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.
Maya Kaimal Organic Indian Red Lentil Everyday Dal (Amazon, official product page). In February, I stocked up on large quantities of food for COVID lockdown. Some of the items ended up being puke-worthy, many were passable, and a handful stood out with a gut response of “I would definitely continue eating this during ‘normal’ times….” Maya Kaimal’s precooked dal lands squarely in the last category.— Tim Ferriss
The Last Dance. After weeks of three close friends texting me repeatedly about this series, I finally bit the bullet. I was hesitant, as I’ve never followed basketball nor been drawn to it, but… this is easily one of the best television series of any type that I’ve ever seen. It’s spectacular. Here’s the official description, but it doesn’t reflect the intensity and magic of what you’ll see: “This docuseries chronicles the rise of superstar Michael Jordan and the 1990s Chicago Bulls, with unaired footage from an unforgettable 1997–98 season.” Huge kudos to director Jason Hehir; the executive p— Tim Ferriss
Silicon Valley and Wall Street Elites Pour Money Into Psychedelic Research by Shalini Ramachandran in WSJ, which should also be going to print today. This is a great piece with some notable and surprising names. That said, the headline doesn’t capture the most important part to me: ~2,500 donors participated, in amounts ranging from one dollar to $5 million, to raise the $30 million needed to complete clinical trials for MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for trauma/PTSD. My sincerest thanks to each and every one of you who helped make this happen! Every donation mattered and made a difference. 🙏 NO— Tim Ferriss
“Man cannot do without beauty, and this is what our era pretends to want to disregard.” —
Zero Fasting App. Kevin Rose (@KevinRose) originally created Zero in 2016, and it is now the most popular fasting app in the world. It has millions of downloads and 4.9 out of 5 stars on the Apple App Store with 268,000+ ratings. Dr. Peter Attia (@PeterAttiaMD), one of my go-to doctors for anything performance- or longevity-related, is co-founder and chief medical officer. He is the person I call for fasting advice, and now Zero gives access to that same advice. For a short sample Q&A on fasting with Peter, click here. They recently released Zero Plus, an upgrade for power users that I’m now u— Tim Ferriss
“100 Things I Learned in 10 Years and 100 Reads of Marcus Aurelius’s Meditations” by Ryan Holiday (@RyanHoliday).— Tim Ferriss
The following was sent to me from Joe Green and Graham Boyd, co-founders of the Psychedelic Science Funders Collaborative (PSFC). This was a parting thought in one of their quarterly update emails related to nationwide scientific and regulatory updates: Over 50 years after Aldous Huxley published Island, science has finally begun to catch up to his understanding of the benefits of combining psychedelics with meditation or other spiritual practices: A 2018 Johns Hopkins study found that the combination of guided psilocybin sessions and a long-term meditation program resulted in significant impr— Tim Ferriss
“Peace Pipe” (feat. Jean Shepherd) (YouTube, Spotify, Apple Music) by Nickodemus (@NickodemusNYC).— Tim Ferriss
John McPhee on Writing and the Relationship Between Artistic Originality and Self-Doubt by Maria Popova (@brainpicker). Here is one of my favorite quotes in the piece: “as Auden observed in one of his singular strokes of wry perspicacity, ‘some writers confuse authenticity, which they ought always to aim at, with originality, which they should never bother about.’”— Tim Ferriss
“Don’t try to solve serious matters in the middle of the night.” —
“The Four Quadrants of Conformism” by Paul Graham (@paulg). Pair this with Paul’s 2004 essay “What You Can’t Say,” which features The Conformist Test: “Let’s start with a test: Do you have any opinions that you would be reluctant to express in front of a group of your peers? If the answer is no, you might want to stop and think about that. If everything you believe is something you’re supposed to believe, could that possibly be a coincidence? Odds are it isn’t. Odds are you just think what you’re told.”— Tim Ferriss
“Ground On Down” (YouTube, Spotify, Apple Music) by Ben Harper (@benharper).— Tim Ferriss
Green Frontier (Frontera Verde), co-created by Diego Ramírez Schrempp, Mauricio Leiva-Cock, and Jenny Ceballos. The production company for the series is Dynamo (@DynamoCine), which was also behind Narcos and El Chapo. I’ll skip the text description and just recommend that you watch the trailer here. Suffice to say, I asked my girlfriend if she would watch this with me, and less than 30 seconds into the trailer, she replied with an unequivocal “HELL, NO.” I don’t do creepy often, but when I do, it’s something like Frontera Verde. Thanks to my friend Doug for the recommendation.— Tim Ferriss
