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.
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
How Strange (Nicola Cruz Remix) by Feathered Sun (@featheredsun.de). Mental model I’m using again to set new policies and rules for 2020 — Via negativa: improving by removing. “Via negativa can also be used to describe a similarly ‘negative’ way of improving one’s life; instead of concentrating on what you do, the focus turns to what you don’t do. This path has two main thrusts: stripping bad habits and situations out of your life, and avoiding bad habits/situations in the first place.” (Source and worthwhile short read: Adding to Your Life by Subtracting [Art of Manliness].) Also related: “Fi— Tim Ferriss
“You have comfort. You don’t have luxury. And don’t tell me that money plays a part. The luxury I advocate has nothing to do with money. It cannot be bought. It is the reward of those who have no fear of discomfort.” — , French poet, novelist, boxing manager, and filmmaker, whose collaborations were the inspiration for the term “surrealism” (This quote was found again after rereading this blog post.)
The (virtual) Universe in Verse 2020, hosted by Maria Popova (@brainpicker). You can find more information about the event here, and the start time is 4:30 PM ET/1:30 PM PT. I will make a little cameo.— Tim Ferriss
What Representing Men in Divorce Taught Me about Fatherhood (TEDxUniversityofNevada) by attorney Marilyn York (@themarilynyork), who owns a men’s rights, family law firm in Nevada, established in 2001. This opened my eyes quite a bit. If you find it heavy, this video and the next bullet correct for that...— Tim Ferriss
“Either peace or happiness, let it enfold you. When I was a young man, I felt these things were dumb, unsophisticated. I had bad blood, a twisted mind, a precarious upbringing. I was hard as granite, I leered at the sun. I trusted no man and especially no woman…. I challenged everything, was continually being evicted, jailed, in and out of fights, in and out of my mind…. Peace and happiness to me were signs of inferiority, tenants of the weak and addled mind. But as I went on ... it gradually began to occur to me that I wasn’t different from the others, I was the same... Everybody was nudging,
Billionaire Chamath Palihapitiya on How to Invest in This Crisis. This was sent to me by one of the better investors I know, someone who has been exceptionally successful in startups, public equities, and cryptocurrencies. Here is the description: “This is an episode of The Pomp Podcast with host Anthony Pompliano (@APompliano) and guest Chamath Palihapitiya (@chamath), the CEO of Social Capital, the Chairman of Virgin Galactic, and the owner of the Golden State Warriors. In this conversation, Chamath and Anthony discuss … where Chamath currently has capital invested, how he thinks we can solv— Tim Ferriss
There’s a Horse in the Hospital by John Mulaney (@johnmulaney).— Tim Ferriss
Howard Marks’ latest memo. Howard Marks (@HowardMarksBook) is co-chairman and co-founder of Oaktree Capital Management, a leading investment firm with more than $120 billion in assets. Warren Buffett has written of Howard Marks: “When I see memos from Howard Marks in my mail, they’re the first thing I open and read. I always learn something.” This is his latest, and I think it poses some of the smartest questions I’ve seen related to these wild times. Here’s one standout line, variously attributed: “Capitalism without bankruptcy is like Catholicism without hell.” For those who’d like to learn — Tim Ferriss
Steak-umm’s Twitter Account Is a Brilliant, Bizarre Voice of Reason in Our Coronavirus Era. Thanks to Kelly Starrett for sending this over. Caution: Steak-umm may pull you into a vortex.— Tim Ferriss
“After tragedies, one has to invent a new world, knit it or embroider, make it up. It’s not gonna be given to you because you deserve it; it doesn’t work that way. You have to imagine something that doesn’t exist and dig a cave into the future and demand space. It’s a territorial hope affair. At the time, that digging is utopian, but in the future, it will become your reality.” —
138 signed copies of Michael Pollan’s How to Change Your Mind!!! This is one of my favorite books of the past five years, and I give copies to all of my friends when they visit. I have shelves full of copies. AND NOW... Michael Pollan (@michaelpollan) has been kind enough to sign 138 of them—what I had on hand at my house—so that I can mail them out as surprise gifts! Thank you, Michael! To throw your hat in the ring, please fill out this form by 11:59 PM PT on Tuesday, and my team will select 138 folks at random as lucky winners. If you don’t win, I still strongly encourage you to listen to m— Tim Ferriss
Fast Grants. This launched just days ago, and it appears to offer the fastest science grants in modern history. From the website: “If you are a scientist at an academic institution currently working on a COVID-19 related project and in need of funding, we invite you to apply for a Fast Grant. Fast Grants are $10k to $500k, and decisions are made in under 48 hours.” Please forward this to any scientists who might be interested. The grants are currently supported by John Collison (@collision), Patrick Collison (@patrickc), Paul Graham (@paulg), Reid Hoffman (@reidhoffman), Fiona McKean (@FionaMc— Tim Ferriss
Stephen Wolfram on Guy Kawasaki’s Remarkable People podcast. I have met Stephen only once, but his breadth of knowledge blew my mind. I’ve been waiting for a podcast episode like this ever since. Here’s the official description from Guy Kawasaki (@GuyKawasaki): “Have you ever wondered what it’s like to get a PhD in Physics at 20 and win a MacArthur [‘Genius Grant’] Award at 21? You’ll get to find out with this episode’s interview of Remarkable People with Stephen Wolfram. Saying he is a ‘physicist’ is like saying LeBron James is a ‘basketball player.’ If you’re a math geek, you’ve probably use— Tim Ferriss
