The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich  | 
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Author: Timothy Ferriss
Publisher: Crown
Category: Book
List Price: $19.95
Buy New: $11.03
You Save: $8.92 (45%)
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Avg. Customer Rating:  712 reviews
Sales Rank: 61
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
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
What do you do? Tim Ferriss has trouble answering the question. Depending on when you ask this
controversial Princeton University guest lecturer, he might answer:
“I race motorcycles in Europe.”
“I ski in the Andes.”
“I scuba dive in Panama.”
“I dance tango in Buenos Aires.”
He has spent more than five years learning the secrets of the New Rich, a fast-growing subculture who has abandoned the “deferred-life plan” and instead mastered the new currencies—time and mobility—to create luxury lifestyles in the here and now.
Whether you are an overworked employee or an entrepreneur trapped in your own business, this book is the compass for a new and revolutionary world. Join Tim Ferriss as he teaches you:
• 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 freuent "mini-retirements"
• What the crucial difference is between absolute and relative income
• How to train your boss to value performance over presence, or kill your job (or company) if it’s beyond repair
• What automated cash-flow “muses” are and how to create one in 2 to 4 weeks
• How to cultivate selective ignorance—and create time—with a low-information diet
• What the management secrets of Remote Control CEOs are
• How to get free housing worldwide and airfare at 50–80% off
• How to fill the void and create a meaningful life after removing work and the office
You can have it all—really.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 707 more reviews...
 Profiting from globalism July 26, 2008
I understand reservations about this book, but I think it makes a powerful case for applying the lessons of globalism to your personal life. There is no reason that only big multinationals and governments should profit from globalization - everyday normal Joes and Joannes can too. Globalization is one of the most powerful profit engines on the planet right now, and anyone who does not take advantage of it is a fool, in my opinion. Wealth will, as always, come to those with daring and initiative. The majority who lack the strength to come out from under their sedentary, suburban rocks will become an impoverished commodity class.
Whether or not you can in fact achieve a 4 hour work week, there is great value in hypermobility and global nomadism, for people with the imagination, intelligence and flexibility to make it happen. The author perhaps overestimates the imagination of his audience at points in the book. It has always been clear to me that nomads are special people, and it takes a renegade mentality to make much of this work. Whether or not the specific entrepreneurial wealth engine that he details will work for you is irrelevant. There are ways, and this book should be viewed as a crack in the ice of sedentary convention. It is up to you to come up with your own technique.
I strongly recommend a career in IT contracting for people who want to possess unique control over their time. Every contract typically lasts from three months to a year. Every time your contract ends, is a good opportunity to take a break and explore the world. If you have a home with a mortgage you might not be able to do it. But if you live without mortgage and a high fixed monthly cost of living, as I do, you could. Explore the ways that conventional ways of living might not be helping you.
Interesting July 23, 2008
Interesting, but I think many of the concepts are difficult to apply in corporate America.
 Musings of a 20something Slacker July 23, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
That pretty much sums up what this book should have been called. I just can't fathom how so many people have been duped into drinking the kool-aid that young Mr Ferriss expounds so carelessy in his book.
For those of you looking for the 'Cliff Note' version, I'll summarize in 3 points what this book is basically about:
1 - Look for ways to generate passive income (ie, make $$ with little or no work). In Mr. Ferriss' case, it's selling vitamin supplements online...yeah you heard it right.
2 - Make it your life's goal to become a slacker by outsourcing everyday tasks(eg, checking email, paying bills, online shopping, etc). Yes, everyone is as busy and important as Mr Ferris that they need to manage a team of personal assistants in India to check their email, pay bills and shopping online.
3 - Once you become a slacker, look for activities that will give you meaning in life. Young Mr. Ferris has some real gems of wisdom for you ;-)
The 4-Hour Work Week is complete utter waste of time and not worth the paper it's printed on. Check out at the library if you must waste 2-3 hours of your life skimming through the drivel.
Superb combination of outsourcing, time management and strategic thinking July 22, 2008
Well-written and actionable, the "Four Hour Workweek" book delivers a step by step process combining a variety of techniques designed to help people make outstanding use of their time.
For fellow 'serial entrepreneurs' like myself, the outsourcing and 'boundary management' tips were particularly useful, including must-read tips for avoiding outsourcing pitfalls (eg time caps on projects and how to select assistants), plus more.
His model is a sound one, on page 185, for developing an info-business plan; though there's much more to it than is covered, it's a great overview and outline of key productivity concepts. I found it impressive that the author was able to articulate many effective productivity-boosting strategies so clearly.
For more, be sure to study Brian Tracy and Dan Kennedy as well. I recommend Brian's "Eat That Frog", and Dan's "No B.S. Time Management for Entrepreneurs" books (along with all their other products, which are essential for success).
Overall, highly recommended; it got me thinking about outsourcing more effectively, plus other actionable ideas, so that alone is well worth reading this for.
-Ken Calhoun
 Don't rush the exercises, enjoy in small doses July 20, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
This is an excellent book which includes many, many details and suggested exercises. My suggestion is to read the book all the way through once, then start working on the exercises, slowly, otherwise it can be a bit too much to really get a handle on. Awesome, so worth the money spent to purchase it.
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