December 11, 2019
Tim Discusses His Four Must-Read Books on The Tim Ferriss Show
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Check out The Tim Ferriss Show Episode Page & Show Notes
Key Takeaways (Tim’s 4 Must-Read Books)
- The Magic of Thinking Big by David Schwartz
- How to Make Millions with Your Ideas: An Entrepreneur’s Guide by Dan S. Kennedy
- The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It by Michael E. Gerber
- Vagabonding: An Uncommon Guide to the Art of Long-Term World Travel by Rolf Potts
- Bonus: Awareness: The Perils and Opportunities of Reality by Anthony de Mello
Intro
- In this episode of The Tim Ferriss Show, Tim (@tferriss) discusses the four books that have had the biggest impact on him
Book #1 – The Magic of Thinking Big by David Schwartz
- This book, which has more than 100 5-start ratings on Amazon, was firsts suggested to Tim by Stephen Key, an ultra-successful inventor
- The book’s central message: Don’t over-estimate others and under-estimate yourself
- “I still, personally, read the first two chapters of this book whenever doubt creeps in…I find it to be a helpful philosophical and psychological reboot.” – Tim Ferriss
Books #2 – How to Make Millions with Your Ideas: An Entrepreneur’s Guide by Dan S. Kennedy
- “This is a menu of options for converting ideas into millions of dollars” – Tim Ferriss
- Tim estimates he’s read it 6-7 times now
- “It’s like steroids for your entrepreneurial cortex” – Tim Ferriss
- A side recommendation: One Simple Idea: Turn Your Dreams into a Licensing Goldmine While Letting Others Do the Work by Stephen Key
- “It’s an excellent book about licensing. Instead of venturing, or doing the manufacturing yourself, instead of handling the nuts and bolts of operations, how can you, if you’re good inventing license products?” – Tim Ferriss
Book #3 – The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It by Michael E. Gerber
- “This is a classic. Gerber is a masterful storyteller.” – Tim Ferriss
- “The book discusses how to apple a franchise mindset to create scalable businesses that are based on rules/systems and not out-standing employees”
- Who might this book be good for?
- Those starting their first business
- Or, those looking for another reboot: “If you’ve strayed from the path of systems and rules and processes, this provides an excellent road map, told in parable, for becoming an owner, instead of a constant micro-manager” – Tim Ferriss
Book #4 – Vagabonding: An Uncommon Guide to the Art of Long-Term World Travel by Rolf Potts
- “Rolff Potts is the man” – Tim Ferriss
- This convinced Tim to first travel around the world, which ultimately lead to the writing of The 4-Hour Workweek
- On his trip, Tim took just two books: Vagabonding and Walden by Henry David Thoreau
- “This is really a philosophical reset. This book helps you to better value time wealth while recognizing the limitations of money as currency.” – Tim Ferriss
- Tim estimates he’s read it 10+ times
Bonus Book – Awareness: The Perils and Opportunities of Reality by Anthony de Mello
- “This short book has completely captured me. Just in the last two years, I’ve probably re-read it 5 or 6 times. When I feel myself bleeding into overwhelm or feeling scattered, this is one of the first break-glass-in-case-of-emergency steps that I take.” – Tim Ferriss
- The book was first recommended to Tim in his interview with Peter Mallouk (Podcast Notes)
