Tools of Titans Quotes: 9 Fantastic Pieces of Advice!
One of the more interesting books I’ve read is also one of the most unconventional. It’s not a book you read from front to back, although you can read it like that if you like.
In his bestselling book, Tools of Titans: The Tactics, Routines, and Habits of Billionaires, Icons, and World-Class Performers, Tim Ferriss has taken the best of the lessons he has learned from interviewing over 200 world-class performers on his podcast, The Tim Ferriss Show.
What sets this book apart from other books full of interviews is that Ferriss has experimented with all of the advice given in it himself, as he says:
“If I can’t test something or replicate results in the messy reality of everyday life, I’m not interested. Everything in these pages has been vetted, explored, and applied to my own life in some fashion. I’ve used dozens of these tactics and philosophies in high-stakes negotiations, high-risk environments, or large business dealings… “I created this book, my ultimate notebook of high-leverage tools, for myself. It’s changed my life, and I hope the same for you.” 1
What are we waiting for? Let’s go!
9 Tools of Titans Quotes and Pieces of Advice
(1) “Practice Going First” – Gabrielle Reece
The first one comes from a former volleyball player and model, Gabrielle Reece.
To expand on her advice, she says:
“I always say that I’ll go first…That means if I’m checking out at the store, I’ll say hello first. If I’m coming across somebody and make eye contact, I’ll smile first. [I wish] people would experiment with that in their life a little bit: Be first, because—not all times, but most times—it comes on your favor. The response is pretty amazing…nobody’s going first anymore.” 1
Make it actionable: I love this one and it’s true, most people are good and mean well, it just takes someone (you) to go first!
(2) “…if you don’t do something well, don’t do it unless you want to spend the time to improve it” – Paul Levesque (Triple H)
Levesque is a former professional wrestler and current EVP of Talent at World Wrestling Entertainment.
The quote above comes from his early mentor Killer Kowalski.
Make it actionable: Ferriss goes on to add his own thoughts which make it actionable.
The idea is to ask yourself the following question during periods of self-reflection: “What am I continuing to do myself that I’m not good at?” Improve it, eliminate it, or delegate it.”
(3) “What do you think about that really gets you excited?” – Adam Gazzaley
This from Dr. Adam Gazzaley, director of the Gazzley Lab, which is a cognitive neuroscience lab at UC San Francisco.
Gazzaley uses this question when he is hiring for coveted spots in his lab
Make it actionable: He asks the question of interviewees because it helps him better understand what motivates them to get out of bed in the morning than typical interview resume checkbox type questions.
(4) “Are you playing offense or defense” – Chris Sacca
Sacca is an early stage investor in many companies such as Twitter, Uber, Instagram, etc., was the Head of Special Initiatives at Google and is a regular guest of ABC’s Shark Tank.
By playing offense, he means taking control of your life and doing what adds value rather than being in reactive mode.
As he says:
“Generally, what all of this comes down to is whether you are on offense or defense. I think that as you survey the challenges in your lives, it’s just “Which of those things did you assign yourself, and which of those are you doing to please someone else? Your inbox is a to-do list to which anyone in the world can add an action item. I needed to get out of my inbox and back to my own to-do list.” 1
Make it actionable: Play offense by being proactive and saying no to things that don’t add value to your life.
(5) “Busy, to me, seems to imply out of control” – Derek Sivers
Sivers is an entrepreneur, founder of CD Baby which he sold in 2008 for $22 million and giving the proceeds to a charitable trust for music education.
Sivers goes on to say: “Like, oh my God, “I’m so busy. I don’t have any time for this shit! To me, that sounds like a person who’s got no control over their life.” 1
Make it actionable: If you feel that you are too busy it probably means you are unable to set priorities in your life. Refuse to say “I’m busy” when people ask how you are and take steps to prioritize things in your life.
(6) “Give the mind an overnight task” – Reid Hoffman
Hoffman is co-founder and executive chairman of LinkedIn amongst other impressive things.
Every day, he writes down in a notebook some problems that he wants his mind to work on while he sleeps.
As he says:
“What are the kinds of key things that might be constraints on a solution or might be the attributes of a solution, and what are tools or assets I might have?… I actually think most of our thinking, of course, is subconscious. Part of what I’m trying to do is allow the fact that we have this kind of relaxation, rejuvenation period in sleeping, to essentially possibly bubble up the thoughts and solutions to it.” 1
Make it actionable: As we said in a previous post when you sleep your brain is connecting the concepts you have learned when you were awake while getting rid of the less important stuff in your memory. So, the idea is to fall asleep ruminating on whatever it is you need to figure out and let your subconscious do the work. To take it a step further, Hoffman usually takes the first hour of the next day to sit down and work on the problem.
(7) “How do I become less competitive in order that I can become more successful?” – Peter Thiel
Peter Thiel is a serial company founder (Paypal, Palantir), billionaire investor and author of Zero to One.
This is a question that Thiel asks himself and reflects on every day. The idea is that by being competitive you may get good at what you are competing with people on but at the expense of losing out on various other things. For example, you may win the tennis match just by using your great forehand, but you are not improving your backhand which may hurt you in the long run.
Make it actionable: As Thiel suggests, make it a habit to ask yourself when you are competing with people at what expense it is coming in terms of neglecting to develop other things.
(8) “If you don’t align with the thing that is your mission, and you say “yes”, now [your mission is] their mission” – Seth Godin
This one has to do with saying no and declining things that aren’t aligned with your mission. Godin’s continues his advice with: “There’s nothing wrong with being a wandering generality instead of a meaningful specific, but don’t expect to make the change you [hope] to make if that’s what you do.” 1
Make it actionable: Be wary of accepting offers if they don’t align with your personal mission.
(9) The Tail End – Matt Mullenweg
Mullenweg has been named one of BusinessWeek’s 25 Most Influential People on the Web. He is the lead developer of WordPress which powers more than 25% of all sites on the web including the Wall Street Journal, TED, NFL, Reuters, and even Prime Your Pump.
His piece of advice I liked most didn’t come in the form of a quote but rather a suggestion. The suggestion is to check out a post called “The Tail End” on Tim Urban’s Wait But Why Blog.
Here is the link, https://waitbutwhy.com/2015/12/the-tail-end.html
We will end this blog post with some wise words from Ferris relating to that blog post:
“Might be time for you (and me) to rethink our personal priorities…”
Until next time, spend time with the people you love, and as always…PYMFP!
–Rick
What Do You Think?
Have you read Tools of Titans? What do you think of these Tools of Titans quotes and pieces of advice? Please share your thoughts in the comments below!
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References
1 Tools of Titans by Tim Ferriss
Great advice and all actionable! Being the first to smile, greet someone or begin a conversation makes life interactive and fun.
Hi Eileen, Agreed, I really like that piece of advice from Gabrielle Reece as well, it’s a good one. Thanks and be good, Rick
Of your 9 people, I have only heard of Peter Thiel and HHH. But of your 9 people, i most like the suggestion by (1), going first.
Set down on a bar stool and talk to the person next to you. Maybe they are not interested, so turn around to the person on the other side You are waiting in line to get into a concert. Talk to the person in front or behind you. There’s already something in common that you both like the same performer. Same thing with a baseball or football game.
Hi Dave, So true, great examples, it’s amazing what great things going first can sometimes lead to. Take care, Rick