
Enjoy fast, free delivery, exclusive deals, and award-winning movies & TV shows with Prime
Try Prime
and start saving today with fast, free delivery
Amazon Prime includes:
Fast, FREE Delivery is available to Prime members. To join, select "Try Amazon Prime and start saving today with Fast, FREE Delivery" below the Add to Cart button.
Amazon Prime members enjoy:- Cardmembers earn 5% Back at Amazon.com with a Prime Credit Card.
- Unlimited Free Two-Day Delivery
- Streaming of thousands of movies and TV shows with limited ads on Prime Video.
- A Kindle book to borrow for free each month - with no due dates
- Listen to over 2 million songs and hundreds of playlists
- Unlimited photo storage with anywhere access
Important: Your credit card will NOT be charged when you start your free trial or if you cancel during the trial period. If you're happy with Amazon Prime, do nothing. At the end of the free trial, your membership will automatically upgrade to a monthly membership.
Buy new:
-41% $15.89$15.89
Ships from: Amazon.com Sold by: Amazon.com
Save with Used - Acceptable
$14.30$14.30
Ships from: Amazon Sold by: Jenson Books Inc

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.
Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.
Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

Image Unavailable
Color:
-
-
-
- To view this video download Flash Player
-
-
5 VIDEOS
-
Follow the author
OK
The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich Hardcover – December 15, 2009
Purchase options and add-ons
Ever wonder, “How can I work smarter and not harder?” Forget the old concept of retirement and the rest of the deferred-life plan–there is no need to wait and every reason not to, especially in unpredictable economic times. Whether your dream is escaping the rat race, experiencing high-end world travel, or earning a monthly five-figure income with zero management, The 4-Hour Workweek is the blueprint.
This step-by-step guide to luxury lifestyle design teaches:
• How Tim went from $40,000 per year and 80 hours per week to $40,000 per month and 4 hours per week
• 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 frequent “mini-retirements”
The new expanded edition of Tim Ferriss’ The 4-Hour Workweek includes:
• More than 50 practical tips and case studies from readers (including families) who have doubled income, overcome common sticking points, and reinvented themselves using the original book as a starting point
• Real-world templates you can copy for eliminating e-mail, negotiating with bosses and clients, or getting a private chef for less than $8 a meal
• How Lifestyle Design principles can be suited to unpredictable economic times
• The latest tools and tricks, as well as high-tech shortcuts, for living like a diplomat or millionaire without being either
- Reading age5 years and up
- Print length448 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- Dimensions5.73 x 1.4 x 8.5 inches
- PublisherHarmony
- Publication dateDecember 15, 2009
- ISBN-100307465357
- ISBN-13978-0307465351
Discover the latest buzz-worthy books, from mysteries and romance to humor and nonfiction. Explore more

Explore your book, then jump right back to where you left off with Page Flip.
View high quality images that let you zoom in to take a closer look.
Enjoy features only possible in digital – start reading right away, carry your library with you, adjust the font, create shareable notes and highlights, and more.
Discover additional details about the events, people, and places in your book, with Wikipedia integration.
Frequently bought together

More items to explore
- If you are insecure, guess what? The rest of the world is, too. Do not overestimate the competition and underestimate yourself. You are better than you think.Highlighted by 20,791 Kindle readers
- “Someday” is a disease that will take your dreams to the grave with you. Pro and con lists are just as bad. If it’s important to you and you want to do it “eventually,” just do it and correct course along the way.Highlighted by 19,448 Kindle readers
- Learn to be difficult when it counts. In school as in life, having a reputation for being assertive will help you receive preferential treatment without having to beg or fight for it every time.Highlighted by 16,761 Kindle readers
From the Publisher

Editorial Reviews
Review
—Jack Canfield, Co-creator of Chicken Soup for the Soul®, 100+ million copies sold
"This is a whole new ball game. Highly recommended."
—Dr. Stewart D. Friedman, Director of the Work/Life Integration Project, The Wharton School
"Stunning and amazing. From mini-retirements to outsourcing your life,
it's all here. Whether you're a wage slave or a Fortune 500 CEO, this
book will change your life!"
—Phil Town, #1 New York Times Bestselling Author of Rule #1
"The 4-Hour Workweek is a new way of solving a very old problem: just how can we work to live and prevent our lives from being all about work? A world of infinite options awaits those who would read this book and be inspired by it!"
