The author creates an awareness within you and makes you reach out for creating and working on your goals in an approach which feels very achievable. I would recommend everyone to read this book. If not anything else, it at least helps to motivate you!

Once again, it is a must read!

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.

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.

Trust me, I wouldn't have any trouble letting a money machine run on autopilot, as the bulk of this book is dedicated to explaining.

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!

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
[...]

The Most Important Letter You Will Ever Write, How to Tell Loved Ones How You Feel - Before It's Too Late
The Most Important Letter You Will Ever Write

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.

Good book, I would recommend reading it, but the tone of the book reminded me of infomercials.

Working less and enjoying life more is a worthwhile goal, but come on... First of all, the author supposedly wrote this book, which is at least a year of solid work. If he worked four hours a week on it, it would have taken him, oh, ten years. I did not notice the usual signs of poor English structure if it had been written by his dependable offshore workers.
Great philosophy on answering e-mails and phone calls at your leisure! If I dealt with customers or vendors who did not respond to my communications within a day, they would be history before the first sale. Losing forty pounds to compete in a martial arts tournament would make you seriously weak and you would get your butt beaten in the first round. Anybody who would attempt to do this to his body for the sake of a trophy makes me seriously question his mind.
Okay, maybe there was a few bucks worth of good philosophy and some helpful web sites in the book but my guess is that the catchy title is the only thing that would move this book off the shelves. The 5 star reviews are fraudulent. But then the author didn't claim a high grade on ethics, did he? He obviously doesn't have a wife and kids to interrupt his freewheeling lifestyle and that's probably the only thing keeping him out of the office.

I was highly skeptical when I saw the books title but I am glad I read it. The author explains very well all the steps to take in order to automate one's business and reach liberation. Having been through all these steps before writing his book, the author knows what works and what doesn't. He gives many resources and details as well as case studies to demonstrate how to apply his method. From business planning to outsourcing, it's all in this book!

For a more in dept review, you should read Matt's review: http://www.amazon.com/gp/pdp/profile/A15TU5YAMYW2AB/ref=cm_cr_rdp_pdp

This is an interesting book.

I don't essentially agree with everything Ferris says. For an idealist, it may appear that Ferris is suggesting to take advantage of the system using any means to get ahead. That is not actually true!

The spirit of this book is wonderful. What Timothy suggests is - Chase your dream, don't work 9 to 5 if you want to be rich, if you working in a company don't waste time checking emails and gossiping, get away from boring and unproductive meetings.

There is nothing that I cannot agree with what he says. The problem is how he says it. That might be the reason for the several bad reviews.

Overall, it is worth reading and there are some hard hitting points expressed in the most tactless manner.

Saranyan
http://saranyan.wordpress.com

I'm reading this book for the second time and take something from it every day. So far I have cut my work week in half, reduced my commute, reduced the amount of time on phone and e-mail. I've made my "bucket list", gotten rid of 40% of my belongings, and am planning my first mini-retirement.
This book does you no good if you have no balls. Try just one of his ideas instead of just reading and knocking the book.

If you can figure out how to get in the middle of a revenue stream, but not actually do much work, then you can be like this guy. He sells vitamins online, contracts out 99% of the actual work, and pockets the difference. The book is a case study of his own approach, fluffed out to book size with self-aggrandizing examples of his only true skill: exploiting loopholes. I guess it's smart, but we obviously couldn't all do that -- someone somewhere has to do the actual work.

Like any business book, there are a few morsels hidden amongst the fluff. This book just seems to have more filler of Web site links and banter than most.

When you keep to a very high level, the principles of this book resonate soundly. It is just when you look at the details that you see the superficial nature of the book. This book seems like the output of so many other "get rich quick" internet scams. Step 1 create catchy title that calls to the utopia of the lazy man. Step 2, come up with a couple of high level concepts. Step 3, fill with light content. Step 4, validate using quotes from famous people. Step 4, apply Affiliate Marketing techniques to promote book.

