It’s time for another Solopreneur Grind book review as I discuss Tools of Titans by Tim Ferriss. I’ll be giving you a background about the book in general, and then my three key takeaways I’ve had since reading it twice in the last few years.
First off, keep in mind that the book is really big – not only is it over 500 pages, but it’s also massive physically. Keep that in mind if you’re traveling or you want to take it on long commutes, because it might not be ideal for that although I still think it’s definitely worth reading in one way or another.
Second, the way the book is structured is as a whole bunch of short chapters (2-5 pages) with each one based on a single person, or Titan, as Tim refers to them. Tim also includes a few chapters dedicated to a specific topic such as sleep habits, the 80/20 rule and other things in that nature that he’s learned from the Titans.
Third, it’s less of a story and more of a self-help or reference type of book. As mentioned, it’s short chapters on different individuals and you can flip to the people you’re most interested in, or the topics you’re most interested, as the entire book is split into 3 major sections called Healthy, Wealthy and Wise. This makes it very easy to go back and refer to something that might be top of mind and it’s not a book you have to read in order.
Now let’s get into my three key takeaways:
Takeaway #1: Be patient
My first takeaway is that especially when you’re young, be patient. Tim asks a lot of the Titans: “what would you tell your 20 year old self?”, and a very common answer that I noticed was some version of be patient, keep your head down, stay focused, don’t worry about what’s going to happen down the road. Just keep doing what you’re doing.
Especially as someone like myself – being in my 20s – I’ve taken that to heart and realized the need to be patient and not to force anything.
Takeaway #2: Hard work is the only way to major success
What becomes really clear from reading all of the stories and advice from the Titans is that there’s no “best way” to make money or become successful. Instead, it was obvious that every Titan did a lot of very hard work. The main reason all of these Titans were so successful isn’t because they were all running the same business or figured out the secret way to make money – it’s because they all worked really hard on their business, project, passion, etc.
It’s less about finding that one secret business model, and more about working really hard and smart because in the long run, it will pay off.
Takeaway #3: Establish healthy habits and routines
Lastly, the third habit or the theme I noticed amongst all the Titans is to establish good habits and routines. This means to take care of yourself, not just physically but mentally as well. A lot of the Titans had morning routines that were pretty strict, or meditation practices, journaling exercises – little things that they included almost every day that helped keep them in a good mental and physical state. Not only that, good habits and routines will keep you on track and allow you to be much more productive as well.
That’s it for the top three takeaways that I had from reading Tools of Titans by Tim Ferriss. To quickly summarize, be patient and know that hard work will pay off in the long run. And in order to do both of those things successfully, start building good habits and routines now because you’ll be able to last much longer and perform much better along your journey.
Hopefully you enjoyed, and if you did – feel free to take a look at more of my book reviews and join the SG community to get even more help and support on your solopreneur journey! All the best.
