The 4-Hour Workweek — Timothy Ferriss

Escape 9–5, live anywhere, and join the new rich

Quick Summary

In The 4-Hour Workweek, Tim Ferriss explains how you can live a free and fulfilling life working just 4 hours a week, thanks to the “muse” concept.

Learn how to set up cash machines while freeing up your time.

My Thoughts

This book could be summed up in a few lines. In short, here’s what Tim Ferriss suggests:

1. Take stock of your life and possibilities and conquer your fears by naming them
2. If you’re an employee, increase your productivity or work from home to save you some time
3. Use this time to develop a “muse”, a profitable company you’ll be able to make nearly fully automatic
4. Automate and outsource as most as possible your company so that you can only work 4 hours a week and still earn a lot of money
5. Enjoy your life

I have to stop reading books in this genre because it’s always the same pattern. Examples of successful people, an approach that supposedly anyone can follow and that guarantees success, all repeated dozens of times to fill the book’s lack of content.

As you can see, I didn’t like this book. Most of the advice it contains is useless, even ridiculous sometimes. It should also be read with morals aside, as Tim Ferris repeatedly recommends that you exploit Eastern European countries where you can find cheap labor. Of course, this is true and many people do it, but to recommend it in a book is a no-no, or at least not the way Tim Ferriss has done it.

Tim Ferriss claims to have the recipe for building a successful company, and what’s more, he describes it as quite simple. We know it’s not. Especially as Tim Ferriss seems very serious and cruelly lacking in sarcasm. In fact, he’s the cliché dream salesman.

Still, there’s some good, but the good isn’t quite what you’d expect. In fact, I found the whole business creation part sloppy/too simplistic, but the rest is sometimes interesting. In particular, some tips on how to free up your time, for example by employing a virtual assistant.

In short, this book shares an egotistical and over-simplistic vision of entrepreneurship, typical of this kind of book.

To Read or Not to Read

Don’t rely on this book for advice on starting your own business. On the other hand, it’s still worth reading if you want some tips on how to optimize your time as there are some good time management tips.

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