Book Byte # 37 "Tools of Titans" by Tim Ferris
The Tactics, Routines, and Habits of Billionaires, Icons, and World-Class Performers
📣 Curious Quotes from the Author:
“Success, however you define it, is achievable if you collect the right field-tested beliefs and habits.”
“The superheroes you have in your mind (idols, icons, titans, billionaires, etc.) are nearly all walking flaws who’ve maximized 1 or 2 strengths.”
“More than 80% of the interviewees have some form of daily mindfulness or meditation practice”
“Being busy is a form of laziness—lazy thinking and indiscriminate action. Being busy is most often used as a guise for avoiding the few critically important but uncomfortable actions.”
“You always have three options. You can change it, you can accept it, or you can leave it. What is not a good option is to sit around wishing you would change it but not changing it, wishing you would leave it but not leaving it, and not accepting it. It’s that struggle, that aversion, that is responsible for most of our misery. The phrase that I probably use the most to myself in my head is just one word: accept.”
“What problem do you face every day that nobody has solved yet?” or “What is a great company no one has started?” I will”
“Fighting emotions is like flailing in quicksand—it only makes things worse. Sometimes, the most proactive “defense” is a mental nod and wink.”
“Most people spend most of their time on defense, in reactive mode, in playing with the cards they got instead of moving to a different table with different cards. Instead”
“The trouble with most of us is that we would rather be ruined by praise than saved by criticism.’—Norman Vincent Peale”
📚 Cognition of the Book’s Big Idea:
There is no single path to success, and while everyone's journey is unique, you can still find inspiration and counsel from those who have come before you. Their success tales will broaden your horizons, show you how to set yourself on the right path, and inspire you to keep trying no matter what.
Do not be afraid of terrible ideas.
If you want to make a dream come true and are seeking for ways to accomplish so, don't limit the thoughts you have. Trying to get rid of negative thoughts right away will leave you stranded. Instead, write down every idea that comes to mind, even the most outlandish and unlikely ones. When you go back through them, you'll undoubtedly notice that you've written a few gems.
🛠️Fixing the Tech Industry
As System Engineers, we abound in systems. We mostly repair them, but we live life by them. Whether it be technology-related or not, we still live by their rules. We’re logical problem solvers, we understand life better when view life as a melting pot of systems. Some of these mindsets talked about in the book help you do things, like become successful, diet or exercise right, and help build connections with other humans.
If we try and “fix” everything wrong in our lives like the systems we repair every day, we’ll end up suffering from what I call “System Repair Repeat Failure”. It’s taking a situation that needs greater soft skills to solve than we currently possess. It’s like using a hammer to fix a broken car dent. Could you get it fixed with the hammer? Probably, but a different tool would be better suited to fixing it.
🤝 Collaborate with others with this Social Media Prompt:
What in your life could be fixed immediately if you had better soft skills? What are you doing to gain better soft skills today? (Like Communication, Empathy, and Collaboration)
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