Everything Tim Ferriss has recommended in 5-Bullet Friday — 2,095 books, articles, quotes, films, products and more, gathered from 480 issues since 2015. Browse by category, sort by what the community values or how often Tim has returned to it, and spend your 25 votes on what matters most to you. Each item's note is quoted from Tim's own words in the newsletter.
“Real Mind Control: The 21-Day No-Complaint Experiment” “What My Morning Journal Looks Like” “The Painless Path to Endurance” “How to Lose 100 Pounds on The Slow-Carb Diet – Real Pics and Stories.” Pair it with this one-pager PDF from The 4-Hour Chef.— Tim Ferriss
“Psychedelic drug helped people with alcohol use disorder reduce drinking, study shows.” From the article: “More than 80% of those who were given the psychedelic treatment had drastically reduced their drinking eight months after the study started, compared to just over 50% in the antihistamine (active placebo) control group, according to results published Wednesday in JAMA Psychiatry.” Here’s a snippet of the experience of Jon Kostas, one of the study’s participants: “When he began the psilocybin trial at age 25, he was consuming almost 23 drinks in a single bender.” Flash forward to today, a— Tim Ferriss
“Playing God” (YouTube, Spotify) by Polyphia (@polyphia). Exceptional talents. I am listening to this track on repeat for working, walking, wizardry, and whatever else.— Tim Ferriss
“Is Selling Shares in Yourself the Way of the Future?” by Nathan Heller for The New Yorker.— Tim Ferriss
My work is loving the world. Here the sunflowers, there the hummingbird— equal seekers of sweetness. Here the quickening yeast; there the blue plums. Here the clam deep in the speckled sand. Are my boots old? Is my coat torn? Am I no longer young, and still not half-perfect? Let me keep my mind on what matters, which is my work, which is mostly standing still and learning to be astonished. The phoebe, the delphinium. The sheep in the pasture, and the pasture. Which is mostly rejoicing, since all the ingredients are here, which is gratitude, to be given a mind and a heart and these body-clothes
“The First-Ever Quantified Self Notes (Plus: LSD as Cognitive Enhancer?)” This is a fun slice of history. It combines my notes from the first-ever “quantified self” meetup at Kevin Kelly’s home in 2008 with a term paper I wrote in 1996… when I was ~19 years old! Despite the hilarious typo in the title (it wasn’t the final draft) and some overreach and correlation/causation mixing, I still maintain there are profound similarities between REM sleep and some psychedelic experiences, and I further believe that the implications for learning have yet to be properly explored.— Tim Ferriss
“Surfing with the Alien” (YouTube, Spotify) by Joe Satriani (@chickenfootjoe). I’m having so much fun revisiting the greats from Joe Satriani. Perfect Friday writing music. Some song trivia from Wikipedia: “The song refers to the comic book character, Silver Surfer. The song was considered the 30th greatest guitar solo ever by readers of Guitar World magazine, and is one of Satriani’s most prominent shred-style tracks.”— Tim Ferriss
“Lifestyles” by Morgan Housel (@morganhousel). Sometimes I just want to burn it all down and disappear. This helped me scratch that itch without any collateral damage.— Tim Ferriss
Worlds of Ursula K. Le Guin (Amazon, Apple TV). Ursula was one of a kind. It’s almost impossible to overstate how far outside of the box she was for her generation. Much of what we take for granted now was simply unheard of when she was crafting worlds. Here is a brief snippet from Ursula’s Wikipedia page (bolding and link are mine): Le Guin’s writing was enormously influential in the field of speculative fiction and has been the subject of intense critical attention. She received numerous accolades, including eight Hugos, six Nebulas, and twenty-two Locus Awards. … Le Guin influenced many oth— Tim Ferriss
“You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, ‘I have lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.’ … You must do the thing you think you cannot do.” —
“Why I’m Open-Sourcing an NFT Insider Trading Policy for the Web3 Community.”— Tim Ferriss
Arcane: Bridging the Rift. This is the behind-the-scenes story of the making of Arcane, my favorite animated (does that term even do it justice?) series in many years. It includes the mania, mess, and marvel of trying to do something nearly impossible. Here are Parts 1 (“Only Dream in Risky”) and 2 (“Persistence (Or When Your Best Still Sucks)”), with more to come.— Tim Ferriss
