Great book! Many very practical advises on how to improve your performance and improve your life. I can recomend it to all office employees and entrapreneurs who want to improve their lives.

I've been teaching my students for years and years about the issues that Mr. Ferris explained in his book and I'm glad that I wasn't alone! The entire system of education in America (and in most countries for that matter), which is known as Prussian System, implies that the only option we have is to slave full time for somebody else for forty years and quietly die after that in poverty! That's how we are supposed to spend our lives! That it's perfectly normal to identify ourselves with how we make a living. It's unquestionable that it has to be a full time job to make money to survive in this world. It's normal to answer the question "What do you do?" with the explanation about where you spend most of your life trying to make money to survive. Isn't it humiliating! Is that what God planned for us? We stopped questioning it long time ago. Generations wasted their lives working. Just working! Do we even realize how huge it is? When a person can actually enjoy life, spend time helping others, learning something new, spending time with the family, actually doing what he or she enjoys, we somehow settled for forty years of hard work not even in order to achieve something in life, but just to survive, just not to starve to death! We can't even afford to stop working for a couple of month, because we are going to run out of money and become as poor as we are planning on being when we are retired.
The same thing with delegation. We don't know how to do it. We must make sure that we are busy 100% of the time and we can not delegate anything to anybody! If we get some free time it only means that we are lazy and we need to cure the situation by filling free time with more work!
The most ridiculous case of inability to delegate is our national crazy idea (I'm from Russia) that if you grow potatoes yourself - it's free! I still remember how pretty much everybody goes to plant potatoes in the spring. No matter how well off you are, you must do it yourself, because if you do it yourself - it's free! Can you believe it!
Anyway, this book is going to be called at least "controversial" or most likely will get one of those slap-on "get rich quick" or "it will never work" labels.
Our society is not ready for this.
But for a small business owner today it's one of the most comprehensive guides on today's business and a must-have.

While reading the 4-Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferriss I kept asking myself: what world does this guy live in?

Then deja vu hit.

I've seen this world and actually lived in it for a few years. It was called a "bubble" and the year was 1999. Everyone was at the center of their own world of self-aggrandization chasing down pre-IPO stock, throwing lavish parties with chocolate fountains, and creating money losing companies at breakneck speed.

It's as if Ferriss had time traveled from 1999 or is some kind of fossil a book publisher dug up trying to cash-in on a perceived market for a 2.0 generation of greed seekers.

Yes, this book is that bad.

It seems like I'm a minority voice, as the average Amazon review is 4 out of 5 stars... if interested you can read entire review here:
[...]

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.

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.

Finally completing a journey began a couple of months ago, I finished The 4-Hour Workweek while travelling this week. This is a must-read, but not because the book is so spectacular. Rather because the book offers many insightful business and entrepreneurial tactics that will help anyone improve their personal lifestyle, small, or even large business they are a part of or run completely. I did not find the book was written directly for me, or for everyone, although that seems to be Ferriss' intention.

I am very impressed with Ferriss' experience within the business world thus far in his career. It is not that he has extensive knowledge on mergers and acquisitions or on large-scale management. But he does have a broad amount of tips for organizing a small operation or a young employee's lifestyle. Ferriss is an organizer and type-A personality and thus this broad array of tips are also well organized throughout the book. But in my opinion, a full read is necessary to get the solid ideas on how to improve your life and work.

Having taken High-Tech Entrepreneurship from Professor Ed Zschau in my final year of Princeton, and probably just a year or two after Ferriss, I do understand his inspiration for many of his life and work decisions since then. Professor Zschau's class changed my life. First, he opened my eyes to first the world of business in general. Princeton offers very few real-life business courses and this one gave me the opportunity see how interesting business decisions can be by working through HBR case-studies and his past experiences. Beyond that, he inspires his students to not only take these decision making skills into the workforce, but also to create a workforce on our own through entrepreneurial ventures within this high-tech world. He preaches thinking outside the box and taking action on those thoughts and he is a real life example of his words. Ferriss and his book is not the first of Professor Zschau's students to succeed in ventures and lifestyle inspired by his teachings, but he may now me the most influential with this widely popular book.

