 Life is short. Time to make the most of it. |
| Review Date: December 16, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Cole Dickson, |
The first edition of this book changed the way I handle business. I've spent far too much time focusing on trivial tasks that don't produce money or enjoyment. I got stuck into quicksand without even realizing it. I've read a lot of books in my time, and many of them have made a profound impact, but nothing quite like this one. Timothy has a unique ability to show us how to get around the roadblocks we walk past every day but never truly see.
This expanded and updated edition adds a great deal of useful content, including:
* 50 or so tips and case studies from real people who have read the book and doubled income, overcame common sticking points, and reinvented themselves using the core of the original (and this) book as a starting point.
* Real-world templates for eliminating e-mail, negotiating with bosses and clients, or things like getting a private chef for less than $8 a meal.
* Fully revised resources that provide the latest tools and tricks, high-tech shortcuts, etc. for making you more efficient so that you can work less.
While I am not sure I have mastered all of Mr Ferris' action steps to automating my life, he's opened my eyes to the need to create income streams that don't require ME to be involved in the equation. Growing up as a Bricks and Mortar Retail brat, and now as a doctor, it is hard for me to envision an enterprise I would create that didn't revolve around me. This book, does exactly that. Its application can allow you the ability to envision automating parts of your existing business and life in general that may be holding you back from doing all that you want to do.
Emotional Intelligence 2.0 is another life-changing book I read recently that I strongly recommend. If you're interested in self-improvement and seeing things from a new perspective, it's a worthy read.
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Better Than The First Version By A Very Long Shot . . . Definitely Worth The Investment
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| Review Date: December 16, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Dave Lakhani, Boise, ID United States |
I reviewed the first edition of The Four Hour Workweek and was surprised by the content, it was a fresh look at a new idea (Lifestyle Design) and it offered some really practical, useful advice that virtually anyone could implement. I recommended the book to many people, most liked it some didn't.
I eagerly pre-ordered this version of the book when I first heard about it mostly because I was curious if it would really be better . . . and boy was it!
I sat down with this book and read until the wee hours of the morning. Sure a lot of the material is the same, but there are around 100 new pages of material and that material is what the first edition desperately needed. The new material is solid examples, case studies, new resources and it addresses how to navigate lifestyle design in a rapidly changing economy.
Tim includes a list of things learned in 2008 along with lessons learned, this section of the book was priceless. Here are a few of the things he talks about:
1. Don't accept large or costly favors from strangers - Exceptions, uber-successful mentors who are making introductions and not laboring on your behalf.
2. You don't have to recoup losses the same way you lose them - An interesting discussion of mortgages.
3. One of the most universal causes of self-doubt and depression: Trying to impress people you don't like (This one really hit home with me . . . hard)
4. Slow meals = life
5. Money doesn't change you; it reveals who you are when you no longer have to be nice.
6. It doesn't matter how many people don't get it. What matters is how many people do.
7. I should not invest in public stocks where I cannot influence outcome (Another hearty agreement from me).
The list goes on as does the new information in the book. This one is a must read for anyone who wants to break the slave-save-retire cycle and live on purpose now. |
Excellent life check up
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| Review Date: August 7, 2007 |
| Reviewer: Michael Bird, Yorba Linda, CA United States |
First off this book is not a get rich scheme, although I can see how that impression is easily given, it's a book about how to rearrange your life in such as way as to give more time and energy to what is important and less time to what isn't. The author goes into details about an internet business strategy that can lead to wealth, and while it's true any business can lead to wealth, an internet based business can be set up in such a way as to lead to more free time to pursue other things besides making money.
I don't think that the author intended to say that it's easy or guaranteed or that nobody fails, he just gives his advice on how to get it done in that chosen field. I've been to plenty of presentations of wealth generating schemes from product sales to insurance sales. I've read many books on business including those on direct marketing, real estate, stock trading, etc. Some are well intended; some are scams through and through. This book is no scam and it's not trying to sell any snake oil. Perhaps the author does downplay the time and risk and money it takes to start and run a successful internet based business, perhaps people just hear what they want to hear and it doesn't matter anyway.
I personally know someone that runs an internet based business, he has put plenty of time and money and energy into the business, and it's successful, at least I know he doesn't have a day job and he gets to travel and do things he likes to do when he wants to do them. The ideas that the author puts into this book show how to get into the business or improve one you have running, but this is only a part of the book.
Much of what I got out of the book was a reminder to myself about how important it is to spend time wisely. The 80/20 rule is gone over. Advice is given: quit watching so much television, ignore the nightly news, don't spend too much time reading fiction and keep non-fiction down to a list of good books and work them one at a time. Stay off the internet going to check email constantly or checking the news web sites. This all may seem like basic advice, but it's just part of the practical plan that the author goes over in adjusting your life to free up time.
As for the parts about outsourcing, it never ceases to amaze me that some people are so ignorant about economics that they would take the authors advice as being a means to exploit others. The more things that are outsourced to the third world, the more it grows economically and the more we prosper here at home. For those that think job loss is a bad thing, throw out your refrigerator so the ice man can have his job back. And if you really think people are being exploited when they take low paying jobs, next time you order a burger, tip the short order guy ten bucks.
Anyway, I highly recommend this book, it's not just about making money, it's not just about quitting your nine to five job, it's about making life more livable and more meaningful.
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This book changed my life!
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| Review Date: July 8, 2007 |
| Reviewer: D. Young, Tokyo, Japan |
This book made me realize that I was already a member of the "New Rich."
Before this book, I was already earning 100+K annually as an IT professional working for a large, international firm. But, I was working 50+ hours per week--and my co-workers, 60+ hours per week.
I live in Japan, where visible effort is valued more than practical results. So naturally, I felt guilty when I was working less hours than my peers. I volunteered to be the good guy and helped my busy and overworked co-workers in the name of teamwork. But I was miserable and was secretly contemplating a career-change.
Then I read this book. And my eyes were opened to new possibilities.
Here's what I did:
1) I began checking email just once a day
2) I immediately stopped scheduling face-to-face meetings
3) I started working from home twice a week (Fridays and Mondays)
4) I created my dreamline and set 6-month and 1-year goals
5) I began hiring staff for my part-time business
Here's what I did NOT do:
1) Hire a VA (my productivity would probably improve even more, but for now this is sufficient)
2) Start my own business (my current job is providing plenty of opportunity to live a better, richer lifestyle)
3) Fire my employer
Here's what happened:
1) My clients/customers did not notice anything (I made sure that client work remained a priority)
2) My teammates and co-workers started talking behind my back (I show up less and less and work)
3) My boss hasn't said anything
4) I now work only 2-4 hours per day. I work 3 days a week. My annual income has not changed
5) I feel more alive
If you're wondering whether you should read this book, the answer is obvious: You should read this book, not necessarily because you'll agree with everything it tells you to do. No book can do that. You're in charge of your own life. You should make your own decision about what you can/should do.
You should read this book because it introduces a new paradigm of what work and life is all about. And more importantly, the book shows you HOW you can actually reduce work and enjoy life more.
(Actually, the book only shows one example of how the author enjoyed his life more. How can you find more enjoyment in YOUR own life? That's something you'll have to answer for yourself.)
With all this new free time, I'm now dancing more, spending more time with my girlfriend more, studying another foreign language, pursing photography, and making more travels. |
Reading Comprehension is Key
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| Review Date: December 28, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Zoe Winters, USA |
I'd like to preface this review with something interesting about the Amazon reviews for this book. Many 1-star reviewers accused the 5-star reviewers of being "plants." Especially the ones who hadn't reviewed a book before on Amazon. How do they know that the person wasn't just so moved by the book they made their first Amazon review? We all had that first book we reviewed at one point or another. And extreme feelings about a book, either extreme love or extreme hate, tend to motivate one to share that view with the world.
What I found amazing was, most of the 1-star reviews were reviews of positive reviews, not the book, even though they claimed to be reviews of the book. With all that was taken out of context and twisted, it was clear that most of the 1-star reviewers either didn't read the book or don't have sufficient reading comprehension to be a critic of anything. I find this unfortunate since many negative-minded people read these reviews and respond with things like: "This was what I suspected, glad I didn't waste my money." I'm not sure what exactly the threat is in exploring new ideas whether you agree with them or not, at least allow your mind the opportunity to choose.
This book is not about being lazy. It's not a get-rich quick scheme. It's not about being dishonest or unethical. It became very clear that some people really truly believe that working few hours on work you hate to free up time for more productive and meaningful life activities is somehow "immoral." I guess the Puritanical mentality this country started out with (earliest settlers here) has seeped deeper into our overall culture than we once imagined.
I used to be very held back by the notion of "the other people in the world who are suffering." i.e. why should I seek to make my life situation better when it seems selfish compared to all the starving Ethiopian children, for example. But the crux of the issue is this... I am either helping, being helped, or breaking even. Breaking even would be when a person barely scrapes by enough to support and take care of their own family unit (people living in the house with them.) They are often in debt, middle-class generally, but living paycheck to paycheck or not far above it. They live from scarcity rather than abundance and so any little bit they have over they have to save rather than use to help someone else.
Others are constantly "being helped" by the government, by charities, by whoever. Now I'm not making a moral judgment against either of these groups of people. Living in a money-based instead of a community-based society is hard. However... people often rush to judge those who either HAVE money or WANT to have money as automatically immoral or bad people. And that's not true. Who do you think the helpers are? It's certainly not the people who need help, and it's not the people in that middle class prison that can't seem to get ahead. It's the people who have extra money TO help. And those are also the people who volunteer the most because surprise surprise they have more TIME to donate than any of the other groups.
So I think people would benefit themselves quite a bit if they changed their attitude about acquiring money. Yes, there will always be greedy people who acquire at the expense of others. There will always be people who are materialistic and just want more and more useless "stuff." But then there are others who acquire money and more personal freedom who use a good portion of both of those assets to help others. And contrary to what many readers seemed to get out of the book (or out of their reading of the reviews only), the author's message isn't about being greedy, but about acquiring freedom and then using that freedom for something that benefits both you and others at the same time.
Pointless drudgery and suffering for the sake of it is... pointless. It's not character building necessarily and it doesn't make you a better person necessarily. And especially if a lot of the suffering is self-imposed based on a refusal to think outside of a very limiting box.
The author's definition of the "new rich" is a sliding barometer. For example his view (and I agree) is that someone who makes $40,000 a year and is totally 100% mobile and can live ANYWHERE in the world, and go anywhere in the world, is far more rich than someone making $500,000 a year who hates their job, works 80 hour weeks and is trapped in one location (usually a very expensive American city like NY or LA.) This is very true. You'd be amazed by the variable in quality of life for your dollar depending on where you live, even just in the United States there is huge variability.
This book explores a lot of ways for you to simplify your life and get work done with as soon as possible so you can get on to other things. Timothy Ferriss is NOT saying that you can work 4 hours a week starting tomorrow. The goal of this particular book for this particular outcome is one of two things: either to work remotely for your employer and increase productivity to the point that you can work fewer hours (though probably more than 4 a week) from home or anywhere else you are, or starting a business with the goal of automation at the end. i.e. internet business, product-based businesses (online), information products. You do a lot of work on the front end to create a product and set up an infrastructure so you don't have to continue to micromanage the business forever. You can go on to doing other things, either another income stream or micro-business on another topic/idea/product, or some other activity that interests you.
This is the kind of track I'm on and have been on for a little while now. This book wasn't overly novel to me because I'd already been initiated into this type of "Freedom-based" thinking through books like: "Unjobbing: The Adult Liberation Handbook," "Making a Living Without a Job," and "How I found Freedom in an Unfree World," all amazing books and paradigm shifters that make you take stock of what YOU want and not what you're "supposed" to want and that also make you look at money and acquiring it in whole new ways. Every single one of them is valuable in their own right and reading those books probably made this book far less "out there" to me. Since apparently it seems pretty "out there" to a lot of people.
I've owned a service business before (wedding coordinating) and a craft business (candlemaking) and on both fronts I realized quickly that even if I was spectacularly successful, that there was a definite ceiling on the amount of money I could earn with either without adding significant complication into the mix (i.e. working long hours indefinitely and employees which I would then have to manage.) In the case of candles I could have gone an entirely different route into outsourcing manufacturing, but then it would cease being a "crafts" business and turn into just retail.
There is a common saying among entrepreneurs that they would rather work 16 hours a day for themselves than 8 hours a day for someone else. Well I don't even want to work 8 hours a day. It's not that I'm lazy, I just have other things to do, and if you enhance your productivity there really is no genuine reason to work that many hours a day. Most people in 9-5 jobs are getting about 3-4 hours of genuine WORK done a day. Well that's about what I do, but I just do it in a concentrated effort and don't get sidetracked by other things. Some days I work 6 hours especially when I'm in the new phase of a project, but that's about my max. Granted, we are talking about income producing activities here. This doesn't include cooking and cleaning which is also technically work, or exercise, which is a form of work. I enjoy exercise, but I enjoy most of what I do to one degree or another so liking or not liking the activity can't be the barometer for what is and isn't work.
Anyway this is an incredibly long-winded way of saying that I really enjoyed this book, and didn't find it that "out there." It's somewhat amusing to see the people who "do" find it that "out there" because I don't really think I'm an impractical person. But I will admit that it has probably helped that I'm so stubborn, I just pretty much refused to buy into many of the ideas I was "supposed" to buy into regarding work. So even with the first paradigm-shifting book I read in this category, I was open to the ideas. I'm not a lazy person but I also don't mistake "busyness" for productivity or accomplishment.
I was already familiar with a lot of the mentalities and ideas in the book from my exposure to the above mentioned books as well as learning experiences I've already had in business and things I'd figured out on my own, but I did learn a few new techniques and he also helped to boil down some things for me that will be useful in launching my next income stream which will hopefully eventually replace the freelance work I'm doing now. Because the goal eventually is automation so I can free up time to just write what I want (with or without big profit at the end of it), and focus on other pursuits. |
Highly recommended!
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| Review Date: May 2, 2007 |
| Reviewer: J. Harr, |
I don't often write reviews on Amazon.com but I felt compelled to write one for this book because the author has convinced me to change my assumptions about worklife and personal goals. This is an easy read. Althought I am a slooooow and easily distracted reader, I finished the book from cover-to-cover in a few sittings. I even spent some time researching the weblinks but didn't do all the challenges because I was eager to absorb all the ideas first.
It is probably best to read the book one time through quickly to grasp his point of view (the author even gives a brief blurb on how to speed read). Then after you "get it" take some time doing the challenges if you feel so compelled.
I have already implemented one of the author's recommendations in my daily life....check email only twice per day: right before lunch then again an hour before the end of the day. Process every email at the time you read it. Seems a simple challenge but I did suffer "withdrawal symptoms" from not constantly checking email. And you know what? Because I stayed focus on the task at hand and not constantly checking email I left work last Thursday (April 27) feeling less stressed and more accomplished. This is only a brief part of the book but to me was impactful.
Ferriss gives some great ideas about starting your own business even if you don't have or desire an MBA (like me). He provides lists of free and paid resources to help you along the way.
There is a simple roadmap for freeing yourself from the 9-5 grind. Is it attainable? I hope so. Maybe I'm just being an optimist but yesterday I took the day off from my "cube job" and spent part of my day setting up an online business following his "case studies".
The downside is that the book is provides a cursory glance at some topics that need to be expanded. However, I think he did a good job at presenting his view of how life can be. He's also opened himself up to "The 4 Hour Workweek 2.0" when he can go in more depth.
In all I found it an enjoyable read. I plan to follow his "roadmap" and see where it takes me. I already recommended it to two other friends.
Now, to the naysayers writing "reviews" about this book. First, Read the book. Second, write a review of the book not a review about other reviews. You are undermining your "cause" as Review Police by giving a 1-star without first reading the book and "just to balance the scales". In short you're being hypocritical. I think if you take your own advice and read the book you will "get it". Is there marketing going on here? DUH! Of course there is marketing! Ferriss is selling a product. Simply put, he practices what he preaches!
Read the book and find out! |
Revolutionized the way I think about work
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| Review Date: September 11, 2007 |
| Reviewer: Gen of www.LibraryOfEden.com, California |
The author has a ton of amazing advice in here. I am a landscaper, so most of my work is stuff that I need to be present for. Still, I found a lot of to love about this book.
First, Ferriss inspires me to think about the possibilities in automation. In my own business, maybe I can't take off entirely at this stage, but maybe I can give my assistants more power to make decisions on their own so that I have to do less overseeing and fewer small chores.
Then, he gives practical tips for getting things done fast, eliminating the busy work that isn't really necessary, cutting out the 80% of clients who are unprofitable and finding ways of getting more clients like the 20% who make me the most money.
He suggests that by eliminating the inner fear of what we would do if we weren't busy, we will begin to be able to cultivate habits that give us more time. By showing us how to visualize a healthy and fulfilling life and to take care of the fears that hold us back, he provides a truly useful blueprint for getting to a life that is enjoyable and satisfying, and is truly being lived to the fullest.
I don't personally agree with the moral values of some of his suggestions. I worry about the implications of outsourcing our lives to someone in another country, in particular. But even discarding all that I did not agree with, I found TONS in here that I found directly applicable to my blue-collar work life, things that I can do now.
Sometimes all we need is a new way of looking at a problem in order to see innovative ways of reducing it or solving it, and that is what this book is best used as. A tool to help you think outside your normal patterns and asks, persistently, why not live your dreams?
After reading this book the first time, I have about fifty bookmarks in it of things that I really want to get back to and examine more. If you read this, I encourage you to do the exercises as you go. They really helped me change my thinking rather than just think about changing my thinking. |
He's a punk, but I felt myself left without exuse to move on this info.
