The Power of Now
Eckhart Tolle on stepping out of the running commentary in your head
Eckhart Tolle's 1997 book on separating yourself from the thoughts that replay the past and rehearse the future. It reads as a spiritual text, not a self-help manual. Readers either take to that voice or do not; the book has sold millions of copies and drawn plenty of eye-rolling for vagueness. People who find it useful tend to describe one practical effect. They catch themselves mid-spiral and come back to what is in front of them, which is why it turns up on lists made by athletes as often as by meditators.
People on record
Sorted by strength of stance
Does it: documented as part of their own routine. Recommends: explicitly advises other people to do it. Discusses: covered it substantively without clear personal adoption; this can include criticism or disagreement.
- Michael PhelpsRecommends
Olympic swimmer · Most decorated Olympian in history
This one came from a close friend. He calls it amazing, and says the books he has received this way have opened his mind to new ways of thinking.
Source: The Tim Ferriss Show #494: Michael Phelps and Grant Hackett, transcript
Aimed at the same thing
Other entries filed under stress.
- Book$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Man's Search for Meaning
Viktor Frankl on surviving the camps and choosing your response
On record from 4 of 62 tracked people: 2 recommend it, 2 have discussed it - Book$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
The Daily Stoic
366 short Stoic passages with modern commentary, one per day
On record from 4 of 62 tracked people: 3 recommend it, 1 has discussed it - Book$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
The Almanack of Naval Ravikant
Collected thinking on wealth, specific knowledge and happiness
On record from 3 of 62 tracked people: 3 recommend it - Book$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Digital Minimalism
A philosophy for using much less technology, on purpose
On record from 2 of 62 tracked people: 1 recommends it, 1 has discussed it - Book$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Ego Is the Enemy
Ryan Holiday on the ways self-importance wrecks aspiring, succeeding and failing
On record from 2 of 62 tracked people: 2 recommend it - Book$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Slow Productivity
Do fewer things, work at a natural pace, obsess over quality
On record from 2 of 62 tracked people: 1 recommends it, 1 has discussed it
Book entry · notes paraphrased from cited sources, quoted excerpts copied from the transcript they link to. Not medical advice. Not affiliated with, endorsed by, or reviewed by anyone listed. How this works.