Jun 17 2008
Addicted to Tim Ferriss (Four Hour Work Week Guy)
Tim Ferriss is the guy behind The Four Hour Work Week, a book that gives advice on streamlining your work and making time to do what you want with your life. That’s a total guess because I haven’t actually read the book yet. I really want to but I can’t find the damn thing anywhere and I’m not a fan of audio books. I’ll get to it one of these days. (Hey does anyone know where I can buy the book in PDF format?)
So his book is really popular and he’s become a pretty well known guy. He does lots of talks around the US, he has a popular blog, and it’s pretty obvious that he’s super smart. I’ll admit that there’s something very punchable about him (the photos of him standing on his head or kung-fu fighting on the beach are a bit much, and watching a video of him break dancing made me cringe) but I find him fascinating at the same time.
I don’t admire him for his book, his successful businesses, his blog, his speeches or any of that stuff. I admire the guy because of what he’s accomplished away from the typical world of work. He’s all about freeing up his time to do whatever he wants, and it’s how he chooses to fill his spare time that has me in awe.
He is the most driven and motivated person I’ve ever had the pleasure to not know. The guy is a world champion tango dancer, holds some kind of tango world record, is a martial arts expert, knows a bunch of languages, travels loads, is super fit, raised money for schools in Asia and who knows what else (actually his site is down at the moment so all of this is off the top of my head and I really don’t know what else). He makes time for himself but, more importantly, he uses that time for personal growth in a really diverse number of areas. I make time for myself and then use it to nap. That’s not good.
I feel like I’m in a fantastic position in my life at the moment but the pressure is sort of on not to squander my time away. I’m eager to learn new skills but I always seem to have the attitude of ‘later’ or ‘next year’. I would love to take a page out of Tim’s book (after I read it) and find a way to aim higher, spend my time more wisely and motivate myself to achieve some big things.
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I've been travelling since January 2008 living off earnings from the web. Follow me as I bum around Asia and beyond, getting up to mischief and working online as I go. 
“I make time for myself and then use it to nap.”
Sigh. Change only has to be sustained once…
-Chris
“(Hey does anyone know where I can buy the book in PDF format?)”
http://www.ebooksfinder.com/business/the-4-hour-work-week.html
Yes I agree the guy is impressive… a real go getter !
I read the book a few months ago and it’s motivating… now I think in the book he makes things appear a bit too easy / simple sometimes. Aware…
Seems like an awesome book. I have time management issues…=)
I read the lat chaper in Borders and found it pretty interesting, the advice about using your brain to do other things like learning a language was good. He portrayed the fact life can be pretty boring for the semi retired if you dont get out there and do other stuff.
I just found your blog and I have to say I really admire and envy you for what you have been able to do on the internet. I just started blogging about 3 months ago about muscle and fitness on Muscle Post, and I’m starting to see some steady traffic but nowhere near $1,000/month.
I am working towards the goal of being self-employed so that I can really enjoy life; traveling, being with family and friends, and doing the things I love. The internet is really the answer for this because you can work from anywhere and at any time, around your own schedule. This is SO appealing to me and it looks like you are well on your way to achieving my goal so congratulations. I’ll definitely be back to follow you on your journey.
Thanks for the link! Book finally bought. Will probably read it on the loooong train ride to Hong Kong nxt week.
I think the stuff about retirement being an end goal for most people is really interesting. The way he words it, it makes me wonder why anyone thinks of retirement after 45 years of working all out as a good thing.
Welcome aboard Tony. You might want to check out http://www.workingnomad.com/forum too for s group of like-minded people striving for the same things.
I have had tim’s book for a year now & reread it a couple of times, my favorite part has to be all that revolves around the 80-20 phenomena.
I’ve only been introduced to him recently but I do have his book on top of the “to be read”pile. I’m really interested in seeing what he has to say but I do like his website. As a nomad, I’m all about working as little as possible and making the most out of life!!!!
I agree that there’s something about the guy. Ive’ read the book and it’s very motivating and subscribe to his blog. I agree that it’s impressive how much he’s been able to accomplish.
I really enjoyed the book a lot, and his blog is interesting but his blog writing style annoys me sometimes (too many thoughts in one post and too long of one post). I like quicker-read blogs. But the book was great and very inspiring. However, if you aren’t willing to live in another country, it can be very hard to haver the kind of lifestyle that he puports.
I read his book a couple months ago and really like it. I haven’t really been to his website. The guy is very interesting and what he’s accomplished is inspiring!