Guide to be Healthy, Wealthy and Wise
I am not a self-made man
A rnold Schwarzenegger quotes as he introduces the forward of this massive book titled Tools of
Titans. He explains why he is not a self-made man, as he never did any of the things he is known for, alone. He did them with collaborating with giants, taking help and realising that nobody can make it big, solely on the basis of the knowledge they possess. This is the premise of Tools of
Titans and this is its sole endeavour. It is a self-help book which encompasses advice from billionaires, icons and world class performers. Tim Ferriss, the author of
Tools of Titans is an American author known for his books
Four Hour Work Week, Four
Hour Body and Four Hour chef. He is also known for his podcast called the Tim Ferriss show where he interviews high achievers from various walks of life. These podcasts and the advice of all its participants, along with Tim’s experiments of these life lessons on his own life, have led to the Tools of Titans.
The book which has interviews of scientists, politicians, actors, thinkers, and entrepreneurs is a comprehensive guide on what has worked for these people. Tim Ferriss has also laid out a guide on how to read the book in question. He advises to skip sections very frequently. If it doesn’t work for the reader, it has no relation to the life of the reader, or it is beyond the comprehension of the reader, then they should skip it. This book also has sections of advice from Ferriss himself, as he
considers himself a guinea pig, on which these life experiments have been conducted, solely for the good of all. His own sections involve a detailed account on Suicide and his own personal experience where he was close to killing himself. The other sections include the problems of living extremely busy lives.
The Tools of
Titans comes into the category of the many self-help books that are now available. The Self-help book has seen a transition in the past few decades and has made a market for itself. They are often criticised for their high end claims to often provide instantaneous change to the people who read them. Though Tools of Titans is cautionary about the advice these special people provide and Tim Ferriss recommends consulting specialists and to not act stupid.
The book is filled with guidance from people from different fields and is broadly categorised into three sections: healthy, wealthy and wise. But these broad categories don’t make the structure of the book accessible. The ideas skip from meditation, to aquayoga, to ketogenic diets and life philosophies with every section being a unit in itself. The other aspect that catches attention is the dearth of contributions from women. The book is mostly a man’s perspective of success and stories of women achievements are few.
The long book does not make for a fluid read as its episodic and diverse nature brings about impediments in the continuity of thought. The achievements and life stories of achievers from film, wrestling, medicine and science among others is interesting and the detailed nature in their methods can inspire.
The genre of self-help can be traced back to ancient times. Roman philosopher Cicero’s treatises On friendship and On duty can be loosely surmised to be a guide to perform life through the principles provided. But the last century has seen a rise and a shift in the way people perceive this genre. Ferriss with his bank of modern Cicero’s makes way into the masses with many promises, but the big question being ‘How much will it really help?’ is unanswered.