Everything Tim Ferriss has recommended in 5-Bullet Friday — 2,122 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.
The Art of Seeing Things: Essays by John Burroughs, edited by Charlotte Zoë Walker (@czwalkergil). How do you sharpen the eye and mind? How can you more fully experience the vibrant details of nature? John Burroughs writes beautifully on these and many other topics. He can be heavy on the bird references, but the essay that is the namesake of this volume—“The Art of Seeing Things”—is simply outstanding.— Tim Ferriss
“If we can forgive what’s been done to us… If we can forgive what we’ve done to others… If we can leave our stories behind. Our being victims and villains. Only then can we maybe rescue the world.” — , all, and happy holidays to you and yours. Much love, Tim P.S. To wrap up the year, here are the 30 most popular podcast episodes of 2020! If you haven’t already, please consider subscribing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. It really helps us with visibility and recruiting incredible guests. Lots of big things are planned for 2
Anton Ego speech from Ratatouille. (— Tim Ferriss
2020 Past Year Review. I’m sometimes asked how I approach New Year’s resolutions. The truth is that I no longer approach them at all, even though I did for decades. Why? I have found “past year reviews” (PYR) more informed, valuable, and actionable than half-blindly looking forward. Here’s the step-by-step process I follow.— Tim Ferriss
Michelin restaurants and fabulous wines: Inside the secret team dinners that have built the Spurs’ dynasty (@espn). This piece is FANTASTIC. It is wonderfully written and full of takeaways if you read carefully. Hat tip to @bakerlink for the recommendation. Here’s a short teaser from the beginning: As much as [Coach] Popovich knows about hoops, he really knows food and wine. “I don’t know that he doesn’t know more about wine than he does about basketball,” former Spurs assistant coach P.J. Carlesimo says. Popovich scouts restaurants and wine lists as obsessively as he might any opponent. Befor— Tim Ferriss
Qantu’s Chuncho 70% Dark Chocolate. If you love chocolate, this bar is incredible. Warm hugs and smooches to Darya Rose (@daryarose) and Kevin Rose (@kevinrose) for the gift. For those curious, the brand name “Qantu” derives from the Quechua language and is pronounced ‘kantu.’ It is a “symbol of unity and hospitality… it is [also] the name of the national flower of Peru and Bolivia [technically Cantua buxifolia, commonly called flor del Inca, or ‘flower of the Inca’].”— Tim Ferriss
And then one day One magic day he passed my way While we spoke of many things Fools and Kings This he said to me: “The greatest thing you’ll ever learn Is just to love and be loved in return.” — “Nature Boy” by eden ahbez, first performed by Nat King ColeAnd, as always, please give me feedback on Twitter. Which bullet above is your favorite? What do you want more or less of? Other suggestions? Please let me know. Just send a tweet to @tferriss and put #5BulletFriday at the end so I can find it. Have a wonderful weekend, all, and happy holidays to you and yours. Much love, Tim P.S. In case you — Tim Ferriss
Wegan /ˈwēɡən/ noun. Someone who follows a vegan diet, omitting all animal products except for wild-harvested meats. Put another way, a wegan diet is a vegan diet modified to include only wild-harvested meats. This term was coined by Kuʻulani Muise of Maui Nui Venison, as she, her husband Jake, and their three young children all enjoy a “wegan” diet but struggled to find a simple term to encapsulate it. Hence the invention of this word and “weganism.”— Tim Ferriss
Ascent Cap in Optifade Subalpine. This is one of the lightest and most comfortable caps I’ve ever worn. Though designed for hunting, it’s perfect for nearly any outdoor activity, whether hiking, tennis, cross-country skiing, or other.— Tim Ferriss
World Chase Tag (@worldchasetag). Who knew parkour could be combined with tag to make a professional sport? This video has nearly 40 million views and gives you a taste of the action. I chanced upon World Chase Tag on NBCSN (@nbcsports). It makes you wonder what other disparate games and skills could be combined to make something amazing. Salsa curling competitions? Skeet falconry? Handstand hopscotch fingerpainting? So many options...— Tim Ferriss
“Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.” —
This’ll be a two-for-one bullet, since some of you will have seen the first. First, the visual feast that is My Octopus Teacher. Short description: “A filmmaker forges an unusual friendship with an octopus living in a South African kelp forest, learning as the animal shares the mysteries of her world.” Second, The Art of Living with Less Stress by Derek Sivers (@sivers), which I’m watching repeatedly. The latter might seem odd, as it’s a short clip from a podcast interview I was already part of, but I often choose what I’ll produce (interviews, videos, animations, blog posts, etc.) based on wh— Tim Ferriss
