Episode · The Tim Ferriss Show · 2025-09-24
Tim Ferriss & David Senra: books mentioned on The Tim Ferriss Show #828
#828: David Senra — How Extreme Winners Think and Win: Lessons from 400+ of History’s Greatest Founders and Investors (Including Buffett, Munger, Rockefeller, Jobs, Ovitz, Zell, and Names You Don’t Know But Should)
David Senra is the host of the Founders podcast. For the past nine years, David has intensely studied the life and work of hundreds of history’s greatest entrepreneurs.
David Senra recommended Extreme Ownership by Jocko Willink and others, Insisting On The Impossible by Victor K. McElheny, Land's Polaroid by Peter C. Wensberg, and The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel, and discussed Scientific Advertising by Claude Hopkins, No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy, The Lessons of History by Will Durant and others, The Snowball by Alice Schroeder, and Hard Drive by James Wallace and others. Tim Ferriss recommended Vagabonding by Rolf Potts, and discussed Musashi by Eiji Yoshikawa.
Books mentioned, in the order they came up
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Scientific Advertising
Discussed“I read scientific advertising. Yes. In the very beginning.”
Where to get it
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No Country for Old Men
Discussed“The Road, No Country for Old Men. I saw the movie, first saw the book.”
Where to get it
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Extreme Ownership
Recommended“You can just get I'm like extreme ownership still highly highly highly recommend to everyone.”
Where to get it
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Musashi
Discussed“and if you want to hear me and Jago go uh sort of toe to toe not really toe to toe we're sort of shoulderto-shoulder with a book we did Mousashi I think it was episode 100 which was like four and a half five hours long going through this historical novel about the most famous swordsman in Japanese history.”
Where to get it
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Insisting On The Impossible
Recommended“It's called Insisting on the Impossible. It's the most comprehensive biography of him.”
Where to get it
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Land's Polaroid
Recommended“There is a book, I think it's called Land's Polaroid. That's the one I'd read because it's only 250 pages and it's written by a guy that worked for and with Edwin Lamb for like 20 years.”
Where to get it
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The Lessons of History
Discussed“Me and you both love Will and Ariel Durant, right? Read the history of human civilization. read their 100page book, Lessons of History.”
Where to get it
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The Snowball
Discussed“You read Snowball after his wife leaves him and he says the biggest mistake if I could go back and live life again.”
Where to get it
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Hard Drive
Discussed“I reread Hard Drive, Overdrive, which is also written by the same guys that wrote Hard Drive.”
Where to get it
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The Psychology of Money
Recommended“Psychology of money. Great book. Won't stop selling.”
Where to get it
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Vagabonding
Recommended“So, if anybody wants a great book on the art of long-term world travel, if that's of interest, Vagabonding by Ralph Pots.”
Where to get it
Other mentions in this episode (8) — ad reads, self-promotion and passing references, never counted
“And he wrote this book called How to Make a Few Billion Dollars.”
“The Road, Blood, Meridian. I mean, there are many other examples.”
“The Road, Blood, Meridian. I mean, there are many other examples.”
“All the Pretty Horses, the the Border Trilogy, just everything.”
“times it's just fun to see how I change over time with like the moral letters to Lucilius by Senica the Younger.”
“Maybe it's an email, but like along the lines of David Allen and getting things done.”
“Well, people would list like their favorite movies and favorite books and I think I was like looking at a girl's profile and under favorite books it said 4-hour work week.”
“early Ivon Shinard, you know, I think it's let my people go surfing, etc. Still have all those books.”