Supporting MAPS via Every.org. MDMA-assisted psychotherapy holds incredible promise for not only treating patients—including many veterans, first-responders, and victims of sexual abuse—with treatment-resistant PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) but curing them of PTSD altogether. PTSD is notoriously difficult to treat, but early trials with MDMA-assisted psychotherapy showed that with just 2–3 sessions, 67% of participants were no longer diagnosable with PTSD 12 months later. This is all the more impressive when you consider that many of the patients had suffered for 15+ years beforehand. — Tim Ferriss
“From Productivity to Psychedelics: Tim Ferriss Has Changed His Mind About Success” in GQ (@GQMagazine). It might seem strange that I’m reading an interview with myself, but it’s only 90% narcissism. I seldom do interviews these days, and I was very curious to see how this one would turn out. Why? There are rare times when I feel “on,” and this conversation with Clay Skipper (@SkipperClay) was one of them. In the end product, we discuss rethinking productivity, my quarantine philosophy, why not everything that is meaningful can be measured, and how the success I set out to find 13 years ago lo— Tim Ferriss
Single-arm kettlebell swings. Here is a great two-minute tutorial on this exercise from Karen Smith, Master SFG. If kettlebell (KB) swings are totally foreign to you, I suggest starting with this two-handed swing tutorial. I also suggest starting with light weight. This exercise forces you to do counter-rotational work and is incredible for the core and posterior chain. Put more simply, KB swings hit just about everything besides your pectorals. Add some pushups to your routine (more aggressive for pushups: add a weight vest or Rucksack, or perform ring turn-out (RTO) pushups), and you’ve chec— Tim Ferriss
“Forgiveness is not forgetting. Forgiveness is freedom from hate.” —
Pantam Stand from Aviot Woodcrafts Workshop. Short description: “The Pantam Stand is a revolutionary, lightweight, foldable playing stand designed especially for handpans and tongue drums. It allows playing the instrument while both standing up or sitting down and has a custom, easy-to-use, height-adjusting mechanism.” This gadget will only apply to 0.01% of you, but you can all enjoy the virtuosity of great handpan music, like “Prelude No. 1” here.— Tim Ferriss
Crackers from Hu Kitchen. Hu started as a Paleo-inspired restaurant in NYC and quickly developed a cult following for their unique creations, including award-winning Paleo/vegan dark chocolate. I’ve been eating their new crackers as a post-workout (or post-booze, if I’m being honest) treat. They are Paleo, plant based, gluten free, and have no added oils, sugars, or refined starches. Just as important to me, they taste amazing. A note of warning: it’s easy to polish off an entire box in one sitting, as I just did with the pizza flavor, which is my favorite. I liked Hu’s products so much that I— Tim Ferriss
GORUCK, specifically their ruck plates, sandbags, and “the Rucker.” I can run, but my knees don’t love it. In the past month, I’ve been “rucking” instead—hiking or walking with weight on my back—2–4x per week. I’m astonished by how much I love it. Huffing on trails while listening to a well-narrated audiobook (currently trying Island by Aldous Huxley) has proven hugely therapeutic, and it can turn an unpleasant day around. For the basics of training, check out this link. The gear isn’t cheap, but even if you only have a short circuit, this can change the game. At 165 pounds, I most often do 2.— Tim Ferriss
“A statement signed by 150 people, incl. Bill T. Jones, Wynton Marsalis, Jennifer Finney Boylan, Noam Chomsky, J.K. Rowling, Margaret Atwood, and Salman Rushdie….” I link above to the tweet instead of the Harper’s letter itself, as many of the comments should terrify anyone living in the United States. If you think McCarthyism was bad, just wait until we have dozens of labels that can get someone fired, blacklisted, or worse for attempting to have open discussion. I’ve watched this 5x, 10x, and 20x in volume and intensity since the beginning of COVID. If things don’t course correct, I worry we— Tim Ferriss
Duolingo’s Luis von Ahn on Masters of Scale with Reid Hoffman. Every time I hear Luis (@luisvonahn), I learn something new, and this podcast is no exception. How did the founder of reCAPTCHA go on to co-create the world’s most popular language-learning platform, Duolingo? And how on earth can Duolingo make more revenue than all other language-learning apps COMBINED… when nearly everyone uses it for free? It’s an amazing story.— Tim Ferriss
The Fountain (YouTube, Amazon, Google Play). Thanks to Dr. Amitha Kalaichandran for reminding me to revisit this gem. Here is the description: “Through time and space, one man embarks on a bold 1,000-year odyssey to defeat humankind’s most indomitable foe: Death. Hugh Jackman plays that man, devoted to one woman (Rachel Weisz) and determined to protect her from forces that threaten her existence. His quest leads him to a Tree of Life… and to an adventure into eternity. Darren Aronofsky (Pi, Requiem for a Dream) directs, continuing his string of imaginative, involving filmmaking with a tale ali— Tim Ferriss