The 4 Hour Workweek I was looking forward to - I had read several articles and interviews with Ferriss and had corresponded with him just a bit. It's basically his advice on how to change your life so you're setting up a system to earn money for you that requires little maintenance, then going out and spending your time doing what you want. This wasn't a new concept to me - I had the basics down from previous Steve Pavlina experience - but Ferriss did a great job of getting you started with suggested companies and contacts and fully illustrating his personal fulfillment models.

I will probably play with some of these suggestions since it's laid out so well, but my main concern with this kind of lifestyle is how long it can be sustained as the average consumer gets more and more tech savvy.

Beyond that, he spends a lot of time explaining his ideas of the good life - doing exciting things all over the world for a reduced cost. He again is extremely practical with this, giving you tons of websites and contacts to use, but it's mostly from the perspective of a single guy with few commitments. A lot of it just isn't practical to the family man who wants to be a pillar of the community. Yes, I'd love to study martial arts with Chinese monks for 5 years and become a world champion as well - but I can't imagine dragging my wife and children along for the ride, or canceling my local commitments to community, family and friends to indulge my fantasies.

The best idea I came away with was not saving yourself for retirement, but getting out and enjoying your wealth as you go along. It was a nice prod for me, who tends to take the unexpected cash that comes my way and put it in an IRA.

There is definitely something of the shalitan in tim ferris (his words at least) however this is matched with so many good creative ideas its hard not to take something positive away from this book.

As a self employed professional i have utilized the VA to significantly improve my workflow and ability to concentrate on higher value stuff.

The point being, if your goal is to work 4 hours a week and lie around watching cartoons all day, then you will be disappointed. Tim Ferris view is not this, its also insulting to see that he is living of the backs of a repressed third world worker, (anyone who has spent time in these countries knows what im talking about)..

tim ferris is also right, SO MUCH OF WHAT PASSES FOR A TYPICAL WHTE COLLAR WORK DAY IS B/S THAT COULD BE DONE IN 1/4 OF THE TIME

If your interested in maintaining an interesting career/lifestyle then you could do worse than challenge yourself to some of the ideas presented.

if anything it beats surfing the web for latest hollywood gossip b/s emailing stupid clips and porn which seems to be the default action of many i worked with in the past....

if nothing tim ferris makes for a great "new rich" cult leader in the making........Dont say i didnt warn you ;)

I don't know which book the "one star" reviewers read, but NOWHERE in this book did I find anything about getting rich quick! It seems to have struck a chord of fear among some readers.

The author writes about living a life "rich" in the things that are important to you. He writes about how to set up a business that will allow you the freedom to spend your time in ways that you value. He writes that some people use that time to do volunteer work, etc. Finally, he suggests that the two most important things in life are continuing to learn and being of service. Not my definition of a get rich oriented, slacker-mentality promoting book!

For those who enjoy the 9-5 routine, this is NOT the book for you. For those who can't imagine working within a radically new structure, I would recommend you read with an open mind. This book is not an attack on you, it's an opportunity to re-think your work life.

As for my perceived value of this book, I can only say that I borrowed it from the library because I no longer purchase books unless I want a copy for my personal library. But...I'm purchasing 2 copies of this because it's a keeper and one I'll want to share with friends. (And no, I don't know Timothy Ferriss - never heard of him before reading this).

Unless you have the mindset of an entrepreneur, or wish to develop one, then you may not gain much from this book. The readers needs to be that way inclined and have an open mind to money-making and lifestyle alternatives to read the benefits in the information Timothy Ferriss's book contains.

Personally I'm all for this type of stuff as I've always been seeking ways in which to make a residual income. I recommend it to all who dream of attaining a lifestyle of less work time and more leisure time, while still making money.

Real Life Dramas - Volume One

Darren G. Burton

I bought this book for my husband and found myself reading it as soon as he'd put it down. Excellent book, shows you how to outsource just about anything (you don't want to do!) and how to spend more time on things you really want to do and enjoy. Very well done, Tim!

