The 4-hour Workweek...
 

I've just ordered the book by Tim Ferriss and was curious to know if someone here already read it...any opinion?

90% of GFY already has a 4 hour work week - no need to buy the book.

4 hours !?

who would want to work overtime ! :)

Right ...... lol ... Doing what, managing your trust fund?

You're in the wrong business if you plan on working 4 hours per week.

glad to see that my post caused some hilarity!

I downloaded it from Audible and really enjoyed it. So much so that I ordered the book from Amazon also.

I thought it had some very useful information and a unique way, to me anyway, of looking at things.

hehe definitely!

I bought months ago. Only read 1/2 of it. I forgot all about it until this thread. It's really about passive income and he talks a lot about outsourcing. He has a blog at http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/

lol, how do you figure?

I wish i could get 4 hours of sleep a week...... tell me how it works out for you

First step, get passive income stream.

Second step, four hour work week.

It's pretty good. It's not really giving you any defined techniques for having a "4 hour work week". It's more of a general philosophy for people who wish to have an adventurous, nomadic lifestyle, and how to do it cheaply. At least, that what's I got out of it.

there's some really good stuff in there.

I looked through some pages but haven't bought it. It seems like an inspirational GTD type of book. By the way the GTD book was boring.

best book ever written, this is the holy grail of success, living, understanding and making money in the digital age.

i would recommend it to anyone

Certainly dont have an idea...

I saw that book in store recently.. 4hr a day would be a start 4 me...

are you serious or being sarcastic? i might look into that book myself

I actually just bought it yesterday on a whim.

I liked it. Not as a direct "how to work 4 hours a week" tutorial or anything. But, there are some really good general philosophies about managing your life, and the section on how to travel on the cheap is awesome.

So true... I work only 4 hours.. then I take a break and do another... and another...

Perhaps the title should have been:

The Four Hour Work Weak

I think it is a great book. It does give some ideas on how to create this for yourself. It gives examples of a guy selling shirts online, and a girl selling a yoga DVD. Very useful information. The gist is set up online businesses, make them work, then automate them, all while living life on your terms. Travel, learn new things, spend your time the way you want to, not the way our culture has programmed you to. That is what I took from it anyway. Well worth the price of admission.

I love to see people in this industry that think they really make it working only a few hours a week.

If you work 20 or less and make a couple k a week. IMagine if you actually worked a 40 hour week.

you should get that book !

It's one of the best books about that subject, not shit, but true and good information.

yes seriously

yea. this is exactly why the book is so good.

it gives you perspective on enjoying your life and not to measure success in terms of chasing a neverending monetary figure.

once u make 10,000 a month, then u need 20,000... once u make 20,000 you need 50,000..

it will never end..

you end up chasing meaningless material possessions which mean nothing.

the book is actually overwhelming and might not make much sense if you have no clue about online business and entreprenuership in my opinion..

also.. it doesnt work if you cant grasp the concept of automation.

I have 4 hour work days. If i did that in a week my sites would fail

hm... hard to achieve for me.. :(

I work like 4 hours a month. Anymore would just be pointless.

:1orglaugh:1orglaugh tru tru

I really don't know why people buy such books....

4 hours is nothing.. :) i will work more

WoW! Huge concept.

One of my g/f's just recommended that book to me a couple weeks ago. Haven't read it yet, but from what she told me, he is a lot less anal about delegating authority than I am.

automation and removing yourself entirely from the process, thats whats hard to do... most ppl always want some type of control, even when it can be done totally without any.

ya. right now my business is automated where i do less then 1 hour of work a day and im making xx,xxx a month, however im always still watching things via blackberry/email at all times...............but after reading this book, i want to cut it down to 1 hour a week and not even check my email or blackberry but 2 times a day

its a great challenge....

basically i want to experience other stuff in life like learning languages and traveling the globe as a nomad which is more fulfilling than just having expensive material possessions, which impress idiots.

this is what the book is about.. automating your life and business so you can do all the things you want to do now without spending your whole life working and living life only after you are retired.

Exactly. Most people are responding to the title of the book and haven't read it I noticed. One of the concepts is the 80/20 rule. 20% of your activities,clients,sites, etc, etc, make up 80% of your income. Using this rule the goal is to focus your energy on that 20% and outsource the BS that sucks up your time and makes you feel productive since you spend a lot of hours doing it.