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| Review Date: July 12, 2007 |
| Reviewer: Puzzled, Greenwich Ct. |
A married person with a few kids would be hard pressed to relate to this vagabond single male's lifestyle recommendations. Travel the world at the drop of a hat? Spend two or three months per year in some exotic local learning a new language and taking lessons to master dance/kung fu/skiing? His photo on the back of the dust cover convinced me his thyroid was overactive, those bulging eyes. Should be a poster child for HyperActiveAttentionDeficitDisorders too. You can hear his voice in the pages. He loses interest fast, he's onto the next thing, he's always working the system to avoid doing things the proper, intergrity filled way.
Come on Tim! What about school, feeding the kids, the dog, and the in-laws. What about community? What about being there for those who are friends and commrades? What about the value of working to build the houses, dig the ditches, and do the math?
Once you get past all the above questions, there is a thrill ride in these pages. Couldn't put it down. Have implemented dozens of his ideas. I may not be a hyperactive single "dude" ripped and ready to eschew working my way to the top, but I am a different person after reading this book.
Tim is the kind of a guy you'd hate to compete against, but are glad when he is on your team. If you are on a soul-crushing road to workaholism, he is definately telling you to jump ship and join his team. One may have to re-map the methods to fit different lifestyles, but the blunt force message of the book has given me pause. I'm on an info diet, am outsourcing piles on my desk to india, and I'm not checking my emails nearly as much.
Thanks Tim...Rock on. |
Seek excitement - not pleasure
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| Review Date: August 14, 2007 |
| Reviewer: Stormy, Colorado |
Tim Ferriss' new book The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich isn't for everyone but I thought he made some really good points.
* We work from 9-5 because we are supposed to work 40 hours a week from 9-5.
* We are very unproductive at work. How many hours did you spend this week in meetings, answering emails or surfing the web?
* We are busy working hard and saving for retirement when we should be figuring out how to do what we want to do now.
* We have way too much information to digest from blogs to news to email.
What he suggests, among many other things, is:
* Be more productive. Figure out what you do when you are not working (like blogging emailing or reading blogs and news) and cut it out.
* Get lots done in a little time so you have lots more time for things you enjoy. He suggest working just an hour a day.
* Outsource anything and everything possible including all your errands.
* Figure out what excites you so you know what you want to be doing. (He stresses excitement over enjoyment. Like I've said, too much hanging out on the beach can get boring.)
* Work towards a positive monthly cash flow instead of a large sum of money you'll use during retirement.
* Take lots of mini-retirements or mini-vacations - so save up for those and then do them.
* He advocates lots of travel and lots of learning - especially other languages.
In order to accomplish all this, he suggests starting a business selling a product. Then outsource everything from creating the product to marketing to order fulfillment to others.
I bet if you read the book, you'd get at least one really good idea out of it. I bet most people that read the book don't end up quitting their job and starting an outsourced product company, but you never know! |
The Title Should Tell You What to Expect
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| Review Date: March 5, 2008 |
| Reviewer: J. Holtzinger, Lost in California |
I saw the last couple of one-star reviews and thought I should comment.
The title of the book is The 4-Hour Workweek.
Certainly, the world does cease to function if everyone attempted to outsource all actual manufacturing of goods and delivery of valuable services to others. Yes, taken to an extreme, there would be nobody left to actually do anything, and societies would collapse.
That is a macro view of things. And its rather faulty. We all focus on specific means of producing our own income, and outsource other vital functions of living to other members of society. Think about it. Did you go out in the fields and pick your own grains (that you tilled and planted) to make cereal this morning? Did you milk your own cows on your own farm to have milk to pour over that cereal? Are you sitting in a house you built yourself, from lumber you harvested with tools you smelted yourself? Wecome to Outsourcing 101. Society depends upon "outsourcing." To think anything less is to miss the reality of living in a complex economy and society.
This book is written to individuals who seek to use new paradigms to craft a life of their own choosing. It is not a be-all, end-all, and there are some snake-oil patches around the edges of the book, but his premise is strong and well-supported by his personal stories and advice.
Far too many people buy into the whole "work hard and you will be rewarded" mantra in America, or even more potentially damaging to the human soul, "work is its own reward." Ferriss doesn't. I don't. Knowledge, effectiveness and efficiency help to determine the final financial value of a person's time, not how many hours they work. Only a true communist would insist an unskilled day laborer's time and value to a house-building project is the same as that of the general contractor with 20+ years experience, who may not physically build the house, but is charged with the duty of making sure the house gets built.
True, in a manufacturing segment, or in a doctor's office, a person must physically be present and actually doing something in the physical world at a specific point in time in order to produce value. That point is not lost. But again, that is not the premise of the book.
The premise of the book is "Escape 9-5, live anywhere, and join the new rich." There are means of making a living that does not require an individual to be physically present in a specific location, interacting with the physical world or interacting with people in-person.
Ferriss' definition of the new rich in his book is someone who has a high level of personal freedom over where he lives, and what he does with his time. A young man with $10k a month of semi-passive income, surfing in Fiji in the middle of a beautiful afternoon, seems to fit Ferriss' definition of "rich." That is not a traditional definition of rich. To the established rich, $120,000 a year for a young man shows future potential, but does not qualify one under the standard definitions of rich. A partner in a major San Francisco law firm would certainly scoff at this assertion of what is "rich." Top-of-the-class new attornies may make this amount (and more) in first year employment at a major firm. But if the career is not all-rewarding, why should an individual follow a path where the time they commit to earning a living becomes all-encompassing?
The point of the book, is that our societies have changed, and specifically, there are opportunities for individuals who can reframe their paradigms and leverage their skills in brand new ways for massive competitive advantage. For Ferriss, his view was that changing his organization of his financial life he could work less actual hours while still maintaining a good income, and live more while young.
Regarding criticisms of virtual outsourcing overseas--again, criticisms tend to come from a macro perspective that is beyond the scope of the author. Is it exploitative to employ the services of a virtual assistant and pay them what is a handsome wage in their home country, just because your biased paradigm insists you should value their time based upon income expectations in the United States? That's a weak argument in my book. Granted, protection of domestic jobs in the U.S. is critical to maintaining a high quality of life across the social spectrum of the domestic economy. But again, this is far beyond the perspective of the individual entrepreneur.
More to the point, outsourcing is beyond the control of large corporations as well. Apple Computer used to build Apple Computers in Silicon Valley. When market forces made it infeasible to continue making computers domestically, should the company have simply shut its doors and stopped creating and innovating? Would that have been better off for the stockholders or the employees of the company? What Ferriss advocates is done across many business sectors. He is only advocating it on a much smaller scale that hasn't really been explored that well, until now.
Overall, this book is well worth its admission price. Anyone with interest in pursuing entrepreneurial endeavors should give this book a thought. You may not choose to only work 40 hours a week, or pare your existence back to become a persistent world traveller, but you just might pick up a few ideas that could add up to significant time savings and higher efficiency at the same time.
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Brilliant & fun book about being financially independent
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| Review Date: May 8, 2007 |
| Reviewer: Elizabeth Weinstein, San Jose, CA United States |
This is a brilliant and fun book that I highly recommend.
He advocates many of the same theories as Alexandria Brown and Dan Kennedy -- being an entrepreneur, not trading time for dollars, outsourcing, protecting your time/access, leverage -- but adds that with a new idea of true independence to location and mini-retirements. The premise is to set up your business to such that you can answer your email 1x week, never check your voicemail, outsource almost everything, and live abroad 6 months at a time. And, instead of working like a dog for 30 years so you can retire "someday" - take mini-retirements now.
I do have to disclose that Timothy is a bit of a 29-year old bachelor punk, but I find him very entertaining (similar to Dan Kennedy old crotchety man-ness). :)
Some of his more entertaining tips include forcing yourself to be okay with being uncomfortable by placing calls to celebrities, making eye contact with everyone you meet for 2 days, and laying down on the floor in the middle of Starbucks for 10 seconds.
Some great advice I have already put to use:
-Only check email 2x a day, at noon and 4 pm. Wow, how efficient I become when I keep my mail program closed. And, my business has not yet exploded.
-Stop work at 4 pm. I am spending 4-5 pm in an activity that I would do if I was financially independent. Not sure what those activities are yet -- so far I have spent the time shopping, at happy hour, and reading a book in the park.
-Act as if you could only work 2 hrs a day. Now I am spending the first 2 hours doing the most important work for the day, instead of spending it on email. As such, I am able to get my work for the day done by mid afternoon, if not earlier -- since I do the most important work first.
And re the outsourcing ... if you are a socialist, you may not like this book. If you think that outsourcing takes advantage of people, or if you think unions are great, you may not like this book. This book is for smart, independent, capitalist-minded people, especially those who want to change their life and outsource their business to people who want to work for them (whether they are located in the U.S or overseas). |
Worthwhile Just For The Different Perspective It Gives
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| Review Date: March 15, 2008 |
| Reviewer: monkuboy, Temple City, CA United States |
Many reviewers have questioned the ethics of this book, or have said much of it is not practical. They make good points, but I feel that this book was a worthwhile read because of the different perspective it gave me on how I should put my time to use.
Mr. Ferriss gets the reader thinking about just exactly what he or she wants to achieve in life. Is it the continual accumulation of riches, to which we devote our time and have no time left for a "real" life doing the things we truly enjoy? And after you finally get those riches (although then you run into the problem of how much is enough), maybe by then you are too old to enjoy them. Or, should we be thinking about how best to arrange our time now, to get the most benefit from that time. Not in the future, but now.
The author is not saying to dodge work or take unethical or immoral shortcuts, but is saying if you can achieve what is expected of you in a more efficient way that gives you time to pursue more enjoyable things, then what is wrong with that?
Now some of the things he advocates are not always practical. For example, he suggests you try and get your boss to allow you to work from home. That's fine if you have some sort of office job that makes this a logical choice but not everyone has a job like that. He also advocates outsourcing various tasks to companies overseas who specialize in providing personal assistants, and taking advantage of geoarbitrage (the difference in what it costs to have someone in a place such as India do your work for you versus what it costs to either hire someone in the U.S. or to do the work yourself). That again isn't all that practical unless you really have a lot of things that you can outsource that way.
So if you are reading this book to use as some sort of plan for your own life, expecting a checklist of how to get to a literal 4-hour workweek, you will be disappointed. I feel the best use of this book is to read it and let the material help expand your own thinking as to ways you can more effectively manage your life and put your time to better use. Things like figuring out what you can put on autopilot, hopefully something that is income generating, so that you only have to devote minimal time to it but meanwhile it keeps on working for you.
Read the book, and then let the material bring out your own creativity. If you are the type who needs concrete, structured steps that tell you what exactly to do, then don't bother reading this book. |
This book will change your life!
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| Review Date: May 7, 2007 |
| Reviewer: J. FERRY, MI, USA |
This book is NOTHING LESS than incredible! If you want to change your life forever, then it is a must read. Buy it! I have purchased both the audio and print book (I first bought the audio book and was so impressed, I wanted the print version as a `workbook' to help work through the material.)
Why should I buy this book you ask? There are many reasons:
1.He provides a solution for taking back control of your life if you have the determination and drive to do so. It's that simple.
2.He illustrates a step by step plan for doing the above and provides a plethora of resources to use.
3.He doesn't just tell you (like many other books) that money will give you back control of your life. Instead he truthfully and accurately explains that it is your freedom, time and passions that fill you with life. As Tim says, "People don't want to be millionaires - they want to experience what they believe only millions can buy" (p.8). At the same time, for those interested, he provides ways and ideas to increase your financial resources by using more efficient methods - but the point is made clear that you don't need gross amounts of money to really enjoy the good things in life, including travel, nor do you have to wait until the golden years.
4.He gives you practical, useful tools for achieving what YOU want out of life; and these tools are immediately applicable. For example, how to go on the "Low-Information Diet" and eliminate unfocused, wasted time.
5.Much of what he teaches is applicable to your life in general, not just your career or financial future. From overcoming fear to focusing your efforts on truly important tasks, he provides REAL LIFE solutions. I love the way this guy thinks!
6.He reminds you to think with your OWN brain and not follow the crowd. To question everything and come up with your own answers and then test them to see what happens. That's what he did, so he practices what he preaches. Now granted, he's not the first person to do this, but he does it in a new way, one that caught my full attention and I think will catch yours too.
7.The proof is in the pudding (or in this case, in the kickboxing ring or on the dance floor). Tim IS and has proof that his methods work, if YOU work his methods. He provides case studies and examples.
Tim asks the question, "Why do it all in the first place? (i.e. work 9-5 or longer hours in the corporate world, save, wait, and then retire later in life when you are too old to really enjoy it). After examination and experimentation he concludes, "The commonsense rules of the `real world' are a fragile collection of socially reinforced illusions" (p.9). I happen to agree with him and have always dreamed of the lifestyle he shows how to live - not one where I'm just pursuing money to become a millionaire, but one where I have the freedom and resources to live a life of adventure and challenge WHILE I'm growing older - to travel, to do, to be what I want. I didn't know how to achieve this type of lifestyle. Tim shows you how. Thank you Tim, I've been searching for these answers for some time and now I'm going to seize the day!!!
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A great new perspective on business and life ...
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| Review Date: April 24, 2007 |
| Reviewer: Matt, |
Tim Ferriss has traveled the world, started a successful business, appeared on national television shows, won elite fighting competitions, and set world records. All of this by the age of 30.
To add to these accomplishments, Tim Ferriss has now written a great new book on business and life. The title of the book is unfortunate. It is about much more than creating a 4-hour work week (although it delivers on that promise as well). I want to discuss briefly my favorite parts of the book: motivation and focus, business planning, and life planning.
Motivation and focus - Tim has a lot of great advice for getting motivated and focusing on important tasks. He makes use of the 80/20 principle and Parkinson's law. Both of these ideas have been written about before, but Tim takes them to the next level. He gives specific advice on how to get moving and get the most out of your time.
In this section, Tim also points out why big goals are often easier to reach than smaller ones. This was an "Aha!" moment for me. Tim says that smaller goals are often harder to reach because there are a lot of people competing for them (think middle management positions at most large companies). However, big goals often have less competition and are easier to motivate yourself towards achieving.
Business planning - Tim goes into detail on how to create a low-maintenance business. Tim takes you through the entire process - from idea creation, to testing, to order fulfillment. It is a process that has worked for him and several of his friends, and Tim gives real-life examples for each of the steps. Tim also includes contact information for companies and organizations that can help you every step of the way. In my opinion, the most important part of this section is the low-cost method of testing business ideas before making large investments of time or money.
I also really liked Tim's advice on automating a business. Tim has successfully used a network of associates and outsourcers to put his business on autopilot. With this support network, Tim only has to spend a few hours a week working in his business. He includes website and phone numbers of many of these organizations and also gives advice on how to deal with outsourcers. In this section of the book, Tim also includes a few pages written by some of his "Virtual Assistants" giving their perspective on outsourcing.
I am a bit more conservative than Tim. I would personally want to have a significant amount in savings or be generating income well in excess of my monthly expenses before relying solely on the business income to cover my expenses. However, Tim seems to have done well and profited nicely from his BrainQuicken supplement.
If you aren't interested in starting a business, Tim gives some great advice on how to get time away from the office (with pay). I have personally seen several of these techniques work, and I am glad Tim included this section for those who aren't entrepreneurially inclined.
Life planning - Once your income needs are met, now what? If you were able to successfully create a business following Tim's instructions, you probably have a lot of extra time on your hands. Tim talks a lot in this section about what to do with that extra time. Tim seems to prefer traveling, and he gives readers a good bit of advice on working and traveling abroad. His personal preference is to spend a month or so intensely working and then spend a couple of months traveling. Of course, you could just as easily use your time to grow other businesses or spend time at home with your family.
Working for yourself, you may become socially isolated or bored. Or, you may start to ask The Big Questions (like "What is the meaning of life?"). Tim gives some great advice for all of these situations.
I don't know Tim, nor do I have any financial connection to this book. I only found out about the book by reading a blog from someone who listened to Tim's talk at this year's South by Southwest festival in Austin. I have never written a review on Amazon before, but this book compelled me to write my first. I highly recommend you get it, and I guarantee it will get you thinking about making changes in your life. |
Ferris Says Stop Procrasturbating and Live!
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| Review Date: September 19, 2007 |
| Reviewer: Larry Baldwin, Granger, IN |
| The 4-Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferris is a very timely challenge to the dilemma of traditional workplace captivity and at the same time feeds on just about anybody's dream of working less and accomplishing more. I've been a follower of David Allen's Getting Things Done methodology for a few years, falling off the wagon occasionally, but generally sending my to-do's through his filters and even customizing my own techniques to the point that I could probably devise my own hybrid and start selling it on an infomercial or something. In fact, that's the sort of thing Ferris encourages and teaches. The idea is to have the end in mind when starting a business in the first place, that being to eliminate work (by actually focusing on the 20% that creates 80% of the profit, and then outsourcing everything possible) and automate the rest, becoming a "ghost" in the equation. He doesn't only write for the would-be entrepreneur, but also gives nearly equal time to the employee who might actually want to remain one while working more often "from home" or some other unknown locale, presumably more productive than ever but on one's own terms, specifically place and time. Ferris writes a significant portion of the last part of the book for those who are serious about freeing up most or even all of their time spent on "work for work's sake," or W4W, and abandoning civilization for a lower-cost adventure to remote places, learning new languages and skills, or simply doing whatever one dreams of doing in their "mini-retirement." Many will find the ideas very alluring and he presents them as perfectly doable, which I believe. The caveat for me and many readers, if not most, is that we have families that are not only a higher priority than leaving it all behind, but they are in fact the dream itself. I think Ferris acknowledges that not everyone is single and 30 years old like he is, and so he does offer some scattered aids for those of us living in a different reality. In fact, as a dad of four kids and a wife I'd rather spend my time with than anybody else, I still found everything useful for leading my family in adventures without waiting for retirement several years down the road. It is a worthwhile and very enjoyable read. While Getting Things Done is a very practical and based on years of research and consulting, The 4-Hour Workweek is a far more entertaining read with all the practical steps but from the vantage point of a younger rogue and first-time author who's right in the middle of living what he's writing about. |
Gave me motivation and great ideas
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| Review Date: July 12, 2007 |
| Reviewer: K. Ford, West Orange, NJ USA |
This book came at the right time for me. I am a person with a family and a life and several small businesses and investments to manage. I was so busy I wasn't getting enjoyment out of much of anything (except not walking into an office everyday!). Tim's book helped me to see that I can let go of some things, outsource other items and free up more time. I won't be traveling the world any time soon, but I am loving the time spent with my young kids and husband. Despite what several readers say, you do not have to be single without kids to embrace his ideas of a different lifestyle. His life is full of travel and remote working, but he never tells you do that, he tells you to find what is right for you, and that is awesome.