Do Not Disturb: How I Ditched My Phone and Unbroke My Brain by Kevin Roose (@kevinroose) for The New York Times.— Tim Ferriss
Tales of the Dervishes: Teaching-Stories of the Sufi Masters over the Past Thousand Years. Sometimes I learn, and absorb usable truths, best through time-tested fiction. Most stories in this book are only 1–5 pages long. Description: “Dervish tales are more than fable, legend, or folklore. For centuries, dervish masters have instructed their disciples by means of these teaching stories, which are said to increase perception and knowledge and provide a better understanding of man and the world. … Idries Shah spent many years traveling through three continents to collect and compare oral version— Tim Ferriss
“Falling to Pieces” (YouTube, Spotify) by Faith No More (@faithnomore), one of my favorite bands of all time. Mr. Bungle (@mrbungle) also gets a gold star.— Tim Ferriss
Don Emilio & His Little Doctors (1982) by Luis Eduardo Luna [Complete Film]. If you’ve ever been interested in how ayahuasca is brewed in much of the Amazon, this captures the process. 99.9% of the remaining footage will be nonsensical to 99.9% of you, and therein lies the charm.— Tim Ferriss
Bathos: “an effect of anticlimax created by an unintentional lapse in mood from the sublime to the trivial or ridiculous.”— Tim Ferriss
This is a two-for-one bullet. First, Víctor Hugo Yáñez Piña and his sculptures of people chiseling away at their own bodies (@escultor_vhyp). Hat tip to Mike N., who sent me this article about Victor. Second, this amazing Lion Turtle piece by Lauren Henderson (@truffke).— Tim Ferriss
How to Think for Yourself by Paul Graham (@paulg). I have recommended many of Paul’s essays over the years, including The Risk of Discovery, Having Kids, Keep Your Identity Small, and, perhaps more than any other, Maker’s Schedule, Manager’s Schedule. How to Think for Yourself is a fabulous new addition to the list. Here’s one of my favorite excerpts from it: “Treat it as a puzzle. You know that some accepted ideas will later turn out to be wrong. See if you can guess which. The end goal is not to find flaws in the things you’re told, but to find the new ideas that had been concealed by the br— Tim Ferriss
“The largest part of what we call ‘personality’ is determined by how we’ve opted to defend ourselves against anxiety and sadness.” –
Voters approve Colorado’s unprecedented wolf reintroduction measure by Bruce Finley for The Denver Post. “Gray wolves gained a hard-fought path to ‘paws on the ground’ in Colorado with the approval Thursday of a controversial reintroduction measure, the first time a state’s voters have forced their government to re-introduce an imperiled species.” Collectively, listeners of the podcast donated $110,000+ to wolf conservation to match my own $100K, and each of you should be very proud. It was an incredible showing, and it quite possibly made all the difference, as the ballot measure passed with — Tim Ferriss
Alive Inside: A Story of Music & Memory. This clip will amaze you. Watch the whole thing, as the post-music conversation towards the end is the most mind-blowing.— Tim Ferriss
This week, the iconic Navy SEAL Foundation (NSF) pledged one of the organization’s largest single grants in its 20-year history to support a major post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) study focused on MDMA-assisted psychotherapy. This is a very big deal. I might expand more another time, but for now I’ll simply extend sincere gratitude to the Navy SEAL Foundation. Thank you for leading from the front. This is a large domino that could tip over many others.— Tim Ferriss
How we can face the future without fear, together by Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks. Rabbi Sacks was an incredible man, and he sadly passed away last Saturday. I’m sure he’s already helping those in need on the other side. To feel his brilliance and warmth of spirit, you might also enjoy this conversation between Rabbi Sacks and David Brooks or my long-form podcast with him, recorded just a few months ago. May he rest in peace, and my sincerest condolences to his family and loved ones.— Tim Ferriss
Politician Cyrus Habib Leaves Office to Join the Jesuits (The New York Times — @nytimes). Have you ever fantasized about walking off and leaving it all behind? This is the amazing story of one man, on track for ever-growing prestige and power, who did just that. Kudos to Frank Bruni (@FrankBruni) for a great piece. For more on Cyrus, here is his Wikipedia page.— Tim Ferriss
