Person
Every book Rainn Wilson recommended on podcasts
Rainn Wilson appeared on The Daily Stoic podcast to discuss his deepest struggles and how they led to his best roles. During the episode, Wilson recommended and discussed several influential books centered on creativity, meditation, and philosophy. He expressed excitement over Rick Rubin's runaway bestseller The Creative Act: A Way of Being, characterizing it as an unconventional and out-there book that explores the origins of creativity and its connections to ancient Greek muses. In addition to recommending Rubin's work, Wilson discussed Michael A. Singer's The Untethered Soul, utilizing it to illustrate the mental separation achieved during meditation and the realization that a person is neither their thoughts nor their feelings. Wilson also reflected on Marcus Aurelius's Meditations, noting how the ancient Stoic ruler wrote personal notes to himself to become better at his job and in life through discipline, courage, and wisdom. Furthermore, Wilson shared a personal connection to The Daily Stoic by Ryan Holiday and Stephen Hanselman, mentioning that his agent, a graduate of Harvard Divinity School, supported the project by contributing translations. Through these discussions, Wilson highlighted literature that fosters self-awareness, emotional detachment from negative mental states, and a disciplined approach to both artistic expression and daily existence.
Books recommended by Rainn Wilson
-
The Creative Act
The Creative Act: A Way of Being by Rick Rubin is an unconventional and deeply insightful guide that explores the nature of creativity, artistic practice, and how anyone can access their inner imaginative potential.
Discussed“I mean, it's really amazing this the Creative Circle book by uh Rick Rubin has been this runaway bestseller. Um and it's a really out there kind of book in a lot of ways, you know, and that's really exciting.”
Where to get it
-
Meditations
Meditations by Marcus Aurelius is a collection of personal journals written by the Roman emperor, offering timeless Stoic philosophy on duty, resilience, and self-reflection.
Discussed“The Stoics talk a ton about discipline, courage, wisdom; Marcus writes Meditations, which are notes to himself to be better at his job and in life.”
Where to get it
-
The Daily Stoic
The Daily Stoic by Ryan Holiday and Stephen Hanselman is a popular modern guide providing daily meditations, historical insights, and ancient philosophies for cultivating resilience and self-control.
Discussed“My agent went to Harvard Divinity School and did some translations for The Daily Stoic, so he was very supportive. He could sort of put his agent hat aside.”
Where to get it
-
The Untethered Soul
The Untethered Soul by Michael A.
Discussed“And you have this wonderful aspect of meditation where you kind of separate from yourself, you know, and as as Michael Singer talks about in The Untethered Soul, you know, you realize, "Oh, I'm not my thoughts, and I'm not even my feelings."”
Where to get it
Books Rainn Wilson wrote
Appearances
| Episode | Podcast | Date | Books |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rainn Wilson On How His Deepest Struggles Led To His Best Roles | The Daily Stoic | 2023-09-02 | 7 |
Other mentions (12: passing, ad reads, own books)
“One of the things in my book that I bring up right away is, 'Why the hell is the guy who played Dwight talking about spirituality?' That might be a little weird.”
“That's fascinating because um for me, Soul Boom was such a labor of love. Uh it took me the entirety of COVID, three, three and a half years of working on it.”
“Also, that’s fascinating because for me, Soul Boom was such a labor of love.”
“But I really did; this was for me—if I get hit by a bus tomorrow, in case anyone ever—and that's probably like three dozen people—want to know what the guy who played Dwight thought about life, God, the soul, and meaning, it's all here in the book.”
“Now, it’s funny you mention this because, you know what this is like too; I did this book tour and lots of TV shows, podcasts, readings, and I'm still doing them.”
“I do want to come back to what you started with, which is I'm in this conversation right now of like we've built out a little Soul Boom Instagram page and it's, you know, it's only got like 30,000 followers right now, but we could build it out and I want to reach people with the ideas of this book”
“I want to reach people with the ideas of this book, people who aren’t necessarily going to buy a book but are interested in spiritual tools to make themselves better and improve the world.”
“But okay, great, let's put that aside; like I say in the book, have we jettisoned the spiritual baby with the religious bathwater?”
“one of the theses of my book is about this idea of a spiritual evolution.”
“So, that's why I wrote SoulBoom. Um, I really, uh,”
“Cuz Soul boom. Soul boom. Cuz I mean I just want to read this one thing.”
“I want to read from the second greatest book next to the Bhagavad Gita and The Daily Stoic, 'Soul Boom.'”