The resources Tim provides are amazing, I feel like I've been living under a rock seeing what all is available! Also his exercises are great for moving out of your comfort zone and building confidence and self esteem (an area I always thought I was pretty good with). Finally, his idea of Dreamlining is great. It falls into many other philosophies with similar underpinnings, once you put out in the universe what you are looking for, and work towards your goals, you will get there. Settle for second best, and you will get it. Dream big, you will be amazed when you start looking around to fulfill your dreams how possible they all can be, and perhaps find dreams you didn't know you had!
I highly recommend this book, and do to anyone who will listen. It is one of the best work/lifestyle books out there and I feel it is worth the time to read it. You will get a least one great idea to improve your life and I have to say that is more than I get from most of the things I spend time reading. Happy reading and best to everyone! |
From Business Lexington:
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| Review Date: September 25, 2008 |
| Reviewer: Paul Sanders, Lexington, KY |
The 4-Hour Work Week:
Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich
By Timothy Ferriss
Twenty-years ago a young psychologist named Marsha Sinetar helped jumpstart a revolutionary approach to work. With the publication of her best-selling book "Do What You Love, The Money will Follow," Sinetar liberated millions from the idea that working was necessary only to make a living so you could do what you loved.
Since that time, the ideas of discovering your right livelihood, balancing work and life and becoming rich enough to afford retirement have spawned thousands of self-help books. Among these are numerous sterile accounts of how to become a millionaire before you are 30.
Now, a 29-year old suggests what may become the next step in the work revolution. In his book, The 4-Hour Work Week: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich, Timothy Ferriss relays to us in his high speed text that change is long-overdue. Instead of the slave/save/retire mentality of most overworked employees today, there are new opportunities for workers that have never existed before.
But The 4-Hour Workweek is not another book on the work-life balance describing the problems we all face. It is about creating solutions by changing not just your workstyle, but your lifestyle. The new currencies, he says, are time and mobility. These should be used in the here and now to create a luxury lifestyle. The author assures us it is not difficult. It simply takes the courage to make a few uncommon decisions and follow them with equally uncommon actions.
There is already a fast-growing subculture who has abandoned the "deferred-life" plan and are now distributing retirement throughout life instead of saving it for the end, Ferriss says. He titles this group the New Rich (NR) and states their main goal is to escape the rat race entirely, not win it. The NR believe that traditional one office locations and 9 to 5 workdays are obsolete. Money alone rarely ever solves problems or gives enjoyment.
The desire for more money, the author argues, is often laziness. "If only I had more money is the easiest way to postpone the intense self-examination and decision-making necessary to create a life of enjoyment--now and not later," he says. "Busy yourself with the routine of the money wheel, pretend it's the fix-all, and you artfully create a constant distraction that prevents you from seeing just how pointless it is."
Ferriss is no poverty guru however. A few years ago, he was a poster boy for the extremely overworked and underpaid cubicle dweller. Using the insights he developed for this book, he went from $40,000 a year and 80 hours a week to $40,000 per month and four hours per week. In part because of his extensive world travel, he now speaks six languages. He is a national champion in Chinese kickboxing, an actor on a hit television series in Hong Kong and holds a world record in tango.
The author offers four steps and strategies to reinvent yourself, whether as an entrepreneur or in your current job. The first letters of each step form the acronym of "DEAL" The manifesto of the "dealmaker" is simple: Reality is negotiable. Outside of science and law, all rules can be bent or broken. Here's the four steps for reinventing yourself:
* Definition: Define what you want to be doing.
* Elimination: Ask yourself three times a day "am I being productive, or am I being busy?" Eliminate interruptions. Stop checking e-mail more than once a day.
* Automation: Delegate or automate the remaining tasks, even sending personal tasks overseas. If you're a writer, outsource your research the night before to a virtual assistant in India. Have it ready the next morning. Cost: $4. Per hour.
* Liberation: Enjoy your mobility and use the time you create. Surround yourself with positive people who have nothing to do with your work.
This is a book about challenging assumptions. For example, the New Rich credo is not to strive to buy all the things you want, but to do all the things you want to do. The NR goal is not to have more, but to have more quality and less clutter and of course, the time to do what matters.
Can you have it all--by working 4 hours a week? Tim Ferriss's belief-blasting, fast-paced, book makes you want to believe it. It's an exciting, mind-expanding declaration about how our lives don't have to be all about work. If Ferriss' book is the ticket to the workplace of the future, you definitely want to get on board. |
a glimpse of the self-sufficient mobile new rich
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| Review Date: December 25, 2009 |
| Reviewer: photondn, Florida, USA |
Timothy Ferris' "The 4-Hour Work Week" is a how-to book on how to create personal time in order to build a self-sufficient business and to pursue personal goals.
The title is not a typo. There is no zero missing. 4-Hour Workweek. This book is a self-motivational, self-improvement, and time management book, mainly a time management book. What the book strives is to enjoy life now by being very time efficient and to use the freed-up time to start-up a self-sufficient business. The book contains about 380 page book. Much of book contains resources of where to go in order to get your 4-hour week underway.
My takeaway and the book highlights were the following:
- The idea is to be as mobile as possible and not be encumbered with personal tangibles and fears of potential loss of employment.
- the key is to free-up time from time wasters which the book describes.
- encourages the use of virtual assistants to free-up personal responsibilities that could be outsourced.
- encourages mini-retirements instead of life-deferred retirements.
- encourages working remotely, not just at your own home but in far-away places.
This book is not really a how-to get rich book. The focus is on self-enjoyment now, not on becoming a millionaire.
I have read the first edition and the second edition was a good reread.
One of the terms that I remember is the life-deferment plan, which is deferring life by working 9-to-5 for 20 or so years and then enjoy life at retirement assuming that the person lives long enough and physically-able to enjoy it. Instead, the book recommends a mini-retirement which is enjoying a time-limited retirement now instead of later.
If you're sick and tired of the 9-to-5 rat race, consider this book. The title, by itself, is hard to believe but consider reading it anyhow. This book is targeted to both employees and owners who are shackled down by work and who want to spend more time pursuing personal goals. Given that the economy is in the dumps, some of the ideas may be risky to implement especially for people need work now and short on disposable income.
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Learn to live life now
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| Review Date: June 17, 2007 |
| Reviewer: Sweetpea Waterlilly, New York, NY |
I am a first time reviewer. I don't know Tim. I only know his book. That there are so many first time reviewers speaks volumes about the book. That said, here is my review:
It took a kid to get the grown-ups to acknowledge what everyone knew to be true: the emperor was naked. Tim Ferriss is a kid relative to most other "self-help" authors but, like the young boy in the fable, his simple, uncluttered collection of "information we already know" more explicitly and successfully states the truth: our idea of achievement that requires a slavish obsession with working ourselves into the ground is a naked religion. Success is joy.
Few books have the potential to inspire passion and fuel personal revolutions. The 4-Hour Workweek is one of them. This book speaks the common yearning to be liberated from the punishing work habits that our society has convinced us are compulsory for success. In simple, often humorous, terms, Tim Ferriss tells us how most of us lie to ourselves about why and how we work and shows us how we can become free.
The modern age promised to bring freedom to humanity. Automation would liberate us from the drudgery of many common tasks, allowing us to complete our work with lightening speed, reserving the rest of our time for leisure. Like millionaires who can afford servants to do the drudgery, the common person would be able to forget the mundane and engage in the profound, to travel, to explore, and most importantly, to be free of worry. Unfortunately, we humans forgot about freedom and became slaves to our machines. Machines increased productivity and the availability of things. We reacted by convincing ourselves that we had to have them all to be satisfied and so became slaves to the jobs we believed necessary to obtain those things. More recently, email and cell phones, which were intended to increase productivity and communication, did so by making us instantly accessible and required us to be instantly responsive at any time of the day or night. Cable television and the Internet also increased communications and the flow of information, but also resulted in an information bombardment that left us catatonic, unable to disengage, yet unable to absorb it all. The result? At the end of our working lives - many times not by our own choice but because of downsizing and outsourcing -- exhausted and demoralized, we cannot enjoy the delayed gratification that has been our beacon of light, our holy grail, for so many years.
Tim Ferris has the audacity to set the whole paradigm on fire in order to illuminate its true nature. Tim questions our assumptions about what progress is and what progress has done for us by highlighting the terrific costs we have imposed on ourselves. With gleeful delight Tim opens our eyes to the fact that we have become the cyborgs, less human rather than more. In a clear, step-by-step fashion, he presents elegant concepts and applies them to life in practical ways that have profound results. He reminds us that "the opposite of happiness is not sadness but boredom" and employs Pareto's 80/20 principle to demonstrate how we can identify those aspects of our lives that hold us back from being happy. He urges us to understand that life is not about the acquisition of things for later enjoyment, life is about happiness, fulfillment in the present, rather than in some un-promised future. Unfettered by useless jargon and overly academic presentation, Tim demonstrates how we can return to sanity and achieve happiness by finally becoming masters over the technology that was supposed to free us. He challenges us to give ourselves permission to quit the rat race and rejoin the human race. These ideas are not entirely new, but Tim's particular expression of them is like sparkling water to the parched souls of millions who now labor incessantly to achieve success yet yearn to quench their thirst for freedom. You don't have to be a millionaire to live a millionaire lifestyle, Tim says. Do you have a dream? Live it now. |
Useful AND fun reading for anyone - even an "older ER physician"
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| Review Date: August 15, 2007 |
| Reviewer: John Farrin, Golden, CO United States |
I'm a 60 y/o Emergency Physician, a Chief for 15 years, and recommend this as a GREAT READ for everyone. You don't have to fantasize about an on-line income to appreciate this book. I lived in Paris for a year and a half before going to medical school, and it expanded my outlook on life, just like this book will for you. I used his language acquisition ideas 38 years ago, and they work!
It is refreshing to read a young man's encounter with meaningless, non-productive work, and appreciate and applaud his escape. Corporate (bureaucratic) America is filled with mind-numbing clock-punching jobs that get disconnected from results as workers are forced to monitor a limited number of processes to ensure the same-ol' keeps getting done the same old way.
I cannot outsource my ER job, and don't care to. But medical transcription and more are being outsourced already. As an administrative Chief in several different ERs over 26 years, I have attended too many non-results oriented meetings that administrative types use to fill up their calendars. My mantra is always, "what I do must make the ER a better place for EVERYBODY (inclluding ME) to work in," not how can I make the workers do more with less. Follow Tim's advice to redefine work in terms of results, not hours spent on it.
Even Continuous Quality Improvement efforts get undermined when useless time-fillers start to get eliminated, and bureaucrats cannot fill their daily calendars. If you think you might be a bureaucratic place-holder, start applying these ideas to get more done with less time spent, add value to your work, redefine your work-place and what you consider fun both at work and off work, and jump in. If people work for you, reward them with free time for streamlining their job.
Most of us won't get rich from the internet, but we can increase our relevant productivity, reduce meaningless wheel-spinning in the work place, and pursue activities, pasttimes, and relationships that matter to us with more gusto. Look at 4hourworkweek BLOG for more ideas and have fun. Life isn't all that long here on Earth. I've seen way too many fellow humans who wait way too long to pursue dreams only to find their physical bodies failing them. Eat right, exercise, work hard, and have fun starting now. |
Life-style design 2.0
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| Review Date: December 15, 2009 |
| Reviewer: D. Caperton, Columbus, OH USA |
If you were one of the millions around the world who bought the original version of Tim Ferris's ground-breaking guide to lifestyle design in 2007, you might wonder whether the new edition provides enough additional value to justify buying it again. The answer: you bet. Although the new 4HWW is essentially the same basic book, it has been augmented with so many additional tips and resources, that it is more of an upgrade than an update (The Four Hour Workweek 2.0). Like many readers of the original, I was blown away by the 4HWW because it was much more than a guide for aspiring entrepreneurs. In it Ferris provides the how-tos for creating automated income but treats that system as secondary to considering the bigger questions of defining dreams, simplifying (his chapter, E Is for Elimination inspired a chapter in my own bookHappiness Is a Funny Thing), and contemplating your purpose in living . Income is not the point, life is. When the new version was announced, I set my Kindle to get it in the moment it was released and spent this morning devouring the new content. What's new? Testimonials and real-life stories collected from the [...] that demonstrate Ferris's principles applied in ways that he admits he never would have thought of himself. One reader details how he saves enough money on dental work in Thailand to offset the cost of airfare from his home in Austrailia. Although a vacation built around root canal might not be everyone's cup of tea, it demonstrates the innovative ways that Ferris's work is being applied by people to remove obstacles to living their dreams now rather than waiting for a someday that may never arrive.
Besides the philosophical value of the book is the addition of lots of little-known web sources and services to simplify and streamline productivity like [...] for managing email and [...] (now GoogleVoice) for creating a phone number that forwards to any line you choose. For the less-than- cyber-savvy, these resources alone are worth the price of the book.
Finally and most importantly, the 4HWW is now perhaps even more relevant now than it was in 2007 when the author needed to make the case for taking a chance on abandoning the grind. "When everything and everyone is failing, what is the cost of a little experimenting outside the norm?" he asks, adding, "What's the worst that could happen?" For many readers in 2009, that question has already been answered.
Dave Caperton, authorHappiness Is a Funny Thing |
Even If you don't buy the 4 hour claim, there are still some valid points
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| Review Date: March 4, 2008 |
| Reviewer: Will Kriski, Calgary, Alberta, Canada |
Many people are understandably skeptical about the 4 hour workweek claim, but there are many valuable points in the book.
1. The 8-5 til 65 system needs to be changed
2. How to work remotely (I do that now, thanks Tim!)
3. Take mini-retirements through life instead of at the end (I did that going back to college to study jazz guitar at age 36).
4. Outsource your life (we all do it to some extent - take out, maids, lawn care but it can be expanded to other things)
5. Freedom is the goal - selling products is a great way to obtain this freedom, which usually means your own business. You need to separate time from money.
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In my top five most important reads ever
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| Review Date: March 19, 2008 |
| Reviewer: Rockland C. Adams II, Kalamazoo, MI |
I have read nearly a hundred books that dealt with entrepreneurship, business, self help, motivation, etc. This one easily ranks in the top five best, not only of it's kind, but anything non-fiction. The 4-hour Work Week was easily read, well organized, very entertaining, but more importantly, contains tons of highly applicable techniques and great knowledge.
Ferriss teaches through a well organized, easy to follow "roadmap" to making money, freeing up time for more important things, and tips on finding your overall happiness.
In reading this book, you generally get the idea that Ferriss generally wants to help people find something better. With his book you get access to his website, and many other helpful tips for free. He has an online community where people of like interests converse and advise each other, not to mention the input from Ferriss himself that appears on the site.
This is a fantastic book that is set up as a reference to be referred to over and over again. I have seen some reviews that were highly critical of the book, and I suspect that most of them probably spent most of their lives in Corporate America, and hate the fact that they wasted much of their lives in a job that they despise. My father wanted to retire from his 100k+ job a couple of years ago but can't. He hates it when I speak of Ferriss' principles because it makes him feel that he's wasted his entire carreer. I see what my father went through, and that was a large part of the reason I left the glass tower and monster parking structure to do things on my own terms. For all of you entrepreneurs out there, this book could easily cut ten years off of your learning curve, if not teach you totally new tactics to get out of the "rat race".
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Transform the way you think
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| Review Date: July 12, 2008 |
| Reviewer: Charrise Mccrorey, Indiana |
In this book, Timothy Ferriss gives us step by step process for reducing the amount of time we actually spend working. He makes a strong case for not waiting until retirement to travel and do the things you want to do, by promoting the idea of mini-retirements. He endorses the concept of outsourcing by giving simple instructions, including company names for outsourcing. His thoughts on lifestyle design changed the way I was viewing what is possible in my life.
Though this book is edgy and has caused many people to poke holes in his theory, it was well worth the time it took to read it. As a business coach, I am assigning this book to my clients and we are extracting the concepts that make individual sense, and creating execution strategies to implement them.
Even if you don't agree with every part of Tim's philosophy (and I didn't), you can gain by reading this book because it makes you re-consider what you thought to be true, and promotes uncommon thinking. This kind of thinking is what causes positive transformation in your life and your business. |
If you don't have time to read this book you need to read this book.
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| Review Date: September 30, 2008 |
| Reviewer: John E. Devore, Las Cruces, NM |
Tim Ferris is part entrepreneur part action hero, all energy. I picked up the book having little in common with him other than a bald head and a desire to get control of my life and create time to do the things I've always dreamed of. I first picked up this book more than a year ago and have reread several parts of it since. Mr. Ferrris outlines both a plan and a philosophy which are mind opening to the average person. I ave adapted several of his tactics and a few of his philosophies in my own life and have found myself to be more efficient and productive in both my work and personal life. I have not yet gotten to a four hour week and don't expect I ever will but I've always felt that if you read a book like this and find one or two things to adapt into your own life you have made a great investment in both money and time.
This book has helped me to organize my life in such a way that I have completed two novels (not yet published) found time to help coach my son's soccer team and improved my relationship with my wife. These are priceless life improvements which may not have given me a nicely compartmentalized four hour work week, but have gien me a life balance that has changed my lfe. |
Live life, don't postpone it.