Vanishing Asia by Kevin Kelly (@kevin2kelly), arguably the real-life most interesting man in the world. Here’s a short summary from Kevin: “I relied on my 1,000 true fans to fund a huge, oversized, 1,000-page celebration of old Asia. This 3-volume book set is titled Vanishing Asia, and it records 9,000 photographs of the festivals, costumes, architecture, and rituals that are disappearing in Asia.” This has been his passion project for 40 years. Kevin did all of the following: (a) took all the photos, (b) designed every page, (c) wrote a caption for each of the 9,000 photos, and (d) designed t— Tim Ferriss
“‘Despair, or folly?’ said Gandalf. ‘It is not despair, for despair is only for those who see the end beyond all doubt. We do not. It is wisdom to recognize necessity, when all other courses have been weighed, though as folly it may appear to those who cling to false hope. Well, let folly be our cloak, a veil before the eyes of the Enemy! For he is very wise, and weighs all things to a nicety in the scales of his malice. But the only measure that he knows is desire, desire for power; and so he judges all hearts. Into his heart the thought will not enter that any will refuse it, that having the
Vengeance. I loved this film and laughed so hard that I made people uncomfortable. Give it 10–15 minutes to really warm up. Here’s the description: “Vengeance, the directorial debut from writer and star B.J. Novak (@bjnovak) (The Office), is a darkly comic thriller about Ben Manalowitz, a journalist and podcaster who travels from New York City to West Texas to investigate the death of a girl he was hooking up with.” The dialogue in this entire movie is hilarious. At least watch the trailer, and here’s one sample exchange from a dinner in Abilene, TX: Ty: “There’s something you gotta know about— Tim Ferriss
“Fata Morgana” (YouTube, Spotify) by Their Dogs Were Astronauts (@theirdogswereastronauts).— Tim Ferriss
“The Perils of Audience Capture” by Gurwinder Bhogal (@G_S_Bhogal). Everyone should read this brilliant piece. It could alternatively be titled “How Influencers Become Caricatures with No Exit,” “How Anyone Online Can Lose Themselves,” or “Succumbing to Quicksand: Digital Identity Creep in the 2020s.” If you spend any time online, you are subject to the dynamics described in this article. Read it, even if only for preemptive planning. I chat so often with friends about these things that one texted me this today: “Holy shit. Reading now. Has this guy been reading our texts?”— Tim Ferriss
“I never even thought about whether or not they understand what I’m doing. … The emotional reaction is all that matters. As long as there’s some feeling of communication, it isn’t necessary that it be understood.” —
“Dominant eye test: How to find your dominant eye.” I’m right-handed but left-eye dominant, which is sometimes referred to as “cross dominance.” This can make a mess of things, which is part of why I explored eye dominance for sports with experts in The 4-Hour Chef: The Simple Path to Cooking Like a Pro, Learning Anything, and Living the Good Life (a book title I regret, as the book is mostly focused on meta-learning/accelerated learning). From 2009–2010, I was consistently missing basketball shots by a few inches until I made adjustments for cross dominance with Rick Torbett. And this can app— Tim Ferriss
“The Bronc-busting, Cow-punching, Death-defying Legend of Boots O’Neal” by Christian Wallace for Texas Monthly. This is a thought-provoking portrait of someone who lives to do his work and who can’t imagine doing otherwise. Here’s the opening paragraph: “The sun is not yet up when Boots O’Neal starts his workday. As the 89-year-old cowboy readies his mount in the predawn quiet, he stuffs his hands into well-worn leather gloves. His dark chaps are decorated with fringe, a slight sheen on the right hip where his nylon rope has polished the leather over the years. He pulls down his silverbelly ha— Tim Ferriss
“The Art of Peace begins with you. Work on yourself and your appointed task in the Art of Peace. Everyone has a spirit that can be refined, a body that can be trained in some manner, a suitable path to follow. You are here for no other purpose than to realize your inner divinity and manifest your inner enlightenment. Foster peace in your own life and then apply the Art to all that you encounter.” — , founder of aikido (Source: The Art of Peace). Great reminder to start with the person in the mirror