Within the book, Ferriss pushes many buttons of mine that individually are too many to debate. In general, however, I feel he unsuccessfully tried to combine two books into one. First, he wrote a book about efficiently starting up a new business venture and organizing and optimizing the effort the entrepreneur must put into this new business. This half of the book I found extremely useful, although not perfect. Secondly, he wrote a book about travel and lifestyle for these entrepreneurs. I feel he incorrectly assumes that everyone has these same desires as he implies. While he does begin by suggesting the lifestyle can be whatever your dreams may be, in the end he uses far too many of his personal choices for this lifestyle to be as broad reaching as he intends. I think he spends too much time discussing the strategy for quitting your current job. He even dabbles into the "meaning of life", a topic I feel is a bit ridiculous for this type of book. This other half of the book offers some great travel tips and ideas for expanding the culture of your life, but in my opinion fails to offer broad reaching lessons that one can take away for improving one's life. Thus the combining of these two sections makes for an awkward all-encompassing book.

The good part about this book is that is really can help almost everyone...at least everyone under the age of 50. I doubt there are many who would read this book and not be able to take away at least a few pointers. Unfortunately, I think he understands this mass-market potential and dumbed down the book a bit to appeal to a broader range of readers. He succeeded in that regard and will surely get paid for it, but it also prevented him from creating a solid masterpiece of entrepreneurial and literary work.

This book is full of quirky but practical ideas, I love the style of writing and even if you don't get to put all the ideas into action reading it is a therapy in itself!

There are a lot of books that make big promises. This is one of them that actually fulfills its promise. It's a perfect mix of conceptual theory and specific "how to" exercises that align with your existing skill set and challenge you to the next level. What I liked best is that it's not a get rich-quick scheme. It's a get rich "smart" scheme. There is some real work to be done, but Timothy Ferriss lays it out in simple, logical steps that provide all manner of rewards. The principles in this book have inspired me to review my life/career direction and take the necessary steps to redesign my life the way I want it. It's early days, but I'm already seeing the benefits: more time, more focus, more mojo. Read it!

Tim's writing style is encouraging and informative; the book deserves to be read just to show others how to communicate! Whether or not you fully agree with the tools or concepts, read the entire book and do a little self-examination as you go. Can you stand to gain a few hours of loving family time each week and maybe lose a few pointless worries along the way? I really got a slap in the face realizing how much my loved ones lost out to boring e-mails and mind-numbing work for work's sake. Find your focus with THE 7 HABITS OF HIGHLY EFFECTIVE PEOPLE : POWERFUL LESSONS IN PERSONAL CHANGE and your niche in the vocational eco-system with What Color Is Your Parachute? 2009: A Practical Manual for Job-Hunters and Career-Changers (What Color Is Your Parachute?). Then read "The 4-hour work week" when you're ready to go beyond shallow and really live a productive life.

What I loved most about Tim's book, 4 hour Workweek are the practical applications of his relatively extreme viewpoints on living and retiring at the same time. While to many this may seem ludicrous, I felt that he really broke it down into something I could sink my teeth in. It really has changed the way I look at building my business and how I intend to integrate joy and experiences into my daily life.

His resource section was fabulous. I have used several of his ideas and sources beginning with outsourcing via elance, with great results.

This book is not just fluff or inspiration. It truly is a practical guide for what to do, how to do it and even who to do it with.

Thanks Tim!
Ann

There is good stuff in Timothy Ferriss's anti-job self-help book The 4-Hour Workweek. Unfortunately, it's drowned out by the piles of bad and useless advice that pervade much of the book. But let's start with the good. The first two sections of T4HWW make some very valid points. Ferriss argues that, for most, the ideal life is much cheaper than it might seem. He rails against the "deferred life plan"--working a decade (or three) doing something you don't like to save money for retirement, where you'll (supposedly) do what you've always wanted. Ferriss gives some good time-management advice as well. I liked his emphasis on thinking about what you are doing and dropping the things that aren't important. That may sound obvious, but many people confuse busyness with productivity. I liked Ferriss's "comfort challenges," which are designed to get readers accustomed to facing their fears. Ferriss gives some good advice on quitting a bad job, and he might inspire some to do just that.