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| Review Date: October 30, 2008 |
| Reviewer: Joanna Penn, Brisbane, Australia |
Tim Ferriss is one over-achiever. Check out the list of what he has done in the first chapter. Amazing! For us mere mortals, he still offers great advice for changing your life.
Some top quotes and ideas from the book:
- Lifestyle Design. You don't have to live the high stress, long hours life. You can assess the lifestyle you want and then design it. You don't have to work all your life to sit on a beach at 65...you can go sit on one now for very little money.
- Outsource as much as possible. Weigh up how much time you spend on things. Automate them. Outsource them. Pay other people to do them if it gives you more time. Spend $30 on a cleaner once a week and spend a few hours with the family. Get someone from http://www.elance.com to write your articles for you. Virtual assistants are the way forward. [I have used several since reading this book and they are brilliant]
- Be, do , have. Decide what you want in your life. Who do you want to be? What do you want to do? What do you want to have? and then get on with achieving it. Life is too short to be stuck in the office. Set extreme goals that are worth achieving. Question everything.
What are you passionate and excited about? Go do that.
- Elimination. Have a "not to do" list and make sure you don't do it. Don't watch TV. Cut down your email to once a day (and then once a week). Don't waste time being busy. Be productive in less time and spend the difference achieving your splendid goals.
- Find your muse. Discover a way to make money by virtual and outsourced means and free up your time to do what you love. This may take time to achieve, but you can make a plan and achieve it, so you can live a freer life.
- Empower people to make decisions without you. So you can have free time.
- If you don't set the rules, they will be set for you.
- Living more is the objective.
- Know what you will do with this abundance of time. Look at your passions and missions. Move from a life of survival to one of passion and excitement.
- Experiences override possessions every time. Live life, don't postpone it.
I found this book inspirational and it is JAM-PACKED with information and links to great sites!
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Most motivating thought provoking book I have read in 2 years
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| Review Date: March 2, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Mark Ruzomberka, Philadelphia, PA |
The is the most motivating and though provoking book I have read in 2 years. Do I really believe that I can quit my job and have a 4 hour work week out-sourcing vitamins, not really. So, why do I find this though provoking? I probably relate to this book because Tim and I are in the same age range.
Much of the Real Estate Investing Literature I read is geared for a 30-60 year old audience and probably written by it too. Tim is in his early 30's so I can relate to his mind-set and goals. I don't want to simply save 10% of my paycheck live below my means and wait to get rich when I'm 50. I want to build passive income now but also become a better employee while I do have to hold down a job.
There are so many little things that Tim isn't the first author to cover than can help an employee or entrepreneur cover. Think of this book as a check-up on how you spend your time instead of a get rich quick scheme and you'll appreciate it much more. Pull out what will work for you, throw away the rest. So for me here is what I really picked out 2 as valuable:
1. Why do I constantly read 1 email, then hit "send/receive" to get more email. Batch Process, things. Laundry, email, food prep, mail, bills, anything that can be batched up should. Breaking this habit alone is simply making me more productive, or effective as he puts it.
2. Let's go a step further, I do a LOT of W4W (work for work's sake) why spend an hour on a complicated task that I won't complete when I can get 3 little things done that are simple. It feels good to scratch things off the list, but this usually leads to important things slipping or failing.
Tim's solution be effective not efficient, what really matters? Pick the two most important things that need done each day and get them done, let other little tasks slip if need be. This is an extension of the 80/20 rule.
3. Tim picked the name of this book because he tested multiple names on Google AdWords and the one with the best click through rate was used as the title. What a great example of outsourcing your marketing and knowing your audience before you build a product.
There are so many good ideas in this book I'd recommend buying it and putting it near your desk as a reference. When you get bored or frustrated pull it off the shelf and review the ideas Tim has for making your job/business/life better.
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More than expected
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| Review Date: May 24, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Paul E. Puckett Jr., Virginia Beach, VA |
I loved the style of writing, the information covered, and, most of all, the emphasis throughout the book on outsourcing. So many people focus so much time on things they don't enjoy. They end up with either less, or sometimes no, time to spend on the things they really want to do. As an investment advisor, I often meet with people racked with fear as they try to handle their investments. They are so focused on their money that they don't even remember what they planned to do when they made it or what they truly enjoy. I'll be giving this book to them in the hopes that they will learn the message in The Four Hour Work Week. Great concept, great book, great website, and great bonus material.
"Money is not your life. It is simply the means to the life that you want." Paul Puckett, Author, Investiphobia: You Can Invest Without Fear! |
It CAN change your life!
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| Review Date: May 29, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Scott Anderson, |
Is achieving the 4-Hour Workweek easy, according to Tim Ferris' book. Heck no. But is it achievable? Heck yes!
The ideas Tim shares in the books are revolutionary, transformative and likely WAY outside your comfort zone, but having said that, I have been trying to implement them a little at a time, and I'm seeing results.
If you feel out of control of your work life and aren't experiencing the "living" part of life, I recommend giving this book a read. Your head may explode, but only in good ways you probably need anyway.
Scott Anderson
Host
Anderson In The MIDDLE
www.andersoninthemiddle.com |
One of the best books I've read during the last couple of years
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| Review Date: June 23, 2009 |
| Reviewer: L. Solovyev, |
The 4-hour workweek is a great book. If you need a change, this is a best book to start with. If you want to start your own business, this is a book to read. If you want to be an entrepreneur, and enjoy your life, this is what this book is all about. Once I started reading it, I could not stop, and was reading two evenings straight after work. It motivates you, gives you new ideas that you've not thought before. The best thing is that is not all this motivational/inspirational stuff (although you'll feel recharged after your read), but Tim gives a lot of practical tips on each page and references very useful web-sites.
My favorite parts are on time management, outsourcing and cheap long travel. 5 stars. |
Time to Paint
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| Review Date: January 4, 2010 |
| Reviewer: Thomas, |
| I love this book. it helped me put my priorities in line and do the same if not more amount of work in less time giving me more time to do things i want to be doing like skiing or painting! |
I am a real world example
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| Review Date: January 12, 2010 |
| Reviewer: B. Johnson, dallas |
Im not big on reviews - this is actually my first.
I could not put this book down and finished it within 2 days.
Since then I have re-read it several times always finding addiitonal thoughts for highlighting and notes.
Within (1) year of reading this book I went from being bankrupt and living with my parents at 31 yrs old to owning my own business and making over 200k/year from "home". I am not a tim ferriss "freak" and I do not back pack through Japan. His thoughts are exactly that - his. Its your action as the reader that turns these thoughts into a better reality for yourself. Go climb your own mountains - you now have no excuse.
I've given copies to every loved one I have and it truly resulted in a life changing experience. |
Revolutionary New Paradigm for an Adventurous Life
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| Review Date: August 17, 2007 |
| Reviewer: Paul Gallagher, Fairview, NC United States |
I have just completed my third reading of this life-altering book.
Why a third reading??--because I found such an array of fascinating and thought-provoking observations in the book, which really made me think---and re-evaluate my present lifestyle. Here are just a few:
"What I do with my time and what I do for money are completely different things."
"The commonsense rules of the 'real world' are a fragile collection of socially reinforced illusions."
"...The currency of the New Rich: time and mobility......"
"Most material wants are justifications for spending time on things that don't really matter."
"People don't want to BE millionaires--they want to experience what they believe only millions can buy."
The 4 Hour Workweek first outlines a philosophy of living, the idea of getting away from the "deferred lifestyle" many people live. That is--working 40-45 years at jobs they really hate so they can do "what they always wanted to do" WHEN THEY RETIRE at age 65, often too burned out to retain much energy or enjoyment of life.
Rather than living the path of "someday I'll......", the book fully advocates that we live NOW, arranging our life to take advantage of technology and the 21st century work environment to "outsource" many of the mundane chores of work and to take "mini retirements" every several months, often in foreign countries which stimulate our skills of adaptation and creativity in totally new surroundings.
In order to do this, there are four requirements:
One has to Define their own ideal lifestyle, and its time/money requirements, Eliminate the superfluous, Automate a stream of income, and Liberate yourself from the "job" as well as myopic cultural assumptions.
How to fulfill each of these requirements (for the 4 hour workweek and lifestyle of the New Rich) is dealt with extensively and thoroughly in the book. The diagram on the "4 Hour workweek virtual architecture" is worth the price of the entire book.
Equally valuable are the numerous websites he lists on topics as diverse as finding a market for your potential product, testing its appeal (marketing 101--TEST BEFORE producting it), finding contract manufacturers or licensees, and even finding reasonably priced but excellent accommodations around the world (once you have become "Liberated.")
Basically, for entrepreneurs, it is about finding viable products to be sold online, with most of the administrative work outsourced.
For employees, it is about how to gradually work more and more AWAY from the office, while increasing your productivity, so you get away from the "40 hour per week butt in office seat" regimen to being a "Liberated" employee, able to work away from the office (from a beach in Thailand, maybe?) while being fully productive.
There are numerous hints on how to make the most of foreign travel--and to really integrate with the local culture, rather than "binge travel"--on the 5 countries in 10 days plan typical in the 2 week vacation.
There is even a brief section on how to deal with a sort of post-partum depression once you have actually "birthed" your ideal lifestyle, and then wonder, while you are sojourning in a beautiful place across the globe---"What do I do now??--Is this all there is?" Yes, there is more, and it's described at the end of the book.
All in all a truly life-altering read, and certainly the guidebook to beginning a new lifestyle for those who choose and actually APPLY the material.
A few reviewers have commented that all this is well and good for a 30 year old young man with no family, who can take time at will to "vagabond" across the world. What about those with "real" jobs, kids, etc.? What relevance can the book possibly have for them?
Well, there is hope....Speaking from my own experience I can say that adopting many of these principles IS possible even for people with kids. When I was a young boy, my parents brought me to Europe (in the early 1950's), put me into a French-speaking school, and studied French philosophy for 2 years. In the summers, we would get into our tiny English economy car (I seem to recall it had a 28 hp engine!) and travel the length and breadth of Europe, from Morocco to Norway, from Tito's Yugoslavia to Northern Ireland, even a quite adventurous journey into the Soviet Zone of Austria at the height of the Cold War.
Although the destination for each day was planned, there were no pre-reservations at hotels; we would just go to a new town, and find a hotel and place to eat. During the day on the cross-Europe trips, we would go to local grocery stores, buy a few staples, and enjoy them in a park. (All while communicating with gestures and a few words of the local language). My sister was born there, so on our second Summer trip, my parents had a 3 month old baby to care for.
And everything went wonderfully and remains a fantastically rich memory even today, over 50 years later. Given all the valuable hints Ferriss gives in the book, and the relative convenience of travel today, don't let having young children discourage you from adopting the principles in the 4 Hour Workweek.
It's all about vision and the adventurous spirit.
Have fun, and bon voyage!!
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Live outside the Box!
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| Review Date: May 2, 2009 |
| Reviewer: B. Madhu, |
"The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich" by Timothy Ferris is a delightful book in the way it presents new ideas and challenges the status quo of living your life the way you've always lived it. To tell the truth, I found the notions so unbelievable and foreign that I put it down after the first few chapters. But I still remained intrigued and found myself plowing through it. His ideas are really mind-blowing.
Another book, I found to be mind-blowing is How to Create a Magical Relationship: The 3 Simple Ideas that Will Instantaneously Transform Your Love Life by Ariel & Shya Kane. The Kanes do courses in NYC and elsewhere in the world on how to live a self-aware lifestyle. In their book, they have catalogued an amazing array of behavioral patterns and mental traps that we as human beings seem to fall into and show us how to recognize and thereby avoid them. I highly recommend all of these books! |
Must Read for Entrepreneurs
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| Review Date: November 12, 2007 |
| Reviewer: Benjamin Glass, Fairfax Station, VA USA |
I've read 4-Hour workweek about four times and see something "new" each time I go through it. (Looking for the audio version because I've heard its good as well.
Look, Ferris got the name of the book from testing with Google Adwords to find titles that would sell. That was a very good idea.
Don't be put off by the title.. the whole point is that we have to recognize that time is a currency, and the only irreplaceable currency at that. We don't let people steal our TV's, why should be let others control our time?
I found the book filled with mental strategies and very practical resources for getting more done in a day and working more effectively as opposed to working more hours.
Those who look at the book and say "well, that's impossible" miss the point that the book is more about a mental mindset and about taking action than it is about actually working only four hours a week. It's about being productive...its about "useful work."
Those who like Dan Kennedy's Time Management Book No B.S. Time Management for Entrepreneurs (No B.S. Series) will like this as well.
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It's the Real Deal...
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| Review Date: July 2, 2008 |
| Reviewer: Craigarious, Boca Raton, FL USA |
Many people will read this book, think it's great, maybe give it some afterthought and go back to their lives. Others will scoff at it and say it's trash. Well, I'm writing this review strictly to set the record straight. Ferriss gives us tools. Tools that we can use to create a different, more interesting life. I bought this book in June of 2007, and I'm writing this review, now July, 2008, from Oaxaca, Mexico, where I'm renting a villa with a spectacular mountain view for an entire month. No, I'm not rich. The trip cost $1200 for the rental, plus about $2400 for the airfare. I'm working full time while I am here (except for the odd day off or so)so as not to waste my PTO. What is technologically making this possible for me is my laptop, a good IP phone (a commercial one), and most importantly, a solid internet connection, which is available in most third world countries these days.
A year ago, when I first read this book, this trip would not have been possible. I was able to follow some of his thoughts and virtualize my job. Of course, not everyone will be able to do this...I get that...but it's more than just a fleeting possibility for most than many seem to think.
If nothing else, it's a quick, easy read, and can show you what is possible. The rest, if you have the imagination and will to make it happen, are up to you. |
What A Pompous Jerk - But Read On
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| Review Date: May 23, 2007 |
| Reviewer: Justin Hertz, Reno, NV |
When I first started seeing buzz about The Four Hour Workweek on the web, I went to his website to read about the author. The self proclaimed status as a world class tango dancer, body builder and mixed martial artist led me to believe what an absolute pompous jerk he must be. But then I listened to a few interviews with Tim, and it turns out that he is just a very confident yet strikingly humble and down to earth sort of guy. So I decided to give his book a try.
I'm not a big self-help, rah rah rah bookreader. I generally find most of those books or guides to be a total waste of time. But something about this book really spoke to me. First off, I read the entire book in a weekend, which tells you how engaged I was with the material, as I am generally a sluggish reader and get through maybe a book every few months.
But the books material is unbelievably thorough and insightful. You can relate to his tales, and embrace his advice because he has not only been there and done that, he is still doing that. He's not a crotchety old man who is trying to relate but obviously can't. He's not a young upstart that is trying to tell you how to do it, when he hasn't done it himself. And he's not a hypocrite who fails to practice his own preachings. He's a dreamer and a do'er, that said to himself, it doesn't have to be this way, and he set out to change the rules of the game. He will teach you how to remove yourself from the business of day to day monotonous activities, how to scale your business for growth and how to become truly rich today in not just monetary worth but quality of life well being. He will ask you to ask yourself, why work 15 hours a day, 6 days a week so you can make millions and someday when you are in your sixties get to enjoy the fruits of your labor. How about just laboring less, making more and enjoying the fruits of life now?
This book truly changed my life, my perspective on my business and the way in which I do things.
I give it "two paws way up!"
Justin Hertz
[..] |
A great book just got better.
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| Review Date: December 15, 2009 |
| Reviewer: William A. Higgins, Decatur, GA USA |
| I read the first edition 4HWW almost 2 years ago when I was on vacation at the beach with my family. I remember it well, because I kept reading parts of the book to my wife, bothering her to no end. I was giddy with enthusiasm because so much in this book resonated with me personally and professionally. I decided then and there that I was going to put the 4HWW principles to work in my own life. And that is exactly what I did. In fact, this book made such a profound impact on me I wrote a personal case study for Timothy Ferriss about how I used the principles of his book in my own life. That case study is now included in this new expanded and updated version of The 4-Hour Workweek on page 367! I won't spoil anything here because I encourage you to buy the book and read all the great reader-generated case studies. They add even more substance and proof that Tim's 4HWW logic can work. |
Bought it on Audible and then had to buy the Book for reference as well!
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| Review Date: March 5, 2008 |
| Reviewer: Stormy, |
WOW! This book is transformational if you want it to be. I've always known there has been something missing from the norm of our typical modern lifestyle (aka. The rat race). It seems that the lifestyle only supports itself. So what happens if you are suck in the race but have no desire to get to the end first? What if you'd rather slow down jump off the track and wonder over into uncharted territory instead? Not practical? Blasphemous to the sanctity of our 8-5 world perhaps?
It's true that not everyone will enjoy the alternatives Timothy Ferriss presents in this book. In fact even as the majority will find the suggestions interesting mutations to our typical lifestyles, I gather that most will not have the drive to live as freely and courageously as the author. However that does not stop the Tim from giving a step by step guide on how to live like him if you do choose. Overall this has been one of the best books I have ever read and I would suggest it to anyone interested in a more balanced lifestyle. |
Inspiring
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| Review Date: March 5, 2008 |
| Reviewer: Edgar F. Hilton, Tallahassee, FL United States |
I found this book to be quite inspiring and motivational. I also doubt that things could be as rosy as portrayed by the author. However, after reading this book, I was quite motivated to make many changes in my life, while still using this book as the blueprint to follow.
I also found the large list of resources that he presents at the end of each chapter quite useful. Even if the lists are not comprehensive, I found that they are excellent starting points for a more thorough search in the internet.
I recommend this book to anybody who is tired of their day to day work life. It'll motivate you to make a change, and will show you that the big hurdles in your mind for starting a business are probably able to be outsourced. |
Good Inspiration With Just Enough To Get You To MOVE!
