4 Hour Work Week Review With Summary

4 Hour Work Week Review

Working a four-hour workweek, making millions, and living like a full-time entrepreneur are becoming trends. The idea that you can input very little work and still produce massive results appeals to most people. We’re transitioning from the job economy to the skill or gig economy. The difference is pretty simple. The job economy is an economy where a degree is fundamental to success. Life plans are going to school, getting a degree, finding a job, maybe getting promotions, and retiring eventually.

Most workers can work remotely in the gig economy, and most companies hire freelancers based on their experience and not their degrees in the gig economy. Most work can be completely outsourced to other companies or even to freelancers. Businesses do not need to pay rent for an office.

Workers don’t have to clock in and out. They’re free to work whenever they want, as long as they deliver on time. Books like The 4-Hour Work Week seem more and more realistic with this transition. The book was written by Timothy Ferriss and published in 2007.

4 Hour Work Week Book Summary

The book predicted the advent of the gig economy over the job economy. The transition started when Ferris was writing the book, but it wasn’t even near what it looks like today. So we can call it revolutionary. The book’s premise is that anyone can escape the nine-to-five rat race, develop a self-sustaining business, and require minimal management.

  • The business model should also allow you to work anywhere and manage everything through your laptop and the Internet. But when it comes to the four-hour workweek, it isn’t all about the money.

Ferriss makes clear the difference between the rich and the fake rich. Some of the rich are less free than the middle class. They work so much that they don’t have time to do other things. Someone who works 80 hours a week and makes 100000 dollars is still not as free as someone that makes forty thousand dollars a year but only works twenty-five hours a week. See how Ferris goes about this? It’s about making the maximum amount of money with minimum effort.

If you’re looking for financial freedom, you don’t need as much money as you think. I would like you to do the following exercise. I found this in a book called Few Money by Dan Laucke. Dan is a Canadian Chinese entrepreneur with millions of followers, and the book is mainly on mindset. The exercise is the following.

After you decide what your ideal life would look like, you have to list all the yearly expenses you would face if you lived that life. Remember not to add anything that brings real value or joy into life. For example, you don’t need a car or a costly mansion if you travel all the time.

  • Keep it realistic, but don’t hold back any aspirations of yours. This includes private chefs, coaches, expensive clothes, and so on. Look everything up and see the total expenses for one year if you live that lifestyle.

The odds are you don’t even need a million dollars per year to support that life. If so, you should probably check that your list contains realistic yet ambitious outcomes. Some people’s lists will pass the ten million dollar mark, but even five hundred thousand dollars a year is enough for most people.

The author exposes the difference between defers and the new rich defers to save money for retirement. The key differences lay in their mindset, and changing the mindset often results in different outcomes in life. A member of the New Rich would say, I want others to work for me. Working for yourself is fine if you want to spend most of your time working. But if you’re going to achieve freedom and success without dedicating your time to your business, you must change your mindset.

Many people genuinely believe they will be happier if they buy certain things. Have you ever heard someone say something like this? When I get that car, I will be satisfied. While having nice things is positive, you must understand that toys will please you for a limited time. Material things are great, but they won’t provide long-term happiness. Instead, you should look for experiences, stop buying material things, and start buying adventures with your money. Aspire to do beautiful things, not to own expensive objects.

Another important distinction is that the new rich always have goals with their money. They don’t want more money for the sake of it. They have well-defined plans with the cash that they want to make. It is essential for a variety of reasons. It helps you eliminate distractions and buy instinctively in the commercial world. Everything will appear like an opportunity.

Buy this now. Otherwise, the sale will be over, and you’ll pay more. Save X amount of dollars on this object and so on. These distractions and marketing strategies will make you buy things that make you happy. You’ll also remove the social pressure of owning certain things. Just the fact that you want to be a member of the New Rich is highly controversial.

