Thumos (also commonly spelled “thymos“; Greek: θυμός): Greek word expressing the concept of “spiritedness” (as in “spirited stallion” or “spirited debate”). The word indicates a physical association with breath or blood. “Fire in the belly”

Many of the following either a) have an inspiring story behind the creator or b) are a ‘go to’ item when I am feeling the need for a cosmic kick in the butt.

Lots of links to Amazon. Perhaps I should ask them to sponsor me. Hmmm…

Print Books

• The Road by Cormac McCarthy
• Lamb and Fool by Christopher Moore
• Tribe by Sebastian Junger
• Natural Born Heroes and Born To Run by Christopher McDougall
• The Ocean at the End of the Lane and The Graveyard Book (audio) by Neil Gaiman
• The short fiction of Gelineau & King (full disclosuure- I went to school with Mark. But the writing is good, the stories highly engaging, and the way he and Joe decided to jump in and start writing is an inspiration!)
• Jitterbug Perfume by Tom Robbins
• The Art of Peace by Morihei Ueshiba
• The Art of War by Sun Tzu
• The Heart and the Fist by Eric Greitens
• The Monkeywrench Gang by Edward Abbey
• Boreal Ties by Gillis & Ayer
• Bruce Lee Artist of Life by John Little
• Dune by Frank Herbert- I re-read that thing every two years or so

Audio Books

• The Straight-A Conspiracy by Hunter Maats and Katie O’Brien.
• Ego Is The Enemy by Ryan Holiday
• Letting Go by David R. Hawkins
• Waking Up by Sam Harris
• The Art of Learning by Josh Waitzkin
• The Graveyard Book– I mentioned it above, but seriously, it is that fun. Go find it.
• The Tao of Seneca presented by Tim Ferriss (audio titles don’t match letter numbers which is very frustrating, but good listening regardless.)

Sites

• Total Immersion Swimming
• The Art of Manliness
• Wim Hoff Method
• HomeMade Muscle
• Zen Habits
• Tim Ferriss blog
• Headspace
• Zombies, Run!
• Baron Baptiste yoga
• LoneSwimmer
• Bodyweight Muscle

Podcasts

• Hardcore History– Dan Carlin’s long-form history podcast
• History On Fire– Daniele Bolelli’s podcast on world history. Never had more fun learning about Teddy Roosevelt from someone with an Italian accent.
• Radiolab and it’s sister podcast More Perfect– Radiolab has been around for a while, but More Perfect is, at this moment, only in its second episode. I’m hooked. I had no idea the Supreme Court was so fascinating.
• Snap Judgement– Storytelling done right.
• The Way I Heard It– Short stories about real people, told by Mike Rowe.
• The Tim Ferriss Show– Particular favorites of mine are the interviews with Sebastian Junger and Josh Waitzkin
• The Art Of Manliness– I have followed the site for a few years. Liked #208 on boredom, fishing, and the meaning of life.
• This American Life– Longform stories based on a weekly theme. The extremely popular Serial came from here.
• The Good Dad Podcast– A great resource for dads wanting to make a difference in their relationships with their children and their spouse.

Music

• Tim Minchin– Anything really. But Storm, Prejudice, and White Wine In The Sun are favorite. And check out his cover of Hallelujah (I like this one best.)
• Flobots’ Handlebars (the whole album is good, but I love this one.)
• New Dropkick Murphys has been on heavy rotation, partly due to the birth of our son Murphy in February of 2016.
• Pink Moon by Nick Drake
• In the Reins by Calexico and Iron & Wine
• Nothing Shocking by Janes Addiction
• Come Together by Gary Clark Jr. Yes, it is from a soundtrack, but it helps me crank out the pull ups for sure!