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| Review Date: March 8, 2008 |
| Reviewer: Chris Kauza, Denver, CO |
At just under 300 pages, it is a surprisingly easy and engaging read. Tim quickly covers a number of topics. And yes, while there does seem to be some slight proselytizing to get people to take action, he makes it seem rather easy. That, coupled with him listing high-level action plans in the book & on his website, can get you motivated to take action today on architecting a different life for yourself - if that's what you want.
People will rationalize whatever behavior they want or need to. And while this book won't bring the death of any multi-national companies any time soon, it does provide structure for a lifestyle that many, many people (quite literally) day-dream about.
It's time to stop dreaming & get moving, if you're not already - get the book and apply it! |
A game changer for certain people
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| Review Date: August 7, 2008 |
| Reviewer: Ben Perry, Boston, MA |
I LOVED this book and I can't stop talking about it. It's a fantastic guide for breaking free of the corporate treadmill and making better use of your life. This book is my new bible.
That said, I realize that I am squarely in the target demographic for the message of this book. Many of the principles in the book would be nearly impossible to implement if you're a blue collar worker. This is a game changer for white collar, internet-savvy folks but will fall somewhere between mildly interesting and totally useless to people outside that demo. |
Much Needed for Most of America
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| Review Date: August 26, 2008 |
| Reviewer: Rachelle Magwood, |
I have almost nothing but praise for this book. My copy is wearing out. This book is excellent and well written, but very easy reading. Tim has led an exciting life and has a ton of passion to see others buy into his way of life. Many of the tips are not just practical and time-honored, but Tim gives step-by-step details of how to achieve what he has achieved. Good stuff, solid "self-help" type of material.
Now the criticism. The section on Automation, which is key to the whole New Rich lifestyle, may lead some people to become disillusioned because it is not as easy as it seems from the book. That said, Tim is the only person out there that gives step-by-step product testing which has been quite effective in helping to narrow some product/service ideas. I have also used them in my 9-5 job to help narrow my marketing focus.
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Don't Be Embarrassed, If the Title Interests You, Read It
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| Review Date: August 27, 2008 |
| Reviewer: Busy Reader: Get To The Point, California, USA |
The book's title is provocative on purpose, but Ferriss delivers excellent ideas about life and work. You don't have to agree with everything he says, and you don't have to implement all his suggestions to benefit. For me, the point of the book is to look at your work differently. When you do that, you can make different decisions that will benefit you, as opposed to the instinctive "work, get promoted, retire" plan.
Examples: 1. I was trying to get a management job, to get more money and more power in my company. Now I realize that job would decrease my hourly pay and limit my ability to enjoy life. 2. I want to move to a different city, but fear moving my family, cutting roots, only to get to the new place and realize it was a mistake. Now I'm planning to rent a house in the new city and go live for two weeks or more, doing my job as I normally do. My family will know if they like living there, and my boss's experience of my services will not change.
Is this book for everyone? No book is for everyone. However, most of us have to work and most of us would rather be doing something else. If Ferriss's ideas sound good to you, but you can't implement them now, you can move toward a position where you can implement them. He's realistic about this. He lays out methods for training yourself to work remotely, as well as a detailed plan for negotiating with your boss.
I can't validate all of Tim Ferriss's claims, but I can confirm that some of what he recommends in this book IS POSSIBLE. I'm doing it, and I'm not an internet millionaire or an ivy-league graduate.
I recommend the print version, rather than the audiobook, because of all the URLs he includes for further study. You may want to check out Ferriss's talk at Google, on YouTube. He addresses some of the ethical and moral objections people bring up in the negative reviews here. |
The Whole Package!
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| Review Date: October 13, 2008 |
| Reviewer: T. A. Russell, |
| I've read a couple of other books about making money, but they all fell short for me in one way or the other. This book I love! It's has all the information you could want - phone numbers, websites, step by step instructions on getting yourself whittled down to that 4 HOUR WORKWEEK and making some cash in the process- PLUS it's witty and well written. If I could just find my NICHE...! |
Subversive
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| Review Date: October 13, 2008 |
| Reviewer: Rainmaker, England |
I would go so far as to call this book subversive. That's pretty much the best word for it. If, like me, you've grown up being told about the benefits of hard work, 8 till 8 days, 6 days a week, just one holiday a year, and just pay a shedload of taxes like everyone else to support cretins in government, then this book comes as a revelation. For years now I've suspected that this treadmill was a lie (and I'm pretty successful too) generated by adevertisers who want us to consume and governments who want a share of the sweat off our brow, then along comes this young guy and tells it like it really is.
I can see why some people will detest this book, but to appreciate what Ferriss is saying, you really have to think that the western treadmill might oil the wheels of the economy, but all it does to the individual is grinding down the individual with years of crushing effort.
Read this book, and have a life not just a career. |
Challenges your notions on work, play, and retirement
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| Review Date: January 25, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Eric Kassan, Las Vegas, NV USA |
This is an incredible book for those whose mind is open to question some of their most basic assumptions. It's one thing to hear the phrase "work smarter not harder", but it's quite different when it comes with detailed instructions and examples.
While it helps to have the author's life as an example, sometimes the author pushes his values/preferences a little too much. At those times, readers just need to focus on the bigger picture. Some big picture ideas most can benefit from:
- money is a vehicle, not a destination
- time is the most valuable commodity
- focus on raising your hourly wage, not your annual salary
- don't defer your dreams, especially not until retirement
This book, in addition to making you think, can actually help you get much more out of life, not only by inspiring you, but with tools and resources. In addition to many tools and resources in the book, there are more on the book's companion web site. Even if you choose not to have a four hour work week, this book can still help you enjoy life more. What more can you want from a book?
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This book is a denial killer
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| Review Date: January 31, 2009 |
| Reviewer: B. Robbins, Tampa |
| You already know most of what Tim says. But if you're like me, you've spent your life being trained to forget it, deny it, rationalize it. No more. This book is full of hilarious anecdotes, real life examples and actionable challenges. You will say "damn, that's me" over and over again. Just remember, acknowledgement is the first stop on the road to recovery... |
If you just get one good idea from this book it will pay you back 1000%
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| Review Date: February 10, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Ryan C. Nagy, Salt Lake City, Utah United States |
I had been online, creating websites, selling products and doing search engine optimization and pay-per-click marketing for 3 years when I first read this book. While that hardly qualified me as an "old timer" I certainly wasn't a "newbie."
I found "The Four Hour Work Week to contain dozens of excellent actionable-a ideas and to be well-worth the price of purchase and reading. The writing is glib and slightly annoying at times, and the author does fall into mindless self promotion here and there. But who cares? Overall, Timothy Ferriss imparts a huge amount of information, he has done what he has talked about in the book and if - here's the big IF - If you are willing to take some chances and try his strategies, you will be rewarded.
You might not get instant fame and create a self-sustaining business to see you through to retirement, but you can, at the very least, hire a Virtual Assistant to take some of the grunt-work off your hands and create some free time for yourself. You can create a simple website and product on one of your passions and create some passive income for yourself.
Get started, if not on this book, then on some book or system that will get you involved in creating more choices for yourself and loved ones.
The internet offers new opportunities for self-expression, income generation, community building and connection. But you have to take some action. Don't over analyzie and over think, just begin the process. |
The 4 - Hour Workweek
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| Review Date: June 28, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Madalina Anca Uceanu, BUCHAREST, ROMANIA Romania |
The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich
Definitely worth reading, even if the ideas of cutting your roots is far away from you, you can still benefit from the inflow of outstanding ideas brought together by Ferriss in this book. The minimum you can take out of it is the idea that everything is possible if you really want it, if that can be called minimum! I recommend reading it to anyone who is looking for ideas either when contemplating a career change, or just feeling like stuck in life at a certain moment! |
Really liked the chapter about Virtual Assistants
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| Review Date: June 29, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Evgeni Stavinov, Sunnyvale, CA United States |
I'm trying to establish web presence for my niche products, and this book provides quite a few valuable tips. It's packed with practical information and links.
What I really liked was the concept of Virtual Assistance (VA). As I've discovered it's a thriving industry, and VA can save a lot of time if one knows how to efficiently use his or her services.
I've read about Virtual Assistants before, but not at the level described in the book. |
Virtual Assistants, Virtual Gain
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| Review Date: October 11, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Kenn Hirschberg, Los Angeles |
As someone starting a business heavily dependent on the internet for initial growth I found the chapters on Virtual Assistants intriguing. As anyone who has launched a business will know there is no end to the minutia of things that need to be attended to which ends up diminishing the amount of time devoted to the pursuits of their intended business model.
Tim Ferriss has delineated a solution to liberating precious time so that one can spend their time more productively than if they tried to do everything themselves and become an expert in all the details. Not only does he introduce the existence of Virtual Assistants and the value they create in an organization he provides a simple formula to deal with them effectively. Granted it would be easy to get taken advantage of by someone 10,00 miles away, however, his game plan lays out a framework to greatly reduce the risks of this happening.
His cost effective analysis argument in favor of using Virtual Assistants stands by itself in promoting the efficient use of resource in any given organization. |
The Entrepreneur's Guide to Bootstrapping Up a Business
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| Review Date: December 31, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Kathelen L. Weinberg, Marine On St Croix, MN |
| This book is outstanding for the person who wants a "how to" of bringing up a business in today's high tech world. Whether you can do it in 4-hrs is irrelevant - what is relevant is the assembly of resources to help an entrepreneur truly find a successful life. Love it... |
Fantastic!
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| Review Date: January 4, 2010 |
| Reviewer: Lisa M. Pietsch, Denver, CO |
This book was positively fantastic! I am so motivated to start applying myself in a more productive manner. This book has given me the opportunity to take a look at where I am, where I want to be and reevaluate how I expect to get there.
As a writer I expect to work more than four hours a week but when you're doing what you love, is it really work?
Tim Ferriss is brilliant! |
Great addition to an already great book
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| Review Date: January 4, 2010 |
| Reviewer: Timothy J. Walsh, Eau Claire, WI |
| The first 4-Hour Workweek was great and now the expanded explanations, extra charts and added case studies make this book even more valuable than the first! |
but it now and study it
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| Review Date: January 4, 2010 |
| Reviewer: S. Ward, |
im not doing a video review yet i have a few things to do first before that, i really enjoyed the books i bought the first copy and it was spot on. since then i have worked slowly to understand and implement these idea's into my way of life.
Step II
E is for Elimination
is great, selling/giving away or the best one to trade for something you want/need is really great over all that is one of my fav chapters in the book the way it breaks down how to get rid of a lot of stuff you dont use so you can make way for stuff you will use is the end result people should be doing.
As the quote says at the start of the chapter:
One does not accumulate but eliminate. it is not daily increase but daily decrease. the height of cultivation always runs to simplicity.
Bruce Lee |
enlightening perspective, applicable to everyone, instantly valuable
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| Review Date: January 4, 2010 |
| Reviewer: Brian Doll, San Francisco, CA USA |
You can't please everyone, and thankfully Tim doesn't try. Take a hard look at your life story. Spell out the story you tell yourself about how it's going to be a few years from now. How about twenty years. Fifty? Don't blindly repeat the same story the Jones' have been telling about how you're luxurious retirement will be... just after you slave yourself away for your entire life before you get there.
I've personally seen three people this year alone (2009), who are smart, financially responsible and had a glorious retirement plan, fully funded, who died before they got to enjoy it. What are the odds your fantasy retirement story will happen the way you plan it?
You miss the point entirely if you focus exclusively on some details you pick out of Tim's recommendations that you think don't apply to you. The point isn't that his suggestions do or don't seem to immediately apply to you. The point is that your retirement story sucks, and there are other ways to play the game. Tim provides great suggestions, and leaves his readers with no excuse not to start planning their new life.
How does your story go? |
The reason I quit my job
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| Review Date: January 8, 2010 |
| Reviewer: Christian Holmes, San Francisco, CA |
This is an incredible book. I first listened to the audio version while working for a tech company, and listened to it every night on repeat over and over for the rest of the year. I eventually was forced to quit my job because my expectations of a remote working agreement weren't met. I started my own web design business as well.
Tim is authentic, a true revolutionary entrepreneur. You won't be disappointed by this book. |
Mental Smörgåsbord of Invaluable Information
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| Review Date: January 8, 2010 |
| Reviewer: Dante V. Crescenzi, Washington, DC |
The 4-Hour Workweek both original and expanded version is THE most invaluable book I have read in my adult life. Tim does an excellent job of connecting with his readers and hitting on many points that people have secretly known and wanted to change about themselves but never had the guts to voice or act upon. I would have to say that The 4-Hour Workweek is an essential read for anyone who wants to dream big and follow through with those dreams. Plain and simple? Tim cuts through the fog of life and gives you a new found focus and meaning moving forward through your own personal journey! Best New Years Resolution you can make for yourself in 2010 is picking up this book and reading it!
The 4-Hour Workweek, Expanded and Updated: Expanded and Updated, With Over 100 New Pages of Cutting-Edge Content. |
It Works! I am Living Proof
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| Review Date: February 6, 2010 |
| Reviewer: Terrance, St. Louis, Missouri |
| I read a ton of magazines and books each week. I have traveled and used online methods that allowed me to quit my job in August of 1999. I learned that you can indeed follow your passions and have fun doing what you love then you you will never feel like you actually worked a day in your life . I started a business providing travel information to certain groups and because I helped others, it helped me achieve a life of having fun every day. Tim's ideas work. He embellished everything that I believe it. If you have any doubts, it can be done just ask me and I will show you proof. Good Job Tim |
Dare to Be Different
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| Review Date: July 1, 2008 |
| Reviewer: Ying Li, plantation, florida United States |
I bought this book when I was trying to find a business that could best use my talent. Mr. Ferriss was referred to in Sun-Sentinel newspaper in Florida. I was at Borders when I was reading the newspaper article, and I bought the book right there and then.
I have read many motivational books by many famous writers, but this one by far, the most practical one. I have not yet tried the method(s) written in his book. But it is all common sense that if you don't try, how would you know? It is a pity that many of us (in the US) sitting in the comfort of mediocrity while the rest of the world is seeking improving their life by finding a "niche". Work 4 hours a week sounds like a "niche" to many of over worked people here in the US. Guess what the Indians and Chinese people do? They work hard, finding "niches", and become rich. And then they acquire the wealth of the world, so the NR in China need only work 4 hours a week or less. Why can't we do that, and what is wrong with that?
I am a Chinese, and have been in the US for close to 20 years. I have worked hard, still in search of a niche that will enable me work 4 hours a week or LESS! I have not found it yet, but I am continuing to look for it...this book serves as another tool to realize my dream. Perhaps Mr. Ferriss had better education, perhaps he has higher IQ, perhaps he had better luck, and the bottom line is, he got to where most of us want to be and should be!
I resent those who preaching that "you have to work hard to make money", NO, I want to work smart!!!!! Work hard enables me live from pay check to pay check, perhaps Mr. Ferriss' book will give me some wisdom. I don't know, but it certainly gives me more hope than the rest of the naysayers. Please, the naysayers, if you have the luxury to work only 4 hours a week, would you still criticize what this book try to convey? Do less, accomplish more will make the world a much more pleasant place to live. At least will make people feeling less grouchy! Thank you Mr. Ferriss for giving us the tips! I love the book, confident will generate positive result for me!
To the rest of the naysayers, please be real, work 4 hours a week sounds like just what you need!
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The Five Star Review
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| Review Date: July 2, 2008 |
| Reviewer: veryspecialscorp, PG County, MD |
Never before have I been so compelled to write a review--not just because of the overwhelming amount of cynicism that has been spewed about the number of 5-star reviews on this book, but because it is actually a REALLY good read. I listened to the 7-CD audio version of this book in my mobile library aka my car and I was enlightened on my 2 hour daily commute to and from work. As young as Tim is, he seems to have grasped the concept of accomplishing everything that you could ever want to do. There is a certain fearlessness and sense of urgency that arrives after reading this book that the reader will either have to embrace or reject. Embracing will lead to inevitable success; while rejection will lead to more of the same--50 hour weeks, information overload, and retirement at 65. There are a few of things that I picked up from this book that make it worth its weight in gold.
-Dreamlining: This was something that I did my own way before reading the book, but done Tim's way has had a huge impact on the way I view things in life. Figuring out how much your dream life costs and making it happen one peice at a time.
-Mini-retirement: The idea of working until you are old, tired, and rich is beyond played out. Living for the now, and better planning so that you can have everything and do everything that you want is much more upbeat and even (dare I say) logical.
-Time Management: The basis of this premise in the book is simple. Stop letting other people waste your time. it belongs to you and you should protect it at all costs, and free it whenever possible.
Without giving away any of the book in detail, I can not say anything more helpful than BUY this book. It has changed my world, and the world of others that i have recommended it to. There is nothing superficial about it. It is an honest and detailed account of a young person that has capitalized on the understanding of time management and where our businesses are headed. The principles can be applied to those that work for others and those that work for themselves. That is my review. I definitely recommend the audio version for iPodders, and heavy commuters. This review was not paid for by Tim Ferris. |
Wonderful
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| Review Date: June 1, 2009 |
| Reviewer: E. Curtis, New York, NY |
| This is the first self help book I have read and actually got physical results from. Right now I work from home 4 days a week and I outsource my business. I am also on my way to starting my own business (muse) as well. It takes time and a little work at first but he lays it all out simply put. |
One of the best life, business, business of life books ever
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| Review Date: September 12, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Ben Myers, Jupiter, Fl United States |
My 21 year old son wanted me to read this. I'm 53; a retired newspaper publisher. This book is one of the best life, business, business of life books I've ever read. If you have 20 something kids, the book will keep you current with their vocabulary and thinking. If you want to give your 20 something kids a book that might light a fire, give them this.
If you've lived a progressive and proactive business life, this book will dust off most of the concepts/truths that got you going, with a fresh, younger perspective. PLUS, Ferriss will ADD a perspective on life/business concepts you thought dead ends. I was surprised a few times.
You might not need, nor buy into his "income on autopilot"...aka spend as little time as you can working to maximize your personal passions. I don't completely.