—Michael E. Gerber, Founder & Chairman of E-Myth Worldwide and the World's #1 Small Business Guru
“Timothy has packed more lives into his 29 years than Steve Jobs has in his 51.”
—Tom Foremski, Journalist and Publisher of SiliconValleyWatcher.com
“Thanks to Tim Ferriss, I have more time in my life to travel, spend time with family and write book blurbs. This is a dazzling and highly useful
work.”
—A.J. Jacobs, Editor-at-Large, Esquire Magazine, Author of The Know-It-All
"If you want to live life on your own terms, this is your blueprint."
—Mike Maples, Co-founder of Motive Communications (IPO to $260M market cap), Founding Executive of Tivoli (sold to IBM for $750M)
"Tim is Indiana Jones for the digital age. I've already used his advice to go spearfishing on remote islands and ski the best hidden slopes of Argentina. Simply put, do what he says and you can live like a millionaire."
—Albert Pope, Derivatives Trading, UBS World Headquarters
“This engaging book makes you ask the most important question that you will ever face: What exactly is it that you want out of work and life, and why? Tim Ferriss is a master of getting more for less, often with the help of people he doesn't even know, and here he gives away his secrets for fulfilling your dreams.”
—Bo Burlingham, Editor-at-Large, Inc. magazine and author of Small Giants: Companies That Choose To Be Great Instead of Big
"Reading this book is like putting a few zeros on your income. Tim brings lifestyle to a new level–listen to him!"
—Michael D. Kerlin, McKinsey & Company Consultant to Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund and J. William Fulbright Scholar
"Part scientist and part adventure hunter, Tim Ferriss has created a road map for an entirely new world. I devoured this book in one sitting–I have seen nothing like it."
—Charles L. Brock, Chairman and CEO, Brock Capital Group; Former CFO, COO, and General Counsel, Scholastic, Inc.; Former President, Harvard Law School Association
"Outsourcing is no longer just for Fortune 500 companies. Small and mid-sized firms, as well as busy professionals, can outsource their work to increase their productivity and free time for more important commitments. It's time for the world to take advantage of this revolution.”
—Vivek Kulkarni, CEO Brickwork India and former IT Secretary, Bangalore;Credited as the “techno-bureaucrat” who helped make Bangalore an IT destination in India
"Tim is the master! I should know. I followed his rags to riches path and watched him transform himself from competitive fighter to entrepreneur. He tears apart conventional assumptions until he finds a better way."
—Dan Partland, Emmy Award-Winning Producer; American High, Welcome to the Dollhouse
"The 4-Hour Workweek is an absolute necessity for those adventurous souls who want to live life to its fullest. Buy it and read it before you sacrifice any more!"
—John Lusk, Group Product Manager, Microsoft World Headquarters
"If you want to live your dreams now, and not in 20 or 30 years, buy this book!"
—Laura Roden, Chairman of the Silicon Valley Association of Start-up Entrepreneurs;Lecturer in Corporate Finance, San Jose State University
“With this kind of time management and focus on the important things in life, people should be able to get 15 times as much done in a normal work week.”
—Tim Draper, Founder, Draper Fisher Jurvetson; Financiers to innovators including Hotmail, Skype, and Overture.com
"Tim Ferriss’s book is about gaining the courage to streamline your life… But even more than that, it challenges the reader to seriously consider an essential–yet rarely asked–question: What do you really want from life?"
—Rolf Potts, Author of Vagabonding and Travel Columnist for Yahoo! News
"Tim has done what most people only dream of doing. I can't believe he is going to let his secrets out of the bag. This book is a must read!"
—Stephen Key, Top Inventor and Team Designer of Teddy Ruxpin, Lazer Tag; Consultant to “American Inventor”
About the Author
TIMOTHY FERRISS is a serial entrepreneur, #1 New York Times bestselling author, and angel investor/advisor (Facebook, Twitter, Evernote, Uber, and 20+ more). Best known for his rapid-learning techniques, Tim's books -- The 4-Hour Workweek, The 4-Hour Body, and The 4-Hour Chef -- have been published in 30+ languages. The 4-Hour Workweek has spent seven years on The New York Times bestseller list. Tim has been featured by more than 100 media outlets including The New York Times, The Economist, TIME, Forbes, Fortune, Outside, NBC, CBS, ABC, Fox and CNN. He has guest lectured in entrepreneurship at Princeton University since 2003. His popular blog www.fourhourblog.com has 1M+ monthly readers, and his Twitter account @tferriss was selected by Mashable as one of only five “Must-Follow” accounts for entrepreneurs. Tim’s primetime TV show, The Tim Ferriss Experiment (www.upwave.com/tfx), teaches rapid-learning techniques for helping viewers to produce seemingly superhuman results in minimum time.