Book Specification

The “4 Hour Workweek” is the best self-improvement book and the best seller in the career guides category on Amazon. This book is about professional life that helps you escape 9-5 jobs and create a passive income or freelancing life.

4 Hour Work Week

Author: Timothy Ferriss
Average Review: (3.9 out of 5, on Goodreads)
Category: Business & Money, Motivation, Self-Improvement, Self-actualization
Position 1, in Money Management & Budgeting, Hunting & Career Guides
Narrator: Ray Porter (Narrator)
Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc.

4 Hour Work Week Review

There are a lot of misconceptions about this book, and most people say it’s a scam. Well, is it? Let’s find out the book emphasizes that you don’t have to be rich to join the new rich. The new rich work whenever they want from anywhere worldwide and make much money with the least effort possible.

It sounds a bit like a fantasy, but achieving it is possible. Why? Because many people are already living the 4-hour workweek lifestyle. If someone else is doing it, then it’s possible!

The book is categorized into 4 main categories or sections: Definition, Elimination, Automation, and Liberation.

Chapter: Definition (Change the rule)

Creating a product is simple! It doesn’t even have to be an actual product. The best-trending products these days are information-based. You sell information that’s already out there. The book says you could start an online business today. Choose a profitable niche, commit to it, and you’ll be able to quit your job in 1 year. How is this even possible?

This is the part where the book seems deceptive to most people! You’re not taught how to build an online business when you attend school. They waste a decade of your life teaching you how to become a good boy, follow the rules, and get good grades to become a doctor or a lawyer.

Finally, after 20 years of studying, you get your Ph.D., and you get to be free and work 10 hours a day until you 60. The main idea here is that it’s all about the experience, and starting an online business would take more than one year. Most people reject themselves before even trying. There is not enough time when the average person comes home from their 9-5 job. They spend the night in front of the TV and make excuses.

  • Creating an information-based product could be a website or a blog. It isn’t all about youtube. Once you generate passive income, you must implement outsourcing and elimination to transform your working process into a 4-Hour workweek.

Chapter: Elimination (Time Management)

The next one is elimination which follows the 80-20 principle. It states that 80 percent of output will result from 20 percent of input. Instead of filling all your time with work that will produce very few positive outcomes, you must identify what makes positive outcomes and then exclusively work on that. It means that doing less is doing more. Not only will you reduce wasted time, but the time you dedicate to tasks that produce positive results will be even more productive.

When your team creates your content, you don’t waste more time distributing and marketing. You can go on a website called “Ifttt,” which automatically updates all your social media platforms/accounts. With elimination, you get 80% of the value 20% of the time. You’ll get to work less than 4 hours a week.

Feris talks about how time management for the ‘New Rich’ is very different from what most people believe time management is. He sees it as a way to fill all the seconds of your life with work. The easy time management strategy that Ferriss advises is the following. Identify what produces positive outcomes for you.

  • Schedule those tasks with deadlines. That’s it. Ferriss says that you should stop consuming a large amount of unhealthy information or information that isn’t useful to maximize your productivity when working.

Chapter: Automation (Income Autopilot)

Let’s say you own an educational Youtube channel. You must gather information for each video and write a script about a specific topic. It takes about two days. If your channel is based on animation, that will take about 15 hours. Now for less than 5% of your total income, you go on a freelance website (Fiverr or Upwork), and you will find people who will gladly do the job.

Hire a scriptwriter and an animator. You can even hire a voice-over artist to do the voice-overs for you. Make these guys work together. Your channel will be running on autopilot. The same thing is for Websites. Hire a scriptwriter to post an article every other day on your blog, and you’re good to go. So this is outsourcing. Before launching any product, you must micro-test with many advertisements to see the actual demand.

  • Identify a business model that will give you freedom.
  • Find a market that you understand.
  • Analyze product ideas and choose a few niches to advertise your products.

