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0 of 1 found the following review helpful:
Glean what you can apply in your own life Jul 27, 2010
Like the book Rich Dad, Poor Dad, this book caters to those who dream to escape the drudgery of the daily grind and make an easy living. Life is seldom as simple as Tim Ferris makes it out to be. But there is an important element to be gleaned from this book and that is to rigorously question "busy work" in corporate world and find ways to make our lives less stressful. I was greatly motivated by this book to guard my "work" time in my schedule and dodge needless interruptions. Some of the time saving tips and efficiencies that I have learned, I have tried to capture them in my blog
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I welcome you to read and profit from it!
 Good Theory, Not Sure it ALL Practical Jul 04, 2010
Tim has a zest and flair for living, no doubt. He has done - or at least written about - what we all would like to do: work as little as possible, and spend the rest of your time enjoying life. But like so many other business books, it really reflects his personal experience, one that works in his unique situation. I'm not sure his advice translates to every type of business model. I own a graphic design company and even thought I have freelance designers to back me up when saturated, my talent and my relationships ARE my company. If I go to Europe for 15 months, I would not have a company to go back to. That said, there are quite a lot of useful websites, meaningful quotes, and great ideas.
Jim, Atlanta GA
2 of 2 found the following review helpful:
interesting ideas but some very fishy ideas as well Jun 22, 2010
First of all, I would like to mention that the good part of this book is that if you have a product idea, the author removes some of the mental blocks in terms of starting your own business, testing the waters before committing large amount of capital, and marketing the product.
In addition, the author presents some interesting references such as google business link and personal assistant in India link.
With all of that said, the author must think that managers, and possibly other employees, are a bunch of idiots. I have to say that the 80/20 rule and the Parkinson's rule are a necessity in today's job market rather than some kind of differentiator that will help you cut the work time. Companies already expect employees to apply these principles in order to keep the jobs. While it is possible that a few employees may be in position of great leverage to negotiate working from home, this "negotiation" will mean losing the job for most.
Along the same lines, the author tends to point to various possibilities as if they are likely to occur when in fact they are long shots at best. For example, he talks about choosing charitable work such as conserving some plant or helping homeless children (or something to that effect) and goes on to say that the plant could end up being more important than the children. Yes, this is definitely possible but what are the odds? I am not saying one should not try new things but be forewarned about doing something that has little chance of success while spreading yourself thin and missing more credible opportunities. It's like speculating on stocks, yes, you may get lucky but most likely you will be wiped out.
Finally about the products the author sells in his book - speed reading and brainquicken. I can't really comment on speed reading because I haven't given it enough practice yet and it could be a legitimate tool for light fiction reading but I cannot see being able to use it for textbooks - especially engineering/PhD type level books. Of course one can read them quickly but do not expect to memorize/understand much.
My biggest problem is with the other product the author advertises - brainquicken. As soon as the author introduced this product in his book my alarm bells started to go off - is this guy a quack? He relies on misleading advertisement and marketing to push the product. Yes, he is not doing anything illegal, simply bending the corners, but after reading the book I would avoid doing any business with Tim Ferris because he lacks integrity. I realize that "integrity" is relative and it could be fine as far as other people are concerned and of course I'm only speaking for myself.
0 of 1 found the following review helpful:
 This IS a realistic path Jun 22, 2010
The Four Hour Work Week: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich
by Timothy Ferriss Review by Master Coach Sherry Prindle
More practical than you might think, this combination How to, Autobiography, Self-Help book provides solid, doable strategies for making a lifestyle, not just a living. Each chapter has an overview backed up by stories and an action plan, summarized with challenges. The main point of the challenges is to break you out of traditional thinking. The concepts here go counterintuitive to the old work-for-the-gold-watch model.
The process follows the letters for the word DEAL. Definition, Elimination, Automation, and Liberation. The author admits the process works better for entrepreneurs, but gives solid ideas to those working as employees as well.
Definition
In this section, you are encouraged to beat the game by not playing the game, to define yourself independently of how society tells us people are allowed to define themselves. Challenge the belief that more work and more money make you a better person; realize that interest and energy are cyclical; see timing, retirement, and subpar standards as myths; then define your worst case scenario. Do some mental work to decide exactly how you would handle the worst possible case and what it is costing you to hold back going after what you want just to avoid the worst.
