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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: $11.45
You Save: $8.50 (43%)
New (62) Used (29) Collectible (2) from $10.32
Avg. Customer Rating:  788 reviews
Sales Rank: 179
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 320
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.9
Dimensions (in): 8.2 x 5.7 x 1.2
ISBN: 0307353133
Dewey Decimal Number: 650.1
EAN: 9780307353139
ASIN: 0307353133
Publication Date: April 24, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 Wealth With Minimal Labor November 13, 2007
18 out of 21 found this review helpful
The 4- Hour Workweek is an interesting book written by a young and interesting guy by the name of Timothy Ferriss. Mr. Ferriss is one of the proclaimed "New Rich" that this book is written about. He has experienced the "too much work for too little pay" lifestyle and he wrote this book as a means to an end; the end being the liberation of every person who reads the book from the dregs of an eight to five existence.
I am a naturally skeptical person and I am often highly critical of books that lead readers to believe they can become rich very quickly and with little effort. But something about this book caught my attention. I don't know if it was the title or what, but I felt a strong urge to read this book. What I discovered with The 4- Hour Workweek was somewhat refreshing. This book doesn't bog the reader down with statistics; doesn't promise to end the cycle of poverty overnight; and doesn't claim to offer a single path to riches. What Ferriss teaches in this book isn't like other books about getting rich. It is more original than most, with an emphasis on finding ways to make a great living automatically: Sitting back and letting the internet, or some other tool, or other people, do the work that needs to be done while you, the latest member of the New Rich, reap the rewards.
Certain themes rise to the surface throughout this book and some of the important ones are the conservation of free time; the use of outsourcing and/or automated income; the importance of recreation; and the various unconventional ways to gain control over one's life. Ferriss is in favor of eliminating anything from your life that robs you of your most precious asset: your time. He feels the way to accomplish this is by seeking out opportunities that offer substantial rewards for the least effort and he believes with complete sincerity that there are ways that everyone can work less and make more.
Finding ways to get the cash flowing without devoting endless hours of time is a great idea, but I still have a few problems with the advice in this book. For starters, Ferriss makes the process seem a little too easy and he keeps holding himself up as an example that anyone else can do exactly what he did. One of the things he talks about in the opening section is that he was a national champion in Chinese Kickboxing. He talks about this accomplishment and his methodology for achieving it, making it seem like this is something anyone else with enough determination could have done. I have to disagree with him on this point. I think it's safe to say that the majority of the people in the world would not have the guts to do something like this, no matter how strong their will might be. And what about those of us with families? I don't think most spouses would be willing to jump up and move about the world with children in tow. Because it worked for him doesn't necessarily mean it will work for everyone.
Some of the book's other bits of advice is equally shaky, like the recommendation to employees to talk to their bosses and negotiate working from home instead of from the office. The author claims this is easier than you might first think, but I beg to differ. I have worked in many different businesses and, more often than not, a request to work from home would be met by a supervisor either with laughter or with a counter request to go home and not come back. If someone really wants to work from home and escape the eight to five life, entrepreneurship is really the only solution. To Ferriss' credit, he does spend a good deal of time talking about how to start and run your own company but I feel he should have gone directly to this and bypassed the idea of keeping your current job and working out of the home.
Overall, the 4- Hour Workweek is an interesting book with a catchy title and an unorthodox approach to making money. Ferriss deserves credit for formulating his methods in original ways and for avoiding the tendency to push this as a get rich quick scheme, but he also deserves a small amount of criticism for making his plan sound so simple that anyone can do it and for his insistence that anyone can be anything with the right attitude. Life and financial overachievement are not quite that simple, but I applaud Ferriss for approaching this age- old issue from a fresh perspective.
 If you hate your job (and have balls) you need this book. May 7, 2007
17 out of 25 found this review helpful
For most people, this book will be a paradigm change.