over and over announcing your place in the family of things. — Mary Oliver(Thank you to Jim Dethmer for bringing this poem back to my attention.) And, as always, please give me feedback on Twitter. Which bullet above is your favorite? What do you want more or less of? Other suggestions? Please let me know. Just send a tweet to @tferriss and put #5BulletFriday at the end so I can find it. Have a wonderful weekend, all. Much love to you and yours, Tim P.S. Deal of the Week — Eight Sleep Pod Pro Cover. Good sleep is the ultimate game changer. More than 30% of Americans struggle with sleep, and I’
Wild Geese You do not have to be good. You do not have to walk on your knees For a hundred miles through the desert, repenting. You only have to let the soft animal of your body love what it loves. Tell me about your despair, yours, and I will tell you mine. Meanwhile the world goes on. Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain are moving across the landscapes, over the prairies and the deep trees, the mountains and the rivers. Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air, are heading home again. Whoever you are, no matter how lonely, the world offers itself to your imaginati
The very first psychedelic study I ever supported (psilocybin for moderate-to-severe depression) was published this week in JAMA Psychiatry (@JAMAPsych), and it doesn’t disappoint. Here are a few eye-opening highlights: “The magnitude of the effect we saw was about four times larger than what clinical trials have shown for traditional antidepressants on the market,” says Alan Davis, Ph.D. [...] For the entire group of 24 participants, 67% showed a more than 50% reduction in depression symptoms at the one-week follow-up and 71% at the four-week follow-up. Overall, four weeks post-treatmen— Tim Ferriss
Hand balance boards for handstands and hand balancing (here’s their site if Amazon sells out). I’ve been getting back into spending time upside down. Specifically, I’m working on hand balancing. For a glimpse of mutant abilities and inspiration, check out Andrii Bondarenko. For an easier starting point, or to save your wrists, check out the FeetUp trainer. Are you a pro? I’d love your top 2–3 training tips! Please let me know at @tferriss on Twitter and add #handstands so I can find you.— Tim Ferriss
Joyful Wisdom: Embracing Change and Finding Freedom by Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche. This book was first recommended to me by the phenom that is Safi Bahcall, a former physicist and founder of a publicly-traded biotech company, who also knows hypnotism and a dozen other fields inside and out. It took me more than a year to dig into Joyful Wisdom, as I was turned off by the title. I expected another rinse and repeat of the usual Buddhist bag o’ tricks, which have never quite clicked for me. Much to my surprise, I quickly found insights, analogies, and practices that *did* stick in the first 100 page— Tim Ferriss
“I was always ashamed to take. So I gave. It was not a virtue. It was a disguise.” —
For the last few weeks, my team and I have gathered language from all of my recent podcast sponsor reads (which perform well above industry average, based on data from multiple partners) in one place, which also allows us to review what has worked/converted best for different categories of brands. This page shares the end product, which will evolve over time.— Tim Ferriss
The Psychedelic Election by Andrew Sullivan (@sullydish). Greek civilization, a mysterious once-in-a-lifetime ceremony at the Temple of Eleusis, and a cameo by Marcus Aurelius… what’s not to like? This fascinating piece touches on a lot, including how people in D.C. or Oregon can, just possibly, be part of the next Renaissance.— Tim Ferriss
The Skin Deep. (YouTube, Instagram). “Explore human connection — one conversation at a time.” The Skin Deep delivers on that promise. Consider “Hard Questions for a Mother to Answer” or, for something lighter, try “Are First Impressions Spot On?” The Skin Deep is an Emmy award-winning creative studio exploring human emotion, intimacy, and connection in the digital age, and if you want to go a step further, check out their question card decks for friends, couples, long-term couples, families, and more. Hat tip to my lovely girlfriend for introducing me to this gem.— Tim Ferriss
Hunt for the Wilderpeople (Amazon, Netflix, YouTube Movies). This film is both hilarious and gorgeous. Hunt for the Wilderpeople was the first local feature to gross more than $1M NZD in its opening weekend at the New Zealand box office. Written and directed by Taika Waititi (@TaikaWaititi), this upbeat comedy was exactly what I needed after a rough week. Check out this short trailer, and you’ll see what I mean. Bro, good food for the soul, aye!— Tim Ferriss
“A country is considered the more civilised the more the wisdom and efficiency of its laws hinder a weak man from becoming too weak and a powerful one too powerful.” ― in If This Is a Man
