The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich

A reviewer

As a work-a-holic small business owner, I had high hopes for this book. I had seen or heard the raves by other authors, editors, magazines, etc. What all the reviews fail to mention is that many of the ideas and practices in this book are borderline unethical and downright selfish. Examples of questionable behavior Timothy encourages include lying to your boss, looking for loopholes so you can win, farming work to cheap overseas labor, and many more. I believe in working smarter, not harder, but I also believe in being honest and not bending the rules just to suit my needs or just to prove I can get away with it. It's also a book written for single people who have nobody else to consider except themselves. If you're married and/or have kids, you'll find yourself struggling through the 'travel the world' parts of the book. Not that it's impossible, just very improbable, to do with a family. What I DID like was the idea of automating as much as you possibly can.This book encourages and even gives you many step by step instructions on how to do that. That's why I didn't give it the lowest rating available.

8 out of 10 people found this review helpful.

Challenging Outdated Beliefs

When my husband brought home a copy of Timothy Ferriss' The 4 Hour Work Week, I was intrigued by the title and eagerly delved into it, in a quest to discover the secrets to accomplishing such a feat. Heck, I'd be happy with a 34 hour work week. For me, the book was a page turner, as Ferriss revealed the various aspects of his plan for Definition, Elimination, Automation and Liberation 'DEAL.' What I liked about the book: * Ferriss challenges the idea that people have to work 30-40 years before they can retire and enjoy life. The idea is to do and accomplish what you want now. * Ferriss offers a new vision of how to live life and advocates taking mini-retirements throughout your life, while you are still physically able to enjoy them. * The book provides ideas and instruction on how to finance this type of lifestyle, using what he refers to as 'a muse' business which 'through simplification and automation' requires very little management from you. * The book recommends eliminating things which cause stress and waste time. An example of time wasters are events such as meetings, constantly checking e-mail, and casual work conversations that are not relevant to your work - all of which result in a disruption of productive work. For time wasting items, Ferriss recommends outsourcing and/or delegating non-essential tasks. He also recommends firing stress causing clients whose accounts produce very little revenue and also encourages the elimination of excessive clutter from work and home. * Ferriss advocates implementing these strategies to enable us to do more of what matters most. What I did not like about the book: * As a 40 something reader, Ferriss' writing and choice of words struck me at times as the writing and of someone who lacked life experience. * Some of the methods Ferris utilizes and recommends for implementing the strategies outlined in the book, seemed somewhat dishonest and are things I personally would not be comfortable doing. Overall, I admire Ferriss' willingness to challenge the same old ideas and beliefs about how life should be lived. The book is refreshing in that it offers a new perspective and options on how to live life differently. Lilia Fallgatter, Author

6 out of 6 people found this review helpful.

