
Taming the Molecule of More
A Step-by-Step Guide to Make Dopamine Work for You
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Narrated by:
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Michael E. Long
About this listen
Featured on The Next Big Idea Club’s April 2025 Must-Read Books
Dopamine, “the molecule of more,” makes it easy to get stuck in a cycle of never being truly satisfied. It promises happiness, but can never deliver. That part is up to us.
A more fulfilling life begins with training your brain to overcome the dopamine chase—and it’s easier than you think.
From Michael E. Long, coauthor of the life-changing book The Molecule of More, comes this guide with practical solutions to the problem. Based on the latest neuroscience, it will teach you to overcome the most troubling aspect of our biological programming. You’ll learn to:
- Stop being held captive to the lure of social media and gaming
- Use multitasking in ways that increase your productivity—not hamper it
- Avoid the pitfalls that plague dating life—or refresh interest in the romance you already have
- Stop compulsive shopping, online and otherwise
- Break the cycle of doomscrolling and crush your obsession with the news
- Grow your creativity and call it up when you need it most
What if we could harness our struggles and our triumphs toward satisfaction for a lifetime? Taming the Molecule of More delivers a method to begin a more fulfilling life—right now.
©2025 by Michael E. Long. (P)2025 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.People who viewed this also viewed...
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Where should you start – The Molecule of More or this follow-up, Taming the Molecule of More?
I pre-ordered Taming the Molecule of More the minute I realized there would be a follow-up to The Molecule of More. I found TMOM to be an insightful, informative, and interesting take on the science and study of dopamine and it’s profound impact on the human experience. I left the book informed and better educated on what makes me—and the people with whom I share relationships—tick. However, knowing what drives us is quite different from knowing how to guide that drive. Think of it like this, TMOM is the mechanics and body of what dopamine does to humans, and is well worth the read, but TAMING is the fuel, engine, and wheels that tells us how to direct and guide that drive. That is, how to make the most of it. Personally, I don’t think you should read one book without reading the other, but if you must choose one, I suggest the follow-up, Taming the Molecule of More, as it provides a brief overview of the key findings of the first book in Part 1 of the book. The meat of TAMING follows in Parts 2, 3, and 4 – which you’ll completely miss if you only read TMOM.
Part 1 of TAMING is a brief read, bringing you quickly to Part 2, a deeply researched, brilliantly synthesized study on the latest cutting-edge medicine and science being used or tested to tame dopamine, whether by mitigating its negative outcomes or supporting its positive outcomes.
Part 3 provides a menu of undesirable behaviors instigated by dopamine that affect many of us. Name an overindulgence, and Long likely addresses it here. You can read about them all, or you can pick the chapter of most interest to you in this part and go straight there without having to read the other chapters in this section. Whichever you choose, you’ll get practical, realistic actions you can start taking TODAY (many of them step-by-step) to tame dopamine in ways that help put you more in control of your own actions and behaviors.
Throughout the book, Long shows us that dopamine, left on its own, will take charge and drive us with its many whims and cravings and desires and compulsions, often taking us to places we don’t want to go. For each instance of such examples, Long provides us with a way to get behind the wheel of our own life, so that we can steer it and arrive at a destination we want to be.
In Part 4, Long’s Finale, he gives an intimate glance into his own beliefs and philosophy on how we can each find more purpose, more meaning, and more fulfillment in our lives. This section is by far my favorite! Beautifully written, it’s a genuine and earnest expression of the most important lessons he has learned in his life of research, physics, science, medicine, politics and magic (Yes, you read that right, magic!). He gives us sound advice that we can build on to discover more life worth living—both now and tomorrow.
If you only read one book this year—let it be this one!
What format should you read? Hardback or Audiobook? Should you wait for the eBook?
I read TMOM in hardback, and I read it twice (sections of it multiple times), and I bought copies to give to people in my life who I thought would enjoy and benefit from it. I knew I would purchase the hardback book. However, as it so happens, I learned the author of TAMING, Michael E. Long, would be reading the audiobook, and this piqued my interest. Having heard Long speak previously, I found his voice to be engaging, holding my attention for an extended period. So, although I had purchased the hardback, I decided to buy the audiobook, as well.
From personal experience in college, I know that absorbing informational material in two modes is superior to one mode when you want to remember what you read. So, having the hardback and audiobook at hand, I did something I’ve never done before: I let the author read the book to me as I followed along in the hardback. It was an enjoyable and memorable experience. It felt like taking sound, data-driven advice from a good friend, and the information stuck with me long after I had finished it because I took it in with my eyes and with my ears. This method of reading it provided a more solid connection between the information I took in and how it could be practically applied in my day-to-day life. It’s a small time commitment to do it this way, but having done it, I will likely look for similar opportunities in the future. Either way, the hardback is pleasing to the eye; the font is easy to read. The audiobook is well-read with a voice, tone, and inflection that is pleasing to the ear and to put it bluntly—Long holds your attention. What more could you ask from an audiobook reader?
Who should read Taming the Molecule of More and why?
First and foremost, I believe there are only a few people—perhaps all of whom study in neuroscience—who understand how dopamine impacts the human experience more than Michael E. Long. Yet, I’m not sure many of those greater experts could do a better job than Long of synthesizing this knowledge in a way that makes it easy for the average person to understand and enjoy.
Dopamine is a force of biological nature that humans must deal with. We all have it or have too much of it or don’t have enough of it, and no matter which category you fall into, you are profoundly impacted by dopamine – whether you realize it or not. You stand the greatest chance of making the most out of your biology if you seek to understand it, so everyone should read TAMING (unless you are one of those neuroscientists).
The ideas and information provided in this book should be required reading in school. I believe that if more young adults, teenagers, and new adults understood dopamine and the effects it has on their decision-making, I believe fewer adults would suffer from addiction to… well, whatever it is they are addicted to, whether it be drugs, alcohol, gambling, falling-in-love, gaming, food, shopping, or… whatever.
So if you are suffering from or have a loved one who is suffering from addiction or compulsive behaviors, lack of motivation, or poor decision-making, you are the primary audience for this book. Long provides practical, easy-to-implement, data-driven methods to manage the unwanted behaviors associated with dopamine or the lack or over-production of it.
Like a friend giving sage advice over coffee!
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Reading style tough to listen to, along with stated falsehoods.
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