John Arnold: The most prolific philanthropist you may not have heard of on The Peter Attia Drive podcast. Even if you have no interest in philanthropy, this podcast is an incredible profile of the mind and mental frameworks of one of the most successful traders of the last 50 years. The first half of the interview focuses on his meteoric rise, key decisions, and key insights. Here’s the official description: “John Arnold (@JohnArnoldFndtn) is widely regarded as the greatest natural gas trader of all time, but in his late 30s, he walked away from it all and turned full-time philanthropist. He a— Tim Ferriss
Why Private Eyes Are Everywhere Now by Patrick Radden Keefe (@praddenkeefe) for the New Yorker.— Tim Ferriss
“I remember standing on a street corner with the black painter Beauford Delaney down in the Village waiting for the light to change, and he pointed down and said, ‘Look.’ I looked and all I saw was the water. And he said, ‘Look again,’ which I did, and I saw oil on the water and the city reflected in the puddle. It was a great revelation to me. I can’t explain it. He taught me how to see, and how to trust what I saw. Painters have often taught writers how to see. And once you’ve had that experience, you see differently.” — James Baldwin(Here is a related exercise you can try: look at leaves or
“Invocacion (Uji Remix)” (YouTube, Spotify, Bandcamp) by Nicola Cruz (@nicolacruzz).— Tim Ferriss
Callipygian (adjective) - \ ˌka-lə-ˈpi-j(ē-)ən \: having shapely or beautiful buttocks. My girlfriend taught me this one. It applies to her, as well as some of the sculptures in the above bullet. The word “calligraphy” has shared roots—kallos, from the classical Greek for “beauty,” plus graphein for “writing,” and thus “beautiful writing.”— Tim Ferriss
Richard MacDonald (@richardmacdonaldsculpture). For behind-the-scenes process pics, his Instagram account delivers. Here is one that will make your head spin... or invert. Try holding that pose for a few minutes. For more examples, check out this short video created in partnership with Cirque du Soleil (@cirque), which has a permanent gallery exhibiting Richard’s work in Las Vegas.— Tim Ferriss
“Audacity augments courage; hesitation, fear.” —
Johns Hopkins survey about belief changes following psychedelic use. The Johns Hopkins Center for Psychedelic and Consciousness Research needs your help. They are conducting an anonymous online survey of changes in beliefs that can occur after taking a classic psychedelic (psilocybin-containing mushrooms, LSD, ayahuasca, mescaline, DMT, etc.). Psychedelic-occasioned changes in belief may represent a vital, under-studied mechanism that could account for persisting therapeutic and nontherapeutic effects. Examples of some of the persisting effects that have been observed in patient groups include— Tim Ferriss
Speed bag magic. This was sent to me by a former world-championship-level kickboxer.— Tim Ferriss
Sometimes, you’d like to see the results of an active poll on Twitter or other platforms, but you don’t want to vote for any number of reasons (e.g., skewing the results). Rory Parle (@roryparle) offers this tip: “Turn on airplane mode and vote. It won’t register the vote but will flash up the results briefly.” The current workaround for poll creators is to add a “Show results” voting option, but this is clunky and crowds out other voting options. Perhaps Twitter team members who get this newsletter can see about offering this option natively? Could be important for election season...— Tim Ferriss
Burden of Dreams (Amazon, iTunes, The Criterion Channel). This documentary was recommended to me by one of the most phenomenal artists I know, Dustin Yellin, whose wild podcast with me just got released today. Burden of Dreams is a strange and captivating film. It’s a showcase of tackling the impossible, being unrealistic, and failing above others’ successes. On so many levels, the compulsion, single-mindedness, and all-or-nothing drive of legendary filmmaker Werner Herzog makes no sense. And yet… to me, parts of his journey, and parts of his worldview, make all the sense in the world. This is— Tim Ferriss
BalanceFrom Puzzle Exercise Mat with EVA Foam Interlocking Tiles. Six sections is the minimal viable size for what my girlfriend and I use these for: AcroYoga. Here’s a clip of me as Twinkle-Toes Ferriss, doing what I rarely do, which is “fly.” For clarity, the other dude in the video is the co-founder of AcroYoga, Jason Nemer, and not my much smaller and much cuter gf (no offense, Jason; I do love the beard). Now, I only ordered six sections of these ¾″-thick puzzle pieces, but that option on Amazon seems to have disappeared. But fear not! First of all, nine would have been much better. Secon— Tim Ferriss
9 Common Traits in the Lives of Stoic Leaders by Stephen Hanselman (@SteveHanselman).— Tim Ferriss
“I said: what about my eyes? He said: Keep them on the road. I said: What about my passion? He said: Keep it burning. I said: What about my heart? He said: Tell me what you hold inside it? I said: Pain and sorrow. He said: Stay with it. The wound is the place where the Light enters you.” ―
