Welcome to another episode of The Tim Ferriss Show, where it is my job to sit down with world-class performers of all different types—from startup founders and investors to chess champions to Olympic athletes. This episode, however, is an experiment and part of a shorter series I’m doing called “Books I’ve Loved.” I’ve invited some amazing past guests, close friends, and new faces to share their favorite books—the books that have influenced them, changed them, and transformed them for the better. I hope you pick up one or two new mentors—in the form of books—from this new series and apply the lessons in your own life.
Seth Godin (@thisissethsblog) is the author of 19 bestselling books that have been translated into more than 35 languages. He writes about the way ideas spread, marketing, strategic quitting, leadership, and — most of all — challenging the status quo in all areas. His books include Linchpin, Tribes, The Dip, Purple Cow, This Is Marketing: You Can’t Be Seen Until You Learn to See, and What to Do When it’s Your Turn (and it’s Always Your Turn).
He was inducted into the Direct Marketing Hall of Fame in 2013 and has founded several companies, including Yoyodyne and Squidoo. His blog (which you can find by typing “Seth” into Google) is one of the most popular in the world.
Seth is also the founder of the altMBA, an intense four-week online leadership and management workshop.
Esther Perel (@estherperel) is a psychotherapist and New York Times bestselling author of Mating in Captivity, which has been translated into 26 languages, and The State of Affairs: Rethinking Infidelity.
The New York Times called her the most important game-changer in sexuality and relational health since Dr. Ruth.
Her TED talks on maintaining desire and rethinking infidelity have more than 17 million views, and she’s tested and been exposed to everything imaginable in 34 years of running her private therapy practice in New York City.
On her podcast Where Should We Begin? Esther brings you into her office to listen to real life couples therapy sessions, and her newest Spotify project, How’s Work?, brings lessons from couples therapy to the corner office.
Enjoy!
Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Stitcher, Castbox, Google Podcasts, or on your favorite podcast platform.
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Want to listen to the first episode of “Books I’ve Loved”? — Listen to it here, in which I share some of my must-read selections. (Stream below or right-click here to download):
What was your favorite quote or lesson from this episode? Please let me know in the comments.
SCROLL BELOW FOR LINKS AND SHOW NOTES…
SELECTED LINKS FROM THE EPISODE
- Connect with Seth Godin:
Website | Seth’s Blog | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | altMBA | The Marketing Seminar
Seth’s previous appearances on the podcast: 343, 177, 138
- The Gift: Creativity and the Artist in the Modern World by Lewis Hyde
- The Pursuit of Wow! Every Person’s Guide to Topsy-Turvy Times by Tom Peters
- In Search of Excellence: Lessons from America’s Best-Run Companies by Thomas J. Peters and Robert H. Waterman Jr.
- The Long Tail: Why the Future of Business is Selling Less of More by Chris Anderson
- Crossing the Chasm: Marketing and Selling High-Tech Products to Mainstream Customers by Geoffrey A. Moore
- Thinking in Bets: Making Smarter Decisions When You Don’t Have All the Facts by Annie Duke
- What to Do When it’s Your Turn (and it’s Always Your Turn) by Seth Godin
- The Blue Sweater: Bridging the Gap Between Rich and Poor in an Interconnected World by Jacqueline Novogratz
- Connect with Esther Perel:
Website | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube
Esther’s previous appearances on the show: 241, 271
- Where Should We Begin? with Esther Perel
- How’s Work? with Esther Perel
- Mating in Captivity: Unlocking Erotic Intelligence by Esther Perel
- The State of Affairs: Rethinking Infidelity by Esther Perel
- Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life by Marshall B. Rosenberg
- Fighting for Your Marriage: A Deluxe Revised Edition of the Classic Best-seller for Enhancing Marriage and Preventing Divorce by Howard J. Markman, Scott M. Stanley, and Susan L. Blumberg
- Can Love Last?: The Fate of Romance Over Time by Stephen A. Mitchell
- Liquid Life by Zygmunt Bauman
- Family Healing: Strategies for Hope and Understanding by Salvador Minuchin
- Structural Family Therapy
SHOW NOTES
- Seth tells us why he reads The Gift when he’s feeling burnt out. [05:32]
- What Seth learned from The Pursuit of Wow and author Tom Peters about the value of putting energy into his work. [06:50]
- Why The Long Tail is a book Seth wishes he had written. [07:51]
- The myth that Crossing the Chasm dispels. [08:52]
- Why the first chapter of Thinking in Bets will change your life. [10:17]
- Seth gets choked up every time he reads Sarah Kay’s B. [11:02]
- The Blue Sweater is about a small world of billions. [11:41]
- What Seth has learned from a lifetime of being in the book business. [13:40]
- Why Esther considers Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life a timeless classic. [16:03]
- What Fighting for Your Marriage can teach you about business. [17:11]
- The inherent tension of any relationship is explored in Can Love Last?: The Fate of Romance Over Time. [18:09]
- How Zygmunt Bauman’s description of nomadism in Liquid Life gave Esther a whole new path of thinking. [19:20]
- Family Healing gave Esther a map for thinking about relationships. [20:11]
- Esther asks you a couple of relational intelligence questions. [21:43]