The Fragile, Invisible Connections of the Natural World. Thanks to Rob Pickering for recommending this short clip. It’s a great description of an amazing phenomenon known as “trophic cascade.” If you’d like to support wolf reintroduction/conservation—and the only imminent, global option to help restore a major predator on a continental scale—here is one interesting avenue.— Tim Ferriss
“Give more. Give what you didn’t get. Love more. Drop the old story.” — Garry Shandling(Bonus: The Zen Diaries of Garry Shandling documentary)
People and Predators Series, published by The Center for Human-Carnivore Coexistence at Colorado State University. As a preface, I’ll provide a quote that largely explains why wolves in Colorado have caught my attention: “Re-establishing wolves in western Colorado could connect the entire North American wolf population from Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan through Canada and Alaska, down the Rocky Mountains into Mexico. It would be difficult to overestimate the biological and conservation value of this achievement.” — Dr. L. D. Mech, iconic biologist Based on what other ecologists have told m— Tim Ferriss
Hugh Jackman on the podcast! I’ve wanted to get Hugh on the show for nearly a decade, and—even with my sky-high hopes—he absolutely over-delivered. In our conversation, we dig into lessons learned, routines, favorite books, exercises, intuition, meditation, and much, much more. This is one of the longest interviews he has ever done, and it contains quite a few surprises. Trust me—Hugh delivers the goods. You can hear it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, or wherever you get your podcasts.— Tim Ferriss
DASH Express Electric Egg Cooker. I hate few things, but I HATE cleaning pots and pans with eggs stuck to them. I also dislike wasting tons of water when boiling eggs. This device makes perfect eggs (I prefer soft- or medium-boiled) in a handful of minutes with just a few tablespoons of water.— Tim Ferriss
The Man Bigger Than The Meme. Most of you have seen dozens of pictures of Wardy Joubert III… but you never knew his name. This VICE video provides a heartwarming send-off to a meme that provided millions with a few smiles amidst the fear and uncertainty of COVID-19.— Tim Ferriss
“A Chung-nan Mountain Monk” The voice of success and profit May stir the vault of heaven, But not this place. In the rounds of the day, You wear threadbare clothing And eat simple fare. When the mountain snow deepens, Your thoughts Are far from those of people. Occasionally, Immortals pass your door And knock. — Kuan-hsiu (832–912)
“Dance Monkey” (YouTube, Spotify) by Tones And I (@tonesandi). Thanks to my lovely girlfriend for getting this stuck in my head. It’s good for the soul and good for the hips.— Tim Ferriss
Researchers at Johns Hopkins University are seeking individuals ages 18–65 with anorexia nervosa to participate in a research study looking at the effects of psilocybin, a naturally occurring psychoactive substance found in certain species of mushrooms. The study will investigate psychological effects of psilocybin, including whether or not it can help with anorexia. (For a comprehensive overview of therapeutic applications of psilocybin and other psychedelics, I suggest watching this, or you can listen to the audio-only version here). Please visitwww.hopkinspsychedelic.org/anorexia to learn m— Tim Ferriss
Enjoy the Perfect Shower Anywhere in the World… for $2.96. After a long day, the last thing you need is a dribbling, sad excuse for a shower. I’m currently in rural seclusion with old, old pipes and weak, weak water pressure. Washing has felt like being peed upon by a geriatric elephant. This post, originally written in 2007, describes the best simple solution I’ve found. The price is now $6–7, and there is a newer version, but they all fit in your pocket and take minutes to install.— Tim Ferriss
The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien ). This was first recommended to me by Caroline Paul (@carowriter), an incredible writer in her own right, who was also one of the first female firefighters in San Francisco. This is one of her favorite books because, as she said, “A lot of [O’Brien’s] writing, at least initially, was about Vietnam in thinly veiled autobiographical form, but fiction. That book actually got me back to reading. When you go to college, reading gets kicked out of you a little bit. You have to read all of these things, and I didn’t [start reading again] until my friend Eric, a— Tim Ferriss
Bebel Gilberto — Aganju (YouTube, Spotify). From Wikipedia: “Isabel Gilberto de Oliveira (born May 12, 1966), known as Bebel Gilberto (@bebelgilberto), is a Brazilian-American popular singer often associated with bossa nova.”— Tim Ferriss
