The 4-Hour Work Week

Escape the 9-5, Live Anywhere and Join the New Rich

by Timothy Ferriss

416 pages

English language

Published May 24, 2011 by Ebury Publishing.

ISBN:: 978-1-4464-9059-4

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(85 reviews)

The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9–5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich (2007) is a self-help book by Timothy Ferriss, an American writer, educational activist, and entrepreneur. The book has spent more than four years on The New York Times Best Seller List, has been translated into 40 languages and has sold more than 2.1 million copies worldwide. It deals with what Ferriss refers to as "lifestyle design" and repudiates the traditional "deferred" life plan in which people work grueling hours and take few vacations for decades and save money in order to relax after retirement.

10 editions

Matthew Royal reviewed The 4-Hour Work Week by Timothy Ferriss

Review of 'The 4-Hour Work Week' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

Ferriss is a hustler aspiring toward being Tony Robbins, but that doesn't invalidate much of what he has to say. His thesis that enjoying life and retirement now rather than an indefinite someday by achieving remote work and mindfully approaching your work with an eye to automation holds true for any knowledge worker. Good reminder to me on the importance of maintaining personal goals and "dreamlines."

secretGeek reviewed The 4-Hour Work Week by Timothy Ferriss

Review of 'The 4-Hour Workweek' on 'GoodReads'

4 stars

80/20 principle all the things.

secretGeek reviewed The 4-Hour Work Week by Timothy Ferriss

Review of 'The 4-hour work week' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

80/20 principle all the things.

b bennett reviewed The 4-Hour Work Week by Timothy Ferriss

Review of 'The 4-Hour Work Week' on 'Goodreads'

1 star

This is the worst book I've ever read.

laprunminta reviewed The 4-Hour Work Week by Timothy Ferriss

Review of 'The 4-Hour Work Week' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

After finishing this, the author still sounds like kind of a terrible person, and book sounds like the product of his own get-rich scheme. "Read this detailed how-to book to find out to make MILLIONS by... selling detailed how-to books!"

That said, there were some helpful things:

First, by reading about how he manipulates other people (e.g. telling a long winded colleague that he (Ferriss) has a phone call in 5 minutes) you'll learn how to recognize it when it's done to you. Secondly, the details of how to organize an autonomous company and how to live abroad cheaply actually seemed like good information.

So, I would recommend starting half-way through where these details begin and to check out the book from your local library, lest you give Timothy Ferriss more of your money.

Misty reviewed The 4-Hour Work Week by Timothy Ferriss

Review of 'The 4-Hour Work Week' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

I avoided reading this because I thought it was going to be a scam of epic proportions. But, it was really helpful! Again, Tim thinks outside the box, so if that's your thing (or you want it to be), I recommend it.

shaun reviewed The 4-Hour Work Week by Timothy Ferriss

Review of 'The 4-Hour Work Week' on 'Goodreads'

No rating

I picked up this book thinking it was going to be about productivity, which some of it was (and I enjoyed those parts), but it felt more like a self-help book (which it says it is on the back cover). So, I had different expectations of the book and because of this I didn't read it all. I also didn't read every page because it was filled with too much fluff.

Fulminata reviewed The 4-Hour Work Week by Timothy Ferriss

Review of 'The 4-Hour Work Week' on 'Goodreads'

2 stars

I suspect that the only one for whom all the ideas in this book would work is the author, but that doesn't mean that some of these ideas wouldn't help out the rest of us. Even if you don't want to switch from a 40 to a 4 hour work week there are some good ideas for time management. Just be careful which ideas you try out, because some of them aren't likely to sit well with most bosses!