Now for the bad. Unfortunately, there's a lot of bad. Ferriss projects an overconfidence and arrogance that is sometimes-patronizing and often-irritating (I don't need to be told that a chapter will "put [me] on the real breakfast of champions"). Many of his claims are far-fetched. For example, he confidently states that, by reading his chapter on time management, you will experience "an increase in personal productivity between 100 and 500%." Blech.

It's glaringly obvious that Ferriss is a style-over-substance kind of guy. He begins T4HWW with a litany of his accomplishments: he's been a "no-holds-barred cage fighter," a "Princeton University guest lecturer," a "Glycemic Index researcher," an "MTV break-dancer," a "political asylum activist," a "TV host in Thailand," and so on. The legitimacy of these credentials is unclear, and, perhaps tellingly, Ferriss later gives readers advice on how to embellish their own resumes. It's clear that looking good on paper is very important to Ferriss. Did he write this book to help readers, or merely to add another bullet point to his resume?

If Ferriss's advice were good, that question might not matter (much). But most of it isn't. The second part of T4HWW--the most-practical, most-specific part--is at its core a get-rich-quick scheme. Ferriss advises readers to design a product--whatever crap is likely to make money, it seems--and then to have third parties handle the manufacturing, order fulfillment, and customer service. The idea is to sit back, do (almost) nothing, and watch the checks come in.

Ferriss's cynicism is alarming. He doesn't seem to acknowledge the possibility of making money in a fun and meaningful way, and he certainly doesn't give advice in that vein. The guiding principle of T4HWW is to do what it takes to make as much money as possible with as little effort as possible. Ferriss's own business is a shining example of this philosophy: he sells a sports supplement ("the world's first neural accelerator"!) on a website replete with testimonials, "110% guarantees," and other infomercial-esque gimmicks. I'll let you decide how much value you think his business is adding.

So Ferriss is cynical, but does his approach work? I would guess that, for most people, the answer is no. Many of Ferriss's business ideas exploit easily-duplicable arbitrage opportunities. In chapter 9, Ferriss describes his friend Doug, who resells sound effects libraries on the internet. Well, "resells" is too strong a word: Doug merely forwards orders to the manufacturers, who then ship directly to his customers. In another example, Ferriss describes a man who ships shirts from France to the U.S., where he sells them at a (large) profit.

Is it possible to make a lot of money with such an approach? Yes. Is it likely? I doubt it. If you're as wily as Ferriss, you might find something that works--but, then again, you could probably also find success in a more-legitimate (and probably more-enjoyable) pursuit.

While I did like Ferriss's thoughts on handling a bad job, his advice on working remotely is not applicable to the many--if not most--who don't sit in front of a computer all day. And even if you're a computer jockey, I doubt his approach is all it's cracked up to be. In a hypothetical example, Ferriss describes a man who works remotely (on his computer) while in Munich during Oktoberfest. The thing is, Ferriss suggests being substantially more productive outside the office to show your boss that working remotely makes good business sense. Trying to be extra-productive during Oktoberfest is not my idea of a good time.

I could go on, but I won't. Though I did like parts of T4HWW, there's a lot to dislike about Ferriss's book. It would have been better without the 100-page get-rich-quick scheme. (And had Ferriss toned things down a bit, but let's not get greedy.) Nonetheless, there is good content, and the good parts might have a meaningful impact on the right reader. I don't recommend this book, but you could certainly do worse.

Worthwhile read. He's figured out a great system for being really effective in small amounts of time. A lot of his tips for eliminating wastes of time have worked well for me.
On the flip side, the author is a little bit of an egoist a-hole with a value system where he thinks mostly of himself. He puts you on confidence-building exercises such as staring down people when you walk by them and going up to attractive women and getting their digits, just to see that you can. So lot of good tips to be learned from the book, but take the rest with a grain of salt.

