After seeing how popular Tools of Titans by Tim Ferris is, I decided to see what it was about. I can't review it as a typical book review because the book itself is a curated collection of anecdotes and lessons from dozens of people interviewed by Tim Ferris. Ferris interviews people from Arnold Schwarzeneggar to Tony Robbins to Scott Adams and Peter Thiel. The topics and figures come from investing, sport, nutrition, tech, entertainment and many more industries.

The three main sections are: Healthy, Wealthy and Wise. It's likely deliberate that health comes first, something I'm happy to have always acknowledged.

So I'll talk about what I got out of it. Tools of Titans promises to give leads on self-improvement. Like philosophy each interview and individual lesson could be paused on, but the pace is breathless. In other words there are more leads than you can follow. As Ferris suggests, it's more of a reference book.

An overarching lesson offered is how important mindfulness is. Whether Transcendental Meditation or Vipassana Meditation, almost every person interviewed practices some form of daily mindfulness. This is something I was looking into before I read the book, and I've decided to move towards incorporating some practices.

The book felt at times like a pep rally or a shareholder meeting. The pages ooze positivity and it is infectious. At the same time guests share their own failings and difficulty to live up to their own persona. It's reassuring to hear from the industrious that even they lose their focus and struggle with common obstacles like information overload.

There's a reading list included based on mentions from guests. Just picking this book up in the store and opening to the end for the reading list won't hurt.

There's a reason this book is so popular and likely a few people you know have already looked it over. Whoever you are, whatever you do, there's something in there for you.