I was able to reduce my hours of work dramatically. I can now do in 4 hours or less a day what used to take me 8+ hours. The best part is that my productivity went up by 150%. All by focusing on being effective instead of efficient. Aside from the invaluable information about time management, Tim offers one of the most detailed instructions to start your very own online business i have ever read. I take my time very seriously now because of this book and I know that aside from the changes that are currently happening in my life, many more incredible changes will come as a result of this book. To say the least I highly recommend this book especially if you work a regular 9-5 job.

Hi
I don't usually rave about books as I am an avid reader and after a while they all seem the same. But kudos to the author for not only writing an inciteful novel but giving you a step by step how to. My only regret is that i did not have this book five years ago (or even a year ago). But no time like the present to push this into effect as I an currently on my way to a four hour work week.

Thanks again Tim

Uiteraard trekt zo'n boektitel aan loonslaven of workaholics. Wie wil er niet rijk worden in weinig tijd? Zit ik nu een TellSell product aan te prijzen? Is Ferris' boek alleen een reclamespot voor zijn eigen succesverhaal, of bevat het lessen voor ons allemaal. Ferris (1978) is enerzijds het toonbeeld van de American Dream: als je echt wilt, kun je slagen in het leven. Anderzijds prikt hij ook nuchter door de inproductiviteit van het huidige bedrijfsleven, maakt hij handig gebruik van Friedman's The World Is Flat (Updated and Expanded), Anderson's The Long Tail: Why the Future of Business is Selling Less of More en de nieuwe wetmatigheden die gelden voor een Web Worker en e-business. Lastige aspecten als het combineren van een mobiele levensstijl met een gezin, de korte levenscyclus van producten of de ethische aspecten op lange termijn van outsourcing puur vanwege de kosten laat Tim links liggen. Hij is eerlijk over oppervlakkige marketingprincipes die bijvoorbeeld leidden tot de titel van het boek. Degene die het hele boek leest en niet een recensie schrijft op basis van de inleiding of de omslag, snapt dat er langer dan 4 uur gewerkt wordt, en uitbouwen van je eigen bedrijf naast een betaalde kantoorbaan niet zonder slag of stoot gaat.

Natuurlijk, voor minipensioenen (geniet van het leven, stel dat niet uit tot je 65e), uitbesteden van uitzoekklussen, organisatie van evenementen, productie, distributie en afhandeling van goederen is er veel meer mogelijk dan je denkt. Daarvoor helpen diverse oefeningen, voorbeelden, referenties en berekeningen in dit boek. Dat je met intensieve training best kampioen tangodansen of zoiets kunt worden, bewijzen Nederlandse televisieseries als Idols, Sterren dansen op het ijs en Mijn man kan niet dansen. Ferris' tips om je cv op te krikken en indruk te maken op investeerders, mediavertegenwoordigers of universiteiten grenzen aan leugens om eigen bestwil. Hecht dus niet teveel waarde aan zijn gastdocentschap aan Princeton University. Wat als iemand zich op zo'n manier bij Ferris zelf naar binnen zou smoezen? Het echt onderscheidend vermogen van voedingssupplementen, snelleescursussen en t-shirts is natuurlijk ver te zoeken. En wat te denken van de Nieuwe Rijken, niet noodzakelijkerwijs miljonairs, maar - conform Timothy Ferris' eigen drang om als een popster te leven - wel genoeg in de slappe was om er regelmatig tussenuit te knijpen om te ontdekken dat je onder de 20 dollar geen fatsoenlijke maaltijd in een Londens restaurant kunt krijgen.

In Een werkweek van 4 uur is geen aandacht voor leiding geven aan mensen, het oplossen van conflicten, samenwerken of echt innoveren, wel voor Management by absence, bedrijfs- en organisatiemodellen die slechts in een beperkt aantal sectoren opgeld doen. Het zijn dezelfde makken die boeken als De aarde is plat hebben: in de digitale wereld, waar alles door een draadje kan, gaat het verhaal op. Doctoren, vervoerders, wegenbouwers, producenten van de t-shirts, voedingssupplementen e.d. organiseren zich anders. Dat Ferris put uit het Grote Citatenboek voor managementliteratuur

