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A review by lucarighetti
The 4-Hour Work Week: Escape the 9-5, Live Anywhere and Join the New Rich by Timothy Ferriss
4.0
This book is annoyingly brilliant. There are three things to keep in mind before reading:
(1) Tim Ferris is not a nice person (his douchey writing style is testament to that) and a lot of his advice will make you less of a nice person too, especially wrt work relationships;
(2) A lot of his tips are limited and bad. They are intended for people with privilege and based on exploiting others, most obvious being the chapter on virtual assistants;
(3) Tim Ferris admits his career is based on personal branding, and this book is very much an attempt to sell himself and this "lifestyle". There is a huge difference between giving advice that is "good" advice and advice that "sells".
Really think about if you want what Tim Ferris is selling. I am sure some people but I hope most people don't. Do I want to be New Rich or do I actually get some fulfilment from having meaningful relationships with co-workers? Do I want to "become a top expert in 4 weeks" where I bullsh*t and only care about the news outlets that interview me or do I actually want to engage with topics and give people good advice?
I think my fundamental problem is that Tim Ferris relies on the assumption that there is a complete separation between work and happiness. His mantra is that work is inherently sh*t and thus something to be ruthlessly optimized to make time for the good life. But it's not that easy. If you are an a**hole in the office, that will taint your personal relationships too. If you lie and cheat in your career, this can backfire and ruin your life. If you set up your own company with the intention of having a "4-Hour Work Week", remember that even Tim Ferris only achieved this after YEARS of hard work and unhappiness (and many people never see that pay-off).
With all that said, why on earth the four stars then?
Many of the ideas are really good, especially compared to many other productivity books that I often find say very little. Set up your business to be happy not "successful", generate passive income, and (yes sometimes) use social discomfort to your advantage. Even if I don't end up agreeing with all of Tim Ferris's arguments, they are certainly interesting. Lastly, the book is very well written: It is readable (douchey but readable), information-dense, and contains excellent lists of resources.
I find myself unsure if to give this book one or five stars, so a 'fair' judgement might be three. But this book is anything from 'average' and thus I'll tip the weights in its favour for being provoking.
(1) Tim Ferris is not a nice person (his douchey writing style is testament to that) and a lot of his advice will make you less of a nice person too, especially wrt work relationships;
(2) A lot of his tips are limited and bad. They are intended for people with privilege and based on exploiting others, most obvious being the chapter on virtual assistants;
(3) Tim Ferris admits his career is based on personal branding, and this book is very much an attempt to sell himself and this "lifestyle". There is a huge difference between giving advice that is "good" advice and advice that "sells".
Really think about if you want what Tim Ferris is selling. I am sure some people but I hope most people don't. Do I want to be New Rich or do I actually get some fulfilment from having meaningful relationships with co-workers? Do I want to "become a top expert in 4 weeks" where I bullsh*t and only care about the news outlets that interview me or do I actually want to engage with topics and give people good advice?
I think my fundamental problem is that Tim Ferris relies on the assumption that there is a complete separation between work and happiness. His mantra is that work is inherently sh*t and thus something to be ruthlessly optimized to make time for the good life. But it's not that easy. If you are an a**hole in the office, that will taint your personal relationships too. If you lie and cheat in your career, this can backfire and ruin your life. If you set up your own company with the intention of having a "4-Hour Work Week", remember that even Tim Ferris only achieved this after YEARS of hard work and unhappiness (and many people never see that pay-off).
With all that said, why on earth the four stars then?
Many of the ideas are really good, especially compared to many other productivity books that I often find say very little. Set up your business to be happy not "successful", generate passive income, and (yes sometimes) use social discomfort to your advantage. Even if I don't end up agreeing with all of Tim Ferris's arguments, they are certainly interesting. Lastly, the book is very well written: It is readable (douchey but readable), information-dense, and contains excellent lists of resources.
I find myself unsure if to give this book one or five stars, so a 'fair' judgement might be three. But this book is anything from 'average' and thus I'll tip the weights in its favour for being provoking.