Tribe Of Mentors: Short Life Advice from the Best in the World by Timothy Ferriss

Tribe Of Mentors: Short Life Advice from the Best in the World Reviews

• 
  Greg Swierad

  Tim Ferriss did an excellent job asking the interviewees good questions. The one that I liked the most is what changed their life most in the last five years. Taking only answers to this one question, I discovered plenty of new ideas for how to improve my life.
  
  My three favorites are:
  * Engage in your “fear practice” for two minutes each day.
  * Take the Enneagram test to better understand who you are.
  * Start to believe that we are all mini gods.
  
  I found a total of 21 great habit ideas that improved life the most for the famous people that Ferriss interviewed. Here is the full list:
  https://www.mentorist.app/books/tribe...
• 
  Paige Gordon

  This book was a weird experience for me. Although I think the idea behind it is brilliant and it was very well executed and put together, my main feeling after reading it is honestly a little bit of sadness. And my main takeaway from it was surprisingly - I should read my Bible more. That seems like an unusual takeaway from a book that featured (as far as I could tell) exactly zero advice from any strong Christian person. However what struck me most from reading all of the advice in this book was one simple thought: "Wow, I know X verses in the Bible that would tell you exactly that same thing." The more I read and learn, the more I find the truth of the scripture that says "every word of God proves itself true." The fact of the matter is that whether you are a Christian or not, when you "discover" a life principle that serves you and others well over the course of your life, all you've really discovered is a principle about how God created the world to work. And as far as big picture principles go, I have found that He has revealed all of them to us in His Word. So interestingly enough, a book from all non-Christian people, helped reinforce my person Christian faith.
  The reason for the feeling of sadness after reading the book was also connected to an issue of faith. For so many of the wise and successful people in this book, their attitude is very much (personally at least) against any kind of religion but especially against Christianity and traditional Judaeo/Christian values. What is so surprising is that ALL of them have stumbled upon some main principle which they use to guide their life, and without fail, that principle is clearly spelled out in scripture. It seems like such a waste to me for them to spend so much time dissing and being against Christianity, only to end up finding that the only things which bring long-term success in this world, are the very things that God has clearly lined out in scripture. To me it seems like so much wasted effort to continue to deny and be against something that has already clearly defined everything you're 'discovering' about the world.
  Overall though, this was a super interesting read and in my opinion well worth the time it takes to get through. I highly value different opinions and perspectives, regardless of if they change my personal views or only serve to reinforce them, and this book is probably the single widest compilation of thoughts on some EXCELLENT questions about how to live a successful life. In the end, my final thought is simply: Well done Mr Ferris, I look forward to the next project!
• 
  Liong

  I enjoyed reading his other books The 4-Hour Workweek, and Tools of Titans: The Tactics, Routines, and Habits of Billionaires, Icons, and World-Class Performers.
  
  I do like to read this book with a lot of interviews with famous people around the world.
  
  We can gain some knowledge, skills, and experience from their questions and answers.
  
  We can pick out some useful and practical methods to solve problems or self-improvement. Some methods may not be useful or relevant to us.
  
  They also recommended their favorite books that influenced their life.
  
  A combination of pearls of wisdom in this book.
• 
  Heidi The Reader

  Timothy Ferriss asks carefully framed questions of some of the most successful people in the world an in effort to ferret out how they came to the place that they are now.
  
  I found Tribe of Mentors fascinating in its breadth and diversity. It highlighted in my mind that there is not one path to success or fulfillment. We're all out here stumbling around, seeking different things. In some ways, I think it's extraordinary that anyone can succeed in the chaos that is life.
  
  So, how do you know what to focus on or pursue? This self help book is full of suggestions, but only you will know what's right for you.
  
  Ferriss formulated this book after an anxious morning of writing questions to the various life problems that were churning through his mind. He had turned 40, and some of his good friends had died. What was he going to do next?
  
  What would this look like if it were easy? "This" could be anything. That morning, it was answering a laundry list of big questions. pg 12, ebook
  
  Some patterns emerged from these experts. I noticed a lot of them meditate. All of them find ways to recharge when they're stressed. They're resilient and creative solution-finders in their various fields.
  
  They also have exercise routines they enjoy and care for their bodies at least as well as their minds.
  
  I was excited because many of the people Ferriss corresponded with are avid readers. He collected the books they suggested in a blog post on his website. You can view it here:
  https://tim.blog/2017/11/18/booklist/
  
  Nothing like adding a couple hundred more books to your To-Be-Read pile, amiright, fellow readers?
  
  Recommended for those who are seeking to create a life of their dreams or meet a goal or are just curious to some of the habits and preferences of successful people. It doesn't get much better or easier than this.
• 
  Pam Boling

  I couldn't even finish this book. When I read a title "Tribe of Mentors" with rave reviews this book has, I expect a lot more than this book offers. The questions are presented to the "mentors" in such a way that the advice they offer is very superficial. Everyone who had something to contribute to this collection has vast and varied life experiences. They have incredible talent, expertise, and advice they could have shared. Instead, they are inhibited by the constraints of Mr. Ferriss's questions, so the audience hears only a sliver of what a true mentor might offer. I quickly lost interest, yet I kept trying, hoping the book would redeem itself at some point. Alas, it did not.
  