En hoewel de Nieuwe Rijken een belangrijke rol in het boek spelen, zegt Ferris dat geld verdienen niet het doel is. Hij besluit het boek met het ontwijken van concrete antwoorden op de vraag naar de zin van het leven. Hier toont hij een slimme mix van oosterse filosofie en Amerikaans kortetermijndenken: het leven heeft geen hogere zin of betekenis, als je slim bent geniet je gewoon van het hier en nu. Conclusie: voor mensen die erover denken hun eigen bedrijf op te zetten, bevat het boek veel waardevolle lessen. Als je bij je huidige baas op de wip zit, maar eigenlijk niet durft te vertrekken, kan Timothy Ferris je aardig helpen. Voel je niet schuldig als je elke dag met plezier naar je werk gaat.

I focus on seldom-discussed parts of this book, and will not repeat in detail the business-related details and occasional unethical suggestions of this author. See other reviews for that. And those who think that Ferris is ripping people off needn't worry about me: I borrowed my copy of this book from the library.

As a former janitor, I'd love to learn how the teenaged Ferris, in his ice-cream parlor job, managed to complete 8 hours of work in 1 (p. 14). Perhaps he taught the rodents and roaches how to clean, and then delegated the work to them! And if he was so clever, why then didn't he approach his boss for a big raise and a big increase in responsibilities instead of frittering away his success by reading kung-fu magazines and practicing karate kicks--and getting fired? And how could the boss be dumb enough to overlook the prematurely-completed tasks, and to throw away a teenaged superman?

Ferris often cites famous quotes to illustrate his points. For instance, he quotes Richard O Feynman, who quipped: "The first principle is that you must not fool yourself, and you are the easiest person to fool." (p. 24) He also quotes another Nobel Prize winner, Wilczek, who said: "If you don't make mistakes, you're not working on hard enough problems. And that's a big mistake." (p. 279) He also includes this funny remark by Warren G. Bennis: "The factory of the future will have only two employees, a man and a dog. The man will be there to feed the dog. The dog will be there to keep the man from touching the equipment." (p. 182)

The lose-win guarantee is a powerful tool, according to Ferris. For example, Domino's Pizza offered its pizza delivered in 30 minutes, or it's free. (p. 195) Other companies have offered double the money back for dissatisfied customers, with comparable success.

A useful part of this book is its inspirational and practical advice. For instance, Ferris comments: "It's lonely at the top. Ninety-nine percent of people in the world are convinced that they are incapable of achieving great things, so they aim for the mediocre." (p. 50) Also: "Distress refers to harmful stimuli that make you weaker, less confident, and less able...Eustress, on the other hand, is a word most of you have probably never heard...Role models who push us to exceed our limits, physical training that removes our spare tires, and risks that expand our sphere of comfortable action are all examples of eustress--stress that is healthful and the stimulus for growth." (p. 37)

The book concludes with a list of books and websites about success in business.

Timothy Ferriss really gets it! Inspiring, instructive and convincing. Finally, someone who understands and succinctly explains the proper balance of efficiency and effectiveness offering a balanced lifestyle to everyone.

The one valuable lesson this book has to offer is to NEVER buy books based on the "average" recommendation on Amazon. Just because it sells well and have a ton of 5-star lack-luster reviews doesn't mean it is a good book.

Overall, I read tons of bad books... but this is one that I found intellectually dishonest and nothing but an over-hyped marketing scheme.

Not much more to say. There are interesting tips for people that are already executives, have their own business, or are incredibly independent in their current positions. Otherwise, the suggestions made either don't apply, or would not be possible.

Great book, solid points, and highlights many new ideas to making money and saving time. It'll get your inner wheels working to come up with creative new ways to make money. Recommended read for sure.

I recommend this book for all entrepreneurs that are open minded and want to change the point of view of how to do the things in life. I'm convinced that this is posible, but as always, trying and working with the end on mind.