One of My Favorite Books of All Time

As the author of the international bestseller 'The Joy of Not Working' and 'How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free', I follow the principles in my books. I have a great lifestyle because I work only 4 to 5 hours a day and make a comfortable living - better than 80 percent of working people. In my books I advocate that people leave corporate life as soon as possible and work less than half the hours of the average working stiff. I always considered that my paradigm is much different than that of the average working person. But after reading ¿The 4-Hour Workweek¿, I realize that my paradigm is much closer to that of the average working person than that of Tim Ferris. I now want to operate closer to the level of Tim Ferris. I love this book. I disagree with most of the negative comments made by certain reviewers. There is a lot of valuable material in this classic that we all can use although we may never get to the point of working only 4 hours a week. We may be able to work only two hours a day, however, and still make a great living. Some of the most important principles in this book are: 1. Get unrealistic. 2. Practice the art of nonfinishing. 3. Cultivate selective ignorance. 4. Do not multi-task. 5. Outsource as much of your life as you can. 6. Being busy is a form of laziness - lazy thinking and indiscriminate action. 7. Forget about time management. This book is written for ordinary people who want to accomplish extraordinary things with minimal time involved. Here are five of several favorite quotes from ¿The 4-Hour Workweek¿ that I intend to place on 'The Joy of Not Working' Website: 1. If you are insecure, guess what? The rest of the world is, too. Do not overestimate the competition and underestimate yourself. You are better than you think. 2. The blind quest for cash is a fool's errand. 3. It's lonely at the top. Ninety-nine percent of people in the world are convinced they are incapable of achieving great things, so they aim for the mediocre. The level of competition is thus fiercest for 'realistic' goals, paradoxically making them the most time-consuming and energy consuming. It is easier to raise $10,000,000 than it is $1,000,000. It is easier to pick up the one perfect 10 in the bar than the five 8s. 4. The fishing is best where the fewest go, and the collective insecurity of the world makes it easy for people to hit home runs while everyone is aiming for base hits. 5. Tens of thousands of people, most of them less capable than you, leave their jobs every day. It's neither uncommon nor fatal. In short, 'The 4-Hour Workweek' can set you on a new course in life where you have a lot more leisure time and a lot more money at the same time. In fact, the material in this book, as in Richard Koch's ¿Living the 80/20 Way¿, can be much more valuable than an MBA if you would like to get what you want out of life without killing yourself for it. But you will have to take risks and give up some of your most treasured beliefs. No doubt most people will read ¿The 4-Hour Workweek¿ and not consider making any major changes to get out of their stale, boring jobs. As Timothy Ferris states, 'Pure hell forces action, but anything less can be endured with enough clever rationalization.' If you would like to be one of the few who enjoy a life filled with a lot of freedom and leisure, however, then read this book and adopt the principles that resonate with you. Follow these principles religiously and your life will likely change dramatically for the better.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Unethical

I can't begin to describe how badly I wanted to like this book when I first began reading it. Unfortunately I quickly discovered that Mr. Ferriss seems to be one of those coworkers we all dread having; never around, can never be reached, and somehow still pulling in a paycheck. We have all seen this happen before, and I suppose it was inevitable that one such person would eventually write a book detailing how they get away with it. I understand that there is a market out there for a book that promises easy money, but I don't think that money should ever, *ever* come at the expense of others. Automation is well and good, but I get the feeling that Mr. Ferriss's coworkers and employees would prefer he treated them as human beings, not machines. His techniques might bring success, but not at a price I'm willing to pay.

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Brilliant and Epic!!

Love the cover it's self explanatory! I love the dreamlining of having,being and doing. Love the eye gasing part.And for sure it should be in the "Christmas Gift List". And "Wish List".

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

It's not just a book it is a must-have tool

Timothy Ferriss creates a baseline foundation to establishing your ultimate dream, working less while still getting paid in large amounts. It is a tool I use in my everyday life with work and personal life. The things you learn in this book are hard to forget.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich

Look, this book has some good parts, but it comes of as a internet scam kinda feel.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

A reviewer

This is a must read kind of book. Very intresting in todays tech savy world.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Universal Insperation

I believe that everyone can learn something for this book. Timothy Ferriss has done what seems to be impossible, but truly isn't. Just by outsourcing and working efficiently you can increase productivity. It seems too good to be true but I feel that this book mostly applies to those who plan on starting their own company. I think that we can all try to use these ideas to work more efficiently, make more money and therefore take more vacations and be happier.

Something for everyone

He has a lot of things to offer even if you are not going the whole way with him. Learn how to delegate, how to get away from being caught in minutia, how to spend money in a way that frees your time. A complete change of perspective. I like that he encourages adventure. That travel should be as normal as working. I like the idea of living life as you go along instead of putting things off. Lots of ideas, but lots of websites, concrete how-to info and advice. Like I said, everyone can learn something from this.

Hate working for someone else? Read this book!

