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The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich | 
 enlarge | Author: Timothy Ferriss
Publisher: Crown
Category: Book
List Price: $19.95
Buy New: $10.88
You Save: $9.07 (45%)
New (55) Used (34) Collectible (3) from $10.24
Rating:  730 reviews
Sales Rank: 46
Media: Hardcover
Pages: 320
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.9
Dimensions (in): 8.2 x 5.7 x 1.2
ISBN: 0307353133
Dewey Decimal Number: 650.1
EAN: 9780307353139
Publication Date: April 24, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Condition: YES I CHARGE A LITLE MORE, TRACKING IS INCLUDED WITH EVERY ORDER ? KNOW WHERE YOUR ORDER IS IN ROUTE. THIS ITEM IS BRAND NEW!! AND IS FROM A NON-SMOKING ENVIRONMENT!! NOT A BOOK CLUB EDITON!! A REALLY GREAT BUY WITH NO REMAINDER MARKS!! I WILL EMAIL YOU WHEN YOUR ORDER IS PROCESSED!! USE EXPEDITED SHIPPING FOR QUICK ARRIVAL IN 3-4 BUSINESS DAYS!!
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Product Description
What do you do? Tim Ferriss has trouble answering the question. Depending on when you ask this
controversial Princeton University guest lecturer, he might answer:
“I race motorcycles in Europe.”
“I ski in the Andes.”
“I scuba dive in Panama.”
“I dance tango in Buenos Aires.”
He has spent more than five years learning the secrets of the New Rich, a fast-growing subculture who has abandoned the “deferred-life plan” and instead mastered the new currencies—time and mobility—to create luxury lifestyles in the here and now.
Whether you are an overworked employee or an entrepreneur trapped in your own business, this book is the compass for a new and revolutionary world. Join Tim Ferriss as he teaches you:
• How to outsource your life to overseas virtual assistants for $5 per hour and do whatever you want
• How blue-chip escape artists travel the world without quitting their jobs
• How to eliminate 50% of your work in 48 hours using the principles of a forgotten Italian economist
• How to trade a long-haul career for short work bursts and freuent "mini-retirements"
• What the crucial difference is between absolute and relative income
• How to train your boss to value performance over presence, or kill your job (or company) if it’s beyond repair
• What automated cash-flow “muses” are and how to create one in 2 to 4 weeks
• How to cultivate selective ignorance—and create time—with a low-information diet
• What the management secrets of Remote Control CEOs are
• How to get free housing worldwide and airfare at 50–80% off
• How to fill the void and create a meaningful life after removing work and the office
You can have it all—really.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 725 more reviews...
 Highly recommended! May 2, 2007
J. Harr
686 out of 951 found this review helpful
I don't often write reviews on Amazon.com but I felt compelled to write one for this book because the author has convinced me to change my assumptions about worklife and personal goals. This is an easy read. Althought I am a slooooow and easily distracted reader, I finished the book from cover-to-cover in a few sittings. I even spent some time researching the weblinks but didn't do all the challenges because I was eager to absorb all the ideas first.
It is probably best to read the book one time through quickly to grasp his point of view (the author even gives a brief blurb on how to speed read). Then after you "get it" take some time doing the challenges if you feel so compelled.
I have already implemented one of the author's recommendations in my daily life....check email only twice per day: right before lunch then again an hour before the end of the day. Process every email at the time you read it. Seems a simple challenge but I did suffer "withdrawal symptoms" from not constantly checking email. And you know what? Because I stayed focus on the task at hand and not constantly checking email I left work last Thursday (April 27) feeling less stressed and more accomplished. This is only a brief part of the book but to me was impactful.
Ferriss gives some great ideas about starting your own business even if you don't have or desire an MBA (like me). He provides lists of free and paid resources to help you along the way.
There is a simple roadmap for freeing yourself from the 9-5 grind. Is it attainable? I hope so. Maybe I'm just being an optimist but yesterday I took the day off from my "cube job" and spent part of my day setting up an online business following his "case studies".
The downside is that the book is provides a cursory glance at some topics that need to be expanded. However, I think he did a good job at presenting his view of how life can be. He's also opened himself up to "The 4 Hour Workweek 2.0" when he can go in more depth.
In all I found it an enjoyable read. I plan to follow his "roadmap" and see where it takes me. I already recommended it to two other friends.
Now, to the naysayers writing "reviews" about this book. First, Read the book. Second, write a review of the book not a review about other reviews. You are undermining your "cause" as Review Police by giving a 1-star without first reading the book and "just to balance the scales". In short you're being hypocritical. I think if you take your own advice and read the book you will "get it". Is there marketing going on here? DUH! Of course there is marketing! Ferriss is selling a product. Simply put, he practices what he preaches!