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
Is lifestyle design for you? Chances are good that it is. Here are some of the most common doubts and fears that people have before taking the leap and joining the New Rich:
Do I have to quit or hate my job? Do I have to be a risk-taker?
No on all three counts. From using Jedi mind tricks to disappear from the office to designing businesses that finance your lifestyle, there are paths for every comfort level. How does a Fortune 500 employee explore the hidden jewels of China for a month and use technology to cover his tracks? How do you create a hands-off business that gener ates $80K per month with no management? It’s all here.
Do I have to be a single twenty-something?
Not at all. This book is for anyone who is sick of the deferred-life plan and wants to live life large instead of postpone it. Case studies range from a Lamborghini-driving 21-year-old to a single mother who traveled the world for five months with her two children. If you’re sick of the standard menu of options and prepared to enter a world of infinite options, this book is for you.
Do I have to travel? I just want more time.
No. It’s just one option. The objective is to create freedom of time and place and use both however you want.
Do I need to be born rich?
No. My parents have never made more than $50,000 per year combined, and I’ve worked since age 14. I’m no Rockefeller and you needn’t be either.
Do I need to be an Ivy League graduate?
Nope. Most of the role models in this book didn’t go to the Harvards of the world, and some are dropouts. Top academic institutions are wonderful, but there are unrecognized benefits to not coming out of one. Grads from top schools are funneled into highincome 80-hour-per-week jobs, and 15–30 years of soul-crushing work has been accepted as the default path. How do I know? I’ve been there and seen the destruction. This book reverses it.
Product details
- Publisher : Harmony; Expanded, Updated ed. edition (December 15, 2009)
- Language : English
- Hardcover : 448 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0307465357
- ISBN-13 : 978-0307465351
- Reading age : 5 years and up
- Item Weight : 2.31 pounds
- Dimensions : 5.73 x 1.4 x 8.5 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #2,549 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #14 in Time Management (Books)
- #110 in Personal Transformation Self-Help
- #142 in Success Self-Help
- Customer Reviews:
Videos
Videos for this product
0:49
Click to play video
the 4 Hour Workweek will Change Your Life & Workflow
Adam Talks Tech
Videos for this product
1:44
Click to play video
My thoughts on the BOOK 4-Hour Workweek by Tim Ferriss
Audrey Abbey
Videos for this product
0:48
Click to play video
Is the 4 Hour Workweek WORTH IT?? Honest Review
A+ Reviews
Videos for this product
0:33
Click to play video
Honest Review on The 4 Hour Work Week
Hall Family Finds
Videos for this product
0:59
Click to play video
A great companion in our collection, here is why!
Heidi Leatherby
Videos for this product
0:55
Click to play video
DO NOT READ THIS unless you are ready to change your life!
Erin Longo
Videos for this product
0:08
Click to play video
The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere
Larisa
About the author

Tim Ferriss has been listed as one of Fast Company‘s ‘Most Innovative Business People’ and one of Fortune‘s ‘40 under 40’. He is an early-stage technology investor/advisor (Uber, Facebook, Shopify, Duolingo, Alibaba, and 50+ others) and the author of four #1 New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestsellers, including The 4-Hour Workweek, The 4-Hour Body, The 4-Hour Chef and Tools of Titans. The Observer and other media have called Tim ‘the Oprah of audio’ due to the influence of The Tim Ferriss Show podcast, which is the first business/interview podcast to exceed 200 million downloads. Tim received his BA from Princeton University in 2000, where he focused on language acquisition and East Asian Studies. He developed his non-fiction writing with Pulitzer Prize winner John McPhee and formed his life philosophies under Nobel Prize winner Kenzaburo Oe. He is far dumber than both. Tim enjoys bear claws, chocolate croissants, writing ‘About’ pages in third person and neglecting italics.
Customer reviews
Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.
To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness.
Learn more how customers reviews work on AmazonCustomers say
Customers find the book provides useful information and advice. They describe it as a valuable read for anyone looking to maximize their work-life balance. The book is straightforward and concise, with simple yet effective strategies for reducing tedious business tasks. Many readers consider the book worth the price and say it's worth the purchase. The writing style is described as well-written and engaging.