  This book might work well for the very young, perhaps someone just out of high school. I don't personally recommend it for the more experienced.
• 
  Bartosz Majewski

  The last book i've finished this year was Tribe of Mentors. The first one - Tools of titans. In the meantime Tim become Timothy and i've read 58 other books. Theese two were definitly among the best this year. Tim is asking 140 people that are the best in their fields (billionaires, athletes, writers, poker players, bitcoin and blockchain experts and everyone in between) 11 the same questions. Read questions on his blog. Understand how powerfull the answers might be. Buy the book. Read the motherfucker. Make notes. Apply them.
  
  As always with Tim - great book.
• 
  Stealth Journals

  One of my biggest takeaways from this book was finding out how many successful people include these three things within their daily schedules: meditation, journaling or keeping lists, and walking.
  
  Part of the inspiration that Tim shares of the why/how this book came to be born was from one of his own morning journaling sessions where he wrote: “What would this look like if it were easy?”
  
  Blurbs I Collected in my Reading Journal Specifically About Journaling/Keeping Lists:
  
  • Richa Chadha - journals for clarity. Has kept a journal since she was ten.
  • Turia Pitt - keeps a gratitude journal. P. 169: “I don’t weigh in too much on the science behind it, I just know if I do it I feel better. I’m not a believer in quick fixes, but I know it’s a very effective method to instantly change how you’re feeling.”
  • Ed Coan - the list maker. P. 318: “When I travel and I’m on long plane rides, I’ll go through my last two weeks: what I did, what I thought of it, how I can improve it, and what I’m going to do so I don’t make mistakes. Stan Efferding actually taught me how to do that by writing lists.”
  • Ray Dalio - said that his best under $100 investment was to buy a notepad to jot down ideas as they come to him.
  • Sarah Elizabeth Lewis - said that she is a “sucker” for a good plain, no-lined notebook.
  • Nick Szabo - said that he still gets a great kick and utility out of having a handy piece of paper on which to doodle and jot his latest brain flashes.
  • Mathew Fraser - makes list whenever he’s overwhelmed, and says he’s rarely more than an arm’s reach from a notepad.
  • Whitney Cummings - writes herself a gratitude list every morning regardless of how busy she is.
  • Ben Silbermann - keeps a gratitude journal. P. 499: “If you have a habit of writing things down that you’re grateful for, then some part of your brain is constantly looking for those things, and you feel happier. It’s absurd in its simplicity.”
  • Jim Loehr - P. 529: “The practice of daily journaling has been a remarkable tool in helping me navigate the storms of life and be my best self through it all.” Anything that is quantified and tracked on a regular basis would inevitably show improvement.
  • Robert Rodriguez - keeps himself on task by using two notepads at work. One is for his major “task” that he is trying to do, and the other is for “distractions” that pop into his mind when he is trying to accomplish his main task.
  
• 
  Melcat

  Tim Ferris asked 140+ people a bunch of questions (11 to be exact) and you get a variety of fascinating answers.
  
  I like the diversity of the profiles, you get some really remarkable people taking part of this book from business men to athletes, actors, doctors, writers, scientists… it is really thought-provoking to see all these point of view mixed in these 2-3 pages interviews.
  
  What comes back often : meditation, walking, being grateful, reading and taking risks. Obviously it is not supposed to be a one-sitting read as everything gets a bit repetitive after a while, but it was intriguing nonetheless and I got some really nice insights into several lives and minds.
  
  Along with
  Tools of Titans: The Tactics, Routines, and Habits of Billionaires, Icons, and World-Class Performers that I read quite a while back (I can’t even tell you what was the difference with this one, but I remember liking it a lot as well) this is a book that I want to keep and re-read in the future. I also took some pictures of a few pages when I found some particularly interesting insights so that I could come back to it later.
  
  Overall intriguing, an entertaining read. Tim Ferris is an author I like to follow since his great
  The 4-Hour Workweek.
• 
  JJ Khodadadi

  نویسنده در این کتاب با مطرح کردن چندین سوال از منتورهای موفق در حوزه های مختلف سعی کرده که رمز موفقیت آنها را شناسایی کند. جالب اینجا بود که جواب های این منتورها متفاوت و حتی گاهی در تضاد با یکدیگر بود که نشان دهنده این است که راه موفقیت تنها یک راه مشخص نیست.
  سوالاتی که در این کتاب مطرح شده است:
  
  چه کتابی (یا کتاب‌هایی) را بیشتر به دیگران هدیه داده‌اید؟ و چرا؟ یا اینکه بگویید چه کتابی عمیقاً روی زندگی شما تأثیرگذار بوده است؟ (تا سه کتاب می‌توانید نام ببرید)
  
  در شش ماه گذشته (یا آخرین موردی که یادتان است) با مبلغی مختصر (اما نه خیلی پایین) چه چیزی خریده‌اید که دوستش داشته‌اید و تأثیر مثبتی در زندگی شما داشته است؟‌ خوانندگان من دوست دارند با ذکر جزئیات به این سوال پاسخ دهید. مثلاً نام برند، مدل، اینکه از کجا خریدید و مواردی مثل این را بیان کنید.
  
