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

By: Timothy Ferriss

Narrated by: Ray Porter

Length: 13 hrs and 1 min

Publisher's summary

Forget the old concepts of retirement and a deferred life plan. There is no need to wait and every reason not to, especially in unpredictable economic times. For living more and working less, this book is the blueprint.

This expanded edition includes dozens of practical tips and case studies from people who have doubled their income, overcome common sticking points, and reinvented themselves using the original book. Also included are templates for eliminating email and negotiating with bosses and clients, how to apply lifestyle principles in unpredictable economic times, and the latest tools, tricks, and shortcuts for living like a diplomat or millionaire without being either.

©2007 2009 by Tim Ferriss (P)2009 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. This will be huge." (Jack Canfield)

Not For Christians

This guy is a potty mouth. I couldnt listen to it all the way through. He has some decent thoughts and inspiring stories, but I really wonder if he ever does get around to telling people how to have a 4 hour workweek. He talked about the 80/20 principle, but I could have learned about that by buying 80/20.
It's hard to believe this guys language is so trashy.
Very dissappointed.

Not an easy listen

Too many lists being read do not allow for easy listening. You wish he would hurry up to the meat of the matter. This book seems best for people who are in corporate America.

Tough to listen to since there are many recommendations for external resources

I'd recommend actually buying the physical book for this reason. It will be easier to follow.

Terrible book - Go listen to Think and Grow Rich

I can't begin to tell you how terrible this book is, I suggest just reading the negative reviews on Amazon because they are true. I figured that the high ratings meant it couldn't be so bad, but it is. I think the rating in this book is rigged.
A third of this book is him boasting about his sales of this book and how it got into the NYT's best seller list.
A third is "believe in yourself".
A third is actual advice but nothing actually eye opening. Example: We all know that our money when going to an island country can be worth a lot more.

omg

OMG, I can't believe this book. I love every word of it. Now all I have to do is make it happen.

This is a starting point, not a roadmap

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

It helped me realize that in my day job, myself and my direct supervisor are spending way too much time on the minutia that doesn't affect or impact anything. It's just a timesuck. The anecdote about two employees who are paid the same salary for the same job and one spends his time running around the office delivering things and doing extra small things that aren't impactful but works 60 hours and the other focuses just on what matters and only works 40. Which one is the smarter, harder working employee? That was me. I'm learning to say no to things that don't matter, prioritize what does and convincing my boss to delegate things like transcribing an interview - she's a VP and I'm middle-management - why the eff should we be spending our time transcribing an interview when we can outsource it for .99 cents/minute?!

What three words best describe Ray Porter’s voice?

monotonous at times. easy to lose focus on the words he's saying, but also oddly soothing at times.

Any additional comments?

Some of the reviews of this book are really naive in my opinion. Here's the thing - Ferriss even disclaims in the beginning - this isn't for everyone, not every one of these scenarios will work for everyone. pick and choose what applies to you. Why are some people getting their panties in a wad because he outsourced and automated to an extreme you can't? This isn't a step-by-step roadmap for everyone. But I guarantee there are at least 5 ideas or suggestions that anyone can apply to either their personal or professional lives.

Ferriss describing how he outsourced and automated so much of his business so he could work less, smarter not harder, inspired me to rethink the side business I'm starting. I took a step back and researched which online tools/programs I was going to use and evaluated their integrations to reduce the amount of manual entry or tedious admin activities I would need to do to a bare minimum. Sure, it'll cost me about $75 extra dollars a month, but that's what I charge an hour. So an extra $75 in business expenses that I can earn back in 1 hour of client work, but that will save me probably 8-10 hours of work a month. That's a NO BRAINER.

The way Ferriss described his learning curve on outsourcing research and admin work to overseas VAs was a lightbulb moment for me. I'm working on a huge product and really wanted to outsource some of the research but wasn't sure I would be able to because I need such particular information in such a particular way. I will definitely be re-listening to that section of the book multiple times. It made me realize that I CAN outsource most of the work actually, I just need to change how I assign the work and give it in small pieces. I've already started finding a VA on UpWork!

lazy

I became very bored after the third or fourth chapter. Definitely one of those books I couldn't wait to be through with.

don't wait to retire

What do you want? Travel? More family time? Fun and fulfilling work? All the above?
Why wait until 65 when you'll have aches and pains, the kids will be grown and gone, and you'll be ground down by having spent 40 years doing something you didn't love.

This book explains how to have it all now while you can still enjoy it. Listen with an open mind and you too can achieve your dreams. I know a bunch of people who have done this and they've used many of the techniques outlined in this book. The ideas work. There are a million ways to make money and working for someone else, according to their rules, is only one of them. The internet is changing the world, figure out how to use it to your advantage.

Changed the life of this small business owner

Outstanding. Have listened to it four times over the past year. Incredibly inspiring for any entrepreneur. Can't recommend it enough.

I liked it a lot.

Very enjoyable and brings up a lot of points to ponder and explore.