Angela Gram (@angelagramart). To many long-term readers, my reasons for liking Angela’s work will be obvious. To new readers, no explanation will make any sense. Thanks to drumming animal Dave Elitch (@daveelitch) for pointing me to her. And if the art blows your mind, just search her Instagram feed for a clip of her playing guitar.— Tim Ferriss
My Healing Journey After Childhood Abuse. For me, this is the most important podcast episode I’ve ever published. It describes the most life-shaping, certainly the most difficult, and certainly the most transformative journey of my 43 years on this planet. This is the first time I’ve shared it publicly. If you only ever share one thing I’ve done, please make it this. Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Stitcher, Castbox, Google Podcasts, or on your favorite podcast platform. All resources mentioned in this episode, and many more, are listed in the blog post at tim.blog/— Tim Ferriss
Google Contacts (contacts.google.com). Just type contacts.google.com into your browser URL bar, and you’ll see something I’d never accessed until this week. Why this week? Because I’m retiring a bunch of email addresses, and I wanted to know whom I’ve emailed most often from the inboxes that are headed to the garbage bin. This feature—hidden in plain sight—makes it super simple, and you can export your list of VIPs. One important note: “Frequently contacted” appears to include people who email you as well, so it requires some minor cleanup to remove newsletters and so on.— Tim Ferriss
Big Berkey water filter. This was recommended to me by a former Navy SEAL in March, and I’ve bought several units since. These were his selling points, roughly paraphrased: If you can find a swamp or dirty pond, you now have drinkable water. If you have a pool, you now have no reason to stockpile bottles of water. Sold! Here is the partial description from their website: “The black berkey elements that come standard in this system purify both treated water and untreated raw water from such sources as remote lakes, streams, stagnant ponds and water supplies in foreign countries, where regulatio— Tim Ferriss
Atul Gawande on the Armchair Expert podcast with Dax Shepard. This is an excellent dance. On one side, Atul Gawande, MD, (@Atul_Gawande) is one of my favorite thinkers and authors. The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right, written by Atul, sits face out on my bookshelf as a constant reminder. On the other side, Dax (@daxshepard) is one of the best interviewers in the game, and this episode is a great showcase of his skill level. He’s able to intelligently tackle the serious without sounding too serious but also without swinging too far into comedy for comedy’s sake. That is a very hard— Tim Ferriss
“With despair, true optimism begins: the optimism of the man who expects nothing, who knows he has no rights and nothing coming to him, who rejoices in counting on himself alone and in acting alone for the good of all.” —
YETI Rambler® 20 oz. Tumbler. I bought this in Austin at YETI’s flagship store, and it travels with me everywhere. For the last few months, I’ve used it every morning to keep my tea hot (typically chaga or pu-erh tea, plus unsweetened Laird Superfood Creamer) and every afternoon to keep my iced tea cool. I don’t have to worry about condensation or water puddles on my table, and in my experience, it keeps things hot or cold for HOURS. The MagSlider™ magnetic closing mechanism is a much bigger deal than you’ll realize initially, especially for cleaning. They are available with custom designs, an— Tim Ferriss
The Neverending Story. This was both my favorite movie and favorite book for years as a kid. When I got in trouble in elementary school and was sent to detention, I would pretend like I hated the library, as it was one of the detention locations in our tiny school. As “punishment,” I would then get sent to the books and go straight to the shelf where I’d last stashed The Neverending Story. I’d put it in the wrong section so that only I could find it! Watching the movie again as an adult, I was struck by a few things: (1) It ages really well. There are only a few old-school blue-screen portions— Tim Ferriss
Joe Rogan Is the New Mainstream Media (New York Times) by Bari Weiss (@bariweiss). For those seeking extra credit, you can read Bari’s powerful resignation letter from the NYT, which followed just 50 days later on July 14th.— Tim Ferriss
Junya Watanabe (@jungraphy). Here is one of my recent favorites, and here is another, but the best thing you can do is visit his Instagram profile and scroll for five minutes. There are so many gems, and experimental themes emerge as you look through his larger corpus. The visuals make me want to return to Tokyo immediately. #bladerunner— Tim Ferriss