The 4-Hour Work Week

The 4-Hour Work Week is a book that provides valuable lessons for people who want to stop living only for work.

In this way, readers find different alternatives to escape the routine, while at the same time having a successful life, both professionally and personally.

Although this may seem impossible, Timothy Ferriss, the author of the book, tells us that you don’t have to spend every hour of your week at work and still be rich.

But in order for this to become a reality in your life, you must first understand the following:

Anyone who wants to start from scratch with no capital, no knowledge and no experience, with the intention of working only 4 hours a week, will certainly fail.

Therefore, you are on the right track because you are seeking knowledge by reading this content.

Here, we’ll cover the main ideas for you to apply in your life, resulting in rest while someone else works for you.

Who is Timothy Ferriss?

Tim Ferriss is an American writer, entrepreneur, angel investor and speaker.

Some of his investments include companies such as Duolingo, Facebook and Twitter.

It’s also worth mentioning some of the most notable companies on the planet that have invited the author to speak:

Microsoft, CIA, Facebook, Nike, Harvard Business School, MIT and Google.

The 4-Hour Work Week was the first book released by the author in 2007 and reached number 1 on the New York Times bestseller list.

In addition, the book reached number 1 on the Wall Street Journal bestseller list.

Since 2007, the book has been on the bestseller list for 7 consecutive years.

It’s worth noting that the author has released two other books which have also been record sellers.

In his book, Ferriss deals with great teachings that guarantee more time, so that you can invest your time in the things you love.

Applying these teachings, he speaks five languages, surfs, has been a kickboxing champion and was the first American in history to win a Guinness World Record in tango.

When you read that, you think:

Impossible! How does he have time to do all this?

The secret is revealed in the book The 4-Hour Work Week, and we’ll give you some of the best information below.

A bit of Tim’s story

But first it’s interesting to know a little about Ferriss’ story.

Unfortunately, when we meet a person who is totally successful in their professional and personal life, we think that they were born very rich and just devoted more time to themselves.

Timothy Ferriss was an entrepreneur who worked more than 90 hours a week.

In other words, he had no time to devote to his personal life, since work consumed practically all his hours.

Tired of this reality, the author decided that he wouldn’t wait until retirement to start living his life, so he adopted the 80/20 principle.

An interesting phrase that can clarify this principle is the following: 

Being busy is not synonymous with being productive. Focus on being productive rather than being busy.

So go on and find out more about the book, which has sold over 1.5 million copies worldwide.

The 4-Hour Work Week – Who is richer?

Let’s say you know two people.

The first receives US$10,000 a month and the second US$15,000.

Who do you think is richer?

You probably thought: The second person is richer because they earn more.

However, if I add some more information, your answer will change.

The person earning US$10,000 only works 20 hours a week, while the person earning US$15,000 works 40 hours.

Now, surely you would say that the first person is richer, even though they earn less because they work less time.

If we continue with our example, we see that working time is not the only thing that determines wealth, the environment in which a person lives also has an influence.

For example, let’s consider that the first person lives in a country town and spends only $70 to take the family out to dinner.

Secondly, the other person, who receives US$10,000, lives in a big city and spends US$150 to provide the same kind of care for his family.

Here, we continue to understand that the first person is richer because not only does he work less, but he also enjoys good activities and pays less.

We often think that it’s ideal to move to the big cities in order to earn more.

However, we must bear in mind that the salary may be higher, but the working hours and costs are also higher.

In this sense, you have to pay a higher rent and deal with time-consuming transportation, as well as paying a high price for leisure.

This means that the money earned is quickly passed on to other hands, which is certainly not wealth.

Sell in the big cities and spend in the countryside

The solution presented in The 4 Hour Work Week is that we should learn to sell in the big cities and spend in the countryside.

When Ferriss got tired of working 90 hours a week, he automated his company so that he could have free time to do whatever he wanted.

The author was able to create a highly profitable business in which he could work from anywhere in the world, using little of his time.

After many attempts, he created a company that manufactured food supplements, but which had major administrative problems.

He needed to manage deliveries, returns and other problems, so he started working with outsourcing.

The company that started producing the food supplements was an outsourcer, the delivery was handled by another company and the call center was run by a company in India.

At the time, his income was US$40,000, but he lived as if he earned much more.

This was possible because the author earned in dollars, paid in rupees (which are devalued when compared to the dollar).

At the time, Ferriss lived in Argentina and paid for everything in Argentine peso.

To give you an idea, 1 Argentine peso today is equivalent to 0.0012 US dollars.

As well as outsourcing, the author also used the internet intelligently to build a successful company.