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Daniel Pink

American non-fiction writer

Recorded said elsewhere, not written here
Yeah. Oh, yeah. So, they’re probably books that you’ve – I mean, it might have been books that you’ve covered in your show here. So, one of them is Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott, one of the greatest things ever. I come back to that advice so many different times, it’s the same even in the Pink household, where we’ll just say – like one member of my family would say to the other who’s struggling, “Okay, bird by bird. Bird by bird.” And so, I am a huge – and I stumbled into this book – I remember where I got this next book, I got it in the airport in San Francisco, in the bookstore in the SFO. And for some reason, I picked it up because it had this really weird cover. But one of the first editions of The War of Art by Steven Pressfield had this kind of silvery cover to it. And I bought that book in – I think it was a campus bookstore in SFO, just because it’s – I went, “Oh, it’s silver cover, and it’s really short.” I got it and it was like, “Oh, my god. I can’t believe how good this book is.” And so, I have even have a little sign on my desk here that says, “Beat the resistance.” So, I’ve given that book a out a lot too. So Pressfield and Lamott. And then – man, I have to say, Victor Frankl’s Man’s Search for Meaning is up there too. Less – I’ve given that out less, but that’s a hugely important book for me.

Tim Ferriss, The Tim Ferriss Show podcast, 26 June 2018 source ↗

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Terry Real Family therapist and author
I’m a big fan of Jim Gilligan’s book Violence . It’s not an easy read.
Recorded Tim Ferriss, The Tim Ferriss Show podcast, 10 May 2025 source ↗
Eric Cressey Strength and conditioning coach; co-founder of Cressey Sports Performance
All right, I'm going to give you two, because they're kind of categories to it. I'd say the first one underneath this health and human performance realm, Diagnosis and Treatment of Movement Impairment Syndromes. It's a Shirley Sahrmann book that I think is landmark. I mean it's decades old, super impactful. Kind of reads like stereo instructions, so you're going to go through a page at a time. But Sahrmann is still a practicing physical therapist at Wash U in St. Louis.
Recorded Tim Ferriss, The Tim Ferriss Show podcast, 3 June 2023 source ↗
Diana Chapman Leadership coach; co-author of The 15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership
The Big Leap by Gay Hendricks is probably the book I've gifted the most, and the one I've recommended the most of any other book. And also, Conscious Loving for Couples, because you asked that question earlier. Conscious Loving, I think, is a fantastic book for couples who are wanting to get more connected, is another one I've gifted a lot. And those are the two that come top of mind.
Recorded Tim Ferriss, The Tim Ferriss Show podcast, 6 October 2021 source ↗
Shep Gordon American talent manager and film producer
Joseph Campbell many years ago. A couple of the Dalai Lama books. Most recently, Norman Lear’s book.
Recorded Tim Ferriss, The Tim Ferriss Show podcast, 6 June 2018 source ↗

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