  آیا پیش آمده که یک شکست، یا شکستِ ظاهری، راه را برای موفقیت‌های بعدی شما هموار کرده باشد؟ آيا در ذهنتان خاطره شکستی دارید که بعداً تبدیل به «شکستِ مورد علاقه» شما شده؟
  
  اگر این امکان وجود داشت که شما یک بیلبورد بسیار بزرگ داشته باشید و آن را در هر نقطه‌ای از دنیا که دوست داشتید قرار دهید و نوشته دلخواهی روی آن بنویسید، روی این بیلبورد چه چیزی می‌نوشتید؟ و چرا؟ (البته این سوال جنبه استعاری دارد، منظور این است که اگر ممکن بود پیامی را به میلیون‌ها نفر روی زمین منتقل کنید، چه می‌گفتید؟) پیام روی بیلبورد شما می‌تواند در حد یک عبارت چند کلمه‌ای یا نهایتاً یک پاراگراف باشد. (بگذارید کمی راهنمایی کنم: ممکن است شما یک نقل قول از شخصی دیگر را بنویسید؛ آیا نقل قولی هست که مدام به آن فکر کنید و ملکه ذهنتان باشد یا با الهام از آن زندگی کنید؟)
  
  بهترین یا باارزش‌ترین سرمایه‌گذاری که تاکنون انجام داده‌اید چه بوده است؟ (این سرمایه‌گذاری می‌تواند مالی، زمانی، انرژی و … باشد)
  
  آیا عادت عجیب و مسخره‌ای دارید؟ کاری که شاید بی‌معنی باشد اما شما انجام دادنش را دوست دارید.
  
  در پنج سال اخیر کدام عادت، رفتار یا باور جدید بیشتر از بقیه باعث پیشرفت شما در زندگی شده است؟
  
  اگر قرار باشد به یک دانشجوی درس‌خوان و باانگیزه که بعد از فارغ‌التحصیلی‌اش قصد وارد شدن به «دنیای واقعی» را دارد نصیحتی بکنید، به او چه می‌گویید؟ آن‌ها به کدام نصیحت‌ها باید بی‌توجه باشند؟
  
  در حوزه تخصصی خودتان یا در شغلی که دارید چه اظهارنظرها و توصیه‌های بد و نامربوطی شنیده‌اید؟
  
  در پنج سال اخیر مهارت شما در نه گفتن به کدام مورد افزایش یافته؟ (مثلاً نه گفتن به دعوت‌ها، مزاحمت‌ها، حواس‌پرتی‌ها و …) کدام بینش یا رویکرد جدید در این زمینه به شما کمک کرد؟ یا در این خصوص هر نکته‌ دیگری به ذهنتان می‌رسد بیان کنید.
  
  وقتی احساس خستگی و حواس‌پرتی می‌کنید یا تمرکزتان را به طور موقتی از دست داده‌اید چه کار می‌کنید؟ (مثلاً: چه سوالاتی از خودتان می‌پرسید؟ یا به چه چیزی فکر می‌کنید؟)
• 
  Aman Mittal

  I get excited when I hear Tim Ferriss is going to release a new book. The guy knows what to write, or at least how to present information in terms of mere words. Last year, I spent 18 days on his Tools of Titans which came out in the month of December. I haven't spent more than 15 days on Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace and War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy. Tim's books tend to cover a vast amount of information that is not easy for a human brain to process. After putting my nose in his other books such as The 4 Hour Work Week and The 4 Hour Body earlier this year, I had a plan.
  
  Instead of spending a large amount of time and I spend only a significant amount of time to read his latest book which contains more than 100+ interviews of people around the world. I made my notes, did some highlights and will be referring back to it on need per basis. After all, I learnt this trick from Tim himself. In one of his many podcast episodes, The Tim Ferriss Show, he described, advice (or information/context) when comes to reading books will stick if it has to stick. In other words, when reading a book as heavy in material as Tim Ferriss' last two (including the latest one), brain will be able to process most of the information but the only those thing will stay with you, or stick with your consciousness or occur at the moment when your subconscious is working for answers in an abstract moment. This is a great advice in the age of information overload.
  
  All these mentors that Tim tracked down for this book were asked almost similar amount of questions with full willingness to answer or not to take in considertion the question they don't want to answer. Some of these answers might help you in navigating your life further. Through short, action-packed profiles, Tim made these "mentors" share their secrets for success, happiness, meaning, and more. Book covers from questions across a variety of sectors, from tech entrepreneurs to actors, authors and sports stars. People like legendary investor Ray Dalio, Facebook co-founder Dustin Moskovitz, Jimmy Fallon, Debbie Millman, Ethereum's founder, Steven Pressfield, Yuval Noah Harari, Drew Houston, Neil Gaiman, Ashton Kutcher, Dita Von Teese, Marc Benioff, Evan Williams, Brandon Stanton, Esther Perel, Darren Aronofsky, Steve Aoki, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Maria Sharapova and other elite athletes like Kelly Slater, Tony Hawk... this list is long. You can may similarities or differences by reading the answers to this amount of people gave to fairly similar or exact questions they were asked by the author of the book. I am going to summarize few questions that I think were excellent to ask and a reader will certainly gain:
  
  • Three or more Book recommendations
  • An item purchased for $100 or less that has an impact in your life
  • Favourite failure of yours or which failure had an impact for your later success
  • A message you want to spread out
  • Best or most worthwhile investment made in terms of money, time, energy etc.
  • An unusual habit
  • In last five years, a new belief, behaviour, or a habit developed or adapted
  
  
  These are some of the questions that have a major impact on most interviews I found. Some of these answers will surprise you, as they did me. What more useful I find in this book is the art of questioning. In my recent years of working I have came to realise that only by asking better questions one will get better answers. Another one is that the most important thing is to ask. I do appreciate Tim's effort on gathering and making contact with these individuals. (I know, some of them might be hard to contact. Not everyone knows Tim Ferriss, I think.)
  