I've never written a review here but after reading this (as much as I could stand anyway) I felt compelled to warn others despite the ridiculous hype this pipe-dream created. I'm convinced Mr. Ferriss wrote all those 5 star reviews himself.
You may get a good synopsis of this obnoxious, condescending waste of paper from the other one star reviewers.
My father bought me this garbage as gift and I only wish I could get his $20 back.
The only shred of intelligence and inspiration to be found is quoted from the likes of Einstein and Thoureau.

There are much better reads on the subject of "escaping the 9-5" and entrepreneurship. Be advised, don't waste your time or money on this junk. Right now my concept of hell is being made to watch "The Secret" and read this for eternity.

Horrible.

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.

..."quick, you just wasted ten seconds of you life reading this!"

I liked it.

I absolutely loved this book. The anecdotes are amazing. I won't follow absolutely EVERYTHING that Timothy suggests: I absolutely adamantly refuse to offshore for a variety of reasons related to jobs being undercut in my industry. I found a local virtual assistant service that had been a medical billing office that recently switched over to being a virtual assistant office in the Hudson Valley, and all their workers have been with them 10+ years. So you get the same level of backup that you would get at any other multi-person VA service, but you're hiring people in the area and keeping your cash in the USA. Can't beat that. [...] I've interviewed one of their workers, who also lives in the area, as well as meeting the owners of the business at trade shows and conventions in the area. What a terrific idea, and I'm glad I can stay all-American and keep feeding my local economy. Good luck everyone, I absolutely love the book!

I really enjoyed this book. I ended up taking pages of notes to implement the strategies that Tim talks about. If any part of you wants more free time to do the things that you want to do and spend less time at your job, this book is for you. Not only does Tim outline how to free up your time, he tells you where to go to get help.

The book was delivered to me before what expected! Wonderful! I also suggest this book to everyone want some good suggestion about how to think about the job life

I'm sure there are nuggets of insight in this book, but I can't get over the narration! It's been hard for me to listen through the whole thing. The Narrator's tone just doesn't seem to work with the content; it doesn't seem to represent the voice of the author.

This book is the author's way of scamming greedy and gullible people so he can work 4 hours a week and jack up his own ego. I've never encountered anyone who could brag about how amazing and successful he is and provide so little evidence of that success. This guy has taken a lot of good ideas presented by other authors and twisted them to suit his means. Think about the title--The 4 hour work week. That sums it up completely--that you can get rich working 4 hours a week. If you are willing to buy that you will probably ignorant, lazy, desperate, and will no doubt swallow all the scams inside. Thank god I didn't buy this book--I got it from the library.

For the sorry saps out there clutching to the corporate pay check...this book will be inspiring. Then reality will kick in at around the last 10 pages or so. Actually if you take the 20/80 Pareto principle, and apply it to this book then you will be well off because you will have only read the first portion, which is all you need. And that's really worth the 9.99 alone.

This book is no doubt a good read. Easy to understand, and entertaining. However, after a grand-slam introduction, and first 100 or so pages Ferriss still kind of left me thinking, "Ok, what next?" The "New Rich" is an interesting concept, but we're not quite there yet. It gets boring.

A slightly heavier read, which Ferriss credits in this book, which I would also recommend, is The World is Flat by Thomas Friedman.

The idea of a 4-hour work-week is inspiring, but this book doesn't live up to it's promise. I still don't regret reading it though if that says anything.

This is an odd book. Part self indulgent auto-biography, part modern-life philosophy, part how-to direct response marketing business instruction manual, part call to simplify and start living.

Simply put, the only way that this book could not be considered life-changing is if you did not actually try some of the suggestions. I digested it in hours, then went back for more. I don't know that I agree with Mr. Farriss about everything, but so far have found good success with those things that I have tried. In a few weeks I found much more time for my family, changed he way that I think about time and money, and even started a business. As expected, the business is taking just a few hours a week, and may some day provide a replacement to my salary. It is not about getting rich quickly... Mr. Farriss introduces himself as someone who is not a millionaire, but instead someone how lives a lifestyle that most people assume is how millionaires live. Since I know quite a few millionaires, I can gaurentee you that his lifestyle is not that of the typical millionaire. For under $20, give it a read. If you use just a couple of his idease to give yourself a few hours more per week, it is more that worth while.