Read the book and find out!
Excellent life check up August 7, 2007
Michael Bird (Yorba Linda, CA United States)
47 out of 57 found this review helpful
First off this book is not a get rich scheme, although I can see how that impression is easily given, it's a book about how to rearrange your life in such as way as to give more time and energy to what is important and less time to what isn't. The author goes into details about an internet business strategy that can lead to wealth, and while it's true any business can lead to wealth, an internet based business can be set up in such a way as to lead to more free time to pursue other things besides making money.
I don't think that the author intended to say that it's easy or guaranteed or that nobody fails, he just gives his advice on how to get it done in that chosen field. I've been to plenty of presentations of wealth generating schemes from product sales to insurance sales. I've read many books on business including those on direct marketing, real estate, stock trading, etc. Some are well intended; some are scams through and through. This book is no scam and it's not trying to sell any snake oil. Perhaps the author does downplay the time and risk and money it takes to start and run a successful internet based business, perhaps people just hear what they want to hear and it doesn't matter anyway.
I personally know someone that runs an internet based business, he has put plenty of time and money and energy into the business, and it's successful, at least I know he doesn't have a day job and he gets to travel and do things he likes to do when he wants to do them. The ideas that the author puts into this book show how to get into the business or improve one you have running, but this is only a part of the book.
Much of what I got out of the book was a reminder to myself about how important it is to spend time wisely. The 80/20 rule is gone over. Advice is given: quit watching so much television, ignore the nightly news, don't spend too much time reading fiction and keep non-fiction down to a list of good books and work them one at a time. Stay off the internet going to check email constantly or checking the news web sites. This all may seem like basic advice, but it's just part of the practical plan that the author goes over in adjusting your life to free up time.
As for the parts about outsourcing, it never ceases to amaze me that some people are so ignorant about economics that they would take the authors advice as being a means to exploit others. The more things that are outsourced to the third world, the more it grows economically and the more we prosper here at home. For those that think job loss is a bad thing, throw out your refrigerator so the ice man can have his job back. And if you really think people are being exploited when they take low paying jobs, next time you order a burger, tip the short order guy ten bucks.
Anyway, I highly recommend this book, it's not just about making money, it's not just about quitting your nine to five job, it's about making life more livable and more meaningful.
Brilliant & fun book about being financially independent May 8, 2007
Elizabeth Weinstein (San Jose, CA United States)
33 out of 44 found this review helpful
This is a brilliant and fun book that I highly recommend.
He advocates many of the same theories as Alexandria Brown and Dan Kennedy -- being an entrepreneur, not trading time for dollars, outsourcing, protecting your time/access, leverage -- but adds that with a new idea of true independence to location and mini-retirements. The premise is to set up your business to such that you can answer your email 1x week, never check your voicemail, outsource almost everything, and live abroad 6 months at a time. And, instead of working like a dog for 30 years so you can retire "someday" - take mini-retirements now.
I do have to disclose that Timothy is a bit of a 29-year old bachelor punk, but I find him very entertaining (similar to Dan Kennedy old crotchety man-ness). :)
Some of his more entertaining tips include forcing yourself to be okay with being uncomfortable by placing calls to celebrities, making eye contact with everyone you meet for 2 days, and laying down on the floor in the middle of Starbucks for 10 seconds.
Some great advice I have already put to use:
-Only check email 2x a day, at noon and 4 pm. Wow, how efficient I become when I keep my mail program closed. And, my business has not yet exploded.
-Stop work at 4 pm. I am spending 4-5 pm in an activity that I would do if I was financially independent. Not sure what those activities are yet -- so far I have spent the time shopping, at happy hour, and reading a book in the park.
-Act as if you could only work 2 hrs a day. Now I am spending the first 2 hours doing the most important work for the day, instead of spending it on email. As such, I am able to get my work for the day done by mid afternoon, if not earlier -- since I do the most important work first.
And re the outsourcing ... if you are a socialist, you may not like this book. If you think that outsourcing takes advantage of people, or if you think unions are great, you may not like this book. This book is for smart, independent, capitalist-minded people, especially those who want to change their life and outsource their business to people who want to work for them (whether they are located in the U.S or overseas).
A great new perspective on business and life ... April 24, 2007
Matt
52 out of 66 found this review helpful
Tim Ferriss has traveled the world, started a successful business, appeared on national television shows, won elite fighting competitions, and set world records. All of this by the age of 30.