But to do what Ferriss does you have to be smart, think it through, proactive, budget, spend time on profitable customers (dump the whiners), have an end game, live a thoughtful life, know what's inherently interesting to you & what's not, treat people as you would want to be treated, time manage. He covers all of this AS PART OF his overall plan, not a dry doctoral thesis. Young adults will learn more than they expect to.
Plus, it's an easy read. Starts slow. Stick with it.
Finally it's given my son and me something to share, compare and talk about. I get a chance to add a few dad-isms via Ferriss. We get a chance to talk more. |
Things that Work
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| Review Date: March 8, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Carter Hargrave, Tulsa, OK USA |
A new approach for sure. Maybe controversial, but take the things you find helpful and leave the rest.
First I have been working diligently on de cluttering my personal and business life. I have read so many simplifying and de-cluttering and efficiency books I almost have a clutter problem with all the books on the subject. (Cured that recently too with the Kindle 2.)
I run three business. One brick and morter and two online. I was getting over four hundred emails a day and was drowning in mail and spam. So I utilized ideas / suggestions from several sources to cure my problems. From the Four Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferriss we started using detailed faq's lists on our websites and an auto-responder that answered many questions so we would no longer have to reply to as many emails. For the ones we do answer the questions are predictable and we saved the answers as email drafts that way we just cut and paste and all done.
For the Spam we ran our eight email accounts into one google mail as they have the best spam filters and you can reply from the email address to which the mail was sent so they dont know that anything is happening. And suggestions from the life hacker Upgrade Your Life: The Lifehacker Guide to Working Smarter, Faster, Better by Gina Tripani has some interesting ideas for sure.
Keeping your inbox empty we use suggestions from Stress Less and Zen to Done by Leo Babauta and you would not believe how much better you feel when things are under control. But it is you who must Work the system or you will be overwhelmed again.
A much more detailed program is used in Getting Things Done David Allen book, but the above is kind of the simplified version that I currently prefer.
And for just getting rid of all the clutter in your life any of the books from Peter Walsh, How to Organize (Just About) Everything, and Enough Already, are great even though they tend to recover some of the material from his other books somewhat but thats not a big deal since the info is worth repeating. Another good author but she covers pretty much the same thing is Julie Morgenstern. The books by Koch on the 80/20 principle are also worth looking into. For the paper clutter in my life I have a digital sender scanner and have scanned over four full file cabinets into Adobe PDF computer files. I have done this with pictures too as you can also save them info Jpeg and Jiff files. While there are tons more books out there and I seem to have most of them, these are the best to get things under control and to get you the time to do the things that matter to you. |
It's changing my outlook on several areas of my life.
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| Review Date: June 16, 2007 |
| Reviewer: Mort, Florida |
I bought this book a couple days ago and I've already finished it. There were no less than four or five major viewpoint-changing moments for me while reading it, and I'm about to read it a second time. Today I bought two more copies for my family because I don't want anyone to have to wait while we pass it around.
I can't understand the reviewers who give this book 1 or 2 stars. I would have thought it impossible for someone to read it and not get at least a few ideas or new points of view. But it goes to show that some people will criticize just about anything. For most of us, it's the best $12 we'll ever spend. |
Only If You Believe & Definitely Not For Everyone!
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| Review Date: August 6, 2007 |
| Reviewer: M Anthony, Washington DC |
If you are happy with your work/job/career situation, then this may not be the book for you. If you are content with the trade off between your time and the money you make, then this is not the book for you.
If you think you may be wasting time at your job, want to spend less time on the job and more time doing things you enjoy, or you don't want to be on a job at all, then you should read this book.
A co-worker of mine was reading this book on the train, and a woman next to her said "Honey, there is no such thing as a 4 hour work week!" And clearly, for that woman, there certainly isnt. But for others there is such a thing, and for many other there can be....
Using your time how YOU want to use your time is the prevailing theme of this book. The review that leads off all the other reviews that says this is a "get rich quick guide for the shallow" is waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay off base (why would amazon have this as the lead review when it is dated May 2007?) This book is not a get rich quick guide at all. He specifically talks about creating an alternate source of income BEFORE liberating yourself from your job. He speaks of testing anything you do BEFORE quitting your job. And he even talks about selling a product that you are familiar with. So ONE of the ideas is to get rich, but it may or may not be "quick". (and this isnt covered until the 2nd half of the book)
Tim uses personal experiences as a blueprint to show the readers how they can achieve their goals without having to wait 40 years until retirement. He states throughout the book how in order to achieve many of the things he is speaking of, that people will have to step outside of normal train of thought. He uses exercises throughout the book to help the reader work through this.
Tim has a good number of resources in the book for people to use as they decide to move forward with their quest for escaping from their 9-5. You can also check out his website at fourhourworkweek.com, where he has some useful info.
I thoroughly enjoyed the book, will read through it again and again, and implement the ideas in it. My wife and I had been talking about ways to free up our time to spend it with our son, and this book will be one of the tools we use to help us achieve our goals.
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Even the smallest changes will make a big difference...
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| Review Date: May 27, 2007 |
| Reviewer: Jeff Gardner www.wealthworld.com, Dallas, TX USA |
If you're in a rush, Tim Ferriss' book, The 4-Hour Workweek, is worth every penny you'll spend on it. Buy it, read it, and re-read it often. Gushing? Not really. Tim knocks what many have taken as gospel (that we must manage our time to absorb maximum information) and knocks it on it's ear, suggesting that "time management" is a farce and that we should CUT information from our lives, not try to squeeze it in. (gasp!)
Want practical information? Tim packs his book with it. His email concept has changed my life. I had been checking my 7 email addresses every 3 seconds, wasting valuable productive time. Now, I check 1 email address, twice a day, and not only am I getting only 10 to 15 emails a day (down from 150 to 200 or more), but 100% of them are valuable, actionable emails that produce a benefit to myself and my company. They're not "busy work" emails that simply waste time.
His suggestions on designing your life, outsourcing, designing (or re-designing) your business, and enjoying your expanding freedom is usable information from someone who lives and breathes it. And he even goes as far as giving lists of his own special resources and recommended companies, which are worth the price of the book alone.
As an aside, it would be nice to have a chapter on or hear from someone who loves what they do for work. Personally, I love my business and get so much joy out of the work I do. So even though I do enjoy spending time away from the office, I can't imagine spending months and months away from it, as Tim suggests. Tim seems to write as if exploring the world, learning new skills, etc. is his mission in life - and he's set up his business to give him the ability to do that. But I wonder what his suggestions would be to someone who feels their mission IS the business they're in... and doesn't want to spend months away.
However, that point aside, it's a great book, written by someone who is practicing what he preaches. And, unlike so many books on my bookshelves, it's full of actionable items and valuable resources. I think everything can benefit from the ideas Tim highlights in his book. Highly Recommended. |
Career Support for a Savvy Artist
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| Review Date: May 29, 2007 |
| Reviewer: sarah927, new york, new york |
| This book promotes many of the principles on which I have built my practice as an artist. It then takes it a step further in providing ideas on how to let my income become self-sustaining in order to, even moreso, pursue my ongoing dreams of filling my time in the ways that I love. It is smart; I started reading faster immediately just to keep up with the fast-paced flow of thoughts. And the ideas are so relevant that I was instantaneously applying them to my business and my life as I read. Also, this book is a blatantly honest look at "what we're doing it all for." If you have ever wondered that, I highly recommend this reading. |
Arnold Schwarzenegger vs Timothy Ferriss
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| Review Date: October 4, 2007 |
| Reviewer: Don Kim, Los Angeles, CA |
**Since two books are being reviewed, I'm posting reviews on each book.
I happened to decide to read some self-help type books because like everyone else, I hit a stagnating point in my career and wanted to read about how some of these purportedly self-made successful authors achieved success in life. By some strange coincidence, I read Arnold Schwarzenegger's "Arnold: The Education of a Bodybuilder" then TimothyFerriss's "The 4-Hour Workweek" in succession, and though these two authors may seem an anachronism, the similarities of their central message, namely, how they were able to achieve their dream lifestyle are exactly the same. Only the techniques and philosophical underpinnings differ.
Timothy Ferriss and 4WW as already reviewed on this page, advocates much of the platitudes written by other self-help authors such as life is short, do not spend every day in a job you hate to buy things you do not need, follow the Pareto 80/20 principle, etc. Of course the most interesting aspect is the notion of outsourcing the repetitive, low level work in your own business pursuits much like the big corporations are doing now to maximize your free time to pursue the things you enjoy, like the "mini-retirements" Ferriss takes regularly to all the exotic places that we all enviously wish we could do. I think this is really the core of the book and is why the book achieved such popularity in such a short time. The world has truly become flat, and the threats and discordance of an increasingly globalized world and outsourced workforce underlies all of us who occupy the once exalted white-collar job. Ferriss masterfully targets this underlying fear and concern, by turning it around and telling the Reader that you can fight back by doing the same think the big companies are doing to you, by utilizing the same technologies and outsourcing techniques, such that eventually you'll be able to kick back in a hammock with a drink in you hand, and in the other a laptop or cell phone with wireless Internet access to run your outsourced business in some exotic location like Tahiti or something, that the book cover depicts so well.
On Arnold, what can I say that has not already been written and talked about the man? To me and many others, he is the very embodiment and walking, living example of what all the self-help books advocate especially on topics like setting goals and visualizations. In the auto-biographical book, Arnold talks about how when he was 15 years old, he came upon bodybuilding and realized that "my life, the answer I'd been seeking. It clicked. It was something I suddenly just seemed to reach out and find, as if I'd been crossing a suspended bridge and finally stepped off onto solid ground." The first half of the book describes the single-minded determination, persistence and hard work he subjected himself to, to achieve his goal of becoming the greatest bodybuilder of all time, then parlaying that success as the foundation to achieve his other goals of becoming a successful businessman, actor and leader. It chronicles his life and achievements from the age of 15 to about 22 when he won the greatest bodybuilding competition, the Mr. Olympia for the first time. Reading this section really allows you to get a first hand account of the mindset Arnold had to achieve the great levels of success he was able to achieve and is eye-opening and invaluable. The second half describes exercises and diets you can do to achieve your own physical goals. While this section may be dated by recent advances in knowledge about strength training, and be biased to people like Arnold with great genetic, physical, nutritional and drug enhanced abilities, you can still benefit from his advices about regularity, dedication and sustained efforts required to obtain that six-pack ab, muscular biceps and of course good health.
Now, what I found so uncanny was the similarities of both authors, in that Ferriss is 29, and found great success in running a business in an innovated way, and used that success to write a best selling book on his first try. Likewise, Arnold was around 29 when he wrote and published his book, and used his great physical presence and huge success in a relatively unknown and marginalized sport of professional bodybuilding to publish a best selling book on his first try. Also, both men are savvy marketers and self-promoters and used those abilities shamelessly to catapult their first time published books to best seller status on their first try. Ferris from what I've read on his blog, used exactly that, his blog and Internet presence to build an audience long before the book was published and also by ensuring he got connected to other best selling authors and learning from them and using their connections to make sure his book would get published and read by a large audience. In another biography I read on Arnold, when the publishers of his book told him he would need to go a 10 city book tour, his response was "why only 10 cities, why not 50 cites", because he understood that to get his book sold and read by a large audience he had to get the word out.
But where the similarities end, the differences are quite pronounced. Though I do admire Ferriss and his marketing savvy, and his ability to articulate his agenda in an intelligent, if somewhat shallow way, I can't help but a feeling that his methods do not have long term viability. In addition, somewhat like Arnold, he's big on his athletic achievements but many seem exaggerated, and many if from what I've read online are unsubstantiated. Arnold, on the other hand, does not need to exaggerate anything, as he won the greatest bodybuilding championship 7 times, was at one time the highest paid actor, has made millions not only from acting, but owning real estate, a publishing company, restaurants and even leases a 747 airplane to southeast Asian countries, and is now governor of California, America's largest economy. His success and track record are for real, and when you read in his book about the psychological attitude he utilized such as goal setting and visualization and the use of good old fashion hard work, determination and perseverance, he never advocates a get quick success scheme.
In all fairness to Ferriss, he understands well the need for a catchy title and book cover and the frustrations of all the corporate cogs stuck in their Dilbertesque cubicles and to bank on their frustrations of now only working a dull and frustration job for long hours, but having that very job be outsourced to another country! And despite the ease with which he makes it all sound, there was much planning, strategic surveying, and persistent hard work to get his book and the image surrounding it to sell as well as it has. I think if anything, you can learn a great deal from how he got to where he is, and is in fact the very kind of traits Arnold talks about in his book that lead him to his success.
Not to berate the general attitude of this great country, but I think America has too much of a mentality of quick fixes and gains. Don't like your physical appearance, just to do plastic surgery or suck the fat out with liposuction. Likewise, all the get rich schemes too many to mention that permeate our national psyche. Reading how an immigrant like Arnold Schwarzenegger achieve his success with a positive attitude, gold old fashion hard work, determination, persistence, setting objective and attainable goals resonates with me much more deeply, especially since my parents are in his same age range and immigrated to this country with nothing and achieved success using his principles.
In conclusion, while I find Ferriss's book a bit gimmicky and shallow in details of how he achieved his lifestyle, it is still a worthwhile read and though many could claim much of his advice is common sense, if we all lived life utilizing true common sense intelligence, wouldn't we be all successful? Arnold's suggestions are to set clear and objective goals, visual yourself achieving success, and working hard everyday to achieve your vision. What could be more common sense?
Both books are worthwhile reads, but if you had to choose one, I'd pick Arnold's any day. His successful record speaks for itself.
-Don Kim
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Pragmatic and Wonderful
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| Review Date: May 7, 2007 |
| Reviewer: Neal Desai, |
| This book is great, and more importantly, useful, as Tim is both practical and inspirational at the same time. He has systematically laid down a framework for how to maximize life - and how to take the steps that ultimately lead to greater self awareness through self -development. All of this this cannot happen without first taking control of the time in your life, and Tim does a great job in showing us how to free ourselves from the daily routine so that we can actually live our lives the way there were meant to be explored. This book is a must read for anyone who is a dreamer, and for those of us that realize that dreams are great, but real life can be even better. |
Great Ideas for working smarter!!!
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| Review Date: February 22, 2008 |
| Reviewer: M. Hunt, South Florida |
I finished this book about 2 weeks ago and Timothy Ferriss has really developed a great system for being professionally productive with minimal personal effort. Now, I don't fully believe he only works 4 hours per week and I personally don't think I can reduce my workload to size. However, I feel very strongly that some of the suggestions he puts forth can reduce your normal work week by 50% or more. That's HUGE and for most people, that's more than enough time to go out and enjoy life to a much greater degree. Especially geared towards 'adventure-preneurs', this book has GREAT suggestions on how to make money without letting the day to day work B.S. get in the way of living life to the fullest. I applaud Timothy for his lifestyle, business success, and for sharing his secrets.
I highly recommend this book as a potential guidebook for freeing yourself from the demands of the corporate plantation. |
Better than expected....
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| Review Date: March 3, 2008 |
| Reviewer: DJY, Kansas City, MO United States |
This book came highly recommended by a couple of brilliant folks I know in the online marketing industry, one of them, the best strategic manager I know, Rich Schefren.
After reading some mixed reviews, I wasn't certain whether it would "bring it".
Turns out this book isn't good, IT'S GREAT!!! Tim Ferris has a great knack for strategic analysis, and thinks out of the box. Some of his strategies are not my cup of tea, but even those ideas suggest excellent creativity.
This is the best book I've read this year, on how to leverage your vision and creativity to design a great life and business.
Well done Tim.
[...] |
It's not all for everyone, but there's something for most
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| Review Date: March 25, 2008 |
| Reviewer: Beau Lebens, San Francisco, CA USA |
This book contains all sorts of great advice and is structured somewhat like a work/exercise book with examples and background information. I love the format of it, and the way that you can work your way through it towards achieving the goal of passive income and time/money independence.
What I think some people miss/ignore/don't understand is that this book (and it's described outcome) isn't for everyone, and that's OK. Not everyone would know what to do with the freedom of not having to work, and not everyone is going to be comfortable with the ideas of outsourcing, of making money from something that isn't what they spend their time doing, etc. That's OK.
Sometimes the tone of the book gets a little bit "self-help" for my liking, but I suppose some motivation and pep-talking is required given that we're talking about a complete change of your life. Following Ferriss' life/plan to the letter requires really flipping your current life, expectations and "reality" on their head, and re-writing it all from the ground up. It's quite an ambitious undertaking. Clearly Ferriss is a *very* intelligent guy, and following along at his blog (http://www.fourhourworkweek.com) continues to show that he's no slouch either.
Even assuming you're *not* going to change your life and live like Tim Ferriss, there are some great ideas, suggestions and tips in the book on how to be more productive, get things done, perhaps learn a little bit about getting important things done (not just staying busy) and even about how to negotiate and interact with other people.
Regardless of whether or not you take the fundamental message and goal of the book to heart, I'd strongly recommend it to anyone with a vaguely entrepreneurial spirit and a little bit of a drive to succeed. I don't mean succeed in the traditional sense either, but I'll let you figure out what I really mean once you've read the book :) |
Good things to consider
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| Review Date: June 5, 2008 |
| Reviewer: lm2m, North Carolina |
Ah yes, the dream of working only 4 hours/week. While it's hard to implement to the degree he has, I think Tim has some good ideas to consider, including 1) a more heartfelt and specific how to re: work to live not live to work; a focus on being efficiency and effectiveness, 2) think about how to outsource (including a really good outline on how to on this), 3) use your increased "free time" wisely and 4) inspiration on how to do things vs. why you can't.
He also doesn't gloss over the fact that by outsourcing, you'll make less $$ (he's a proponent of accumulating experiences vs. $$) and he includes a good outline for beginners re: how to start thinking of and evaluating business ideas - I gave this book to my mom for Mother's Day since she's always talking longingly about thinking of that one "great" idea vs. actually trying anything.
