Episode · The Tim Ferriss Show · 2023-11-14
Books mentioned on #704: Q&A with Tim — New Religions, AI Companions, Longevity Levers, Resurrecting “Forgotten” Languages, Stress-Testing Cherished Beliefs, Tactics for Writer’s Block, Low-Back Pain, and Much More
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Tim Ferriss recommended The 15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership by Diana Chapman and others, The DC Comics Guide to Writing Comics by Dennis O'Neil, Don't Shoot the Dog by Karen Pryor, and On Writing by Stephen King, and discussed Masterpieces of Fantasy Art by Dian Hanson, Atomic Habits by James Clear, Infinite jest by David Foster Wallace, and The Harvard Classics by Charles William Eliot.
Books mentioned, in the order they came up
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Masterpieces of Fantasy Art
Discussed“And if you look at my kitchen table and the books strewn about, including this one: Masterpieces of Fantasy Art. This is a TASCHEN book, or a TASCHEN book, Dian Hanson.”
Where to get it
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The 15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership
The 15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership by Diana Chapman, Jim Dethmer, and Kaley Klemp is a prominent business and self-help guide designed to help leaders eliminate workplace drama, shift away from victim consciousness, and cultivate radical responsibility.
Recommended“I've worked with Jim Dethmer at conscious.is, that's the Conscious Leadership Group, and I recommend their book The 15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership, I believe it is, which was initially recommended to me if I'm recalling correctly, Dustin Moskovitz.”
Where to get it
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The DC Comics Guide to Writing Comics
The DC Comics Guide to Writing Comics by Dennis O'Neil is a practical manual that outlines the foundational principles of comic book scripting, storytelling techniques, and character development.
Recommended“The DC Comics Guide to Writing Comics right here by Dennis O'Neil, which is a great book by the way.”
Where to get it
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Atomic Habits
Atomic Habits by James Clear is a widely praised guide on habit formation, behavior change, and systems over goals.
Discussed“How can you look at the work of say, BJ Fogg and perhaps James Clear, Atomic Habits, so that you can build these things into automatic behaviors like brushing your teeth?”
Where to get it
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Don't Shoot the Dog
Don't Shoot the Dog by Karen Pryor is a widely acclaimed guide to behavioral training and positive reinforcement that originally drew from the author's expertise as an aquatic mammal trainer.
Recommended“As far as books go, I would strongly recommend Don't Shoot the Dog by, I believe it's Karen Pryor, who popularized clicker training using clicker training, which she had initially, I believe, refined with aquatic mammals who really don't respond to negative reinforcement, right?”
Where to get it
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Infinite jest
Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace is a sprawling, maximalist novel exploring addiction, entertainment, and modern American culture.
Discussed“And this is barring from, I think it might've been from Infinite Jest, but everyone worships something.”
Where to get it
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The Harvard Classics
The Harvard Classics by Charles William Eliot is a renowned multi-volume anthology compiling foundational works of world literature, philosophy, and history.
Discussed“This is a book from the Harvard Classics with Plato, Epictetus, and Marcus Aurelius.”
Where to get it
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On Writing
Stephen King's On Writing is a celebrated hybrid of memoir and practical manual that chronicles the author's formative struggles and recovery while offering direct, invaluable advice for aspiring writers on craft, discipline, and the mechanics of prose.
Recommended“There are many, but I would say that On Writing by Stephen King, you really can't read about fiction until you've tried some fiction.”
Where to get it
Other mentions in this episode (9) — ad reads, self-promotion and passing references, never counted
“So looking for an elegant refinement in so much as I might approach something like Occam's Protocol in The 4-Hour Body, which I've ended up following, again, roughly the same as it was published in 2010 in The 4-Hour Body.”
“What would I add to 4-Hour Body if I wrote it today from a name that I cannot pronounce? I would probably add a chapter on fasting.”
“And I would say Tools of Titans really was intended to be almost an addendum to The 4-Hour Workweek, The 4-Hour Body and The 4-Hour Chef in terms of, say, healthy, wealthy, wise, not necessarily in that order.”
“And I would say Tools of Titans really was intended to be almost an addendum to The 4-Hour Workweek, The 4-Hour Body and The 4-Hour Chef in terms of, say, healthy, wealthy, wise, not necessarily in that order.”
“And I would say Tools of Titans really was intended to be almost an addendum to The 4-Hour Workweek, The 4-Hour Body and The 4-Hour Chef in terms of, say, healthy, wealthy, wise, not necessarily in that order.”
“Tim, you've talked and written so much about language learning, but not as much about maintaining and revamping your languages. I'm trilingual and working on language number four, thanks in no small part to resources like The 4-Hour Chef and feel that keeping up with all my languages is often just as much work as acquiring them in the first”
“I have been following the slow-carb diet, as described in The 4-Hour Body. You can find it online.”
“And if you look at, for instance, what I wrote in The 4-Hour Chef and The 4-Hour Body, but especially in The 4-Hour Chef as it related to accelerated learning, failure points, identifying the failure points and removing as many failure points as possible.”
“And if you look at, for instance, what I wrote in The 4-Hour Chef and The 4-Hour Body, but especially in The 4-Hour Chef as it related to accelerated learning, failure points, identifying the failure points and removing as many failure points as possible.”