Tao Te Ching

This book by Laozi has been genuinely recommended 5 times across 2 different shows: Diary of a CEO, Tim Ferriss. The people who vouched for it on air: Ivanka Trump, Martha Beck, Michael Gervais, Naval Ravikant, Rick Rubin. It comes up in conversations about addiction & recovery, anxiety & stress, brain health, consciousness, depression & mood. The earliest recommendation we indexed is from Oct 2020 and the most recent from Apr 2026. Every quote below is verbatim, attributed, and linked to the exact second it was said. Sourced expert opinion, not medical advice.

An Eastern philosophical treatise attributed to Lao Tzu or Laozi. Thought to have been written around the sixth century BCE it is fundamental to the Taoism form of philosophy. There are several possible translations of the title, though most people take it to mean The Way. It is one of the major works of Chinese philosophy and its influence is still felt today.

• “I love lu and the taq ching is an amazing it kind of reminds me of like the philosophy of of jiujitsu”

  Why it counts as a recommendation: “I love”
  Ivanka Trump · The Diary of a CEO · Apr 202601:27:14

  Said during "Ivanka Trump: Most People Can’t Tell Signal From Noise". The episode features Ivanka Trump: Businesswoman, former real estate and fashion executive, and ex-White House senior advisor. Daughter of Donald Trump, she built a fashion line doing close to $800M in annual sales before shutting it down to serve in government. Ivanka Trump on growing up in the spotlight, finding signal in the noise, walking away from an $800M business, and life after the White House.

• “the first one that comes to mind is the dowy Jane it's the step Mitchell translation of The Da Jing what's great about it is it's 81 short pieces”

  Why it counts as a recommendation: “it's a magic book in that way that it always fits”
  Rick Rubin · The Tim Ferriss Show · Jun 202400:22:52

  Said during "Rick Rubin and Mary Karr, The Tim Ferriss Show". The episode features Rick Rubin and Mary Karr: Rick Rubin is a nine-time Grammy-winning music producer and author of The Creative Act. Mary Karr is a poet and author of the bestselling memoirs The Liars' Club, Cherry, and Lit, and a longtime Syracuse writing professor. A 10-year-anniversary super combo: Rick Rubin on creativity and a 135-pound transformation, and Mary Karr on trauma, sobriety, and writing.

• “I read Stephen's version of the Tao Te Ching right around the time I had the white light experience... it was like my nervous system caught fire when I read that version.”

  Why it counts as a recommendation: “it was like my nervous system caught fire when I read that version”
  Martha Beck · The Tim Ferriss Show · Apr 202401:22:21

  Said during "The Amazing and Brutal Results of Zero Lies for 365 Days, Martha Beck". The episode features Martha Beck: Harvard-trained sociologist, life coach, and bestselling author (The Way of Integrity); ex-Mormon known for radical honesty and somatic, joy-based coaching. Martha Beck on tracking joy in the body, her year of zero lies, and how curiosity defeats anxiety.

• “they gave us uh tao te ching yeah okay um which is a fascinating read if you i'm sure that you spent some time with it”

  Why it counts as a recommendation: “which is a fascinating read”
  Michael Gervais · The Tim Ferriss Show · Jan 202200:14:37

  Said during "Performance Psychologist Michael Gervais, Fear< with Tim Ferriss". The episode features Michael Gervais: Dr. Michael Gervais is a high-performance psychologist who has worked with Olympic gold medalists, the Seattle Seahawks, the U.S. armed forces, and extreme athletes like Felix Baumgartner. He holds a PhD in psychology with an emphasis in performance and focuses on the science of mindset, fear, and mastery. Performance psychologist Michael Gervais on extinguishing fear, building a philosophy, mindfulness, and creating high-performance culture.

• “he also has a good translation of the daodaiching those are both really interesting again only if it appeals to you”

  Why it counts as a recommendation: “he also has a good translation of the daodaiching those are both really interesting”
  Naval Ravikant · The Tim Ferriss Show · Oct 202000:58:50

  Said during "Naval Ravikant on Happiness, Anxiety, and More". The episode features Naval Ravikant: Co-founder and chairman of AngelList and a prolific angel investor in over 100 companies including Twitter, Uber, Notion, and Postmates. He is widely known for his writing and podcast on wealth and happiness. Naval Ravikant returns to discuss happiness, anxiety, meditation, true science, building wealth without luck, and cryptocurrency as sovereign money.