“These Mormons Have Found a New Faith — in Magic Mushrooms” by Cassady Rosenblum for Rolling Stone. Worshippers are leaving the Church of Latter-day Saints in record numbers, and some are finding a new kind relationship with the divine through a psilocybin church co-founded by a man who was for years one of the most powerful Republicans in the Utah State Legislature. It’s a fascinating story about faith, mushrooms, and Mormonism. Why am I excited about this piece? First, it’s the first published piece out of the Ferriss-UC Berkeley Psychedelic Journalism Fellowship. Second, it’s Cassady’s firs— Tim Ferriss
“TaskRabbit: Leah Solivan” (Apple Podcasts, Spotify) on How I Built This with Guy Raz. Pair this episode with Guy Raz on The Tim Ferriss Show or my interview with famed investor Ann Miura-Ko, whose very first investment was TaskRabbit.— Tim Ferriss
“Night of the Mini Dead” (S3E4) from Love, Death & Robots. If you don’t have Netflix, here is a great taste on YouTube. The series’ description from Wikipedia: “Love, Death & Robots (stylized as LOVE DEATH + R⬤BOTS, and represented in emoji form as ❤️💀🤖) is an adult animated anthology streaming television series created by Tim Miller ). Produced by Blur Studio, it consists of stand-alone episodes that feature different narrative and animation styles and are produced by different animation studios from a range of countries, exploring diverse genres, particularly comedy, horror, science fictio— Tim Ferriss
How to Keep Your Cool: An Ancient Guide to Anger Management (The Painted Porch, Audible). Thanks to Ryan Holiday (@RyanHoliday) for this recommendation. From the official description: “In his essay ‘On Anger’ (De Ira), the Roman Stoic thinker Seneca (c. 4 BC–AD 65) argues that anger is the most destructive passion: ‘No plague has cost the human race more dear.’ This was proved by his own life, which he barely preserved under one wrathful emperor, Caligula, and lost under a second, Nero. This splendid new translation of essential selections from ‘On Anger,’ presented with an enlightening introd— Tim Ferriss
“And now that you don’t have to be perfect, you can be good.” — , East of Eden
Wind River (Amazon, YouTube), written and directed by the incredible Taylor Sheridan, co-creator of Yellowstone. This is an excellent but very dark movie. It received a lengthy eight-minute standing ovation at the end of its premiere in the Un Certain Regard competition of the Cannes film festival. Description: “A chilling murder mystery set in the icy backwoods of a Native American Reservation, starring Elizabeth Olsen and Jeremy Renner (@JeremyRenner).” You can find the trailer here. Not suitable for family viewing.— Tim Ferriss
Spermidine. Long-ass story, but this pops up on a podcast soon. The conversation provoked a fascination and a lot of worthwhile questions.— Tim Ferriss
“Panpsychism is crazy, but it’s also most probably true” by Philip Goff (@Philip_Goff).— Tim Ferriss
“The test of all beliefs is their practical effect in life. If it be true that optimism compels the world forward, and pessimism retards it, then it is dangerous to propagate a pessimistic philosophy.” — , Optimism
The Gatekeepers (Amazon, YouTube, Apple TV). Here is the official description: “Charged with overseeing Israel’s war on terror—both Palestinian and Jewish—the head of the Shin Bet, Israel’s secret service, is present at the crossroad of every decision made. For the first time ever, six former heads of the agency agreed to share their insights and reflect publicly on their actions and decisions. The Gatekeepers offers an exclusive account of the sum of their successes and failures. It validates the reasons that each man individually and the six as a group came to reconsider their hard-line posi— Tim Ferriss
“Exogenous Testosterone or Testosterone with Finasteride Increases Bone Mineral Density in Older Men with Low Serum Testosterone.” I’m not a doctor and don’t play one on the Internet, but this was sent to me by a well-respected researcher who focuses a lot on mTOR and other subjects. I take neither drug but found it worth the read. Here is an excerpt of the abstract: “This finding suggests that dihydrotestosterone is not essential for the beneficial effects of T on BMD in men. In addition, the concomitant administration of F with T appears to attenuate the impact of T therapy on prostate size — Tim Ferriss
“G.O.A.T.” (YouTube, Spotify) by Polyphia (@polyphia). If you want to see another video of how such craziness comes together, check this out. I first heard Polyphia over the sound system at a climbing gym, and I literally jumped off the wall to figure out who was playing. Not everyone’s cup of tea, but I dig ’em for writing.— Tim Ferriss
“The road to hell is not paved with good intentions. It is paved with lack of intention.” — from Gabor, start here.
