The Four-Hour Work Week
June 14, 2007

I've been reading The Four-Hour Work Week by Timothy Ferriss. It's very engaging - smart and full of good stories and good humor. The book's argument - that you can run a successful business by working only four hours a week - is mind crack for any busy entrepreneur. Ferriss makes the idea seem plausible.



Read the rest of this article at Early to Rise

posted by M. Masterson @ 8:15 AM,

6 Comments:

At 1:09 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

In spite of the seemingly padded 5-star reviews on amazon.com, I bought the book. I am now reading it for the second time and have my husband reading it as well. Tim is obviously a bright guy who not only thinks outside the box but acts outside of it. The book has given me the courage--as well as loads of resources--to make my liberation from corporate America a reality now, rather than at age 65. Thanks to The 4-Hour Workweek, I feel I can revert back to the adventurous, risk-taking twenty-something I once was instead of remaining the cautious forty-something I've become. (And hopefully, enlighten a few 100-hour a week entrepreneurs/friends along the way.)

 
At 1:24 PM, Anonymous Rob said...

Michael,

How do Tim's ideas on testing new business ideas, checking email infrequently and outsourcing many critical contact points with vendors and clients square with your ideas (and experiences) of doing business?

I like a lot of what Tim has to say but I am wary at the same time. A few things I've read on his blog (example: gaining 34lbs of muscle in only 4hrs of total effort over a 4 week period) trigger my BS detector. A case of "if it is too good to be true--it probably is".

Thx,

Rob

 
At 4:40 PM, Anonymous M. Masterson said...

Good questions Rob....I haven't read enough of Tim's stuff yet to speak with any authority about all of his ideas. I did read the first chapter of his new book and was very impressed and MaryEllen Tribby, who runs ETR, met him in New York recently and was impressed by his intelligence and charm.

As far as these two specific issues are concerned:

1. I have been saying for many years that email has the potential for being an enormous time waster. About six years ago I was recommending reading emails only twice a day. About two or three years ago I changed that to once a day. That's what I do -- at about four pm. Can you do it less than that? Sure you can if you have a single business and it is run by someone other than you. That, I think, is what Tim is talking about. Tim and I are in total agreement on the principle here: reduce your emial to a minimum and you will be more productive. Obviously how often and how much you do depends on what kind of work you are in and how much involvement you want in the day to day stuff.

2.Re the 34 pounds of muscle in 4 hours....I can only guess what he's talking about and I probably agree with him on this too...He is probably referring to very high intensity workouts of very short duration. If you want to pack on muscle, this works great. That and good supplementation and eating right.

 
At 10:31 AM, Anonymous Rob said...

Michael,

I know you're very busy--thanks for the thoughtful response.

The key things that I continually take away from people like you and Tim is to constantly challenge and think beyond my limiting-beliefs... and that is invaluable.

Rob

 
At 8:51 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Tim's application of the 80/20 rule is shamelessly lifted out of Walter Hailey's 1994 classic "Breaking the No Barrier: The Billion Dollar Battle Plan for Getting to Yes." I encourage everyone to check out Walter's ideas as he is a true original who also credits his use of material. I know Michael's readers will also appreciate Mr. Hailey's insights.

 
At 7:36 PM, Anonymous Ken said...

The guys at the Evolving Excellence blog had some good comments on Ferriss' book as well, from a manufacturing and outsourcing perspective. Typically they are very anti-outsourcing, but "personal outsourcing" is just a tad different! Unfortunately they didn't mention the effective time savings from having an assistant on the opposite side of the globe. Nice post.

http://www.evolvingexcellence.com/blog/2007/07/personal-waste.html

Ken

 

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