Will everyone do what Tim Ferris is doing? No. If I read a book about bodybuilding by arnold swartzenegger and it helped me in the gym just a little bit then it was worth it. Doesn't mean I have to get on steroids, dehydrate myself to near death, and lift till I vomit to make it a worthwhile book. :2 cents:

hey man, im glad i read the book.. when u mentioned it in another post i hadnt read it, but had heard of it.. but then i bought and read it a few days ago... im glad i did thanks!

however.. he never mentions anything on like settling down, or having a family.. what are his thoughts on that... do you know?

Books like these are usually good, they usually offer some fresh ideas, some new perspectives, etc... but they kinda piss me off too... the guy kinda got lucky made millions selling worthless sports supplements and now he acts like some big shot like he invented some brilliant strategy to work 4 hours a week... when you are making 100k/MONTH (like he claimed he does) it's not exactly hard to hire some people to do things for you so you can work 4 hours per week... he probably could have almost just as easily sold the company for a few million and just completely retired and work 0 hours per week....

The book is kinda half fiction too, the strategies make sense, but half of the stuff he says just won't work. Like for example the strategy of telling your boss you will work from home, then using 80/20 magic to optimize your time to work less, and then using technology to go on a vacation to China without your boss ever noticing... there are so many flaws in that setup, I'm not even sure where to begin...

Overall, the book is not half bad, but I wouldn't call it anywhere the "best book ever written" like someone earlier in the thread commented...

I am glad you liked it! I sure did too.

Hey Rob. He is like 29. In his FAQs people ask, do I have to travel? His answer is no, you want to free up your time to do what you want, when you want, with whomever you want. If that is hanging out at home with your family instead of answering emails that don't truly require you to answer, or doing busy work that an outsourced person could handle then that is the goal. I am adding more than he said in the faq answer but that is what I took from it. :thumbsup

I didn't think he came off like he was a genius for starting his online business. He says this stuff doesn't take a genius. What I took from his story was that with an online business, the entire paradigm of working hours is completely wrong.

I thought he was basing the work in China thing on an actual story of a guy that went to China this way and ended up marrying a girl in China. Right?

He gives strategies to work remotely and make it okay with your boss. I have had a lot of bosses who would have never allowed it. In this case he indicates quitting and moving on is the goal.
:winkwink:

I'm looking around my office for the name of the book I have, it's not "The 4-hour Workweek" but it is very related on the subject. Damn, hate it when I can't find a book.

This is my view of it..
Look at your work week, break down how many 'real' hours of work you do vs bullshit that doesn't make money and/or could probably be pushed off onto someone else.

Then learn how to mix in your real family life, into work hours that aren't really work. Now the idea is, you aren't really working, you are just experiencing life and making money while doing it. Add to this that you are a business owner and can actually make money, any time, any place, anyway you wish - just by putting your mind to it.

I think of it is a way to retire without having to retire. I want to play golf 5 or 6 days a week, 1-2 rounds a day. And continue to have equal time with my family and complete as much work as I always have. Well, since I want equal time with the family - I will have to play golf on work hours.

I love golf, and I love making money - so instead of thinking I can't do this and must work on my 'porn business', I come up with something I enjoy doing, while I play golf, that can earn me income. Like blogging, or getting in good with the course managers and taking over as a free designer, for free golf. Now I'm making money by saving it and still doing things I enjoy doing.

That's just the basic idea, it can be broken down and twisted several ways. Work is doing something for a boss that controls you. Being a Company owner means you are in total control of everything, just like taking the first big step to open a business, the only thing holding any of us back is fear.

I loved the book too.

It sounds and looks like another bunch of self-help, optimism bs but it's actually pretty good.

Have you stopped checking email and going online first thing in the morning yet Rob? Curious to see if you are walking his talk yet...

Great book! I am in the process of reading it right now. Tim Ferriss is pretty funny.

What do you do for a living? I'm a drugs dealer!:1orglaugh

:1orglaugh:1orglaugh:1orglaugh:1orglaugh:1orglaugh :1orglaugh:1orglaugh omg thats funny

what would i do with all the free time? I'm addicted to work...