Along with Tim Ferriss’s other book Tools of Titans, I also picked this one up too. Tribe of Mentors is like getting an insight into some of the world’s best thinkers, achievers, athletes, actors, writers, and so many other people from diversified backgrounds.

This book is similar to one of my favorite books If I Could Tell You One Thing by Richard Reed. The book by Reed was a collection of short essays from renowned people who shared their one piece of life advice. What sets Tribe of Mentors apart is that the Ferriss uses questions to get the answers from his guests.

How to Read this Book

Don’t let this almost 600 pages book overwhelm you. Don’t let that put you off. Not everything will appeal to you. Not everything will resonate with you. We are all unique individuals who are treading our own paths. Some words in the book will resonate, others will not, which is fine. This is the kind of book that you can revisit once in awhile, and each subsequent time, you may learn something new. So start from anywhere, or go through the index and find people who may appeal to you first.

Mentors

Having a mentor is somewhat imperative if you want to make it ahead in life. No one does it alone. We all have mentors. This book can serve as a useful mentor guide in case you are looking for one.

The Questions

Ferriss takes a different route with his guests. He has given them a series of questions, which allows us to get into the minds of these people. The questions are:

a. Which books have you given away the most?

b. What purchase of $100 or less have you made recently?

c. How has failure set you up for success?

d. If you could have one thing written on a billboard, what would it be?

e. What are the best investments you’ve made?

f. What is an unusual habit of yours?

g. In the last five years, what new belief, behavior, or habit has more improved your life?

h. What advice would you give to a smart, driven college student?

i. What are bad recommendations you hear from experts in your field?

j. In the last five years, what have you become better at saying no to?

k. When you feel overwhelmed, what do you do?

I wish I could share many of the amazing words that people have shared in the book. I’ve underlined quite a lot of them but because of space (and reading time) constraints, I won’t get into sharing them all.

Here are some of the major takeaways:

1. Viktor Frankl’s Man’s Search for Meaning is a very popular book
2. Meditation is very popular (as well as getting good sleep!)
3. Eating healthy is very important.
4. Advice from other experts should be taken from a pinch of salt- create your own path
5. Investment in yourself is one the best investment
6. Don’t let technology own you
7. Experiences are more valuable and worthwhile than material goods
8. Advice to college students: it’s ok to fail; expect to fail; be prepared for real-world (get off social media and connect with real-world- nature, people, etc).
9. When overwhelmed, take a walk/ run/ shower/ write/ breathe

My Only Complaint

The only thing that sort of puts me off is how little of international people there in the book. There is one Indian actress (Richa Chadha), Saudi media personality (Muna Abu Sulayman), and the only Pakistani-American (Muneeb Ali, co-founder of BlockStack). Somehow, I wish there were more international figures, from different age groups, backgrounds, faiths, cultures to make for a truly worthwhile reading and learning.

Having said that, I can’t deny the wisdom that’s already filled in this book. One of my favorites take away is from Ashton Kutcher who says: “Be polite, on time, and work really hard until you are talented enough to be blunt, a little late, and take vacations and even then…be polite.”

For more information, you can visit tim.blog and find lots of useful resources there. If you are a book lover then tim.blog/booklist will be useful for you.