Now that you have overcome the fear that keeps you from going after what you want; ¡§get unrealistic.¡¨ Chapter 4 encourages you to answer these three questions:
X What would you do if there were no way you could fail?
X What would you do, day to day, if you had $100 million in the bank?
X What would make you most excited to wake up in the morning to another day?
To complete the Definition process, go to [...] for a worksheet that allows you to calculate your Target Monthly Income and put a plan in place for getting there.
Elimination
Are you inventing things to do to avoid the important? Are you productive, or just active? This section explores the Pareto Principle and Parkinson¡¦s Law. Please do more research on these concepts if you are unfamiliar with them, but here is the gist.
Pareto¡¦s law says that 80% of the outputs result from 20% of the inputs (thus it is often called the 80/20 rule). Harnessing this idea, ask yourself, ¡§Which 20% of sources are causing 80% of my problems and unhappiness? Which 20% of sources are resulting in 80% of my desired outcomes and happiness?¡¨
Parkinson¡¦s Law says any task will swell in (perceived) importance and complexity in relation to the time allotted for its completion. In other words, if you get a week to work on it, it takes a week (much of that time spent worrying about it, creating more subtasks, and strategizing multiple methods), but in 24 hours under pressure you would focus, cut out the non-essentials, and get it done.
In short, to apply these two principles: limit tasks to only the important ones while shortening work time allotted for their completion.
Other things the author suggests eliminating include negative news media, interruptions, hesitant decision making, and voice-and e-mail.
Automation
This section outlines steps you can take to outsource most of your work. It is the hardest part of the book to swallow and the most fun to fantasize.
After several stories and scenarios, the author gives a mini lesson on delegation and suggests considering hiring a virtual assistant. There is a list of things you can delegate to a VA and the golden rule of delegation: that each delegated task should be both time-consuming and well defined. After an impressive list of places to find an assistant, and specific security cautions, the book gives instructions on how to set up a business that doesn¡¦t require your constant presence.
The key to setting up your four-hour-a-week business is to pick an ¡§affordable, reachable niche market,¡¨ then pick a product. The book sets the specifications for the best type of product, then goes through the ins and outs of reselling, licensing, or creating it.
Following an impressive overview of advertising and market competition, you get a long list of web sites and phone numbers that will get you started. Just when you think you know it all, there is even a section on how to create processes that allow you to spend the maximum amount of time away.
Liberation
While it is feasible to start a business like the ones explained in the Automation section while still working a job, the start of this last section gives realistic advice on how to apply at least part of the material in this book to life as an employee.
The how-tos begin with an action plan for moving away from needing to be present every minute to justify your existence (complete with scripts for communicating with bosses). This part of the book is filled with frequently asked questions, addresses of concerns, and tools and resources. Despite the viability of the plans in this book, the difficulty is getting the buy-in of others, so an ¡§ask forgiveness not permission¡¨ approach is recommended.
For taking ¡§mini retirements,¡¨ a step-by-step plan complete with timeline helps you decide where to go and how to make sure things still run smoothly when you¡¦re gone. The book acts a travel agent, tour guide, and therapist as it takes you through plans, preparations, and common concerns.
The last section addresses filling the void you open when you eliminate work. The 13 New Rich Mistakes include losing site of dreams, micromanaging, trying to control too much instead of outsourcing, perfectionism, dramatics, and ignoring deeper meaning in life. To help you with this, there is a list of books and ¡§hidden chapters¡¨ to read and a section on doing something meaningful.
After reading this book, I immediately started implementing some of the Definition and Elimination techniques. I systematically applied the challenges at the ends of the chapters as ways to get out of my comfort zone. I stopped short, however, of hiring a virtual assistant until 2 years later and found that following through on the business model outlined here was infinitely doable. It took me awhile, but I am well on my way to a mini retirement. Will you be there?
0 of 1 found the following review helpful:
Life Changing Jun 17, 2010
This book has changed the way I view life and what I want to do with it. If you want to leverage a career that allows you to what you want, where you want, when you want, then this book is a must.
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