“Eres para Mí” (YouTube, Spotify) by Julieta Venegas (@julietav). Feeling sapped by an ever-increasing creep of nihilism in the world (dramatic, I know)? This is the type of track that helps me find an optimistic foothold. Good medicine for challenging times and good medicine for seeing the silver linings all around us. Things are generally better than we think.— Tim Ferriss
“My Twelve Rules for Life” by Russ Roberts (@EconTalker). In particular, I’m thinking about this one: “2. Find something healthy to worship David Foster Wallace says it well: Because here’s something else that’s weird but true: in the day-to-day trenches of adult life, there is actually no such thing as atheism. There is no such thing as not worshipping. Everybody worships. The only choice we get is what to worship. And the compelling reason for maybe choosing some sort of god or spiritual-type thing to worship—be it JC or Allah, be it YHWH or the Wiccan Mother Goddess, or the Four Noble Truth— Tim Ferriss
Free Guy (94% Audience Score on Rotten Tomatoes). Free Guy stars and was produced by Ryan Reynolds (@VancityReynolds). The movie is directed by Shawn Levy (@ShawnLevyDirect) from a screenplay by Matt Lieberman (@elprotecto) and Zak Penn (@zakpenn). Here is the official description of the movie: “A bank teller (Ryan Reynolds) discovers he is actually a background player in an open-world video game and decides to become the hero of his own story. Now, in a world where there are no limits, he is determined to be the guy who saves his world his way before it’s too late.”— Tim Ferriss
PSO-RITE for psoas muscle release. Recommended by multiple people in this Twitter thread on iliacus self-release.— Tim Ferriss
“Minding matter” by Adam Frank (@AdamFrank4). Here is an excerpt: “Like most physicists, I learned how to ignore the weirdness of quantum physics. ‘Shut up and calculate!’ (the dictum of the American physicist David Mermin) works fine if you are trying to get 100 percent on your Advanced Quantum Theory homework or building a laser. But behind quantum mechanics’ unequaled calculational precision lie profound, stubbornly persistent questions about what those quantum rules imply about the nature of reality – including our place in it. Those questions are well-known in the physics community, but p— Tim Ferriss
“The Rise of the Shaman Bro (and his eventual demise).” This succinct post is laughably accurate. It covers a few important subtleties, including the very real and COVID-driven Promoter Bro >>> Shaman Bro phenomenon. The same ecosystem disruption can explain the proliferation of another archetype I’ll call “Yogauasca Chick.” Same-same but different. Equally dangerous. A few quick recommendations if you’re ever in the market for shamans/guides/sitters: 1) If they don’t do a medical intake, including asking about current medications and family history (e.g., schizophrenia), avoid them. 2) If the— Tim Ferriss
Under the Banner of Heaven. Starring Andrew Garfield, Sam Worthington, Daisy Edgar-Jones (@daisyedgarjones), FX’s Under the Banner of Heaven, the limited series inspired by the nonfiction bestseller by Jon Krakauer, follows the murder of Brenda Wright Lafferty and her baby daughter in a suburb in the Salt Lake Valley. As Detective Jeb Pyre investigates events that transpired, he uncovers buried truths about the violent consequences of unyielding faith. The trailer gives you a good taste of the production value. I found everything about this series—writing, casting, directing, cinematography, i— Tim Ferriss
“The Hero’s Adventure” from The Power of Myth with Joseph Campbell and Bill Moyers (Audible for audio, Amazon for video). The first episode of this six-part series is simply incredible, and I found it oddly and profoundly calming. Here’s the description: “Forty years ago, renowned scholar Joseph Campbell sat down with veteran journalist Bill Moyers for a series of interviews that became one of the most enduringly popular programs ever on PBS. In dialogues that adroitly span millennia of history and far-flung geography, the two men discuss myths as metaphors for human experience and the path to— Tim Ferriss
“Forgiveness is accepting the apology you will never receive.” — (hat tip to Mark Goulston)
Cloudventure from On (@on_running). I have this pair in Black/Reseda. From On’s website: “The Cloudventure is a lightweight trail running shoe, built to excel in demanding outdoor conditions.” I’ve been pounding the hell out of these, and they’ve allowed me to hike more than I have in years without any pain from plantar fasciitis. I’ll be adding in rucking soon then slowly progressing to trail running, which I loved when I was younger. Related reading: “The Painless Path to Endurance.”— Tim Ferriss
I Choose Noise (YouTube, Spotify, Apple Music), studio album by Hybrid (@HybridBandUK). If you want to whet your appetite, “Last Man Standing” and “I Choose Noise” are two good tracks to start with.— Tim Ferriss
“A South Texan’s Wild Quest to Break a National Birding Record” by Will McCarthy (@wrmccart) for Texas Monthly. Subheadline: “When she began her year-long bird-spotting adventure, Tiffany Kersten was lost and lonely. She ended up achieving a major milestone—and finding her way.” I’ve been on a nature kick and wanted to keep feeding the furnace. This provided a nice boost, and I’m already brainstorming new adventures…— Tim Ferriss
