Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

This book by Robert Pirsig has been genuinely recommended 4 times across 2 different shows: Joe Rogan, Tim Ferriss. The people who vouched for it on air: Brad Feld, Ev Williams, Josh Waitzkin, guest. It comes up in conversations about addiction & recovery, consciousness, depression & mood, exercise & strength, meditation & mindfulness. The earliest recommendation we indexed is from Jul 2020 and the most recent from Mar 2025. Every quote below is verbatim, attributed, and linked to the exact second it was said. Sourced expert opinion, not medical advice.

"The real cycle you're working on is a cycle called 'yourself.'"One of the most important and influential books of the past half-century, Robert M. Pirsig's Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance is a powerful, moving, and penetrating examination of how we live and a meditation on how to live better. The narrative of a father on a summer motorcycle trip across America's Northwest with his young son, it becomes a profound personal and philosophical odyssey into life's fundamental questions.

• “Zen murder cycle is great, but I will mention one book very related to the conversation, which is, have you read why greatness cannot be planned?”

  Why it counts as a recommendation: “Zen murder cycle is great”
  Ev Williams · The Tim Ferriss Show · Mar 202500:22:28

  Said during "Co-Founder of Blogger, Twitter, Medium, and Mozi, The Art of Pivoting, Strategic Quitting, and More". The episode features Ev Williams: Co-founder of Blogger, Twitter, Medium, and his current company Mosy; partner at Obvious Ventures. Started with a 1994 VHS tape teaching people how to use the internet. Ev Williams on strategic quitting, why greatness can't be planned, and building Mosy as an actual social network.

• “if you read Zen in the-art of Motorcycle Maintenance which is the only book that's ever been written that's kind of gets close to the kind of spiritual place”

  Why it counts as a recommendation: “the only book that's ever been written that's kind of gets close to the kind of spiritual place”
  guest · The Joe Rogan Experience · Nov 202400:17:38

  Said during "Joe Rogan Experience #2232 - Josh Brolin". The episode features Josh Brolin: Actor (No Country for Old Men, W., Outer Range) and author of the memoir From Under the Truck. Josh Brolin and Joe Rogan riff on writing, addiction, fame, fighters, and the wildness behind every true artist.

• “Pig the author of Zen In The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance is one of my favorite books and and thinkers he's a friend of mine”

  Why it counts as a recommendation: “is one of my favorite books and and thinkers”
  Josh Waitzkin · The Tim Ferriss Show · Jul 202400:51:30

  Said during "Anne Lamott and Josh Waitzkin, The Tim Ferriss Show". The episode features Anne Lamott and Josh Waitzkin: Anne Lamott is a New York Times bestselling author of 20 books including Bird by Bird and Operating Instructions; Josh Waitzkin is an eight-time National chess champion, two-time Tai Chi Push Hands world champion, Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, and author of The Art of Learning. A 10-year anniversary combo episode pairing Anne Lamott on radical self-care with Josh Waitzkin on flow, learning, and presence.

• “piersick's book is zenon motorcycle maintenance is a book i think anybody who makes anything should read um i recommend it to all entrepreneurs”

  Why it counts as a recommendation: “a book i think anybody who makes anything should read ... i recommend it to all entrepreneurs”
  Brad Feld · The Tim Ferriss Show · Jul 202001:39:33

  Said during "Brad Feld, The Art of Unplugging, Carving Your Own Path, and More! | The Tim Ferriss Show". The episode features Brad Feld: Early-stage investor and entrepreneur since 1987, co-founder of Foundry Group and Techstars, and author of multiple books in the Startup Revolution series. He is also an OCD/depression mental-health advocate, art collector, and 50-state marathon runner based in Boulder, Colorado. VC Brad Feld tells Tim Ferriss how unplugging rituals, therapy, and openness about depression sustained him through entrepreneurial chaos.