Thanks for the post!

David

Thanks for your reply. In all seriousness, I listed the first random things, like massage and editing (anything service-based), that popped into my head. So they were just examples.

Actually, I’ve been working up an idea for seminars aimed at government departments and NGOs to learn Aboriginal communication styles and turn these into Aboriginal-centric ‘products’ that effectively communicate the NGO’s or g’ment dept’s service or function to remore communities (might be healthy food or anti-smoking messages, for example). (You might note than I’m an anthropologist who lives and works in outback Central Australia).

Sounds like you’re on your way to breaking out of the cubicle, Martin. That’s awesome. If you have any inspiring thoughts about service-based adaptations of Ferriss’s ideas, let me know.

Best wishes for Christmas & the New Year

I’m not really interested in either.

I think the main message of the the book is that your life doesn’t have to be spent sitting in a cubicle, working for someone else — and it sounds like you got that message loud and clear.

The steps that Ferriss lists — defining what you want, eliminating that which doesn’t get you there, automating the rest, liberating yourself from traditional expectations — ought to be helpful in any of the businesses you mentioned.

Certainly I don’t see why you couldn’t provide marketing services remotely via the Internet/phone/fax/FedEx, if you wanted. As for editing, a few minutes with Google will find you numerous web-based businesses which match up publishers with freelance editors and proofreaders (though I hear it pays to check what others say about them; some are a bit dodgy). Massage might be more difficult…

The main problem I see with the latter two is that they don’t scale. You can only edit one book or article at a time; and massage is obviously a one-on-one, by-the-hour sort of service — unless you’re planning to start a chain of studios, which doesn’t sound like a four-hour work week to me. Also, building up a regular clientele would be difficult if your goal is to travel Ferriss-style.

Still, even if the details don’t appeal to you, I think you’re on the right track in trying to adapt the high-level ideas to what it is you love to do. I’ve used his book as one of my inspirations in making the switch from cubicle dweller to independent option trader. Still early days, but so far, so good! Best of luck, Amanda…

However, what I didn’t like was the business plan based around selling a product online. This turned my muse right off. In fact, it made my muse want to run.

So I was wondering if anyone’s tried to apply Ferriss’s business model to a service or a skill rather than manufacturing pills or a DVD. For example, has anyone tried out this business model with something like marketing skills, a massage business or even book and article editing.

Suggestions, anyone?

[...] you to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!Tim Ferriss, author of The 4-Hour Work Week [my review], has a new television show debuting on The History Channel tonight. “Trial by Fire” [...]

Now, I have to admit that I don’t have concrete proof yet that these ideas will be successful for me, but I think in the minimum it has opened my eyes to the idea that: 1. I don’t want to live a deferred life (In fact, I quit my job and moved to France!) 2. That there are ways to organize yourself and business models that I can learn that I believe will help me to not have to work 60 hours a week and still struggle to make a living. Maybe I won’t make 80,000 a month, but If I can make $5-10,000 a month doing what excites me and living life more on my terms, I will consider this a huge success.

Have the creativity to read this and apply his ideas to yourself. Even in his challenges to do something daring each week, his examples are more suited to a 20-30 something young guy, not a 40 something married woman, but I still found myself challenging myself in ways that made more sense to me.

The idea that part or all of everyone’s earnings belong to the government (or “society”) by default, and that anyone who arranges his affairs in such a way that the taxman steals less from him is somehow taking money from your pocket, is backward and repulsive, and has no place in a society of free individuals.

If you want to “invest in society”, whatever that means to you, give your own hard-earned money to a worthy cause voluntarily — and leave Tim alone to do the same, even if he thinks that means tango lessons. Don’t encourage governments to enslave and steal from others in order to support the causes that you think are important.

Now THERE’S a trustworthy guy…WTF??

Like many have said here, the book isn’t necessarily a good blueprint especially if actually find joy in hard work or hard study, and especially because the “Auto-Pilot” section falls pretty flat for those of those who don’t want to sell a bogus material product… but it gives tons of websites for the people who feel ready to exploit the world.

