Influencers — Updated 2023.09
This is a list of people who have inspired and shaped my thinking and the way I approach life over time. Although I have never met any of them in person, I consider them mentors from afar.
The list below showcases authors and personalities I’ve discovered and explored through books, blogs, or podcasts. That said, it’s my real-life mentors who’ve taught me the most. Maybe they’ll get their own list someday.
Philosophers of our time
Flies should pay for the privilege of being on their walls.
- Balaji Srinivasan
- Byung-Chul Han
- Daniel Kahneman
- Derek Sivers
- Jordan Peterson
- Kevin Kelly
- Nassim Taleb
- Sam Harris
- Scott Adams
- Steven Pinker
- Tim Urban
- Tristan Harris
- Yuval Noah Harari
Interviewers
I’ve unearthed a treasure trove of ideas and personalities through their interviews.
Product analysts
Inside baseball for the ones working in tech.
- Benedict Evans
- Ben Thompson, James Allworth, and Andrew Sharp
- Eugene Wei
- Horace Deidu
- John Gruber
- John Siracusa
- Matt Ball
- Packy McCormick
VCs & Entrepreneurs
The alchemists of Silicon Valley, they turn code and hustle into unicorns.
Physicists
They demystify the universe and break down the most complex topics even for folks like me.
- Carlo Rovelli
- Michio Kaku
- Neil deGrasse Tyson
- Richard P. Feynman
- Robert Reid
- Sean M. Carroll
- Steven Weinberg
MDs & Scientists
A shortcut to the latest research and insights on nutrition, fitness, or sleep.
- Andrew Huberman
- Andy Galpin
- David Sinclair
- Gary Taubes
- Mathew Walker
- Michael Pollan
- Peter Attia
- Rhonda Patrick
Economists & Investors
Investing seems almost effortless when you see it through their lens.
- Charlie Munger and W. Buffett
- Dan Ariely
- Ray Dalio
- Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner
- Tyler Cowen
Best sellers
Mainstream authors that don’t just write books, but script cultural shifts.
- Arthur C. Brooks
- Cal Newport
- Celeste Headlee
- Greg McKeown
- Malcolm Gladwell
- Oliver Buckerman
- Seth Godin
Stoics
They’ll be remembered as the Zeno, Epictetus, or Marcus Aurelius of our postmodern era.
- Anthony de Mello
- Robert Wright
- Ryan Holiday
- Sebastian Junger
- William B. Irvine
Classics
Sadly, they’re no longer with us, but their ideas have shaped our world.
- Arthur Schopenhauer
- Cato the Younger
- Epictetus
- Friedrich Nietzsche
- H. David Thoreau
- Marcel Proust
- Marcus Aurelius
- Michel de Montaigne
- R. Waldo Emerson
- Seneca the Younger