When I first picked this book up it was on a friend's recommendation. I read a little bit, but then put it down for a while not having the time in my busy life for one more project. I was laid off from my job a few months later and picked it up once again. I read it from cover to cover three times within a one month period and by the end of that month, I had started on a journey like none I had ever encountered before. In the year following my three readings, I started my own company, traveled half the world, and had three assistants, now working for me! The concept in this book CHANGED MY LIFE! So read! Do it now! Don't wait!

Brilliant sometimes, incoherent many, the bipolar book

Timothy Ferriss's book "The 4-Hour Workweek is sometimes brilliant,deliverying inventive ways to look at work and wealth,but often impossible to follow, wandering into flights of fancy concerning international travel, methods of acheiving goals described and markets, products, etc.being described. While it would be unfair and lazy to expect Mr. Ferris to plot the path of success for his readers, we must hope to find enough of a coherent, sane structure to Mr. Ferris' ideas to be able to at least catch a foothold or a place to lift from. Such places to "pick up" the somewhat vaporous book are there, but they must be searched for. It is often like trying to grasp smoke.

It must be said that Timothy Ferriss seems completely unpretentious, and that is a high compliment in this type of writer. He is who he is, radical in his thinking, direct in his speech and with a vision of his own. Whether that vision can be transferred in any real way to anyone else is still open to debate. It seems to be a very flexible, fast changing philosophy with few constants, at one moment praising those who live to travel the world and spend few hours in their business, at others praising well known workaholics who are fastened to their business as a way of life. If there is any point at which the hyperbole of the publisher may have overcome the candor of the writer, it is in the title: The "4-Hour Workweek" is NOT to be taken literally.

Also to be dismissed rather rapidly is the author's advice to those employed by others: It simply will not work. Technology now makes it possible to place badges on employees tipping the boss that they are even going to the bathroom, and more and more firms are using massive and invasive methods to insure that their employees are under the watchful eye of management no matter where they are. This book will be useful to pioneers of a new age who are truly free agents, not to employees.

The book seems to be aimed at what can be called "the Ferris type", the reader who will be able to intuitively grasp what Mr Ferris is visualizing. It seems clearly understood that the reader will want to be on the move constantly, a world traveler, a serial entrapreneur. This book is not for those seeking a settled estate, or who wish to use their earned free time to sit and read quietly or fund (or create) a cultured well rooted set of long lasting institutions. It is almost impossible to even see how a family could fit into the constantly moving, flexible and chaotic lifestyle described by Ferris. As a general rule, I do not really like to travel, so I was an alien reader to this book from the first moment. The goal somewhat determines the method.

This is not to say the book is not useful, and for the nuggets of inventive thinking it is worthwhile to read. Creative delagation of tasks, outsourcing in a strategic way to not only reduce costs but to increase the autonomy of the management/owner of business, and automation of many processes of life as well as wealth earning and management are worth more study, much more, and "The 4-Hour Workweek" contributes valuable tools to this effort. While many of the ideas seem wildly impractical in most businesses due to lack of cooperative coparties, some will work in a business designed for them or in niches of a lifestyle designed to use them.

In sum, the book must be taken not as a whole comprehensive method, but as a collection

0 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Lays Breadcrumbs

If you want to live life on your own terms, this book starts you off on the right path.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Entertaining and informative

Good introduction and insight into modern business practices for the 21st century entrepreneur.

It's a compelling book but I didn't understand some of the terminology used

The terminology used in how to juggle your own job with the methods to earn money were hard to follow for the reader who is new to this concept to understand.

If you're ready, this book WILL change your life.

Hands down the single most revolutionary book of the last 10 years. As a recent college-which-is-really-now-just-the-new-high-school graduate, I, like so many others of my generation simply am not wired to take the crap that corporate America tries to shovel on my soul... so I quit job after job looking for something that's at least SOMEWHAT fun while a good living, and something that reflects the value I know I can provide to any company...