  This book contains a good amount of wisdom. What did not work for me is that a few interviewees weren't necessary. I am not going to name them here. It is just a personal opinion, nothing to do with book and the effort made in making it. May be the pattern of Tools of Titans can be clearly seen here.
  
  Nonetheless, I do recommend this book. It will be great addition for your winter reading list, also, holiday season is coming up. Lot's of coffee (or tea, whatever hot beverage you prefer) and a copy of this book will make up for the season.
  
  4 out of 5!
• 
  Erik Rostad

  Tim Ferriss asks a set of the same 11 questions to some of the top performers in the world, and this book is a collection of answers from 131 of these people. As in Tools of Titans, my favorite part of the book was reading the book recommendations from these people. Since my 2018 reading list is set, I now have a good number of books to add to my 2019 list.
  
  It's fun reading books like this because you start to see patterns. One pattern from a number of "mentors" was the advice to focus on now. Plans are great, but we become who we are 5 minutes at a time. Nothing earth shattering here, but I always assume things we be a certain way in the future while not paying particular attention to the present.
  
  My favorite section of the book was Yuval Noah Harari's section where he said in the past, you could go to school and then work based upon that knowledge for the next 40 years. That is no longer the case. We must continually be learning and willing to change course. Lifelong learning will not be what some people do in the future. It will be required of everyone just to keep up.
  
  I like these kinds of books and this one did not disappoint.
• 
  Jay French

  This is a long book. Ferriss decides that the way to efficiently ask a large number of people for advice -- ones that he respects and would consider worthy of being called a mentor -- is to come up with a short set of common questions and ask them through email and hope for responses. He gets a number of responses answering some of the questions, which he shares in this volume, and a few gracious declines that he also shares.
  
  You learn a few things here. One is that Ferriss’ idea of a good mentor isn’t just a business superstar. Here, there are authors, scientists, and an outsized group of fitness experts and specialty athletes. You sense that Ferriss built this list working on his “The Four Hour Body”. You also learn that on certain topics people think alike. There are plenty of mentions of Viktor Frankl’s “Man’s Search for Meaning” as the book recommended to learn from. And many people relate similar experiences as failures they have learned from – it got a bit repetitive. I was also surprised at the length of most of the answers – there was a lot of effort put into responding by the “tribe”. Most of the answers were very personal, which helped to tell the story. My favorite bit, most related to my work, was Temple Grandin’s explanation of a failure that set her up for success. Her anecdote involved fixing a hog moving problem with technology, only to find it was a management problem. So many people want the “shiny new thing”, but really need to fix the way they do business. (And I’ll remember her vivid description of hogs sitting on a conveyor belt and flipping over backwards when it runs.)
  
  I took my time reading through this, and it took a few weeks. This is one of those books that you get more out of when consumed a bit at a time, with the side effect that it doesn’t feel as repetitive. In my mind the best answers had to do with suggested reading material. The author compiles this “reading list” on his website for reference. The length really was detrimental to my enjoyment, though, as was the mix of mentors. These were not who I would have asked – these were more “mentors who were willing to reply” to Ferriss. I liked the concept.
• 
  Monica Kim | Musings of Monica

  I’ve reading “Tribe of Mentors: Short Life Advice from the Best in the World” by Tim Ferriss little by little since the beginning of the year. This is another beast of a book by Ferriss. Overall, a really good book. You can’t go wrong with learning from the best of the best. Although, structure is bit different than the predecessor, “Tools of Titan,” which I read last year, this book is similar in that Ferriss have complied wealth of knowledge and wisdom, but I found it to be too redundant. There are over 130+ people featured in this book, and not as organized as its predecessor, it’s almost too much information and many of the contents sounding too generic or familiar.
  .
  I have bee in following Ferris for a long time, fan of his books & podcast, which he interviews people who are on top of their games across wide range of industries. I have learned so much from him & from those he had interviewed, so purchasing his book was a small way for me to give back & thank him.
  .
  I was quite surprised that he released a new book so soon after his massive “tools of titans” book. Initially I thought it was an updated version or something because it was so similar outside. In this book, just as it’s predecessor, Ferris have complied wealth of knowledge and wisdom, but it’s more like an advice & answer book of some of life’s toughest questions, whereas in the predecessor, it was more like people sharing how they’ve & what they’ve done to become the top performers in their respective areas.
  .
  If you like reading self-help & personal-development books like me, you’ll find this book helpful & interesting. He gives you access to some of world’s most powerful people, which for most of us won’t have the privilege of interviewing & meeting in real life. But if I were to choose between two of his latest books, I’ll go with “Tools of Titans,” I find that more insightful, practical, and useful. Have you read any of Ferriss’ book? 🤓✌️📖
• 
  Sean Liu

  “Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the wise, instead, seek what they sought.” ���MATSUO BASHŌ

  
  
  Changed this from 4 to 5 stars because there's just so much good stuff in here. It's easy to gloss over it because the advice is almost too accessible (I'm used to working hard to extract the golden nuggets), but after going through my notes, it really is packed with some of the best advice I've come across. I love that each chapter is only a few pages so you can flip through and choose the profiles that interest you the most.
  
