What is the review of the book: “4-Hour Work Week”?

4HWW fits its title very well. Even after thirteen years of publishing, the book is still valuable. Tim Ferriss describes a beautiful way to escape the typical nine to five office life and manage time by outsourcing small tasks. The book has a lot of inspirational stories, and even it covers Tim’s own life story, which is the most interesting part. He wanted to avoid the lifestyle of over-worked employees who wait until their retirement to enjoy life, and you see not just how he did it, but the incredible life he’s leading since then. Let’s discuss more.

The content of the book is well-designed and has several sections. Within each, the book covers an important aspect: D-E-A-L, Definition, Elimination, Automation, and Liberation. Basically, this concept relates to working far less for more money, with DEAL as the steps to doing so.

One of the early concepts the book discusses is the Pareto principle, also known as the 80-20 rule. Basically, most people only get results from 20 percent of what they’re doing. So if someone has an office job, they only really need to be there for about 20 percent of the workday, and the rest is busywork and just being in the office out of protocol. I think anyone could agree that we waste way too much time at work. But the Pareto principle goes beyond avoiding waste and into capitalizing on that 20 percent. If 20 percent of your daily activities as an entrepreneur are what actually make you a profit, you need to redesign your lifestyle so you are spending ALL your work time on that 20 percent, and eliminating or outsourcing all the rest.

For critiques, I’d say you can feel the book’s length at times. It’s so comprehensive that the parts that are not totally relevant to you, while valuable anyway, are a bit of a chore. It kind of shifts awkwardly at times from inspirational and top-level to in-the-weeds technical stuff. But in those technical areas, it’s full of useful links, most of which still work, making it a good choice for an ebook over a traditional print copy.

The best way to read and gain from it is to implement its teachings as you proceed. The tone of the book is enjoyable, and the information is suitable for entrepreneurs and employees alike.

The book was a life-changer for me. Of course, it has been and continues to be a life-changer for many people. Anyone could benefit from it, provided you read it seriously, have an entrepreneurial mindset, and implement the end-of-chapter practice instructions as you proceed. It is my first recommendation to anyone who has an interest in entrepreneurship. The book discusses a smart way to attain financial freedom without being too technical or too vague.

I have discussed its review on my website, as well. If you are interested, you can visit this link to read that. But in short, 4HWW is a must-read.

Hope that helps!

Thanks,

Cleo