How's that for a title that grabs your attention? At times, the ideas championed in this book seemed terribly impractical and even ludicrous. At times, I found myself imagining a life of mini-retirements, vacationing in Europe, learning to play the Flamenco guitar, all while my $50 product is selling like hotcakes online. I'm just not sure how comfortable I am about hiring a personal assistant that lives in India and letting my employee make any decision that doesn't involve at least $500 without consulting me first. The book does have its share of valid points, if you're willing to "think outside the box", and I would agree that any automation of my current order processing would benefit me tremendously. It might take a few readings of this one before I am converted, but I have resolved to stop checking my email Inbox several hundred times a day. BTW, Ferris' life story/autobiography is worth reading on its own. Is he the guy who wrote the college application essay about making minute rice in fifteen seconds that got him into Princeton?

Kristian Strom

Interesting tidbits on what to do with your spare time and on delegating work, especially to offshore virtual assistants. But the basic assumption is that you already have, or can quickly/easily establish, a large regular flow of money from an occupation/business that doesn't require much of your time to market it or do the work. The author has an online business selling nutritional supplements. He has outsourced and systematized nearly all of the daily operational chores, but face it: once the product and web page are established, this business shouldn't require much owner time. He struck it rich in an area where tens of thousands of folks are struggling to make a few hundred dollars a month. The interesting story is how he was able to succeed where so many fail, and this is slightly more than a footnote in the book. Having said that, the book did help me address what I would do with my free time if I were able to semi-retire.

This piece of work belongs with the bulk of self-help literature: filed under self-indulgent, unrealistic, and/or generally non-applicable to the common Janes and Joes. It's easy once you succeed to be all puffed up and proud and think you can now backwards engineer a model for the masses, but rarely do such "modellers" take the time to then test that model to make sure it's functional and accurate. Most models end up unrealistic.

You're met with page upon page of cliched, pseudo-philosophic "live life to its fullest" pandering, which is supposed to be inspirational I'd suppose, but for me (being modestly intelligent) it just comes off like the spoutings of a self-styled guru. Another reviewer recommended reading Thoreau instead. I second that sentiment.

Then comes the meat, but you're hoping for ground beef and you get some kind of fancy duck liver french dish: what he offers is not easily picked up and duplicated. He seems to say "I did it and so can you," without taking into account differences in people's means, lifestyles, and outright dumb luck.

I loved reading this book.

I, too, dream of renting villas in Tuscany, living out my dreams in foreign lands, and pulling in ten grand a month.

Not there quite yet.

The author's plan seems very doable, but then there is that marketing element. It's not so easy to sell $10,000 each and every month, automatically, even with a great product.

I tried to market Tiptoeing to Tranquility: The Parable for Finding Safety and Comfort in Dangerous Times, right after reading his The 4-Hour Workweek. To be honest, Wrist Locks: From Protecting Yourself to Becoming an Expert is still a much better seller. (I sort of wished that the author's method would have been 'the answer.')

Still, whenever I need a dose of enthusiasm that it somehow can be accomplished, I give this book a reread. Great fun.

While I'll concede that there are some good ideas in this book, many of the ideas presented by the author are not realistic for everyone's situation. Sure, many of us would like to be young and single again, without the inflexibility that comes with certain careers or a family. But for the many of us that can't pick up and jump from country to country arbitraging currency prices to get the most bang for one's buck, this book comes across as impractical. However, there are some valuable parts of the book. Among ideas worth considering is Ferriss's strong recommendation that dreams be not put on hold as you toil day in and day out at a job that you don't love waiting for retirement. Other innovative ideas also include the suggestion to outsource daily and mundane tasks at low prices freeing up time to focus on bigger projects or how to cut down on daily emails or meetings while in the office to make your time there as productive as possible. Overall, this book is worth taking a look at, but know that you'll still have to work much more than four hours a week when finishing it.

There are great books are there on self-help - this is not one of them. It is shallow and provided me with no new knowledge - in short, waste of time

I like the ideas in this book alot. There are lots of thoughtful suggestions especially in time management. I don't know if anyone can duplicate the author's success though as most of his accomplishments are due to his tenacious approach to living which is admirable.