AI-generated from the text of customer reviews
Customers find the book provides helpful information and advice. They appreciate the excellent ideas, clear roadmap for creating a meaningful life, and fascinating concepts. The book provides useful tasks and worksheets to build habits. It makes interesting philosophical points about how we use our time. Overall, customers find it a valuable resource for ideas and topics covered.
"...It’s a solid concept. In fact, there really is little basis for the traditional 9-5 schedule:..." Read more
"...It is a great book that changed my life and how I look at work...." Read more
"...I believe that this book is a wealth of information and is the sort of knowledge that you won't learn in school, but is the ultimate lesson in &#..." Read more
"...a small business for 12 years, I've learned to recognize a quality resource for ideas when I see it, and Tim Ferriss has collected a HUGE number of..." Read more
Customers find the book easy to read and engaging. They say it provides practical advice and is a valuable read for anyone looking to maximize their time. The content is amazing and entertaining, making it a highly recommended read for entrepreneurs.
"...Yet, overall I was really impressed with the book. There was plenty of solid, actionable advice throughout...." Read more
"...It is a great book that changed my life and how I look at work...." Read more
"...be right for you, but you WILL find ideas to make your life easier, better, more productive, more profitable, and more enjoyable...." Read more
"...While I don’t find the book life changing, it was a decent read and could find some gems." Read more
Customers find the book easy to use and full of practical tips and know-how. They describe it as straightforward, concise, and engaging. The book focuses on reducing tedious business tasks and understanding where 80% of their time is spent. It provides advice, tasks, worksheets, layperson formulas, remote work agreements, automating processes through systems, and outsourcing.
"...but it allowed him to reduce his stress exponentially and freed up a plethora of time...." Read more
"...It is a great book that changed my life and how I look at work...." Read more
"...not equal money and that by being smarter and being scale-able with your approach to life that you can leverage other people's time and money to..." Read more
"...it possible to focus on the IMPORTANT stuff and make it easy to delegate everything else...." Read more
Customers find the book provides good value for money. It helps them become more productive, more profitable, and enjoy their lives. They say one concept alone is worth the price and justifies the entire book. The book helps them create multiple streams of income that allow them to work part-time and still pay their bills.
"...: Optimizing your time, eliminating distractions, and finding passive streams of income to allow you to do minimal work while having maximum..." Read more
"...It even says that outsourcing is the way to go to save money and to get rid of the nonsense in your life by having other people do the work that you..." Read more
"...find ideas to make your life easier, better, more productive, more profitable, and more enjoyable. UPDATE:..." Read more
"...There are lessons to be learned. Also the value is insane. The book cost about $20 at the most...." Read more
Customers find the writing style easy to read and inspiring. They say the author speaks their language with humor and insights. Overall, they describe the book as a quick and useful read with usable content.
"...Honestly, the book is easy to read and the content is amazing...." Read more
"...The 4-Hour Workweek is inspiring, straightforward, and well-written...." Read more
"The main ideas of the book are excellent, as well as the language and style of writing. Casual enough - but not vulgar...." Read more
"...Another thing that I didn't like about the book was it's editing and writing style...." Read more
Customers find the book helpful for achieving a work-life balance. It provides practical strategies for optimizing your work life, automating tasks, and focusing on what's important. They say it helps them free up time to do what they want and live their lives to their fullest potential. The book offers an interesting interpretation of the work-life equation and discusses guarding your time.
"...it drives the point home of what the book is really about: Optimizing your time, eliminating distractions, and finding passive streams of income..." Read more
"...a thing as a four hour workweek but the book does prove that time does not equal money and that by being smarter and being scale-able with your..." Read more
"...you do you gain more time for family, friends, travel and lead a more balanced life...." Read more
"...emphasizing the importance of living a balanced and purposeful life. Efficiency and Productivity:..." Read more
Customers find the book helpful for maximizing productivity and enhancing work-life. They say it's a simple idea to work smarter, not harder, and replace inefficient actions with effective ones. The book provides keys to working intelligently and effectively, including good time management and the right choice of priorities.
"...Overall the idea is simple, work smarter not harder...." Read more
"...to working less; it’s a manifesto for living more intentionally and efficiently...." Read more
"...The 4-Hour Workweek is a valuable read for anyone looking to maximize productivity, enhance their work-life balance, and pursue their goals more..." Read more
"...Great, right? But the problem is this DOESN'T work for everyone...." Read more
Customers find the book amusing and entertaining. They appreciate the author's sense of humor and writing style. The book offers an interesting perspective on the topic, making everyday adventures rather than routine ones. Readers describe the author as witty, experienced, and intelligent.