To add to these accomplishments, Tim Ferriss has now written a great new book on business and life. The title of the book is unfortunate. It is about much more than creating a 4-hour work week (although it delivers on that promise as well). I want to discuss briefly my favorite parts of the book: motivation and focus, business planning, and life planning.
Motivation and focus - Tim has a lot of great advice for getting motivated and focusing on important tasks. He makes use of the 80/20 principle and Parkinson's law. Both of these ideas have been written about before, but Tim takes them to the next level. He gives specific advice on how to get moving and get the most out of your time.
In this section, Tim also points out why big goals are often easier to reach than smaller ones. This was an "Aha!" moment for me. Tim says that smaller goals are often harder to reach because there are a lot of people competing for them (think middle management positions at most large companies). However, big goals often have less competition and are easier to motivate yourself towards achieving.
Business planning - Tim goes into detail on how to create a low-maintenance business. Tim takes you through the entire process - from idea creation, to testing, to order fulfillment. It is a process that has worked for him and several of his friends, and Tim gives real-life examples for each of the steps. Tim also includes contact information for companies and organizations that can help you every step of the way. In my opinion, the most important part of this section is the low-cost method of testing business ideas before making large investments of time or money.
I also really liked Tim's advice on automating a business. Tim has successfully used a network of associates and outsourcers to put his business on autopilot. With this support network, Tim only has to spend a few hours a week working in his business. He includes website and phone numbers of many of these organizations and also gives advice on how to deal with outsourcers. In this section of the book, Tim also includes a few pages written by some of his "Virtual Assistants" giving their perspective on outsourcing.
I am a bit more conservative than Tim. I would personally want to have a significant amount in savings or be generating income well in excess of my monthly expenses before relying solely on the business income to cover my expenses. However, Tim seems to have done well and profited nicely from his BrainQuicken supplement.
If you aren't interested in starting a business, Tim gives some great advice on how to get time away from the office (with pay). I have personally seen several of these techniques work, and I am glad Tim included this section for those who aren't entrepreneurially inclined.
Life planning - Once your income needs are met, now what? If you were able to successfully create a business following Tim's instructions, you probably have a lot of extra time on your hands. Tim talks a lot in this section about what to do with that extra time. Tim seems to prefer traveling, and he gives readers a good bit of advice on working and traveling abroad. His personal preference is to spend a month or so intensely working and then spend a couple of months traveling. Of course, you could just as easily use your time to grow other businesses or spend time at home with your family.
Working for yourself, you may become socially isolated or bored. Or, you may start to ask The Big Questions (like "What is the meaning of life?"). Tim gives some great advice for all of these situations.
I don't know Tim, nor do I have any financial connection to this book. I only found out about the book by reading a blog from someone who listened to Tim's talk at this year's South by Southwest festival in Austin. I have never written a review on Amazon before, but this book compelled me to write my first. I highly recommend you get it, and I guarantee it will get you thinking about making changes in your life.
Revolutionized the way I think about work September 11, 2007
gensparkie (California)
14 out of 19 found this review helpful
The author has a ton of amazing advice in here. I am a landscaper, so most of my work is stuff that I need to be present for. Still, I found a lot of to love about this book.
First, Ferriss inspires me to think about the possibilities in automation. In my own business, maybe I can't take off entirely at this stage, but maybe I can give my assistants more power to make decisions on their own so that I have to do less overseeing and fewer small chores.
Then, he gives practical tips for getting things done fast, eliminating the busy work that isn't really necessary, cutting out the 80% of clients who are unprofitable and finding ways of getting more clients like the 20% who make me the most money.
He suggests that by eliminating the inner fear of what we would do if we weren't busy, we will begin to be able to cultivate habits that give us more time. By showing us how to visualize a healthy and fulfilling life and to take care of the fears that hold us back, he provides a truly useful blueprint for getting to a life that is enjoyable and satisfying, and is truly being lived to the fullest.
I don't personally agree with the moral values of some of his suggestions. I worry about the implications of outsourcing our lives to someone in another country, in particular. But even discarding all that I did not agree with, I found TONS in here that I found directly applicable to my blue-collar work life, things that I can do now.
Sometimes all we need is a new way of looking at a problem in order to see innovative ways of reducing it or solving it, and that is what this book is best used as. A tool to help you think outside your normal patterns and asks, persistently, why not live your dreams?
After reading this book the first time, I have about fifty bookmarks in it of things that I really want to get back to and examine more. If you read this, I encourage you to do the exercises as you go. They really helped me change my thinking rather than just think about changing my thinking.
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