“Can MDMA help to treat addiction?,” a short interview with Dr. Ben Sessa of Imperial College, London. Here is one of my favorite portions: [INTERVIEWER:] Why then do psychedelics seem to do better in the treatment of addictions than conventional treatments? [DR. SESSA:] Because underlying addiction, and many if not most chronic mental disorders, is rigidity. Stuck rigid mental narratives about self and the world, which arise early in life as a result of early experiences, in other words, the very core building blocks of our personality, which stay with us for life. The majority of mental heal— Tim Ferriss
“This Enlightening Map Shows the Literal Meaning of Every Country’s Name.” I discovered this in my personalized weekly e-mail from Mix. Did you know that Zimbabwe means “Stone Enclosure”? Or that Latvia means “Forest Clearer”? I’m obsessed with language learning (for more on that, see these articles), and this perfectly scratched the itch.— Tim Ferriss
“Hoard food and it rots. Hoard money and you rot. Hoard power and the nation rots.” ― , Adjustment Day
The MAPS Capstone Challenge. Along with others, I’ve helped organize a $10 million challenge pledge for MAPS, the Multidisciplinary Association of Psychedelic Studies. I’m contributing $1 million. Why would I put so much time, energy, and capital into this? Tens of millions of people worldwide suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Millions more have suffered from emotional and physical abuse but never get diagnosed. I would put myself in the latter category. On top of that, PTSD is notoriously difficult to treat and cure. Conventional treatments fail all the time. Never before has— Tim Ferriss
Francisco Goya (March 30, 1746–April 16, 1828) was a Spanish romantic painter and printmaker. He is considered the most important Spanish artist of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries and throughout his long career was a commentator and chronicler of his era. Immensely successful in his lifetime, Goya is often referred to as both the last of the Old Masters and the first of the moderns. He was also one of the great contemporary portraitists.— Tim Ferriss
Little, Big by John Crowley. Little, Big is simply one of the best novels I’ve ever read, and even that doesn’t do it justice. It is, as one reviewer put it, “mysteriously affecting.” Read a few of the Amazon reviews here to get a glimpse of what I mean. On top of that, I feel like it put me in an altered state of consciousness that often lasted for 6–12 hours, best described as a deep feeling of serenity. And yet, I’ve hesitated for weeks to put it into “5-Bullet Friday”! Why? Because I think it’ll only grab 10–20% of you. In fact, my brother gave me the paperback version in 2018, and I tried— Tim Ferriss
“Eco” (YouTube, Spotify) by Axel Thesleff (@axelthesleff). For those who like instrumentals and behind-the-scenes video, here’s a cool clip of the beginning of this track.— Tim Ferriss
Hakuho Shō “The Best Sumo of All Time” HD Yokozuna Highlights and Chiyonofuji Mitsugu (千代の富士 貢) 53-match win streak. I lived in Japan as an exchange student between 1992 and 1993. It was in Tokyo that I became obsessed with the ancient art and sport of sumo wrestling. Can you spot Waldo here? These two highlight videos show very different styles at the highest levels. Chiyonofuji, nicknamed “The Wolf,” was light for a competitor and suffered dual shoulder dislocations early in his career. He rebuilt himself with astonishing muscularity and changed his strategies and techniques to become the “e— Tim Ferriss
“James Baldwin, The Art of Fiction No. 78” from the Paris Review, Issue 91, 1984. James Baldwin (1924–1987) was an incredible storyteller and weaver of culture into words. He was also a tortured soul, and I’ve been fascinated by him since college. I recommend reading his Wikipedia page before the Paris Review interview for more context, including the fact that he was discriminated against within the civil rights movement for being gay. One aspect of James that drew me to him is that he doesn’t oversimplify in his writing; another is that he strove to uncover messiness both within and without. — Tim Ferriss
The Tools of Titans short-form podcast! This is my first new podcast in years. The episodes will be hyper-actionable and short: 10–30 minutes each. If you like “5-Bullet Friday,” you will like this podcast, and it also gives a taste of the Tools of Titans audiobook. You can listen and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Stitcher, Pocket Casts, Anchor, or wherever you get your podcasts. Here is a good ol’ RSS feed in case you need it. It’s very helpful to me if you subscribe, so thank you for doing so here, if you can. Lots of fun stuff coming…— Tim Ferriss
The audiobook versions of Tools of Titans and Tribe of Mentors! Thousands of you have asked for these, and I’ve worked with Audible over the last year to produce them. Finally! I’m thrilled with how they turned out, and you can download them and learn more by clicking on this link. For those unfamiliar with these books, both were #1 New York Times bestsellers, and the subtitles sum them up well: Tools of Titans: The Tactics, Routines, and Habits of Billionaires, Icons, and World-Class PerformersTribe of Mentors: Short Life Advice from the Best in the WorldEverything in these books has been vet— Tim Ferriss