Entrepreneurs find a need in the marketplace and create a product that satisfies that need. They also give jobs. If you’re going for the four-hour workweek, you must delegate 99 percent of the operations. You’ll help freelancers make money, achieve credibility in the marketplace, and more.

Feris talks about this in the book, saying that hiring a virtual assistant is the best way to get in the habit of delegating. Initially, this will help you get used to outsourcing tasks, communicating remotely, and giving orders to people.

Chapter: Liberation (Quit Job)

The purpose is to create mini-retirements throughout your life instead of waiting 60 years to retire. It will free up more time to do what you want to do in life.

People negatively associate with rich people, and the worst association is with people who want massive results with minimum effort. When you have money, your peers will pressure you to acquire certain liabilities. You should buy a car, buy a house, and so on. The negative association is wrong. Conventional wisdom does not agree that working less and making more than most people is morally acceptable.

They despise whoever has the ambition of working less. But here’s the reality. Why would this be morally wrong if you put your own money into a business and do it ethically and legally? You generate immense results for hundreds of people with your products at the end of the day.

Chapter: An E-Mail You Need to Read Restricted Reading

We mistake activity for productivity and work for work’s sake. It ultimately distracts us from doing what’s most essential and complex. By embracing two universal laws of productivity, we can learn to stop doing work for work’s sake.

  • The two universal laws of productivity are Pareto’s Law and Parkinson’s Law. Pareto’s Law states that most results come from a select few efforts. Parkinson’s Law states that work expands or contracts according to the allotted time.

Tim discovered the first loss of productivity in Pareto’s while managing a sports nutrition company in 2004. He worked more than 12 hours a day, seven days a week, on the verge of an anxiety attack. He stopped reaching out to 95 percent of his low-producing clients and fired the two percent responsible for most angry e-mails and late-night phone calls.

  • Then Tim shortened his work week and focused on building relationships with the top three percent producers and finding new clients that matched those top three percent characteristics.

Tim discovered the power of the second low-productivity Parkinson’s Law for the first time in over two years. He discovered that the time pressure forced him to focus on execution and doing the bare essentials, resulting in a better product without the bloat. Tim says, If I give you a week to complete the same task, it’s six days of making a mountain out of a molehill.

  • When we combine the two laws of productivity, we are left with the following realization. Most things don’t matter, and what matters most needs less time to complete than we think.

10 Main Points/Concepts From 4-Hour Work Week Book

The 4-Hour Work Week book teaches readers how to achieve financial freedom and escape the traditional 9-5 work routine. Here are 10 main points from the book:

Define your goals: Start by clarifying your short-term and long-term goals, and determine what you want to achieve in life.

Pareto principle (80/20 rule): Focus on the 20% of tasks that generate 80% of your desired results, and eliminate or outsource the rest.

Time management: Apply Parkinson’s Law, which states that work expands to fill the time available for completion. Set short deadlines to work more efficiently.

D.E.A.L. acronym: Divide your journey into four steps – Define, Eliminate, Automate, and Liberate.

To maximize productivity, eliminate non-essential tasks, meetings, and distractions.

Automate income: Create passive income streams, such as online businesses or investments, that generate revenue with minimal ongoing effort.

Outsource tasks: Delegate tasks to virtual assistants or freelancers to free up your time and focus on essential tasks.

Embrace mini-retirements: Take breaks or “mini-retirements” throughout your life rather than waiting for a traditional retirement.

Become a “deal-maker”: Develop negotiation skills to secure better deals and opportunities in business and personal life.

Geoarbitrage: Leverage differences in currency and cost of living by living in cheaper locations or outsourcing work to lower-cost countries.

Is The 4 Hour Work Week Worth Reading?

Whether the 4-Hour Work Week is worth reading depends on your interests and goals. The book has influenced many people, offering alternative perspectives on work, time management, and lifestyle design. Here are some reasons why you might find it worth reading:

Inspiring ideas: The book presents a unique approach to work-life balance, encouraging readers to question traditional work structures and pursue financial freedom.