"...One of the most engaging and laughable topics in the book was the chapter on virtual assistants (VA)...." Read more
"Tim speaks my language. Humor. Possibilities. Futures. Must read...." Read more
"...Ferriss has written an engaging, thought-provoking and quite humorous roadmap to pursuing your real niche and reclaiming true living on your own..." Read more
"...honest and down to earth. very well written, sometimes even poetic...." Read more
Reviews with images

Good motivational book.
Top reviews from the United States
There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.
- Reviewed in the United States on May 31, 2015
5.0 out of 5 stars Plus the title made it sound like it belonged on an infomercial and not in my ...
I had seen the uber-orange cover of The 4 Hour Workweek by Tim Ferriss all over: Bookstores (duh!), backseats of cars, airplane terminals, frat houses and more. Yet despite its proliferation into the hands (and Kindles) of millions of people all over the world, and its catchy headline, I had yet to read it. In fact, I had no inclination to read it whatsoever.
Quite frankly, I had no idea what it was about. Plus the title made it sound like it belonged on an infomercial and not in my book collection.
Things changed when I started listening to the Tim Ferriss Show podcast just a few weeks ago. The podcast is fantastic and I haven’t been able to stop listening to it; I highly recommend it.
From what I’ve noticed, if I enjoy reading someone’s articles or website, I generally enjoy their podcasts (the same holds true vice-versa). So when I saw that it was available for only $1.99 on Kindle I didn’t hesitate one bit.
Can I really only work 4 hours?
That’s what everyone wants to know. For the most part, no it is not feasible for most. In fact, Tim repeats in his podcasts and presumably other mediums that The 4 Hour Workweek is not to be taken literally. Rather, it drives the point home of what the book is really about: Optimizing your time, eliminating distractions, and finding passive streams of income to allow you to do minimal work while having maximum freedom.
It’s a solid concept. In fact, there really is little basis for the traditional 9-5 schedule:
How is it possible that all the people in the world need exactly 8 hours to accomplish their work? It isn’t. 9– 5 is arbitrary.”
The idea behind this book is to essentially turn the idea of working hard on its head:
Being busy is a form of laziness— lazy thinking and indiscriminate action. Being overwhelmed is often as unproductive as doing nothing, and is far more unpleasant. Being selective— doing less— is the path of the productive. Focus on the important few and ignore the rest.”
Many books of this nature are simply filled with fluff, woo-woo, and other law of attraction platitudes, but The 4 Hour Workweek is absolutely filled to the brim with productivity tips. This makes the book worth the price of admission alone (that goes for the full price hardcover too!)
There are a few concepts that he really stresses throughout the book and that will allow you to eliminate and optimize.
The first of which is the 80/20 principle, also known as the Pareto Principle. This principle states that 80% of results (profit, happiness etc.) comes from 20% of output. Once Tim discovered this principle, he applied it to his nutritional supplement company so that he could focus on the select few clients that brought him the bulk of his income, and to eliminate the pesky customers who were nothing but trouble.
Sure, it cost him some income, but it allowed him to reduce his stress exponentially and freed up a plethora of time.
A second major principle is Parkinson’s law, which states:
… that a task will swell in (perceived) importance and complexity in relation to the time allotted for its completion. It is the magic of the imminent deadline. If I give you 24 hours to complete a project, the time pressure forces you to focus on execution, and you have no choice but to do only the bare essentials. If I give you a week to complete the same task, it’s six days of making a mountain out of a molehill.”
The best approach to Parkinson’s Law is to
1. Limit tasks to the important to shorten work time (80/ 20).
2. Shorten work time to limit tasks to the important (Parkinson’s Law). The best solution is to use both together: Identify the few critical tasks that contribute most to income and schedule them with very short and clear deadlines.”
There are a plethora of other tidbits of wisdom throughout, such as:
Check e-mail twice per day, once at 12: 00 noon or just prior to lunch, and again at 4: 00 P.M.
At least three times per day at scheduled times [ask] the following question: Am I being productive or just active?
More is not better, and stopping something is often 10 times better than finishing it.