Splendor. This was recommended to me by my brother, and he put it in the “easy” category. It’s simple to learn, and a game can be finished in 30–45 minutes. If you’re looking for something more involved, check out Terraforming Mars.— Tim Ferriss
100 free signed copies of Ryan Holiday’s The Obstacle is the Way! I loved The Obstacle is the Way so much that I actually produced the audiobook version. This book has helped me turn problems upside down, manage fear, and even uncover unique opportunities. It’s a collection of stories and principles about Stoicism, which I consider one of the best “operating systems” for thriving in high-stress environments. The book is worth reading multiple times, and it’s become popular at the highest ranks of the NFL, military, and beyond. Huge thanks to Ryan (@RyanHoliday) for signing 100 copies so that I— Tim Ferriss
“How MDMA is being used to treat PTSD” from The Economist. This seven-minute video is beautifully done, and I highly recommend a quick watch. Here’s a portion of the description, edited for length: “The FDA has labeled MDMA a breakthrough treatment…. In a recent study, more than 60% of patients no longer met the clinical criteria for PTSD after MDMA treatment. For Jonathan, a suicidal veteran, conventional treatments hadn’t worked. He saw this trial as his last hope, and for him, the treatment was a revelation.”— Tim Ferriss
Mary Karr, The Art of Memoir No. 1 in the Paris Review. This is a simply stunning interview of Mary Karr (@marykarrlit) from 2009. I’ve read it multiple times, highlighted nearly every page, and saved my scans to Evernote. That’s how much goodness I think it contains. It’s also laugh-out-loud funny.— Tim Ferriss
“Without great solitude, no serious work is possible.” —
Scannable. During quarantine and social distancing, my kitchen table has become my office. Last week, it was covered in notes, to-do lists, bills, and various scraps of paper. Clutter causes me undue stress, and, for me, a clear desk is often a clear mind, so I used Scannable to scan it all. It was a glorious little win. Kevin Rose (@KevinRose) first recommended Scannable to me. It quickly scans documents while cleaning up the pic, removing shadows, etc., and generally making it easier to read. Once scanned, you can email a PDF to yourself or save the scan to Evernote.— Tim Ferriss
After experiencing a super-frustrating low-volume issue on my new MacBook, reader HP (@harr15on_) and others kindly suggested this NVRAM/PRAM reset fix, which did the trick. Many thanks!— Tim Ferriss
Survey of entity encounter experiences occasioned by inhaled N,N-dimethyltryptamine: Phenomenology, interpretation, and enduring effects. Here’s one notable line: “More than half of those who identified as atheist before the experience no longer identified as atheist afterwards.”— Tim Ferriss
“Be a good animal, true to your instincts.” —
David Choe. This is endlessly entertaining and nearly always NSFW. If you find it causes you to blush and utter, “Oh, my...,” just recite good ol’ Mae West: “Those who are easily shocked should be shocked more often.”— Tim Ferriss
Johns Hopkins is seeking roughly 20 patients for the first-ever Alzheimer’s study using psilocybin as an intervention. Both sides of my family have suffered from Alzheimer’s disease (AD), and this study is one of the reasons I committed more than $2MM to the Johns Hopkins Center for Psychedelic and Consciousness Research. Dr. Albert Garcia-Romeu and team will be investigating psilocybin’s effects on AD-related depression, as well as memory and cognitive function. I’m bullish. For the study, people in the mid-Atlantic area near Baltimore/DC are ideal, but people willing to travel will also be c— Tim Ferriss
Coach Christopher Sommer has given me many tools, and here are a few exercises that give a lot of bang for the buck. Pics are from Tools of Titans: The Tactics, Routines, and Habits of Billionaires, Icons, and World-Class Performers. Try the “pike pulses” for a good laugh.— Tim Ferriss
“68 Bits of Unsolicited Advice” by Kevin Kelly (@kevin2kelly). Kevin is arguably the real-life most interesting man in the world, so I jumped on this piece as soon as it came out.— Tim Ferriss
Betty Eisner. This woman is amazing, and this isn’t my first time reading up on her. I’m revisiting because of my re-engagement with a few scientific projects. To give an example of how these connect, Betty appears to be one of the originators of using “dyads” (simultaneous male and female therapists) during hallucinogen administration, a format that is currently being used to great effect in the treatment of PTSD using MDMA-assisted psychotherapy. Here’s more on her wide-ranging CV, adapted from Wikipedia: Betty was an American psychologist known for pioneering the use of LSD and other psyche— Tim Ferriss