  Ultimately, the value per time-invested ratio is off the charts. Even if there's just a handful of chapters or pieces of advice you can take away, it will likely be way more valuable to you than the $15 of the book cost.
  
  --
  
  On my coffee table at home, I have a piece of driftwood. Its sole purpose is to display a quote by Anaïs Nin, which I see every day: “Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage.” It’s a short reminder that success can usually be measured by the number of uncomfortable conversations we are willing to have, and by the number of uncomfortable actions we are willing to take.
  
  In the last five years, what new belief, behavior, or habit has most improved your life?
  I have to be on a lot of the time, whether to be able to think and write clearly, or to be out in the world teaching and talking about cooking. Both parts of my job require extraordinary amounts of energy. Over the last five years, I’ve started to become more attuned to the various ways I need to take care of myself. And at the top of that list is sleep. I need eight to nine hours of sleep to function properly, and I’ve started guarding my sleep time mercilessly. I spend a lot more quiet nights at home, and when I do go out to dinner, I’ll insist on an early-bird reservation or cut out early. I’ve even been known to go to bed while my guests are still partying. They’re happy, I’m happy, it’s all good. My obsession with sleep has improved my life immeasurably.
  — Samin Nosrat
  
  What advice would you give to a smart, driven college student about to enter the “real world”? What advice should they ignore? I’m probably hopelessly out of date but my advice is get real-world experience: Be a cowboy. Drive a truck. Join the Marine Corps. Get out of the hypercompetitive “life hack” frame of mind. I’m 74. Believe me, you’ve got all the time in the world. You’ve got ten lifetimes ahead of you. Don’t worry about your friends “beating” you or “getting somewhere” ahead of you. Get out into the real dirt world and start failing. Why do I say that? Because the goal is to connect with your own self, your own soul. Adversity. Everybody spends their life trying to avoid it. Me too. But the best things that ever happened to me came during the times when the shit hit the fan and I had nothing and nobody to help me. Who are you really? What do you really want? Get out there and fail and find out.
  — Steven Pressfield
  
  Jack used to say it’s okay to take a day off from working out. But on that day, you’re not allowed to eat.
  — Steven Pressfield
  
  “Thinking of what makes me happy doesn’t give me the same clarity as thinking about what gives me bliss.”
  — Kyle Maynard
  
  In the last five years, what have you become better at saying no to? What new realizations and/or approaches helped? I realized that I had to let people leave my life, never to return. Every relationship I have in my life, from family and friends to business partners, must be a voluntary relationship. My wife can leave at any time. Family members can call me or not. Business partners can decide to move on, and it’s all okay.
  — Terry Crews
  
  DEBBIE MILLMAN
  
  If you could have a gigantic billboard anywhere with anything on it, what would it say and why?
  My billboard would say this: “Busy is a decision.” Here’s why: Of the many, many excuses people use to rationalize why they can’t do something, the excuse “I am too busy” is not only the most inauthentic, it is also the laziest. I don’t believe in “too busy.” Like I said, busy is a decision. We do the things we want to do, period. If we say we are too busy, it is shorthand for “not important enough.” It means you would rather be doing something else that you consider more important. That “thing” could be sleep, it could be sex, or it could be watching Game of Thrones. If we use busy as an excuse for not doing something what we are really, really saying is that it’s not a priority. Simply put: You don’t find the time to do something; you make the time to do things. We are now living in a society that sees busy as a badge. It has become cultural cachet to use the excuse “I am too busy,” as a reason for not doing anything we don’t feel like doing. The problem is this: if you let yourself off the hook for not doing something for any reason, you won’t ever do it. If you want to do something, you can’t let being busy stand in the way, even if you are busy. Make the time to do the things you want to do and then do them.
  
  One piece of advice I think they should ignore is the value of being a “people person.�� No one cares if you are a people person. Have a point of view, and share it meaningfully, thoughtfully, and with conviction.
  
  What are bad recommendations you hear in your profession or area of expertise?
  I do not believe in work-life balance. I believe that if you view your work as a calling, it is a labor of love rather than laborious. When your work is a calling, you are not approaching the amount of hours you are working with a sense of dread or counting the minutes until the weekend. Your calling can become a life-affirming engagement that can provide its own balance and spiritual nourishment. Ironically, it takes hard work to achieve this.
  
  When you feel overwhelmed or unfocused, what do you do?
  As a loudmouthed native New Yorker, I have often regretted acting impulsively when I am feeling angry or frustrated. Now, when I feel that familiar urge to respond defensively or say things I don’t really mean or bang out a wounded response via email or text, I wait. I force myself to breathe, take a step back, and wait to respond. Just an hour or two or an overnight retreat makes a world of difference. And if all else fails, I try to obey this message I got in a Chinese fortune cookie (which I have since taped to my laptop): “Avoid compulsively making things worse.”
  
  NAVAL RAVIKANT
  
  What advice would you give to a smart, driven college student about to enter the “real world”? What advice should they ignore?
  Advice: Follow your intellectual curiosity over whatever is “hot” right now. If your curiosity ever leads you to a place where society eventually wants to go, you’ll get paid extremely well. Do everything you were going to do, but with less angst, less suffering, less emotion. Everything takes time. Ignore: The news. Complainers, angry people, high-conflict people. Anyone trying to scare you about a danger that isn’t clear and present. Don’t do things that you know are morally wrong. Not because someone is watching, but because you are. Self-esteem is just the reputation that you have with yourself. You’ll always know. Ignore the unfairness—there is no fair. Play the hand that you’re dealt to the best of your ability. People are highly consistent, so you will eventually get what you deserve and so will they. In the end, everyone gets the same judgment: death.
  