Getting Your Own Personal Assistant
One of the most engaging and laughable topics in the book was the chapter on virtual assistants (VA). I say laughable because it’s actually incredibly feasible to have a 3rd world virtual assistant, and I couldn’t help myself from laughing at the idea of having a team of Indians heeding my every beck and call.
Consider this:
If you spend your time, worth $ 20-25 per hour, doing something that someone else will do for $ 10 per hour…”
Makes sense. Plus there are other good reasons to consider getting a VA:
Getting a remote personal assistant is a huge departure point and marks the moment that you learn how to give orders and be commander instead of the commanded. It is small-scale training wheels for the most critical of NR skills: remote management and communication.”
The Original Internet Entrepeneur
When I began to read Meditations by Marcus Aurelius, I noticed something: I had read this before. But it wasn’t because Aurelius was plagiarizing content 2000 years in the future, rather it was the inverse.
I’ve noticed this phenomena with The 4 Hour Workweek in that much of the content seemed all too familiar with the Digital Nomad and lifestyle design communities and advice of today. But seeing as it was written originally in 2007, one could say it was the first of its kind.
In fact, the proliferation of internet entrepreneurs are likely a result of this book.
On that note, look where Tim Ferris is today. He’s not lounging on a beach in Guatemala making money off his supplements. Rather, he’s busting his ass in Silicon Valley helping startups turn into massive success stories.
This is no fault of his; I just think many readers of this book and these internet entrepreneurs lose sight of this. They get caught in finding ‘passive income’ and settling for 1-3K a month; just enough to make do in a foreign country of their choice.
This is what I wanted for so long, but now this doesn’t seem like enough. I’d much rather be doing what Tim is doing now as opposed to what he recommend in his book.
Don’t Follow This Book Like the Gospel
Again, the 4 Hour Workweek isn’t designed to be taken literally. This is a pattern throughout the book.
In fact, much of the information regarding internet marketing and asking a boss for a remote work agreement is completely useless for me and may be for you. Yet, overall I was really impressed with the book. There was plenty of solid, actionable advice throughout. In fact, I’ve already marked this book down as one I will have to read again to internalize the concepts that stood out to me.
http://masculinebooks.com/2015/05/26/the-4-hour-workweek-by-tim-ferriss/
- Reviewed in the United States on February 14, 2025I read this book once every two years to keep me focused on my goals and what I want out of life. It is a great book that changed my life and how I look at work. I highly recommend it for anyone that feels that there is more to life than simply working a 9-5 job.
- Reviewed in the United States on March 9, 2013The 4-Hour Workweek doesn't beat around the bush: it gets to the point in making a statement that the fastest way to get wealthy is by hiring other people and building an online business. It even says that outsourcing is the way to go to save money and to get rid of the nonsense in your life by having other people do the work that you don't want to and you can focus on the bigger wins, which is most likely building a new business or managing the future of an existing one.
Tim Ferriss uses rogue and immoral practices such as trying to get your boss to let you work from home more so that you can work remotely from a cheaper country. I don't know about you, but I can imagine that this would be extremely difficult to execute in the line of business that I am in--since it is super-collaborative. I don't agree with everything in this book, and a lot of it's theories seem immoral to me and "fly-by-night" or "get-rich-quick" methods. It does have merit though, and it tells you the best websites to use to build your own website and market your product and do market analysis on your customer purchases.
Here are some notable sections of the book:
-New rich are people who are self-made and have built a business or success from nothing. They are people who like to have fun and be more flaunting with their wealth and have more fun. They are the live fast, die young crowd but they do it with large paychecks. I may not agree with flaunting my money everywhere whenever I become rich, but I would rather be someone who is a new rich and has more fun than the traditional corporate world high-paying and stressful job. The new rich don't associate time with money, but rather results with money and understand how to do more with less (which is most likely utilizing technology or paying someone else to do it). If a video goes viral on Youtube, it may have only taken an afternoon to make, yet has more credibility than a product or service that has taken years to craft. It is mostly about leverage in the new-rich age.
-There is an example in the book about a comparison between two different strategies for selling products. One person does not use any data analysis and does not focus-test their product before revealing it to a broader audience. The other person does not spend much time developing their product but spends most of their time analyzing the marketing data and customer actions such as PPC, or pay per click in Google ad-words. They test which wording is the best on their site and the structure of the website and the button placement. This person ends up winning more customers in the end, because they understand the psychology of selling and what customers are more likely to do when presented with certain information. Just like the name of the book "4 hour:" Tim said that he did countless testing to see which search inquiry had the most popularity online whenever he was determining a new title for his book. It didn't matter what he thought, it mattered what the customers wanted more. He knew that the title and the information in the book would be desirable and an easy sell before he even started selling it--as opposed to spending all of his time thinking that he himself is making the right decisions and then trying to fix a broken product once it is released.