When along comes Tim Ferriss and this ridiculously brilliant (and simple, and boundary-breaking) book. 4-Hour Work Week is the espresso shot in the veins every HUMAN BEING (not just young adult) stuck on the 9-5 hamster wheel needs and has been begging for (whether they realize it or not) for the last x-amount of years.

In this book you'll learn, first and foremost, your fears really aren't that scary. You'll learn that everyone else is just as petrified of failure as you (so there's less competition than you might think if you actually TRY). And you'll learn that starting your own company is a whole heckuvalot simpler than it seems when you eat the proverbial elephant one bite at a time.

And as an added bonus, this guy is really a pretty hilarious writer. Best $15 bucks I've ever spent.

Free your mind in how your work gets done.

Great book. Tim has found a way to tell the story of living a full live, though a creative work structure. I appreciate the exercises to crack my mind open a notch, and the worksheets to get practical and off of the starting block. He also offers some interesting business tools that I believe will work in any industry.

Last year I purchased a bunch of copies and handed them out to patients in my cosmetic dentistry practice. I frequently speak to people about his approach to handling emails and communications. We frequently fall prey to the 24/7 approach that when someone barks, it needs to be responded to ASAP. What a bunch of bunk.

Anyway, a good read for anyone wanting to advance a small business or be a better manager.

GOOD INTRODUCTORY BOOK FOR THOSE THINKING OF STARTING AN ONLINE BUSINESS

Tim Ferris's book "The 4-Hour Workweek" serves as a good introductory book for anyone who is dissatisfied with their current job and would like to escape the 9-to-5 grind and work for themselves. The formula Ferriss offers is to keep your day job in the short term while creating a successful online business, and then as the business grows and brings in more income to transition into working for yourself and leave the day job behind. Ferriss speaks from personal experience; he worked in the corporate world straight out of college but then left to start an online business selling a sports supplement he created called "BodyQUICKEN".

With the tips that Ferriss offers on outsourcing and time-saving software, you should be able to whittle down the hours you spend running your online business considerably. Most people I know that work online have noted that you'd have to be extremely savvy to be able to manage your business in just "4 hours a week" as the title suggests, but 10-20 hours is more realistic and is still a substantial improvement for most people. Also, while Ferriss does talk about how he was eventually able to make a high six-figure income online, he does mention that others who can't match this income level can still get most of the benefits of his lifestyle by being strategic in their spending and taking advantage of "geographic arbitrage" (i.e. moving to a beautiful but less expensive area, perhaps even overseas).

Besides working for yourself, the other main advantage that Ferriss points out in regards to working online is that you can literally "live anywhere". As long as you've got your laptop and an internet connection, you can do your work from anywhere in the world, allowing you to go on an endless series of vacations. The substantial increase in free time leads Ferriss to suggest several ways of "filling the void" as he calls it - not just vacationing & pleasure-seeking but also taking up new hobbies, learning about other cultures, continuing your education, activism & charitable causes, and even building stronger relationships with family & friends.

One thing to keep in mind is that "The 4-Hour Workweek" can point you in the right direction but doesn't have everything you need to start a succesful online business. It's best thought of as a motivational piece that works as a companion to a more straight-forward, technical book on online business practices.

Now More Than Ever

I was laid off/retired years ago, but bought this book anyway for the chapters on automating income. I read the whole book, which was easy because Ferriss's writing is vigorous and engaging.

I always knew time was money, but Ferriss takes it one step further: time is sacred. With sufficient time, you can think of where you want to take yourself (it's not up to any boss or company to provide that for you).

He gives excellent and specific dialogue for negotiating with your boss for more free time on the job, and also ways to position yourself so coworkers, contract workers and customers don't chew up your time.

If you're working too many hours, read this book. If you're out of work or would like to earn money without a huge time commitment, read this book. If you need a shift in your perspective about your life, read this book.

Great Information for Entrepreneurs

Timothy Ferriss shares his insight and research with the rest of us. He provides a lot of useful information and gets you excited to do more! It is a fun and informative book. Enjoy.