Now whether you believe the scuttle on his blog that he's outsourced everything, including his blog, and/or that whenever he does something, he immediately becomes world class at it, who cares. For a young guy, he brings together points others have made and packages them with specific how to's that few others have. Again, the specifics re: how to outsource, especially overseas, are worth the price of the book alone. |
Great book. Defines the NEW RICH and a lifestyle that is liberating.
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| Review Date: July 1, 2008 |
| Reviewer: C. Mancini, Buffalo, NY United States |
I was suggested to read this book by a colleague. I am glad he told me to read it. It has changed the way in which I think about my work. Now I am focusing on automation and a management style that empowers my staff. My goal is to join the new rich and I will not stop until I am there.
Go read this book if you are tired of the normal 9-5 deferred life. Join the new rich and enjoy the world. |
Tremendous Read
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| Review Date: July 11, 2008 |
| Reviewer: Michael A. Patrizio, |
Tim writes an amazing boook and provides great website links to at least get you started on your path to the "New Rich". This is a must read for anyone with aspirations to make a little bit more of their life.
Major word of caution... Be careful who you give this book to. If the wrong person (IE: Your Boss) gets their hands on the book, some tactics will become much less useful. |
You Can Have Your Cake And Eat It Too
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| Review Date: July 15, 2008 |
| Reviewer: Author of Healing Our Children & Cure Tooth Decay, San Jose, CA |
Hi Everyone,
Yes, the book is not perfect, it has flaws. But as a role model Timothy shows us that positive aggression, awareness and assertiveness can get us our needs met.
The main needs this book addresses is being liberated from a desk job so you can travel if you want, and being liberating from working like a slave. I have already been on a track of working for myself but this book was still helpful. I learned some good marketing techniques, and got to see insight on how to get a small online business up and running. I wouldn't hang on too tightly to the examples given of online businesses the concept of creating income creatively is what is more important.
Timothy is open to many possibilities for success and he teaches readers that you can live life according to a new set of rules. Why sit around and have a boring, unfulfilling life and waste time working. Rather, work effectively, take control, and live your dreams. What is great about this message is that Timothy shows us a method for doing this. Find a way to make money that doesn't require you. Be the boss. Probably the best tip from the book is to not waste time. Timothy emphasizes spending our time on where we are most effective, and not wasting our time wandering through life without intention.
I think this is a great book that will help many people switch to more pleasurable careers.
Ramiel Nagel author of Healing Our Children: Because Your New Baby Matters! Sacred Wisdom for Preconception, Pregnancy, Birth and Parenting (ages 0-6) & Cure Tooth Decay: Heal and Prevent Cavities with Nutrition |
Outside the box
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| Review Date: September 1, 2008 |
| Reviewer: S. Price, Bainbridge Island, WA |
I have read many books that promised "The Holy Grail", and I had not expected all that much when I started this one. However, I was surprised to see that I really liked the approach. The suggestions were creative, sound, without any pressure to purchase more from the author to be successful.
I particularly liked his notion that we don't have to subscribe to the idea that we need to do the same thing over and over again for the rest of our lives. We can get involved in one activity, get good at it, make money with it, take a mini-retirement, and then look for something else to do. I personally have done just that for the last 10 years, have learned lots of new stuff, got involved in lots of new things, and every time I mention my own path to others, the reaction is always: oh, a jack/jill of all trades! I find such reactions an insult to my effort of being good at what I do, and the author of this book did a fine job encouraging and motivating me that this is a great way to live, make a living, and turn it into a lifestyle.
I am not quite at the 4 hour work week yet by any means, but I got lots of ideas on how to get there. I had already been thinking along those lines, and the suggestions this book offers are helping me tremendously along the way to speed up the process. It's just a different way of thinking, and I love how he demonstrates what is possible. As they say in neuro-linguistic programming: when one person is able to do something, it means the rest of us will eventually be able to do the same if they put their mind to it. The book definitely encourages and helps me to put my mind to this way of carving out a lifestyle. |
I dont review books unless they're utterly fantastic
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| Review Date: February 5, 2009 |
| Reviewer: E. K. Bartlett, |
| Ignore the haters, this book changed my life and yes I'm a real person. I'm now working half as much as I did and making more (I'm a Real Estate Investor). If you want to think outside the box and live a lifestyle that's better than what most people can conceive of, read the book. The only part I did not like were the descriptions of Pay-per-click marketing. He makes it sound much more simple than it really is. In reality, PPC is very competitive and tough to profit. |
Definately Unique
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| Review Date: February 18, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Nicholas T. Sparagis, Schaumburg, IL |
I like this book. I like this author.
Tim Ferris gives good advice and backs it up with a tactical plan. I think the book's best quality is it's motivating. It had a similar effect on me as the "Rich Dad Poor Dad" books.
One of the main themes is know your own self worth. I think people, too often, give too much to their jobs. We don't live in a society where you can work for a company for 25 years and retire with a pension.
I have a small business. When I feel stuck or like I'm constantly reacting, I read his 13 MISTAKES BY THE 4-HOUR WORKWEEK:
1. W4W - Working for Work's Sake.
2. Micromanaging and e-mailing to fill time.
3. Handling problems that your out-sourcers or co-workers can handle for you.
4. Helping out-sourcers or co-workers with the same problem more than twice.
5. Chasing customers when you have sufficient cash flow to finance your non-financial pursuits.
6. Answering email that will NOT result in a sale or that can be answered by a FAQ.
7. Working where you live, sleep or relax.
8. Not performing a thorough 80/20 analysis every 2 weeks for Business and Personal.
9. Striving for endless perfection rather than great or simply good enough. We like GREAT vs good enough.
10.Blowing small problems out of proportion as an excuse to work or work harder.
11.Making non-time sensitive issues urgent in order to justify work.
12.Viewing one product, job or project as the end-all and be-all of your existence.
13.Ignoring the social rewards of life. Surround yourself with smiling positive people who have absolutely |
Strap in and get ready to hit remote corners of the world.
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| Review Date: February 21, 2009 |
| Reviewer: G. Panayoti, |
I'm an entrepreneur and I find Tim's book really hits the spot. Even if you work for someone else, there are excellent bits of advice for you as well. The concept of living your life according to your terms, and not according to someone else's perception of what your day should look like is invaluable, albeit a foreign idea to most people.
Tim's accounts of his unusual conquests and world travel also serve to inspire and show what is possible.
I don't think I've ever read a book with more raw detail and specific examples. It's not a self help book that pumps you up and sends you out into the world with only good feelings. It's more of a "how to" guide and manual for constructing something life altering. Highly recommended. |
Even if you're a Wage Slave, this book will help
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| Review Date: April 22, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Lowrychris, Florida, Los Angeles, Memphis, Macon, |
It's great to focus and strive for paring your work week down to just 10% of what most people do now, but that number's so small, it seems almost impossible to do. Enter The 4 Hour Workweek, which is a step by step guide to outsourcing, deligating and succeeding. Even if you can't get out of the rat race yet, this book gives you instant techniques to trim the fat from your work week so that you spend your time on the most productive tasks. It's called the 80/20 principle and you should embrace it as dogma. I would recommend this book to anyone with a job, so that opens it up to everyone, right?
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Motivational if nothing else
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| Review Date: June 26, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Michael T. Hanley, CPA, Smithtown, NY United States |
This was one of the more enjoyable business books I have ever written. In addition to the tips/secrets/strategies that Ferriss puts forth, this book motivated me to take a step back and analyze the efficiency of my accounting practice. After just one read, I was able to cut out approximately 6 hours per week from my schedule through delegation and outsourcing.
Michael T. Hanley, CPA is the Managing Partner of the Smithtown, NY CPA Firm, Merl & Hanley, LLP and the author of Effective Tax Planning for the MicroBusiness: 30 Minutes With...A Certified Public Accountant: Effective Tax Planning for the MicroBusiness
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Read this book on vacation, and could not wait to get home to put it to use!
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| Review Date: July 6, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Christine Richardson, USA |
The 4 Hour Workweek landed in my hands just before a holiday in the sun. Here I was, burnt out by work (which I loved) but tired just the same - but Tim changed my life and lead me to open my eyes to being a info warrior. I have used many of the ideas, the solutions, including the Get Friday service and Elance so many times I can't count! Give it to anyone self-enployed or over worked!
Also strongly recommended:
If you'd like a Real Library vs. an e-library, a multi - dimensional experience vs. a one - dimensional experience and a record of YOUR thoughts, ideas, goals, interpretations alongside the master authors, then this might be the most important book you'll ever read.
Everything you need to know for your success and future has been written by these masters...and you know, it's all available, ready to be carefully placed in your success library. All you have to do is walk into your library. You will have access to the finest, most ready success masterpieces in the world. The books that collectively have launched millions of millionaires. Soon, you will be one of them - NOT because you bought into some new Internet business, (who knows?), but because you have done the work that takes place right upstairs, in your head: your mindset. And that mindset is the foundation of your fortune. And your fortune is founded on the knowledge you will receive from the Masters. As you commune with them, and acquire that idea that will separate you from the rest of the pack, and begin to fill dollars into your bank account, you will realize it all came from simply reading a key book, jotting down your inspired idea, referring back to it, and taking action. After all, you'll have that `action plan' written in the margins of these books!
Think And Grow Rich: The Personal Study Edition
The Master Key System: The Personal Study Edition
Path To Prosperity - Mastery Of Destiny - Acres Of Diamonds: The Personal Study Edition
The Science of Getting Rich: The Movie - 2 Disk Set
See you at the top!
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By Far The Best Lifestyle Book Ever Written!
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| Review Date: September 6, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Joseph Ratliff, Lacey, WA USA |
I usually don't provide a glowing review of any one book...as I am critical about how most authors are just "getting books out there" with their own agenda in mind.
This is one of the very few exceptions to that rule.
If you're seeking the methodology and blueprint to a virtual and self-sustaining lifestyle where you can travel anywhere, and do anything, with little regard to how much much is in the bank (because you'll have plenty)...this IS your book.
Tim writes in an unusually engaging style not found in most books. I actually could not put it down. 300 pages of the best on this topic...period.
You will not be disappointed with the purchase of this book so long as you keep an open mind to the rather interesting blueprint written inside. |
What a book!
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| Review Date: September 11, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Brad Avery Jr., |
The first time I read this book was about a year and a half ago. I was blown away. Each time I reread it I implement something different from the book into my life.
I honestly think this book is a must read for entrepreneurs and business owners.
Personally, I find this book useful for my business and my personal development. I have given away more than 4 copies to people that I think that will read and follow at least some parts of it.
What I love most about this book is the mind set that we should live now and not postpone our life till retirement. Don't wait for retirement. The hardest concept of this book for me to follow is "simplify your life".
The idea that I gleaned from the book that was most profitable to me was implementing virtual assistants. So far I have hired 3 and I will be hiring another very soon. |
Key to Success
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| Review Date: September 30, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Alexander Lee, |
Amazing amazing book. Very motivational and inspirational. And, most of all, I'm glad Tim included sources to his success, for example the websites he frequents, because many authors pump you up, but then then leave out a whole chunk about what they're really doing and the places and people they know that are making their success a reality.
I highly recommend this book to anyone |
Best Business Book EVER!
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| Review Date: October 6, 2009 |
| Reviewer: E. T. Barton, Ventura, CA |
| I know a lot of people will hate this book. It does not teach you how to be filthy rich... it does not teach you how to make a million dollars. What it does teach you is options to help you work less but more efficiently, while also inspiring you to start living like you're retired now. It's NOT about sacrificing... it's about making "just enough" money to live the life other people only dream about. (And I know this book works because I use it in my own life to increase my income without increasing my effort.) |
Change your paradigm
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| Review Date: October 12, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Stewart Gandolf, Tustin CA |
| "Great book that truly breaks paradigm of working 80 hours a week to earn more money. Why not build a business that others can manage and retire early. Lots of ideas on how to do that. One insight - products are better than services. Hmmm, hard for me to apply to my ad agency but we do offer products and they ARE profitable. The biggest thing I like about the book is that it is thought provoking. Do we really HAVE to follow the herd?" |
Wished it was longer...
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| Review Date: January 4, 2010 |
| Reviewer: Abe Niederhauser, Provo, UT |
| After reading the original, I bought this book the day it came out. I was a little disappointed that there wasn't more new material, but the additional resources were worth it. If you want the content, the original book will suffice, but if you want the extra resources, get this book! |
Profoundly Impactful
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| Review Date: January 4, 2010 |
| Reviewer: Chris Patterson, |
Let me start off by saying that I have read hundreds of business books. I am not saying this to brag, rather to give some context for this review.
The 4-Hour Workweek has taken up permanent space in my head and it is making me crazy in a good way. This book doesn't just tell you that it is possible, but it is a step-by-step blueprint along with corresponing websites to help you in your quest. I have not only read it, footnoted it, and re-read it, but I am putting together a group of people that are also reading it or have recently read it to implement the strategies. We meet for the first time this week and everyone that was invited recently purchased the book and many read it in a week or less. Each and every one of them is having the same brain space experience that I have. The energy around this topic is contagious.
Tim's writing style is easy to read and full of real world advice. I'd highly recommend this book. |
I've Read Both Editions, And Am Putting Them To Use!
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| Review Date: January 4, 2010 |
| Reviewer: Thomas J. Quinlan, McLean, VA USA |
Many of the negative reviews here seem to focus on the author's ego or his writing style. That's unfortunate, because the first is well-deserved, and the second is hilarious. (There's an old saying - "It's not bragging if it's true.")
I read the first edition when it came out, and now I've read the second edition. Obviously, the second edition has a lot of the first edition - but that's the point! What makes it new, however, is that the author, Tim Ferriss, took the time to poll his community of like-minded followers and find out what it is that they wanted in the new edition.
I know what I wanted in the new edition. No more abstract case studies for his concept of muses (income generators) - I wanted the real thing.
He delivered.
The new edition contains more than 100 pages of new material, most of it submitted by readers who read the first edition and put it into practise. They provided real case studies of how useful his methods are - how they were able to transform their lives by using his book. When was the last time that you read a book wherein the *readers* contributed in the space of just two years? Combined with the various things that Tim himself learned in the space between the editions, it makes for a powerful second edition to an already amazing book.
And that's the key - the first edition is great, and the second even better. I'll admit I'm biased, and my New Year's resolutions (which I started early, mind you) all centre around putting these ideas to work for me. It's much easier now, though, since I've read that other people have done the same and have had great success. That was the missing piece in the first edition, and we got it in the second, and you can't ask for more. |
Outside the box advice on how to get by in todays world
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| Review Date: January 4, 2010 |
| Reviewer: D. Nabavian, New York, NY |
| It is now 2010. 2010! We are now in the "future" we all fantasized about growing up. Yet, we are still holding on to our traditional methods of living that have been ingrained in us all since childhood (and pretty much the past century). This book shows you how to break out of this mold and exploit all the modern tools available to us today to hack your life for the better. To all those leaving negative reviews, I fully understand; It is difficult to conform to the lifestyle the book is endorsing and I too was skeptical at first. I also agree that the author does go off on tangents and gets too wordy at times. But who cares! Go read Shakespear if that's your concern. Grab a highlighter and some post-its and start digging out the treasures in this book. |
Inspirational and practical...
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| Review Date: January 4, 2010 |
| Reviewer: Soulhuntre, |
After reading the 4HWW I was energized and very intrigued. Granted as someone who has been self employed 99% of my live and always experimented with my lifestyle the concepts inside were less shocking to me than many, but it is still awesome to see how far someone can take these ideas.
Since it was published I have given more than 8 copies of this book (in both this and the first edition) to friends and each and every one of them has put some aspect of it to use in their lives - usually just a small bit, but enough to be happier and that is all that I wanted.
To those who feel that Tim Ferris is arrogant, or spinning a line of bull here I would simply suggest that you get to know a bit more about him. Read his blog, follow him on twitter. He is far from arrogant... but he IS confident and self assured; qualities that these days are rare enough they must seem like arrogance to many folks. I am pretty sure you will see he is a good guy who genuinely gets a charge out of talking about his experiences.
As for the book itself? Buy it. If you don't use it or like it hand it to someone who will - you won't regret it. If nothing else it is funny as hell! If you have the first edition and like it, I would suggest you pick up this expanded edition - good stuff has been thrown into the mix.
Enjoy! |
1 of my top 10 biz books of the last 10 years
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| Review Date: January 4, 2010 |
| Reviewer: J. Waters, Cumberland, RI |
I'm pretty sure I've only written an Amazon review of 1 other product in my life. So, I hope you understand how much this one counts. Tim hits on some mind-blowing points here. Don't let the get-rich-quick-sounding title turn you off.
And, don't think you have to apply everything all at once. If nothing else, learn how a virtual assistant can make your life richer and more meaningful. |
Looking forward to implementing many of the ideas in this book
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| Review Date: January 4, 2010 |
| Reviewer: Joseph Ferrara, Seattle, WA United States |
I have a friend who has been a fan of this book for over a year. He has managed to outsource his business and is now living in Hawaii. I am gradually starting to use his ideas to streamline my life. Tim provides lots of actionable concepts. The one I am starting out with is to be aware of when I am doing the most important stuff for my job versus just keeping busy.
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Surprised at the naysayers
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| Review Date: January 4, 2010 |
| Reviewer: Jeffery Patch, Huntington Beach, Surf City USA |
This is a great book and will help most people who are looking at changing their life and business around. Is it for everybody? No, of course not.
There are a few negative reviews here and I can only assume they're from people who expect simple step-by-step rules to follow in order to quit their lives and start a successful business. That's not going to happen for the vast majority of people who ANY book, let alone this one.
What the 4-Hour Workweek WILL do is motivate you to take your life and business into your own hands and give you the concepts to succeed. Much of it is common sense, but it's the kind of teaching that you need to read in order to realize that you're not utilizing these principals.
