The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich

By: Timothy Ferriss

Narrated by: Ray Porter

Length: 8 hrs and 19 mins

Publisher's summary

Tim Ferriss is an extraordinary young man on a mission. The 28-year-old serial vagabond and successful entrepreneur has been teaching a wildly popular course at Princeton University for the past four years: a how-to and why-to guide to throwing out the old methods for success (balancing life and work, retiring well, having a great nest egg) and replacing them with an entirely new way of living.

The 4 Hour Work Week explains what a lifestyle entrepreneur is and why you should want to become one. It teaches you how to "kill" your job and design a life, the 80/20 rule and how it increases productivity, how to replace your dreams with goals, and more. Listeners can lead a rich life by working only four hours a week, freeing up the rest of their time to spend it living the lives they want.

©2007 Timothy Ferriss (P)2007 Blackstone Audio Inc.

Critic reviews

"It's about time this book was written. It is a long-overdue manifesto for the mobile lifestyle, and Tim Ferriss is the ideal ambassador." (Jack Canfield)
"Thanks to Tim Ferriss, I have more time in my life to travel, spend time with family, and write book blurbs. This is a dazzling and highly useful work." (A.J. Jacobs, Editor-at-Large, Esquire)

Best investment ever

What did you love best about The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich?

Excellent introduction to passive income for a 50 something who is behind the times on the Internet.

Who was your favorite character and why?

No characters in this book.

Have you listened to any of Ray Porter’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No, but the narrator was the only part that was not great. Too robotic.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

It changed my life.

I'm breathless

I picked the print version of this book back when it was first released. I only read the first couple of chapters and set it aside thinking there was no way I could make that happen. This time, I downloaded the audio and turned it on at the beginning of a weekend road trip I was taking alone to clear my head. I wish I had read this book cover to cover years ago! I've already ordered the new updated and expanded edition and have committed to making changes effective immediately. It's still only Saturday of my retreat and my mind is in fire with ideas and possibilities. I've enjoyed countless books and seminars but for me, this book finally shows me the way to start opening doors and living a suppressed passion.
If I sound emotional, it's because I am. At 55 years old, I'm about to start over with the absolute belief that "I" can do this and start following a path I've long dreamed of. Step aside Walter Mitty.

Get rich or die trying

Only negative is the reading of entire web addresses. That was stupid. Everything else good!

New Rich Hack

simply and just straight forward. Common sense Reminder it's not only possible but it's guaranteed if you do things a certain way.

A very rare title indeed

The Internet and Audible are both rife with comments on this book, so I'll focus on just two things.

First, this audio edition of the book is top notch. The narrator clearly takes the overall "tone" of the written work (direct, hard hitting, no nonsense, get it done) and translates it well, providing a listening experience that is both entertaining and educational. I downloaded the audio version, and listened twice before purchasing the written copy. I would do it all over again due to the narration quality. My only slight quibble -- which has nothing to do with the narration quality -- was that it was a bit distracting reading all of the URL's out loud. Mr. Ferriss provides a *lot* of URL's and information in his book and a citation to the links might have been a bit better.

Second, a general comment on the book itself. You need to be aware of two things. First, Mr. Ferriss really means it when he provides the warning "Only read this if you want to quit your job." Most any negative or partially negative reviews could be addressed by the reviewer simply having read that statement and understanding its meaning. Second, if you have any background at all in Internet-based business, I can recommend skipping forward to "Finding the Muse" chapters, then moving backward or forward in the book as needed. The information Mr. Ferriss provides on selecting / creating / testing products alone is well, WELL worth the modest price of this book.

One other thing - don't bother with this book if you're not really serious about improving your life and business. Unlike all the theory-ridden tomes out there, this book is all about practical, actionable advice.

Enjoy!

Re-thinking life

I was so put off by this punk's pompousness in the first couple of chapters that I almost stopped listening. Glad I stuck with it. Not only did I get some valuable information, but I ended up going through a useful conversion of thought... from my standard, boring list of goals to "What Are Some Things That I Want to Do?" and "What Are Some Things I Want to Learn?", etc. Interesting how so many things that have been on my list of goals just don't show up in my responses to value-inspired questions!

Best Business Book Ever Written

This book will anger the stable 40-Hour Work Week personality that enjoys feeling the "stability" of "good benefits" (the kind the rest of us purchase for a lot less than the cost of selling our souls to a corporation that may very well lay us off in a year or two. This book describes how the above mentioned stability, in today's world, can lead directly to poverty. Tim Ferriss in direct style gives hundreds of resources to prove his points while giving a constant flow of real examples of how real people have achieved a lifetime of "short retirements" living dreams. Your dream may be world travel, he shows exactly how to keep your "real job", travel abroad a lot, all while living a luxury lifestyle at a fraction of the cost of living where you do right now in the U S. He also explains in incredible detail the mechanics of outsourcing ones life - not just business things like the building of websites and producing research at $2 an hour overseas (which saves you time and money), but outsourcing other parts of your life like arguing with your cell phone provider about the overcharges on your bill. The advice has made businesses like ours successful, and there has never been such an honest business book that gives the most complete picture of how one can reach dreams by working smarter, not feeling guilty about not doing the "W4W" - work for work's sake which is the "security" that most feel today in the workplace. Those of us that are willing to follow the rules and advice listed neatly in the book cannot help but succeed, and in the process, we just might build quite a bit of wealth. Again, may I warn the non-creative person, this book is not for you. If you think you may have ADD, however, this is your dream book.

A bit of a let down

I expected a bit more detail on how to do this, I know we have all at some point or another dreamed of doing this. Really the auther is not saying anything we haven't all though of. I just need more direction so I can live the dream and still retire some day :)

WOW WOW and WOW

This is the best business / entrepreneur book I have read. If you are a big picture thinker this book is for you. I have now listened to it 6 times and have implemented so many things into my personal are professional life. If you are frustrated in your life / job / business this will be a great resource for you. This book has completely changed the way I look at my business and bottom line. If you think there is more to life then working 24/7 there is.. and this book will give you some guides for getting there.

Not a good book for Audible

What made the experience of listening to The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich the most enjoyable?

This is obviously a best seller and full of original ideas and a great read...BUT get the hard copy! It's FULL of web links that go right out the window when the narrator reads, "H,T, T, P,S, Colon, Forward Slash, Forward Slash, W,W,W. Etc...c C, O, M.

What was the most compelling aspect of this narrative?

very interesting concepts here.

Would you listen to another book narrated by Ray Porter?

Yes

What did you learn from The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich that you would use in your daily life?

I learned to tell people NO - I don't have time for your petty problems!

Any additional comments?

Buy the hard copy if you want to use the internet references that are scattered throughout the book.