Most people think that the "normal" way to live life is to get an education, learning something you really don't want to learn about, get a job you hate and buy things you really need. And, in the end, you retire and finally have the time to enjoy your life when you're almost dead anyways. Hey, this is the "real world" as they say!
Well, if you want to escape this, you need this book. It's a good starting point to really living your life, and having the time to do what you really want to do in life.
You also need balls too (can't buy this on Amazon), because you'll need to take action and go against what everyone else is doing. You can't be a sheep following the herd.
Just remember you're going to die anyways, and you're time is always running out. Might as well find ways to minimize the time you spend on things you don't want to do and maximize the time you spend on the things you want to do.
A life changing experience April 26, 2007
16 out of 36 found this review helpful
I downloaded this book from Audible just because it sounded interesting. I had never heard anything about the book or Tim. An hour or so into the book I realized that my life would never be the same.
I am absolutely positive this will be the best money you have ever spent.
Pragmatic and Wonderful May 7, 2007
16 out of 23 found this review helpful
This book is great, and more importantly, useful, as Tim is both practical and inspirational at the same time. He has systematically laid down a framework for how to maximize life - and how to take the steps that ultimately lead to greater self awareness through self -development. All of this this cannot happen without first taking control of the time in your life, and Tim does a great job in showing us how to free ourselves from the daily routine so that we can actually live our lives the way there were meant to be explored. This book is a must read for anyone who is a dreamer, and for those of us that realize that dreams are great, but real life can be even better.
A brash, but entertaining and thorough look at redesigning your life May 16, 2007
16 out of 27 found this review helpful
A few months ago, I made a joke about my job at a web design firm. Someone asked how I get so much done and I replied, "I actually outsource everything I've done to a buddy in India." Everyone laughed because that was absurd... or was it?
Tim Ferriss doesn't seem to think so. In fact he thinks it's absurd to live the kind of lives most Americans live nowadays: 80-hour weeks to earn a lot of money to buy a lot of things we don't need and get drunk on the weekends. Ferriss' life is a bit different- he's lived the typical thrill-seeker's existence since his epiphany years ago including kick-boxing, globe-trotting, enjoying mini retirements, racing motorcycles, and working very little to pay for it all.
In Ferriss' brash but often funny writing style, he focuses on the important things in life (time, experience, learning, thrill) and shows how you can make the most out of yours by following his path of eliminating all the time-wasting things we do in American business life and outsourcing the rest to India. What's left is time that you can use to live again. Note: if you think living includes being cooped up in a cubicle all week, this book is not for you.
Ferriss made his life what it is and he thinks that others can too except that most people think the greatest achievement is impossible, so everyone is working for the mediocre. He thinks this makes the mediocre the hardest to achieve and leaves the real prize for those who aren't afraid to go for it. He says, "It's easier to pick up the one perfect 10 in the bar than the five 8s."
Two glaring weaknesses are that Ferriss touts his ability to go against the grain and do things that aren't conventional, yet he stresses that you will be successful in his scheme only if you "follow the instructions!" He instructs, "no reading books (except for this one)..." Also, Ferriss describes what he knows, which is an incredible story, but unless you want to develop or improve on a product (services aren't included in his plan), you may find it difficult to do the bold steps he suggests. He does explain in detail how to get your boss to let you work remotely, which can apply to most people stuck in a cube, but the easiest way work remotely is if you are an entrepreneur. Ferriss also started his 4-hour workweek only after becoming wealthy, which is the difficult part of the whole scheme.
Fortunately for other authors, Ferriss leaves room for techniques to help the reader capitalize on the system, making my book, "How to Take Advantage of the People Who Are Trying to Take Advantage of You," a great complement (see technique #50 for an interesting parallel).
Can everyone attain the lifestyle of the new rich (NR)? Probably not. Most people aren't ready to leave the comforts of their lives and go for the new gold (time). However, everyone should read this book, which provides a wealth of inspiration and detailed resources to help you get to your life goals. Until you achieve those goals, you should at least stop wasting time and start living more. This book can help.
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