-Anyone can be an expert. He claims that with the digital age that everyone is an expert, because knowledge is so readily available. The only difference between an expert and someone who is not one is positioning: selling yourself as an expert and marketing yourself by giving seminars or appearing in talk shows to build hype around yourself. I used to think that this was immoral, but if you look at all of the marketing that goes into rising singing stars then you will know that there is a lot of hype that was built for nothing and most of the part of greatness is marketing and convincing others that you are great and to want the service that you have. This is why you must micro-est everything and leave nothing to chance when going to market.
-Mini-Retirements. Quite the quirky section of the book. Tim talks about taking vacations for cheap and staying in more poor countries than America so that the exchange rate is lower. He claims that for a vacation to truly be life-changing, it must be long-term and around two months rather than two weeks. I think this idea is interesting but I'm not sure if it is for everyone: me included. I'm sure that living abroad is life-changing but I don't think that many people would have the drive to keep doing that and still be able to build a successful empire if they are relaxing too much.
I began reading this book being defensive and not wanting to believe it's practices. I still don't know if there is such a thing as a four hour workweek but the book does prove that time does not equal money and that by being smarter and being scale-able with your approach to life that you can leverage other people's time and money to gain more with your own contributions. If you look at all major companies or businesses owners, they have already been using these practices for quite some time yet did not put it in blunt and clear terms that this book does. In order to get the life style that you want you have to change your approach to life and utilize automated systems and the new technology that we have at our fingertips. In order to be successful you have to test your product and hire others to do work that would take you too long to learn on your own. This book is essentially calling everyone to break free from their employee status and to work for themselves and be an entrepreneur. Many like the idea, but only a few make it happen. I believe that this book is a wealth of information and is the sort of knowledge that you won't learn in school, but is the ultimate lesson in "street smarts."
-Ken Flemming
Author, How to Get a Job in Video Games
Top reviews from other countries
- VictorReviewed in Mexico on October 23, 2023
5.0 out of 5 stars A great book to learn how to optimize
A great book to learn how to optimize different processes in a job. It doesn't matter if it's a 9-5 job or if it's a business, the tools this book shows are really great and helpfull.
- Saranciuc CameliaReviewed in Italy on February 14, 2025
5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect condition
Book in perfect condition, looking forward to reading it.
- TReviewed in the United Kingdom on January 28, 2025
5.0 out of 5 stars Redefining Success with The 4-Hour Work Week
The 4-Hour Work Week by Tim Ferriss is an eye-opening guide that challenges traditional work-life norms, offering practical strategies to escape the 9-5 grind and create a more flexible, fulfilling lifestyle. With actionable tips on time management, outsourcing, and passive income, it’s a must-read for anyone seeking freedom and financial independence.
-
KristinLReviewed in Spain on January 27, 2025
5.0 out of 5 stars Un libro inspirador con ideas revolucionarias
✔️ Ideas innovadoras y motivadoras: The 4-Hour Workweek ofrece conceptos frescos y atrevidos sobre cómo maximizar la productividad y reorganizar nuestra vida laboral y personal.
✔️ Me hizo repensar mi vida: Después de leerlo, empecé a ver mi trabajo y mis metas personales desde una perspectiva completamente nueva.
✔️ Gran fuente de inspiración: Aunque algunas ideas me parecieron difíciles de implementar (como la de contratar un asistente virtual en Asia), el libro me motivó a buscar nuevas formas de optimizar mi tiempo y esfuerzo.
❌ Algunas ideas difíciles de aplicar: Algunas propuestas, como delegar todas las tareas a un asistente virtual, son un poco extremas o difíciles de implementar en la vida diaria, especialmente si uno no tiene el presupuesto o la infraestructura para ello.
En general, un libro fascinante que te desafía a salir de tu zona de confort y a pensar de manera diferente. ¡Totalmente recomendable! 😊
- It's greatReviewed in Poland on December 18, 2023
5.0 out of 5 stars 👍
The book is absolute 10 but I wouldn't recommend it as the first book to read it's too long for the first book. It will make you bored and you won't read other books 📚