, I have developed a set of personal morning routines, which help me stay sharp all day and built up my discipline.
Tools of Titans made the biggest impact on me. It helped me become more disciplined, more healthy, fit and introduced routines into my life, which never existed before.
Gennady Batrakov (CEO & Founder/Strivechat & BubblesPlanner)
Extraordinary collection of Tactics, Routines, and Habits of successful people.
Ramit Sethi (Founder/GrowthLab)
On Ramit Sethi’s Here are 50 books I recommend
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See more books recommended by
Nick Janetakis, Cristina Riesen, James Altucher, Jilliene Helman, Irina Botnari, Sergey Sapelnyk, Marvin Liao, Omar Taheri, Theresa Evanoff, Armina Sirbu, Lex Na Wei Ming, Nicolae Andronic, Erik Rostad, Kamal Ravikant, Anant Jain, Yuriy Zaremba, Gennady Batrakov, Ramit Sethi
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Often recommended alongside
- How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie (6 shared recommenders)
- The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich by Tim Ferriss (5 shared recommenders)
- The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers by Ben Horowitz (3 shared recommenders)
- Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future by Peter Thiel and Blake Masters (3 shared recommenders)
- Man’s Search for Meaning – The Classic Tribute to Hope from the Holocaust by Viktor E. Frankl (3 shared recommenders)
- The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey (3 shared recommenders)
Appears in collections
- Best Books on Habits and Building Them – The Essential List
- Best Inspirational Books: For When You Need to Get Inspired
Sources
- Nick Janetakis - Favorite Books of a A Self-Taught Web Dev & Teacher
- Interview with Cristina Riesen, Founder @ We Are Play Lab, about Favourite Books
- Omnivoracious: Celebrity Picks: Tony Robbins
- Why reading is a good guide to what makes a good day
- How Jilliene Helman Raised $45M of Venture Capital and Built a Real Estate Crowdfunding Business (Growth Everywhere podcast)
- Irina Botnari, Co-Founder at Bucur's Shelter Hostel, on Books, Her Love for Stories and Biographies
- Sergey Sapelnyk, the Co-Founder of Society Socks, About the Books that Improved His Career
- Book-Talk with Marvin Liao, Partner at 500 Startups, Avid Reader & Tsundoku
- Social Anxiety is Hard, But Omar Taheri, Founder & CEO of Spark Plus, Used Books to Overcome It
- Theresa Evanoff, Founder of Gift-it-Forward, Confesses Being an Avid Reader Her Entire Life
- Armina Sirbu, Serial Entrepreneur, on How Reading Is a ''Virus'' that Gives Courage & Solves Problems
- Lex Na Wei Ming, CEO of Bountie.io, on How Books Molded His Character
- Nicolae Andronic, Founder of Echoz, on the Books that Inspire and Motivate Him
- How to Reclaim Wasted Time and Read a Book per Week - Book-Talk with Erik Rostad, Books of Titans Founder
- 340: Kamal Ravikant: Love Yourself Like Your Life Depends on It
- Book-Talk with Anant Jain, Co-Founder of CommonLounge: Common Entrepreneurial Mistakes & Reading Habits
- Yuriy Zaremba, AXDRAFT's CEO, on Avoiding Social Media, Note-Taking System & Favorite Books
- Interview with Gennady Batrakov, CEO & Founder of Strivechat & BubblesPlanner: Favorite Books and Reading Habits
- Here are 50 books I recommend