Chancha Via Circuito - Jardines ft. Lido Pimienta (@chanchaviacircuito).— Tim Ferriss
10 Million Free Rides and Deliveries to Move What Matters. Uber is pledging 10 million free rides and food deliveries for frontline healthcare workers, seniors, and people in need around the world. What have they done so far? From one of my sources at Uber: “As of today, we have funded and distributed over 250,000 meals to medical personnel and first responders in the US and Canada, with many more to come given the updated commitment of 10m meals and rides globally.”— Tim Ferriss
Duck Shit Fragrance Oolong Tea. This excellent tea was recommended to me by Jason Nemer (@jasonnemer), the co-creator of AcroYoga (interview here). Here’s the description from the now-closed QuantiTea website, where I originally procured the tea: “Duck Shit Fragrance (Ya Shi Xiang) tea received its distinctive name from the original farmer whose intention was to hide the success of the tea from fellow farmers. Tea plants can be cloned by taking clippings and nurtured to mature tea trees. Duck Shit Fragrance is a style of wulong (also written ‘oolong’) from the yashixiang cultivar (dancong 单枞) — Tim Ferriss
Sam Harris’s Mushroom Trip. This is quite possibly the best description I’ve ever heard of a psychedelic experience involving high-dose psilocybin. It was previously behind a paywall, and now it’s on YouTube for everyone. Once you get past the caveats, Sam’s wordsmithing—and the imagery it conjures—is beautiful. And if that whets your appetite, I suggest pairing it with “Psychedelic Science: A Conversation with Roland Griffiths” on the Making Sense podcast. More resources: Michael Pollan — Exploring The New Science of Psychedelics.— Tim Ferriss
“He who jumps into the void owes no explanation to those who stand and watch.” —
Imagine that you or your family go into self-quarantine for the next 1–3 months. What might you do to make it as enjoyable or as productive a time as possible? Here’s some current inspiration, and here’s one iconic example: Isaac Newton had the most productive period of his life when he self-quarantined during the plague. Please submit your ideas at this link before 11:59 p.m. PT, Sunday, and I’ll mail signed copies of Tools of Titans and Tribe of Mentors to a few dozen of you, as selected by my team of magic elves. I’ll then publish my favorite responses on the blog and/or podcast to benefit — Tim Ferriss
Coronavirus: Why You Must Act Now by Tomas Pueyo (@tomaspueyo). This is probably the best write-up I’ve found thus far on what needs to be done and why. It also includes case studies and suggestions. Many thanks to Chris G. for sending it my way. Here is one snippet: This chart shows, for the 1918 flu in the US, how many more deaths there were per city depending on how fast measures were taken. For example, a city like St. Louis took measures 6 days before Pittsburg, and had less than half the deaths per citizen. On average, taking measures 20 days earlier halved the death rate. Italy has fina— Tim Ferriss
How Public Health Policies Saved Citizens in St. Louis During the— Tim Ferriss
A small, curated Twitter list called “COVID-19,” which currently consists of just seven people I follow on this topic who tend to report and curate well. Nearly all of them are MDs with infectious disease expertise or investors and computer scientists who can think well in terms of exponential growth, compounding, etc. Most folks—even very smart folks—are simply not good at these things, which are critical to properly assessing such a virus. Warning: there are a few extremes in the list, but I’ve found most of their thinking to be helpful. It won’t take you long to pick them out.— Tim Ferriss
The once-daily scientific and global recap of COVID-19/SARS-CoV-2 by Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. This is a short newsletter of concise bullet points, and it’s the only COVID-19 newsletter that I’m subscribed to. It’s not the end-all and be-all, but it’s more reliable than 99.9% of the noise being circulated. This helps keep you out of primary social feeds, which will overwhelm and confuse. That said...— Tim Ferriss
“A thousand half-loves must be forsaken to take one whole heart home.” — : The Big Red Book[Special thanks to reader Joanna for her blog comment introducing me to this quote.]
Marc Lipsitch (@mlipsitch), Professor of Epidemiology and Director of the Center for Communicable Disease Dynamics at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. He is an author of more than 250 peer-reviewed publications on antimicrobial resistance, epidemiologic methods, mathematical modeling of infectious disease transmission, pathogen population genomics, and immunoepidemiology of Streptococcus pneumoniae.— Tim Ferriss
Johannes Stötter (@johannesstoetterart). I originally came across this video, which I later learned was posted by @bodypainting_festival (great account to follow). It completely blew my mind. Subsequently, I was pointed to this video of the behind the scenes footage of the creation process. Sincere thanks to @joshbatalibasi, @stephrsparks, @robyn.isabel, @shivamansur, and others who identified the artist: Johannes Stötter. Also, kudos to Brett Backus (@backusbuilt) for sending me this equally brain-bending video of turning humans into frogs and chameleons. Don’t miss that either.— Tim Ferriss
How Sia Saved Herself by Hillel Aron (@hillelaron). After my short tweetstorm on the dangers of public exposure, reader Bryan Elliott (@BryanElliott) recommended this to me. What does fame look like without a face? Is it possible to be a pop star while breaking many of the supposed “rules”? Read this and find out. Excellent piece.— Tim Ferriss