Well you would have to be happy with a book that seems to be stirring up a bit of online controversy. I personally thought the book was great. Am I going to even attempt everything Tim has done in his life, more than likely no. That said I feel I am still better off than before I read it. If nothing else this book opened my eyes in the corporate world. Being busy is not the most effective way to work. I am now controlling the flow of information that comes to me and feeling in a lot more control of my work day. For 12 bucks that is more than good enough for me, so thanks Tim.

I dunno about you, but not many books can teach a concept that improves my quality of life so quickly and tangibly.

Using the script he provided, I am officially working from home. I am now also running a part time business using his tips.

I have use outsourced talent and gotten my project finished in half the time.

And I have told my best friends to read it so we can hang out on week days!!!

The shunning of email and telephone calls can work if you position yourself as a results person. People must see you differently.

I received an unusual telephone call a few months ago from my friend David:

"Whatever you're doing right now, stop and go out and buy The 4-Hour Workweek," he said from his cell phone. He was on the beach, reading Timothy Ferriss's amazing, popular and controversial book.

Where book recommendations go (and restaurants in foreign countries, too, for that matter), my friend is something of an expert. So I stopped what I was doing and bought Ferriss's book.

I read it in one sitting the same day I bought it, and I'm recommending it to you because it contains valuable ideas about life, work, and how to radically change the relationship between the two.

Ferriss is many things - an internet entrepreneur, a champion martial artist, a scuba diver, beach bum and author. He claims to have spent more than 5 years learning the secrets of the "New Rich." The 4-Hour Workweek is his thesis on what he learned, and how you can apply it to your life.

The traditional life plan is to work hard, day after day, so that you can eventually retire and enjoy the spoils of your lifelong labor. But why wait until you're so old you can't really enjoy it?

Ferriss turns the traditional lifeplan on its head, and attempts to show that by making modifications in how you manage your work, you can have mini-retirements throughout your life, enhancing the quality of your life overall without sacrificing income. In fact, he claims, reducing work time helps you focus your efforts and produce more in less time.

The bias of the book is definitely toward using computer and internet technology to maximize your income and time. For example, he suggests that you stop keeping your e-mail browser open all day and responding to messages as they come in. Instead, you set up an auto-responder that tells each person who emails you that, to serve your clients more efficiently, you'll only be checking e-mail twice a day - at 10 and at 4 - with instructions on how to call you if they have a need that can't wait.

Checking e-mail just twice a day? I know people who check their e-mail more than twice every ten minutes. But Ferriss uses this method to groups tasks together more efficiently, allow you to focus more attention on individual projects without constant interruption, and to reduce unrealistic expectations about how quickly we can respond to every email that pops up on our screens.

Being in a service business makes it more of a challenge to schedule responses to e-mails, but reducing the habit even 50% pays off dramatically in increased productivity.

Despite being a child of the computer and internet age, Ferriss also reaches back in time to harvest the wisdom of thinkers from the past. For example, he revisits "Pareto's Law," a concept by the economist Vilfredo Pareto that posited the "80/20 principle" of the distribution of wealth in a society - that 80% of the wealth is possessed by 20% of the population.

Pareto observed this ratio in other areas as well ... he found that 80% of the peas in his garden were produced by 20% of the seeds he planted, for example, as well as numerous other phenomena that seemed to follow this ratio. Ferriss uses this concept to evaluate his business. He examines his client list to find the 20% of clients who are producing most of his revenue, and profiles them so that he can focus his marketing efforts on prospects who share those qualities. He also applies the concept in reverse - trying to find the 20% of clients who are the most demanding and difficult to serve and therefore the least profitable.

Those of you who have been in business for years won't find this to be a radical concept. But it is an excellent reminder to examine our client lists to identify the characteristics of our highest-leverage customers.

The book is packed with ideas for reducing wasted time, streamlining processes, outsourcing tasks that don't directly produce revenue, delegating as much as possible, and staying focused and on task so that you're producing maximum results in the shortest time possible. It also lists plenty of resources you can quickly access online.