Love the way its written, straight to the point, no messing around.

Great information.

Ive recommended it to my friends who are stuck in 9 to 5

Pete

If you're a doctor or lawyer, forget it.
If you're a nurse or a bus driver, this isn't for you.
If you do manual labor, don't even bother picking up this book.
Manager at a retail store? HAHAHA think again.
Elected official? Well, they don't really do much work anyway, LOL

As you may have gleaned from the title (and read in the other reviews) the author advocates, what would be for most Americans, a complete and utter lifestyle change - Shrink your work hours down as far as possible and enjoy the rest of the time you have left doing other things that you like or want. As you can imagine someone whose main job is say, driving a city bus for a living, won't be able to pull this off at all unless they own their own business or quit their current job to find another one (which may be impractical.)

Next thing you need to ask yourself is if you can do your job from home or if your job offers telecommuting as an option. So if you're an accountant at a major accounting firm, you may as well stop reading here as well. If it does offer telecommuting and you can also do your work in less time at home than you would at the office, then great, you're in business.

Are you an entrepreneur or other aspiring millionaire? If you've read The Millionaire Next Door which is a study of actual millionaires, you know that the average millionaire works 40-50 hours a week over the course of 20 years to accumulate that million, which is defined as what you own subtract what you owe. So hard research lets you know that there is a small possibility that you, the entrepreneur, can pull off getting down to 4 hours a week. However, there is something to be said for being as efficient as possible in your work and cutting your hours as much as possible through whatever means are available to you.

So, how many people can actually take advantage of the information in this book and attempt to bring their hours all the way down? Sad to say that it's not too many. The reason I say this is that a great many people don't have the discipline to stick with a savings plan (putting 10% of their income aside for their retirement) and setting up your life so that you don't have to work is an extreme amount of work for the few people who can do it and be successful at it.

So, if so few people can actually use this book, why am I giving it four stars?

1: I just used 6 and only 6 vacation days to end up with 2 four days weekends followed by a five day weekend (I read this on the way home) followed by a six day weekend. This also included two 5 day trips (one to DC and one to LA, both from NYC) for which I only paid $800 in total. I'm a HUGE fan of creative vacationing, though I will admit that I contacted the Smithsonian this evening to find out if they really let people visit their islands. That's interesting.

2: I had a professor in college who had 330 days off each year. He taught ONE class twice a week and is being paid full-time for it. He does have a PhD and years of experience though. . .

3: Teachers work until 3PM and have entire summers off.

4: In Spain, siesta is two hours every day. Work still gets done.

5: France is known for taking the summer off. Work still gets done.

So, if you are among the very few people (this of course requires you to take a hard look at your situation) who have both the ability and the inclination to work less hours or you can set yourself up to do so and still like what you do for work (after all, some people just like to work) then by all means take the time out to do it and have fun. I'd just skip the actions suggested in this book that cause you to alienate yourself from other people.

If not, I think you should check out First, Break All the Rules: What the World's Greatest Managers Do Differently focus on making your life and your job as fulfilling as possible.

In either case, have fun! :)

Every entrepreneur, business owner or any professional of any kind should read this book. As a companion to my own book, "The Expert's Edge," it will put the whole picture together.... success that is both professional and personal!

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.

Tim ferris rocks. I wanta life like his and this bok wiill deliver it. Good bye 9-5 come onn life sustainability.

There sure are a lot of complainers who are slamming this book. It is impossible for some people to think differently they cannot help it they are programmed to only believe one way. If this sounds like you then you should not buy this book.

This book encourages us to think differently. I read the book with an open mind. The book in a winner. Ok the author has a ego but you can choose to ignore it.

The suggestion to avoid all news is a sound idea. It has helped me get into an innovative groove. I must admit that I have come up with several viable ideas.

I have a friend who is disabled and she needed to find a job. After reading this book it dawned on me on how she could make a living that equaled or exceeded her corporate job. She is thrilled with my idea and so his her family.

I recommend that you read this book with an open mind and take what you can use. My husband and I are grateful to the author because this book has helped us expand our horizons and we are not waiting for retirement to savor life. More important is that my friend has a good future.