  What are bad recommendations you hear in your profession or area of expertise?
  “You’re too young.” Most of history was built by young people. They just got credit when they were older. The only way to truly learn something is by doing it. Yes, listen to guidance. But don’t wait.
  
  
  What purchase of $100 or less has most positively impacted your life in the last six months (or in recent memory)? SleepPhones. It’s a headband that goes over your eyes and ears and that has inside two ultraflat earphones so you can listen to books as you fall asleep.
  — Matt Ridley
  
  What is the book (or books) you’ve given most as a gift, and why?
  Or what are one to three books that have greatly influenced your life? Sam Barondes’ book Making Sense of People has had a big impact on my thinking, and I sometimes give a copy to people in the midst of hiring someone or even deciding whether to get engaged.
  — Graham Duncan
  
  Don’t let yourself define what matters by the dogma of other people’s thoughts. And even more important, don’t let the thoughts of self-doubt and chattering self-criticism in your own mind slow you down. You will likely be your own worst critic. Be kind to yourself in your own mind. Let your mind show you the same kindness that you aspire to show others.
  — Mike Maples Jr
  
  “If you are distressed by anything external, the pain is not due to the thing itself, but to your estimate of it; and this you have the power to revoke at any moment.” –MARCUS AURELIUS
  
  
  SOMAN CHAINANI
  
  What is the book (or books) you’ve given most as a gift, and why? Or what are one to three books that have greatly influenced your life?
  A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara. The greatest work of fiction I’ve ever read, with the simplest theme: All of us come with baggage and wounds and pain; all of us. But recognizing that common, human bond is what helps us transcend that pain.
  
  In the last five years, what new belief, behavior, or habit has most improved your life?
  There’s this dazzling short story by Ted Chiang called “Liking What You See” that did a number on me. The story asserts that beauty has become a modern-day superdrug, that with filtered and face-tuned social media, retouched models on advertisements, and rampant pornography, we’ve overloaded the senses so that our natural instincts can no longer recognize or react to real beauty anymore. And it’s making us confused and miserable, both in how we judge ourselves and how we judge others. That crystal clear warning—beauty is literally ruining our lives—has improved my life tenfold just by making me consciously aware of it (and by making me ignore 90 percent of what’s on Instagram).
  
  What advice would you give to a smart, driven college student about to enter the “real world”? What advice should they ignore?
  Advice I’d give: Make sure you have something every day you’re looking forward to. Maybe it’s your job, maybe it’s a basketball game after work or a voice lesson or your writing group, maybe it’s a date. But have something every day that lights you up. It’ll keep your soul hungry to create more of these moments. Advice to ignore: A little part of me dies every time someone tells me they’ve taken a job as a “steppingstone” to something else, when they clearly aren’t invested in it. You have one life to live. Time is valuable. If you’re using steppingstones, you’re also likely relying on someone else’s path or definition of success. Make your own.
  
  What are bad recommendations you hear in your profession or area of expertise?
  Too often, aspiring artists put pressure on themselves to make their creative work their only source of income. In my experience, it’s a road to misery. If art is your sole source of income, then there’s unrelenting pressure on that art, and mercenary pressure is the enemy of the creative elves inside you trying to get the work done. Having another stream of income drains the pressure on your creative engine. If nothing comes of your art, you still have an ironclad plan to support yourself. As a result, your creative soul feels lighter and free to do its best work.
  I’m a personal practitioner of this: Even after three books and a hefty movie deal, I still tutor kids and help them with their college applications. My friends can’t understand it, but it’s the only way I know how to write without feeling like it’s a matter of life and death.
  
  
  What is one of the best or most worthwhile investments you’ve ever made?
  I was on a plane with Richard Branson once and he had this very weathered Louis Vuitton duffel bag that he said he’d used for more than 30 years. I travel a lot, and after years of funneling money into cheap luggage, I saved up for a Louis Vuitton carry on, and it’s going strong 17 years later. Generally speaking, I don’t shop for status bags, but some things are worth the splurge if you can swing it.
  —Dita Von Teese
  
  “Learning to ignore things is one of the great paths to inner peace.” –ROBERT J. SAWYER
  
  When you feel overwhelmed or unfocused, what do you do?
  I always feel better after making a good list. It’s a lot more satisfying for me to have something written down on paper that I can forcibly cross off when it’s done. It gives me better focus on what I can get done in the short term, and actually feels like a completed task in and of itself. If I’m feeling overwhelmed, nothing is better than taking my dog out to the park. Walking, fresh air, and seeing happy dogs always resets me in a really positive way. Also, it’s nice knowing that your dog will always love you no matter how stressed out you are!
  — Veronica Belmont
  
  In the last five years, what have you become better at saying no to?
  I finally came to the understanding that my downtime is just as valuable as my uptime, and I have to schedule it in accordingly. Previously, if I saw a big chunk of free time on my calendar, it was a lot more difficult to turn down projects, speaking engagements, or even coffee meetings. Now, I see that block of time, and think, “Oh, that’s my binge-watching Netflix time. Sorry.”
  — Veronica Belmont
  