I JUST bought and finished the book this week and I'm already completely changing the way I run my business.
If you have an entrepreneurial spirit and especially if you already run your own business, this book is invaluable. If you're a lazy bum who hates the 9-5 life and wants to leave it all behind to travel the world and never use your brain, well you're going to have your work cut out for you. |
Get out of the Rat Race and pursue your heart's desire!
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| Review Date: January 4, 2010 |
| Reviewer: A. Fisher, sacramento,ca |
This book, if applied wholeheartedly , will change your life. Updated version contains newer resources and real life examples of people who have applied the content. When I first read this book 3 years ago my soul came alive. And this updated version does the same.
Get this book, apply it and change your life! |
Much to think about
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| Review Date: January 4, 2010 |
| Reviewer: Charles Holton, Mid-Atlantic |
Not everyone will appreciate what this book has to offer - even though everyone could probably benefit from the precepts espoused by the author. That's because there is pain in change - and this book will change the way you look at your life. For some people, that hurts too much.
But if you never saw yourself renting your youth to someone else to make them rich, but wanted instead to someday be master of your time and effort - this book is for you. |
A delicious explanation of the "New Rich"
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| Review Date: January 8, 2010 |
| Reviewer: Shane A. Brewer, Canada |
Ok, I admit it. I bought the book because of the title. I mean "4 Hour Work Week"? Who doesn't want that? But then again, who can possibly have that? So I read this book with a optimistic pessimism (Yes... I mean that).
Tim Ferriss does an amazing job of questioning the well ingrained beliefs that plague society today. Why do we work 40 hours/week? Who decided on that number? Why not 80? Why not 10? Tim gets you to start looking at your life not in terms of hours per week but results. If I can create 40 hour results in just 4 hours, why wouldn't I work just the 4 hours? However, since most of us have 40 hours, we fill the rest with meaningless shuffling of paper and meetings.
The part that I enjoyed the most was the differentiation between "efficiency" and "effectiveness". Efficiency is doing something well. Effectiveness is doing the right things. While society tends to reward efficiency, effectiveness is far more important to getting results and limited the amount of time you work.
The book is an excellent read; filled with humor and stories, it will be hard to put it down, but I highly recommend putting it down to complete the questions and actions at the end of the chapter. I rarely give a book 5 stars, but since I've just started reading this book for the 3rd time, it's one of those rare books. 5 out of 5. |
I liked it so much, I purchased 70 copies
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| Review Date: January 8, 2010 |
| Reviewer: Keith Abraham, Gold Coast, Australia |
| I loved this book. It has taken me on a pathway to change the way I think and do my business. To date I have given over 70 copies away to friends and my clients.Thanks Tim. |
Unstick that rut!
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| Review Date: January 9, 2010 |
| Reviewer: herb enthusiast, Newcastle, UK |
It started as holiday reading with the last edition - I bought it along with Tom Hodgkinson's "How to be Free". In the heart of the beautiful Scottish Highlands, with happy, busy children and inspirational reading I was all set.
4HWW explores how to rethink your attitude to work and sets out clear practical steps to create a business infrastructure whereby you are not a Director but an owner. In day to day working life there can be a lot of ego involved in looking busy; this book enables you to step back and work smarter, replace efficient actions with effective ones and ditch the notion that multi-tasking like crazy is the answer to get things done.
The toughest aspect of setting up your own business is in the words of Timothy Ferriss "Finding your muse" - there are tasks within the book that help with this but ultimately exploring what you are interested in and the size of that market is a good starting point. I have bought this second edition as it is updated and has further "fulfillment options" for how to deliver. My notice is in and I'm on my own from March! Good luck with unsticking your rut too.
The 4-Hour Workweek, Expanded and Updated: Expanded and Updated, With Over 100 New Pages of Cutting-Edge Content. |
Changed my life!
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| Review Date: January 11, 2010 |
| Reviewer: Liam Mccarroll, |
| I spent 6 months travelling the world after reading this book and during that time worked an average of 2 hours per week. I earnt more money the 6 months while I was travelling than I did the 6 months I was working at home full time. I came home with more money than I left with and I didn't pay a cent for airfares. All thanks to this book. |
Time to Take Stock of What Life is About
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| Review Date: January 12, 2010 |
| Reviewer: D. Hart, NZ |
I've worked hard in my own business since I was 21, and worked hard for my first employer for several year before that.
That was well over 20 years ago.
18 months ago I gave up what many would consider a "dream job" - corner office, 6 figure salary, 6 weeks annual leave etc etc.
However, deep down I was unhappy - I knew there was something more.
I just wish I'd found Tim's book before I quit my job - I probably would have played things a little differently, however,
not even half way through and I'm already a long way towards understanding why "corporate busyness" can feel so unfulfilling.
I'm working on my own lifestyle business now and very much thankful for the concepts that Tim
presents in this excellent book - thank you Tim!
The 4-Hour Workweek, Expanded and Updated: Expanded and Updated, With Over 100 New Pages of Cutting-Edge Content. |
Be Careful. Reading this causes radical life change.
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| Review Date: January 12, 2010 |
| Reviewer: Nathan C. Murray, My cube. |
I bought the original version of this book and within thirty days I'd sold or given away most of what I owned and
I was on my way to Europe, followed by Costa Rica and the China.
For two years I traveled the globe in constant peace and happiness following the principles Tim outlined.
Due to my own refusal to adapt to changing economic conditions I found myself back in the US and in the corporate
world.
Now this version of the book has come out and I bought it immediately. I fear my days in this cube are limited.
The principles work great, but the biggest change for me was my mindset on completion of this book. I became much
less interested in acquiring and much more into experiencing.
It's worth the read. It may save you from the fate of the fat man in the red BMW. |
So worth the read and money
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| Review Date: January 14, 2010 |
| Reviewer: cllanders, |
| I debated about buying this book for months - literally - and after I finally broke down and bought it, I could kick myself for waiting. This book renewed my passion for life and taught me to listen to that nagging voice in the back of my head. You know, the one that's saying, "You mean I have to get up and do this for next 25 years??" Ferriss has remarkable insight and wisdom beyond his years. |
Fresman in college and this helped me find a major that I am excited about.
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| Review Date: January 16, 2010 |
| Reviewer: J. Baldwin, |
| The for hour work week not only helps people looking to leave their job but it has inspired myself and others (as I found out in the community)to pursue entrepreneurial ventures and life improving strategies. You have to find the dedication and courage to do the activities yourself but the book helps you develop the skills necessary for both. It is a fun and amazing read. If your curious whether or not you should buy the book check out tim's blog and just google him there are great vids of his lectures. But seriously GET IT! |
This book changes the way you percieve business and life
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| Review Date: January 16, 2010 |
| Reviewer: Elena S. Gann, Leavenworth KS |
| I've bought this book for a few people because I consider it a must read for the free spirited. It's not enough to recommend it. It's an incredible how to guide with detailed information, formulas and plans for implementing business ideas and re structuring the way you think about work and life. For anyone who has ever felt guilty about not being "responsible, mature or productive" because you did not embrace the 9-5 professional culture and agree to work your life away so you could die in comfort, this book is a piece of relief, even hope. For years I have been able to live reasonably without a regular job. A lot of people joke about how useless my college degree is because I never followed it up with a conventional career. In truth, I've had a few careers. I have owned a coffee shop, Art Gallery, All ages Music venue, a bilingual magazine and have an art studio. After reading the Four Hour Work Week by Tim Ferris, I plan to restructure and automate some ideas I have had bouncing around for a while. The information and resources in the book make the success of any good idea seem possible. |
28 years old, Semi-Retired and Living in a Tropical Paradise thanks to Tim Ferris and the 4-hour Workweek
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| Review Date: January 17, 2010 |
| Reviewer: Johnny Jen, Lanta Island, Thailand and San Francisco, CA |
I'm currently sitting in my beach bungalow on the tropical island of Koh Lanta, Thailand. I spend my days scuba diving, training in Muay Thai boxing, and sipping Pina Coladas with my beautiful Scandinavian girlfriend.
18 months ago - Before I read "The 4-Hour Workweek" I was working 40+ hours a week, checking email 10 times a day, and stressed out beyond belief. I traveled, but only for business, and never actually got to see the world.
I had nice stuff, sure...a Porsche, a nice apartment, and designer clothes.
But now I can say that I'm much much happier. How I did it:
1. I read Tim Ferris' book "The 4-Hour Workweek" and became inspired. - If he could do it, I could as well.
2. I went on a mini-vacation to Thailand - just for 3 weeks to see if my world would fall apart...it didn't.
3. I practiced his chapter on Automation and Elimination - My goal was to free myself from stress and material things. I don't regret it for a second.
4. I planned a mini retirement for 3 months - Which has turned into 18 months so far, and I have more money in my savings account than when I first started.
I HIGHLY recommend this book. It changed my life, and all it took was me reading it three times and implementing each section step by step.
P.S. His two page article in the book about "How to become a professional in anything" worked like a charm, I am now an official Guest Lecturer at Harvard University.
Also thanks to the book I am now also a Professional Muay Thai Fighter and a Certified Scuba Divemaster. |
The 4 Hour Work Week... the gateway drug
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| Review Date: January 18, 2010 |
| Reviewer: Spencer Shaw, SLC, UT |
| Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R118GUV9TNQ734 This book got me hooked to a complete new lifestyle, my gateway drug you could say. I changed my profession, started some websites and information products Paidin14days - How to Make Money Online in 14 Days or Less (Complete set including 2 DVDs and 3 Cds) and began to travel the world more and all of those steps are inside the book. It's not your typical self-help that ends up being shelf-help but actual exciting real life stories and ways to live the unspoken life. |
An Important Book
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| Review Date: January 18, 2010 |
| Reviewer: Richard S. Barid, Savannah, GA |
| Whether you're a cubicle dweller, business owner, or just thinking about where you want your life to go - this book offers insights and perspectives you won't find elsewhere. |
A must for employees and entrepreneurs alike
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| Review Date: January 19, 2010 |
| Reviewer: Eli Szasz, |
| There's not much I can say about this book that hasn't been covered by all the other reviews. Even though I had not yet applied even half of the principals of the first book, I bought the expanded edition for the testimonials alone. They are motivating to say the least, and all offer powerful lessons. I now check in on Tim's blog to stay inspired and catch some new ideas now and then. |
Life changing
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| Review Date: January 19, 2010 |
| Reviewer: ThurzNite, Irvine, CA United States |
| I had the 1st edition, and this one rocks even more. There are lots of real world people that he writes about as examples. Plus some new websites are covered. I regularly read his blog, and this book is beyond just what he blogs about. I mention that because I just read another book by a personal finance blogger who just re-hashed their block. Not the case with Tim. There's real information here that's life changed. |
Lifechanging
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| Review Date: January 19, 2010 |
| Reviewer: Get Washed, |
I picked this book up at the beginning of 2009, and it has literally been changing my life ever since. I am currently 22 years old and a senior marketing major. This book changed the way I thought about my life and my goals after graduating. A year later after reading this book, I just recently purchased the expanded addition and I love that too!
This book will tell you secrets about business and life that MILLIONS of people could only dream about. This book will help you escape the life template and start to enjoy the life you have been given. This isn't some crappy motivational book that talks about everything But how to succeed. This book delivers inspiration and knowledge that will lead to your success in business and in your personal life.
Since purchasing this book I have created an LLC and have created a similar model since mentioned in the book and am making money while practically doing nothing! Sound like b.s.? Spend the $15 or less and purchase this book or tell your friend to purchase it and borrow it!
p.s. Timothy Ferris isn't just a "one book wonder" or he isn't just sitting in a mansion somewhere collecting book royalties. He is STILL doing what the book talks about and you can follow him on his blog at [...]. This blog is like a weekly continuation of the book which he gives great tips, advice, and knowledge.
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A Book for Everyone
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| Review Date: January 20, 2010 |
| Reviewer: Keiran Halcyon, Chiba, Japan |
The Four-Hour Work Week is a great book for everyone. Despite the critics, despite the title, and despite even Tim's directed audience, this book can be used by anyone looking to improve their life, find more time for their activities, and just plain understand what they want.
I'm a 24-year-old who graduated college 20 months ago. I followed a dream of mine, and started teaching English in Japan almost immediately after graduation. While I still love living in a foreign country, I had begun questioning myself and the path I took. What about the career I left behind? (architecture, if you're wondering) Would I rather go to grad school for a new/related major? How many years do I want to spend in Japan?
I bought Tim's book last week at just the right time. I had to tell my employers whether I wanted to sign a new contract for a third year. While debating my options I sped through 4HWW and had a minor epiphany. I'm doing what I want already! Now, I just have to spend some free time setting up a muse or two (if I want to), and I'll be ready to continue the lifestyle when my contract runs out.
Finally, I don't like a lot of the negative criticisms I've read about the book. Every book's title advertises the best/most intriguing/silliest/etc. part of the book. If someone reads this book expecting a path towards 4 hours a week paved for them they will be sorely disappointed. Yes, the book includes great ideas, tips, and resources for getting there, but you still have to be innovative and put energy into it. Tim's not saying you have to hate your job and avoid it like a plague. He's just trying to give you the opportunity to spend more time on other enjoyable parts of your life. Each section of the book has a different goal. You don't have to follow all of them, or even in the order he did. (although, his order does make sense for the majority of situations) I, for one, don't plan on using his muse/business advice/resources in the near future. My point is, read the book as a lifestyle guide, not as a how-to manual. You'll be much happier, and benefit a lot more from this great resource!
(note: I bought and read the updated version of 4HWW. While I had heard about the original, I have never read it, and cannot compare the two. However, I can say that I am incredibly happy I bought the updated book. There's very little I can imagine would need improvement as a lifestyle guide.) |
One Word: Amazing
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| Review Date: January 20, 2010 |
| Reviewer: A. Harbin, Michigan |
| Absolutely life changing book. Looking forward to the next stage of my life- the one where I relax with my family while my automated income rolls into the bank account. Yeah.... soon enough, soon enough. Just need to implement a few procedures that Tim so kindly divulged in his genius tome. Thanks Tim! |
the 4-hour workweek
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| Review Date: January 20, 2010 |
| Reviewer: shedenb, denver,co |
| This book is awesome. Really changed the way I look at life, work, money. Got me thinking creatively about my work. Very specific and very useful. Also great to hear the author read it on audiobook. |
Amazing
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| Review Date: January 21, 2010 |
| Reviewer: Tyler Priest, NZ |
| I think this book is an amazing read and have just bought the expanded edition to read again I plan to in 7 years call up Tim Ferris ask him where in the world he is jump on a flight there and show him how much his book influenced me to be as successful as I will be then |
Must Read!
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| Review Date: January 21, 2010 |
| Reviewer: F. Martinez, Cincinnati, Ohio |
| I read the first book and loved it. The new edition is worth getting. Plenty of new material to justify the purchase! |
Effective, not solely chasing efficiencies!
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| Review Date: January 21, 2010 |
| Reviewer: sean senos, |
| i've spent a career out of filling a work week to the brim...feeling if i could improve efficiencies i would create more success. As Tim illustrates, my increased efficiencies only created more opportuniuties to work even harder..not necessarily smarter!! Tim's fresh outlook has allowed me to reprioritize what matters most and be focussed on effectiveness along with efficiencies...huge upside to that one concept alone. i feel that this book can help everyone who reads it..regardless of their personal place in life. |
"Boredome is the enemy, not some abstract failure" - T.F.
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| Review Date: January 21, 2010 |
| Reviewer: Eugenia Koulizakis, Tampa, FL |
| In a word, inspiring. Everything he talks about works...as long as you have the hutzpah to actually DARE to dream that you deserve to create the ultimate, no-working-for-others cashflow machine. There's a shift when you make the jump, and it's undeniably scary. Although I have never jumped out of a plane, I imagine that when one does, the time between falling out of the plane and the parachute actually opening makes one feel the same way - "thank god I jumped, but I wonder if my parachute will actually work here in a minute or two". It works more often than not, but there is always that chance. But risk, whether in business or in parachuting, is mitigatable. Is that even a word? Anyways, buy the book. It's good. And Tim, if you're reading this, you're welcome for the review, and thanks for pushing me out of the plane. As we've discussed before in your blog, see you on the island of Crete at the ruins of Knossos. I'll be giving tours soon thanks to you and your book:) Look out for [...] pretty soon ( MMA gear and stepping out clothes for MMA dudes and dudettes). I hope to also walk away with 100K of your pocket change in June to expedite the process. Happy travels :) |
An true eye-opener, life saver and a definite must read !
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| Review Date: January 21, 2010 |
| Reviewer: Kristine Nudina, Latvia |
This is the most important book I've read in years ! I highly recommend to everyone! Read ASAP !
What a great source of inspiration ! This has changed my life and I am eternally grateful to Tim Ferriss for sharing his experience !
Well done ! |
Amazing!
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| Review Date: January 22, 2010 |
| Reviewer: R. MORT, Los Angeles, CA |
| I wish you would have written this 20 years ago. At 44, I'm escaping the "box" I've been stuck in. Thanks for showing me the door to my lifestyle! |
The 4-Hour Work Week
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| Review Date: January 22, 2010 |
| Reviewer: Anthony Canning, Gold Coast Australia |
| I read the first edition and it was excellent. The ideas are great yet basic, why didn't I think of this previously. Now I have read the second and updated edition, more great ideas and real life examples. Keep up the great writing. I am about to jump in and test the waters. Thanks Anthony C |
Great Book Unorthodox lifestyle but it opens your mind!
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| Review Date: January 30, 2010 |
| Reviewer: Arthur Veal, |
I loved this book it was not what I really expected when I started reading it but it was the beginning of opening my mind up to why do things have to be a certain way. Why do we have to stay at a hotel on vacation?, Why do we just go on a 2 week vacation and not a month long adventure?
This book is very good for getting you to think outside the box on a personal level, which many do not do until later in life. |
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