I liked it so much I bought both the audio and print versions. I have already begun putting it to use and have gotten tremendous value for a very small investment. I tell everyone they have to read this book!

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.

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.

This is an amazing book where I rediscovered the fact that life is short and not doing what you love is a waste of precious time. That being said not all jobs are rewarding or satisfying, but the energy and your self expression you bring to that job makes all the difference in the world. The ideas presented in this book are definitely not your traditional ones around the work place. Here Tim Ferris presents a whole new reality of what the work place can and has become for many people. One of discovering ways to work less hours, make more money and spent more time in activities outside of your workplace you like to do, ie traveling. You could say it's all about how you spend your time...quality vs quantity.

In reading Tim's book I was reminded of 2 brilliant authors named Ariel and Shya Kane who also present a non traditional approach to achieving and maintaining enlightenment without the previously conceived approach or need for years of working on yourself. Where you live life with a centeredness and ease no matter what life circumstances arise. The Kane's book titles include "Working on Yourself Doesn't Work: A Book About Instantaneous Transformation,"Being Here: Modern Day Tales of Enlightenment" and "How to Create a Magical Relationship." I highly recommend all these books. Life is way too short to not be living it as your heart desires.

The key takeaway is about living life to the fullest & having mini retirements early on, instead of leaving it all for the end - something that several books talk about. There are some good insights into outsourcing your life. However, I didn't find the book very practical.

This is a book that you'll either love or hate. Timothy has a good writing style, and has plenty of great ideas, however some are quite controversial and I'd expect some people would dismiss them quickly.

I didn't agree with all of them (hey, it'd be hard to agree completely to any book), yet they were well presented, and it certainly makes you think about how you spend your life.

I really enjoyed this book. While I would love to quit my job and move closer towards a four-hour work week, I was really just looking for information about trying to get a product to market in the easiest way possible, which is what the author has provided.

While I don't necessarily agree with all of the advice given in this book (I'm too much of a control freak to check emails only twice a day, and I'm fine with that), I often find myself coming up with ideas that I think are great, only to let them drift off into the ether because the task of creating and marketing them seemed too daunting. What I've gotten from this book more than anything else is a new hobby: a way to turn my ideas into product for between $1200-2000 on average. Considering the costs of some other hobbies (travel, golf, etc.), this doesn't seem that bad, and at least there's a slim chance that any one of my ideas could be life changing, so there's always excitement too.

People reading this book and hoping that it is some sort panacea may be a little disappointed. The author does spell out for you how to make a life like his. However, it will take a huge leap of faith (not to mention a successful product/idea) to start. He does his best to ease you into his way of thinking, and an intelligent person is going to process his advice and make their own decisions. The author is also not promising riches beyond your wildest dreams. He's selling a way for you to enrich your life experiences, and the purpose of your business is to finance these experiences.

Overall, lots of good information, and very motivational. If you've ever had an idea that you thought could change the world, or you wanted to turn the ratio of work to living that you do upside down, you should at least take a cursory glance at this book.

Disappointment is hardly the word I would use when describing this book. Sad that people think this way - - all I can think is that the book was written for saps. And, I feel like a sap for buying it. Stay away from this. It's a complete and total waste of your valuable time. Swindle is a great word to describe this author, the book and everything about it.

Good concepet, good ideas, little bit of bragging by the author, sometimes little unrealistic. In summary, you will enjoy reading this book and will make you think of broader prospective.

Tim Ferriss has extrapolated a huge success with one product into a thesis that anyone can do what he has done. He is a wily sort who is not above prevaricating to gain what he wants.

There are some good points in the book rgarding use of the Inernet, taming the e-mail, use of out-sourcing, etc. And the technique of using the Pareto principle is just good advice, although hardly new here. Also, the notion of taking mini-retirements throughout one's life instead of working continuously and then retiring is fine unless one wants to provide stability and security for a spouse and family.

I suppose the lack of loyalty shown by modern companies to their employees with their "reduction in force" moves and outsourcing of jobs leads naturally to the employee attitudes espoused here. Too bad!