While reading, I couldn’t help but wonder if it was ideas like his that sucked America dry and led to our current economic turmoil…then again you could always turn around and make the argument, “what you do with your money is up to you. If you choose to invest in society, that’s up to you.”

I don’t know how I would feel if $80,000 worth of my money was funding some rich white kid’s tango lessons…but hey..it’s my fault for trusting in BrainQUICKEN.

Anybody tried that stuff? Does it really work?

Screw it. Get money.

Today’s tip on how to save the world: Stop Multi-Tasking!…

With a hat off to my friend Dave Pollard for using the name of his excellent blog ( How to Save the World…

[...] successful The 4-Hour Work Week: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich. When I reviewed the book last August, I wrote that Ferriss’ ideas were “like a kick in the head”. I meant [...]

[...] Timothy Ferriss’ The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich is a modern book similar to Terhorst’s. The author has a blog about experiments in lifestyle design, which is his euphemism for creative semi-retirement. Though I don’t agree with all that Ferriss has to say, he’s jam-packed with ideas. This is a good book for motivated young adults. [My review.] [...]

I have not read his book yet. Though I like especially two of the things mentioned already about Virtual Assistants and focusing on your “relative income”.

If you are assigned to do a specific task and you can do it in a good quality and in a short time span, then that is worth more than if you wasted more than the aloud time to produce no result at all. Productivity is worth more than being “busy”.

So if you are assigned to build a house and you have 60 days to do it and you can find someone who can do your entire task in 30 days (with good quality)for less than you get paid by your client or boss, then why should you do it yourself? Seems counterproductive in a way.

Tim definitely has an edge, but I think that might be what gets the message through to people. There really are alternatives to a situation you’re not happy with.

The fact that the title seems to have captured people’s curiosity to such a great extent suggests to me that people really aren’t happy where they’re at. If you’re curious, give it a try – there’s likely a reason for that curiosity, and the risk is low.

I think if you get one solid “keeper” piece of advice from a book, you’ve earned back the cover price many times. This one easily qualified.

[...] Book Review: The 4-Hour Workweek @ Get Rich Slowly [...]

Joe

[...] in Lifestyle Design — A couple of weeks ago, I reviewed The 4-Hour Workweek. Author Tim Ferriss has a fascinating blog devoted to lifestyle design, the art of creating the [...]

And by the way, your matra – “Get Rich Slowly” is awesome! We’ll pay tribute to your message on our site.

Pierre Cutler
Our 4-Hour Workweek

And by the way, your matra – “Get Rich Slowly” is awesome! We’ll pay tribute to you message on our site.

Pierre Cutler
Our 4-Hour Workweek

When you first start reading it, you’re skeptical, but once you get into it, you start thinking about things. Which is good. It slowly pulls you in.

You’ll always find new books that might wrap up things we already know in a different way, and that’s ok. Keeps everyone on their toes.

I’m only half way through right now, but I have to say that of all the books like this that I’ve read, this is BY FAR the best of the bunch. I read it with a pencil in hand and underline, underline, underline. I often find myself setting it down and just thinking for long periods of time about my life, the way I’ve approached it, and the way I approach money and my career.

Right now I’m in a situation where I’ve been contemplating going full-time freelance and maybe that’s why this book hits home so much for me. The concepts and the way he presents them have been nothing short of revolutionary to me–and I’m familiar with books like this.

Anyway, I guess to counter some of the above posts, I’d say, go out and get this book right now. Don’t wait for it to come to your library. I’ve found it more than worth every penny. I’m buying it for friends and having my whole family read it. I really like it that much.

That said, I don’t think the audiobook would be very good. Many of his paragraphs are chock-full of good, thought-provoking tid-bits–and I think listening to the book would lose a lot of the retainable value.

Whether or not Ferriss is dead on in his advice, he’s one hell of a writer.