WAOAW Sleep Mask. This has become my favorite sleep mask. The WAOAW is a contoured mask that removes all pressure from the eyes, and it’s been added to my list of “things I didn’t know I needed.” The design also blocks much more light than conventional masks. Special thanks to my girlfriend for the spot-on gift. Grumpy Tim is good for no one.— Tim Ferriss
“I would rather have questions that can’t be answered than answers that can’t be questioned.” — , theoretical physicist and recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1965
“How the Pentagon Started Taking U.F.O.s Seriously” and “The Unexplained Phenomena of the U.F.O. Report,” both for The New Yorker by Gideon Lewis-Kraus. Related to the above, “Don’t Dismiss the Alien Hypothesis” by Christopher Mellon (@ChrisKMellon). Christopher Mellon spent nearly 20 years in the U.S. Intelligence Community, including serving as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Intelligence and the Minority Staff Director of the Senate Intelligence Committee.— Tim Ferriss
UFO. I initially dismissed this. I then revisited the series when I noticed that J.J. Abrams was involved. Before you decide to skip it, consider watching the short trailer for pure fun. Here’s the official description: “A four-part docu-series from J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot and Glen Zipper exploring our fascination with unidentified flying objects, and what clandestine influence the American government, lucrative private companies, and the military may have in shielding the truth behind [UFOs] to further their own agendas.” This series includes interviews with former senators, former military in— Tim Ferriss
Rafael Grassetti (@rafagrassetti). Rafael, better known as Raf, has been described as “one of the best-known digital sculptors in the world” and is Art Director at Sony for the God of War ) franchise. You can get a taste of his incredible work on Twitter, Instagram, and his website. Thanks to everyone who recommended Raf’s work in response to my tweet about favorite 3D artists. Preface to the next two bullets: I watched and read all of these prior to the related NASA news from yesterday, Thursday, June 9th (NYT: “NASA Plans to Join U.F.O. Research Efforts”). I’m fascinated by several aspects o— Tim Ferriss
“Don’t just write words. Write music.” I think about this type of cadence, musicality, and readability a lot when writing.— Tim Ferriss
“These are times in which a genius would wish to live. It is not in the still calm of life, or in the repose of a pacific station, that great characters are formed. The habits of a vigorous mind are formed in contending with difficulties. Great necessities call out great virtues.” — , Letter to John Quincy Adams dated January 19th, 1780
“On Needing to Find Something to Worry About.” This brief blog post provides me with an afterglow of extended calm for at least a few hours, and it can sometimes last a few days. The quote from Donald Winnicott packs a wallop, so don’t miss it.— Tim Ferriss
“Matthew Inman and Elan Lee: Invite Everyone to The Party” (Apple Podcasts, Spotify) on Inc.’s What I Know podcast. Here is the official description: “Christine Lagorio-Chafkin talks to Matthew Inman and Elan Lee—founders of Exploding Kittens—about how they founded their company, when to give up on a potentially good idea, and the $1 million dollar meow.” To better understand the scope of Exploding Kittens, here’s a paragraph from a recent announcement: “Exploding Kittens is a leading game and entertainment company with a mission to inspire people to connect, laugh, and play fun games in the p— Tim Ferriss
Green Hills of Africa by Ernest Hemingway. I haven’t read Hemingway in more than a decade, but this specific nonfiction book was recommended to me by one of the smartest people I know. The writing, and commentary on writers and writing itself, is outstanding. It helps if you have some familiarity with hunting, but it’s not required. Before reading, I would suggest taking a few minutes to glance at 1–2 pictures of a few recurring animals: kudu, sable antelope, oryx, wildebeest, white rhino, and water buffalo. Be forewarned that the original publication date was 1935, and some of the language is— Tim Ferriss
Planet Earth II “Grasslands” episode (Amazon, YouTube, Apple TV), hosted by David Attenborough (@davidattenborough). The episode’s description: “Grasslands cover one quarter of all land and support the vast gatherings of wildlife, but to survive here, animals must endure the most hostile seasonal changes on the planet. From Asia’s bizarre-looking saiga antelope to the giant anteaters of Brazil, grassland animals have adapted in extraordinary ways to cope with these extremes. In the flooded Okavango, lions take on formidable buffalo in epic battles; on the savannah, bee-eaters take advantage of— Tim Ferriss
“You give but little when you give of your possessions. It is when you give of yourself that you truly give.” —
The Great Dance by Craig Foster ) and Damon Foster. This was recommended to me by an excellent tracker. The best video I could find that’s viewable from the US was on Facebook. Be forewarned that it’s very grainy and very bizarre. This is the only footage of successful persistence hunting that I’ve ever seen, and filmmaker Craig Foster is also the diver featured in My Octopus Teacher. Here is the official description: “A story of three San hunters at their most extreme limits of endurance, culminating in ‘the Chasing Hunt’—a ritual that has never before been revealed to the world outside of th— Tim Ferriss