I was disappointed toward the end of the book when a person has finally thrown off the shackles of corporate and suburban life that there was no ultimate use of free time and money -- at least this book is "value free" and offered no higher purpose than enjoying self.

Tim's book was recommended by a friend. He has a real unique way of looking at the world and the world of work. As a financial advisor, I find his tips and suggestions helpful when counseling pre-retirees and retirees.

I'm from Brazil and I received the book before the estimated delivery date.

I'm still reading the book but I already have a nice impression of it.

Thanks
Gustavo

Wow. Over 700 reviews. What more could I possibly add? Well, I'll be honest. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I actually feel that a lot of the techniques (for stamping out needless time-wasters, removing yourself as an information bottleneck, etc.) are quite easy to put into practice. Now for the more daring suggestions, such as proposing to your boss that you work off-site, I simply feel that those are things that can be considered part of the process.

I've read reviews from people who believe that much of the book is unrealistic, but in my experience so far (and I've had the book for a year) a lot of it really is doable. I just think much of it has to do with timing- knowing when to jump and when to pull the cord. Not everyone has it in them to make the kind of big changes that would save them from being wage slaves. This book truly is for those who dare. If you already have it in you to do things a different way and you're open to taking an off-ramp, you can absolutely take an off-ramp to a life that is less of a traffic jam.

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.

More poor morons I know recommend this book. It can't be any good if it inspires the mediocre to dream of living rich without working. Low rent people unit.

It speaks of networking...it should be titled "networking for nitwits."

It started off good but it seems that he "outsourced" his own book about halfway through. What I really want to know is how did he get so rich selling brain "vitamins?"

I found myself not being able to put it down....I enjoyed the anecdotes and style of Tim's writing as well as some of his easy-to-digest lessons and principles by which to live. This book is totally worth the investment and time to check it out.

Great book for the new Rich this book made me start my home base business
thanks to Tim I'm in control of my financial future

Dennis j.

This book inspired me. It planted the seed for me to eventually create my own "deliverable product," a book (Lipstick Ghetto: The Girls' Guide to Escaping the 9-to-5 Rat Race). The 4-hour Workweek not only offers practical advice...but it also offers motivational tips on finally leaving corporate America behind. If you are serious about changing your work life, this book is a great resource. I highly recommend it.

The premise of the book is that basically he was a screw-up that started a company and spent two years putting in 14-hour days to build the company. Then one day he had enough and decided to spend time in Europe. To his surprise his company flourished in his absence and now he can live the life of luxury needing only to spend 4-ish hours a week working.

Now Tim wants to share with us how we can follow in his footsteps. The only problem is that other than some history at the beginning of the book he seems to all to easily forget that he spent TWO YEARS working 14-hour days to build the foundation (a company) that supports his lifestyle.

Umm.. Tim, that's not exactly a unique idea. Building a company that provides automated wealth on a daily/weekly/monthly basis is pretty much what most entrepreneurs are attempting to do. And without those 14-hour days you would have never been able to only work 4-hour weeks. Again, not all that enlightening.

Sorry, I can't recommend this book.

After reading the book, I was eager to start using some of the ideas to create some additional income streams, to rev up my leisure time/travel plans. As a small business owner, I was already familiar with breaking out and starting up a business - all be it at 50-60 hours per week. But I wanted to outsource some of the day-to-day activities to free up some time.

Brickwork India: Contacted these guy about some web development work first. Their bid was high and timeline too long to be practical. Suspect they now have more work than they need since being mentioned in the book and have since jacked up their prices and are being selective on projects. Found much better pricing and faster turnaround with an outfit called Daffodil Software. [...]

SF Video: We used these guys to produce a "how-to" DVD we had developed last year. Although they were pleasant to work with, we later found better pricing and service with PacificDisc [...]

18 months later, I'm only working 20 hours a week and am trying to reduce that further by the end of the year. The book is very useful for someone already self-employed. As someone who still works in a cubicle in corporate America, this book is a scary read. Make sure you have a parachute before you jump!