  What advice would you give to a smart, driven college student about to enter the “real world”? What advice should they ignore?
  My advice is to choose a profession that is really easy for you to do and that also allows you to be creative. If it is easy for you to do and somewhat difficult for your peers to do, you will not have to work too hard to be successful and you will have enough spare time to enjoy life. You will also be able to put in extra hours to blow out the competition every now and then, should that be necessary. If, on the other hand, you have to work long hours all the time just to be competitive, you will burn out and not enjoy life.
  — Lewis Cantley
  
  If you could have a gigantic billboard anywhere with anything on it, what would it say and why?
  My message would be: “Sugar is toxic.” Sugar and other natural or artificial sweeteners are among the most addictive agents in our environment. When consumed in quantities that exceed the rate of metabolism in muscle or the brain, sugar is converted to fat, resulting in insulin resistance, obesity, and an increased risk of many other diseases, including cancers. While consuming fats and proteins evokes a feeling of satiety, consuming sugars induces a desire for more sugar within an hour or so. We evolved this addiction because, in the not-so-distant past, adding fat to our bodies at the end of a growing season when fruits were ripe was essential for surviving until the next growing season. But today, sugar is available all year round and is one of the cheapest foods available. So we continually add fat to our bodies. We may be approaching a time when sugar is responsible for more early deaths in America than cigarette smoking.
  — Lewis Cantley
  
  
  What is an unusual habit or an absurd thing that you love?
  Aniela and I have been married for 38 years, and we still have lots to talk about. We also have a tradition. At noon, we stop working and prepare ourselves for our date. After taking showers and dressing in our favorite clothes, we head to our favorite local restaurant. As soon as we walk in, the entire staff welcomes us with a smile and we head to our favorite table, guided by the chatting host. He offers a menu and a bottle of sparking water while Aniela reads the menu. She chooses a different lunch each time, but I stay with the same appetizer (French fries) and a double vodka for my entrée with a plate of veggies on the side. I love our dates. Nothing is better than sitting with your wife after 42 years of being together and still enjoying the moment.
  — Jerzy Gregorek
  
  In the last five years, what have you become better at saying no to?
  I say no to blame, no to complaints, and no to gossip. I also teach my daughter these three rules. If I have nothing positive to say, I don’t say anything. It makes my life easier and happier. The moment I start one of these three behaviors—blaming, complaining, or gossiping—I become negative. It is a sign of avoiding what I am responsible for: my life. Negativity is like pollution. It pollutes the mind and relationships. It is passivity. When there is constructive criticism with an intention of helping someone to be better or do better, then the act becomes active. It is important how I convey the message, since the intention is not to offend or hurt someone’s feelings. If I see negativity seeping through someone I interact with, a client or a friend, I guide that person toward positive solutions.
  — Aniela Gregorek
  
  What purchase of $100 or less has most positively impacted your life in the last six months (or in recent memory)?
  During a tough period in my life, I purchased a handmade wrap bracelet on Etsy inscribed with the quote “The struggle ends when the gratitude begins.” [Quote attributed to Neale Donald Walsch] I wear it on my wrist every day as a constant reminder to myself to live in a place of gratitude.
  — Amelia Boone
  
  What purchase of $100 or less has most positively impacted your life in the last six months (or in recent memory)?
  I found the right backpack [Incase City Collection]. It makes a big difference, since it is sort of my portable office/pocketbook. For a guy, unless you carry a “purse” (man purse), I think a backpack is essential. It always seems to end up getting overstuffed, and when it does, I remind myself I don’t need to carry everything with me all the time. Getting one with a good top compartment for wallet, keys, etc., really makes life easier.
  —Ben Stiller
  
  “When you stop caring about being right in the eyes of everyone . . . it’s amazing how little you care to waste energy trying to convince people of your view.” — Peter Attia
  
  "In your home gym, you never wait for equipment. It is waiting for you. Always." — Jocko Willink
  
  What advice would you give to a smart, driven college student about to enter the “real world”? What advice should they ignore?
  Nobody really knows what the world and the job market will look like in 2040, hence nobody knows what to teach young people today. Consequently, it is likely that most of what you currently learn at school will be irrelevant by the time you are 40. So what should you focus on? My best advice is to focus on personal resilience and emotional intelligence.
  —Yuval Noah Harari
• 
  Kathryn Toombs

  What a unique read.
  
  This isn't your typical book of life advice from successful people. Tim Ferris has compiled a unique, multi-faceted volume of questions and answers that are vague enough to relate to all interviewees, but specific enough to always illicit interesting answers. I thought the questions he chose were fascinating in their insight—on first glance, some of them seem surface level, but when you really start to think about them, contain an incredible amount of layers.
  
  I was especially impressed by the breadth of people he approached for this book. Tech tycoons, Wall Street success stories, investors, chess players, teachers, musicians, writers, actors, athletes... the list goes on and on. There's something here for everyone, no matter what field you're in, or what your interests are. I found myself being surprised by the wisdom imparted from figures I wouldn't have expected to connect with—once again, a testament to the questions that Ferris asks, as well as a reminder to me that people will always surprise you.
  
  My only regret is that I checked this out as a library book, and couldn't highlight certain golden tidbits to come back to later.
  
