Episode · The Tim Ferriss Show · 2026-01-14
Tim Ferriss & Steve Young: books mentioned on The Tim Ferriss Show #847
#847: Steve Young, from Super Bowl MVP to Managing Billions – Hall of Fame 49ers Quarterback on High Performance, Reinvention, Faith, and How to Blend Dreams and Plans
Steve Young (@steveyoung) is a Hall of Fame NFL quarterback who played more than 15 seasons, primarily with the San Francisco 49ers. Steve co-founded HGGC, which manages more than $6.9B in capital commitments.
Tim Ferriss discussed Searching for Bobby Fischer by Fred Waitzkin, Extreme Ownership by Jocko Willink and others, Mental Toughness Training for Sports by James E. Loehr, Runnin' Down a Dream by Bill Gurley, and The Law of Love by Steve Young.
Books mentioned, in the order they came up
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Searching for Bobby Fischer
Discussed“Friend of mine who's a bit of a reckluse named Josh Weightskin. He was the basis, he would hate me to introduce him this way, but he was the basis for Searching for Bobby Fischer, the book and then the movie Chess Prodigy.”
Where to get it
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Extreme Ownership
Discussed“after that realization and makes me also think about there's a book called extreme ownership written by Jaco Willink former Navy Seal commander which is really also underscores this ownership right being all about it, right?”
Where to get it
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Mental Toughness Training for Sports
Discussed“somehow found a book called Mental Toughness Training for Sports by a guy named James Lair spelled L O E HR who Josh Whiteskin actually also knows and I read that book and the key piece of that it talked about different approaches to mental toughness”
Where to get it
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Runnin' Down a Dream
Discussed“And he's got a book that might be out by the time this is published, but it's coming out soon called Running Down a Dream. And in it, he has a chapter on going where the action is.”
Where to get it
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The Law of Love
Discussed“my reading of the law of love your book which was sent to me by Greg Mchuan who wrote essentialism. And ended up listening to it and Oh, man. And I listened to it. I apologize for that. Well, no need to apologize.”
Where to get it
Other mentions in this episode (3) — ad reads, self-promotion and passing references, never counted
Passing QB
“Steve Young is the author of QB: My Life Behind the Spiral and The Law of Love.”
Passing The Law of Love
“Steve Young is the author of QB: My Life Behind the Spiral and The Law of Love.”
Passing Essentialism
“which was sent to me by Greg Mchuan who wrote essentialism. Wow. And ended up listening to it and Oh, man.”