Good luck out there

The most important thing about this book is its relationship to the twenty-first century longevity revolution. As people increasingly live centenarian lifespans, and work past eighty years of age, the entire complex of ideas regarding retirement and education needs to be re-examined. Mini-retirements, which can also serve the purpose of retooling, education, and a replacement for permanent retirement, can help keep older workers happy and in the workforce productively for much longer. I know Ferris never deals with this topic, but it is germane.

His book is furthermore a powerful case for applying the lessons of globalism to your personal life. There is no reason that only big multinationals and governments should profit from globalization - everyday normal Joes and Joannes can too. Globalization is one of the most powerful profit engines on the planet right now, and anyone who does not take advantage of it is a fool, in my opinion. Wealth will, as always, come to those with daring and initiative. The majority who lack the strength to come out from under their sedentary, suburban rocks will become an impoverished commodity class.

Whether or not you can in fact achieve a 4 hour work week, there is great value in hypermobility and global nomadism, for people with the imagination, intelligence and flexibility to make it happen. The author perhaps overestimates the imagination of his audience at points in the book. It has always been clear to me that nomads are special people, and it takes a renegade mentality to make much of this work. Whether or not the specific entrepreneurial wealth engine that he details will work for you is irrelevant. There are ways, and this book should be viewed as a crack in the ice of sedentary convention. It is up to you to come up with your own technique.

I strongly recommend a career in IT contracting for people who want to possess unique control over their time. Every contract typically lasts from three months to a year. Every time your contract ends, is a good opportunity to take a break and explore the world. If you have a home with a mortgage you might not be able to do it. But if you live without mortgage and a high fixed monthly cost of living, as I do, you could. Explore the ways that conventional ways of living might not be helping you.

I understand reservations about this book, but I think it makes a powerful case for applying the lessons of globalism to your personal life. There is no reason that only big multinationals and governments should profit from globalization - everyday normal Joes and Joannes can too. Globalization is one of the most powerful profit engines on the planet right now, and anyone who does not take advantage of it is a fool, in my opinion. Wealth will, as always, come to those with daring and initiative. The majority who lack the strength to come out from under their sedentary, suburban rocks will become an impoverished commodity class.

Whether or not you can in fact achieve a 4 hour work week, there is great value in hypermobility and global nomadism, for people with the imagination, intelligence and flexibility to make it happen. The author perhaps overestimates the imagination of his audience at points in the book. It has always been clear to me that nomads are special people, and it takes a renegade mentality to make much of this work. Whether or not the specific entrepreneurial wealth engine that he details will work for you is irrelevant. There are ways, and this book should be viewed as a crack in the ice of sedentary convention. It is up to you to come up with your own technique.

I strongly recommend a career in IT contracting for people who want to possess unique control over their time. Every contract typically lasts from three months to a year. Every time your contract ends, is a good opportunity to take a break and explore the world. If you have a home with a mortgage you might not be able to do it. But if you live without mortgage and a high fixed monthly cost of living, as I do, you could. Explore the ways that conventional ways of living might not be helping you.

That pretty much sums up what this book should have been called. I just can't fathom how so many people have been duped into drinking the kool-aid that young Mr Ferriss expounds so carelessy in his book.

For those of you looking for the 'Cliff Note' version, I'll summarize in 3 points what this book is basically about:

1 - Look for ways to generate passive income (ie, make $$ with little or no work). In Mr. Ferriss' case, it's selling vitamin supplements online...yeah you heard it right.

2 - Make it your life's goal to become a slacker by outsourcing everyday tasks(eg, checking email, paying bills, online shopping, etc). Yes, everyone is as busy and important as Mr Ferris that they need to manage a team of personal assistants in India to check their email, pay bills and shopping online.

3 - Once you become a slacker, look for activities that will give you meaning in life. Young Mr. Ferris has some real gems of wisdom for you ;-)

The 4-Hour Work Week is complete utter waste of time and not worth the paper it's printed on. Check out at the library if you must waste 2-3 hours of your life skimming through the drivel.

Interesting, but I think many of the concepts are difficult to apply in corporate America.