Like any great book on self-improvement, it delivers much more than what you will pay for it. It's a worthwhile "keeper."

This book will be added to my small list of extremely great books. Along with The E-Myth Revisited, the Cashflow Quadrant, etc. I will be listening to this book multiple times, and have already been recommending it to friends.

My goals in life are different than Tim Ferris', in that I don't have any desire to live abroad, and one of my main goals in life is to create and leave an Legacy for my posterity. With that in mind, his 'say it how it is' approach to productivity, and results oriented focus are outstanding. He also doesn't have the cleanest language, which hopefully improves as he matures, as I will be looking for more books from him in the future.

I got it for me, my wife took it.
She read it front to back, twice. She's self employed. Swears by the principles in it. I scanned it, got a few earfulls at home. I have cut my work week from 5 days to 4, business is up 20% as I have trained my staff to do more - which they like - and take more responsibility.
On my "day off" I go to the bank, review reports, work ON the business, and kill about 4 hours just for 'me'.
We forget that self-employment should not be a burden, but actually a luxury for the ambitious. This book is helping us realize our dreams.

Tim Ferriss's book is simply brilliant. It is shocking to see several of the negative reviews of this book. Obviously, Tim has struck a chord with these people and this is a sign of a great book.

The book is about the best value that you can get for under $20. I have read hundreds of business books and psychology and this is towards the top.

Thank you Tim!
David Weisburd

This book is going to be hard to swallow for all those hands-on control freaks out there (guilty as charged) who can't stand the thought of delegating responsibility to others for work they'd rather do themselves. However, 27 year old Ferris has a good point, and he's out there on a yacht while his underlings answer his emails at $10/hr. A Donald Trump in the making!

Sally Shields, bestselling author of, The Daughter-in-Law Rules, 101 Surefire Ways to Manage (and Make Friends with) Your Mother-in-Law!

I would say that I took away a couple of things from this book. It basically put some ideas I already had into perspective and helped solidify others. However I certainly wouldn't take it all to heart. Some suggestions made my this book basically make you that prick you work with now who you would really hate to become. His philosophies are also not nearly as universal as he would lead you to believe. Not everyone is in a position to become the "New Rich", a term which I think would set me on a kill rampage if I actually hear it coming out of someones mouth. This is a get rich quick guide, and I think most of us know how great the track record is for those.

This book helped me to identify where I really want to be and how I was actually spending my time. It helped me to look at what I have always thought were things I had to have to be in business; cell phone, email, instantly jumping to take care of a customer. What I noticed was that as soon as I started increasing my personal time, my business actually was more prosperous. I am in the process of putting systems in place so that I can remove myself from my day to day business operation, so that I have time to really enjoy life at 47. Why should I (or anyone else for that matter) wait until I am too old and feeble to travel and do all those things I really want to do.
I know that I attracted this book as an answer to removing myself from the 7 day work week that I have so long been a part of.
If you are looking for a book to help you live the life you always wanted, NOW! - then this is the book you were searching for. What a way to challenge everything you thought you "had" to do.
I tell everyone I can about this book.
This book will make you laugh and inspire you to action. What is keeping YOU from having the life you desire NOW? Read this book.

I have just started listening to this set of CD's. They are excellent to this ppoint.

I know another Princeton grad who practice what Mr Ferriss wrote. Do they teach this trash at Princeton?

The irony of writing a book this good is that Tim Ferriss probably has to violate most of the principles set forth in the book to write it and let people know about it. Sometimes not working takes a lot of work. Tim, or "tuna fish" (as his mother called him), is a very engaging, funny and insightful writer. Even if you aren't into his lifestyle approach, he's written an incredibly useful resource guide for everything from finding the best way to travel cheaply to finding great people resources on the internet. There are many, many other tips that can help you plan your next vacation, increase the reach and opportunities in your life and so much more that is fun and interesting. I highly recommend it for anyone who is interested in exploring fascinating options for everyday living - even if you end up working more than four hours a week, it's well worth reading.