Practical advice: The book provides actionable tips on time management, outsourcing, automation, and goal setting, which can be helpful in both professional and personal contexts.

Entrepreneurial mindset: If you’re interested in starting your own business or pursuing a non-traditional career path, the author offers valuable insights on creating passive income streams and leveraging resources effectively.

Lifestyle design: The book encourages you to think about what you truly want in life and guides how to achieve your ideal lifestyle through unconventional means.

However, some critics argue that the book’s ideas may not be feasible or sustainable for everyone, particularly those in certain professions or life situations. Additionally, the book was first published in 2007, so some of its content might be outdated or less relevant today. Nonetheless, the 4-Hour Work Week can be an inspiring and thought-provoking read for those interested in redefining their approach to work and life.

4-Hour Work Week Business Ideas

The 4-Hour Work Week focuses on creating automated income streams and leveraging resources to minimize the time spent on work. Here are some business ideas inspired by the concepts in the book:

E-commerce store: Create an online store selling niche products, using dropshipping or a fulfillment service to handle inventory and shipping.

Affiliate marketing: Build a content-rich website or blog in a specific niche and earn revenue through affiliate marketing partnerships with relevant companies.

Digital products: Create and sell digital products, such as ebooks, online courses, or software, which require minimal maintenance and can be sold repeatedly without additional effort.

Print-on-demand: Start a business selling custom-designed clothing, accessories, or home goods using a platform like Printful, which handles the printing and shipping.

Subscription box service: Curate and sell subscription boxes in a niche market, using a fulfillment service to handle the logistics.

Niche consulting or coaching: Offer specialized consulting or coaching services in a field where you have the expertise, and use digital tools to automate appointment scheduling and billing.

Stock trading or investing: Develop a strategy for stock trading or investing that generates passive income, using robo-advisors or other automated tools to minimize the time spent on research and decision-making.

App or software development: Develop an app or software solution that addresses a specific problem or market need, and earn revenue through sales or subscription fees.

Social media influencer or content creator: Build a following on social media platforms or create content on platforms like YouTube, and monetize your audience through sponsorships, affiliate marketing, or selling your products.

Licensing intellectual property: Create intellectual property, such as a unique product design, technology, or content, and license it to other businesses for royalties.

Note: The key to a successful 4-hour Work Week business is to automate, outsource, or delegate tasks as much as possible and focus on the most impactful activities that generate revenue.

Personal Review

This book is a revolutionary insight into how we see working lives. It is not solely for business owners but provides much value for anyone wanting to increase productivity, both inside and outside work.

This book isn’t about working fewer hours, retiring early, or sitting around and having tons of time to be lazy. It’s about being more efficient and effective to spend more time doing the things that bring joy and fulfillment—this ability to choose and have options that are the real power.

  • The key is to figure out which levers you can pull to design the proper lifestyle and a unique goal. For example, maybe you like your job but wish you had more flexibility.

What I appreciated about this book is that it applies to everybody. Tim isn’t saying you must quit your job and become a surf instructor in Bali to be fulfilled. He challenges you to look closely at your life and stop acting like you have so little control over it.

He undermines the biggest excuse people usually have for not moving toward their goals by showing us how to eliminate, outsource, or automate tasks. This quote is the most powerful and impactful lesson for me in this book.

“A person’s success in life can usually be measured by the number of uncomfortable conversations that he or she is willing to have.”

Personal rating: 4.7/5

This book’s excellent if you’re looking for a few tips to help make you more productive and less distracted. Some final thoughts here: achieving the 4-hour workweek is possible. People around you are doing the same thing, which adds some credibility. The only advantage that they have over you is experience.


Learn more: 10 Tips From 4-Hour Work Week


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Pauline Jackson

I like to talk about popular books. My book review inspires you to read and save time. Also, I summarize the book and give you the best lessons or ideas that can change your life. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

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