  Some of my biggest takeaways can be summed up by Ferris in his closing section:
  
  "Excellence is the next five minutes, improvement is the next five minutes, happiness is the next five minutes. This doesn't mean you ignore planning. I encourage you to make huge, ambitious plans. Just remember that the big-beyond-belief things are accomplished when you deconstruct them into the smallest possible pieces and focus on each moment of impact, one step at a time."
  
  "The secret to winning any game lies in not trying too hard."
  
  "The power broker in your life is the voice that no one hears. How well you revisit the tone and content of your private voice is what determines the quality of your life. It is the master storyteller, and the stories we tell ourselves are our reality."
• 
  Kris

  I read this book in fits and starts, and I got a lot out of it. The 11 questions Ferriss asks are brilliant. They can give a huge amount of insight into a person. Of course, some interviews were better than others, but the takeaways I got were that by and large, successful people
  1. Meditate. This is a recurring theme, so much so that I am convinced to try the practice again.
  2. Focus on what they are grateful for
  3. Read a lot and write things down
  4. Have some sort of physical activity they do regularly
  Well worth the read
• 
  Silvia

  It's not everyday day that you get to read fortune cookie style wisdom from the likes of Sam Harris, Yuval Noah Harari, David Lynch, Neil Gaiman and many other interesting people. While a bit repetitive because of the structure, it makes for an interesting and easy read that will get you to add a ton of new books on your ever-expanding Goodreads "Want to read" list.
• 
  berlinbyovernight

  Absolutely fantastic book. I'm so glad I,m reading this book in my twenties
• 
  Sambasivan

  Tim Ferriss excels in these types of books where there is a synthesis of lifetime learnings encapsulated through answers to 11 questions. The responses are from successful people across all the walks of life and these people have conquered their fears and failures to become what they are. A good refresher course for the motivated lot and a transformational read for the others who can dip into these learnings strewn across the pages. Worth a breezy read.
• 
  LynnDee (LynnDee's Library)

  This book was way too long--so many people are profiled that the interviews start to blend together after a while. However, I did like that so many different people from different career fields were profile. Overall, there are good nuggets of advice so if you're looking for a professional development read this is a good one to have on hand.
• 
  Daniel

  Since this is a Tim Ferriss book, I’ll give my review based on his Five Bullet Friday blog! (Posted this on a Sunday though)
  
  Five bullets for Tim’s newest book:
  1. Short and sweet- interviews were packed with ready to implement tactics for self improvement
  2. Questions are specifically geared towards how each individual finds their own self purpose in terms of adding value to the world (Ferriss has a general question list but does deviate depending on the guest)
  3. Feels like Tools of Titans 2.0 except with a new cast of characters (personally I love the SV CEO guests)
  4. If you love podcasts about daily rituals and self improvement this is definitely the book for you
  5. Definitely inspired me to read Viktor E. Frankl’s “Man’s Search got Meaning”
• 
  sprinkle.your.sparkle

  A meta-reading experience. The more I read, the more books and food for thought I come up with to add to my ideas list.
  
  I've been slacking lately on Tim's podcast so before I even opened the book, I made a little experiment. I forced myself to come up with a list of five questions I would ask if I reached such a collection of "mentors". I was pleasantly surprised when I discovered that Tim had included 4 out of 5 of those questions! YES! That's what I call a WIN. It is quite disappointing though as you can imagine when the mentors chose not to answer "my" 4 questions. Oh well. You can't always get what you want... but Tribe of Mentors could definitely help you get what you need to diversify your ideas portfolio.
  
  
• 
  Annie

  A lot of interesting quotes and info from people famous in their respective fields. The diversity in the answers was fascinating.
  Great inputs esp to budding entrepreneurs.
  
  Most common advice when you are feeling overwhelmed or unfocused - Meditation, Going on a walk, Exercise, Try to get to the root of the feeling and then tackle it when you feel ready.
  
  If I am able to make use of some of these inputs, I'll come back and update.
• 
  Bing Gordon

  The most interesting aspect of the book is that Ferriss reached such a diverse group, and that he developed a short set of go-to questions. But I get the sense he sent emails and just handed the responses to some anonymous editor to transcribe. If you must indulge in this book, read the introduction thru page xx. Then put it away, order Charlie Munger’s book and go for a walk.
• 
  Bianca A.

  Crazy promises and wishful thinking in a book written by a dude trying to prey on the money of the naïve. So are the rest of his books where similar ideas are propagated. Do not fall for traps, remain skeptical, do your research.
• 
  Tamas Ionut

  Relatively low information content; from my point of view this book could be reduced to about 200 pages of useful content.
• 
  Ervin Susanto

  We like reading about successful people because we believe there ought to be lessons learnt from them. Let this book make your life easier! It's basically a compilation of short advice from successful individuals from very diverse backgrounds. It's easy to read and the small trivia from each participant can be quite entertaining. I typically dislike cliche or extreme advice without boundaries e.g. always follow your passion regardless of what happens, YOLO etc because personally I find these impractical and can be dangerous. I prefer advice with their own caveats. You will find a mix of many different opinions from these individuals' interviews (obviously) but something I learnt amidst the differing views, is basically what Tim (the author) quoted himself, "The superheroes in your life are merely walking flaws who have maximised one or two strengths. Humans are imperfect creatures. You don’t succeed because you have no weaknesses, you succeed because you find your strength and develop habits among them." It further assured me that I should be focusing on my strengths rather than trying too hard to improve my weaknesses.