Will the "Four-hour workweek" destroy any lives?

[NOTE: Image is not of book -- it's Cosmopolitan ranking it as 'Sexy'... Good stuff...]

Tim Ferris wrote a book last year called "The four-hour workweek". In it, he explains how you can work less, have more time to pursue your interests, and get more done.  Oh, and save 80% on your air fare.

I figured I'd read it -- god knows I need to save 80% on airfare.  I figured the rest of it was just icing. [SPOILER: The key to saving 80% on your airfare...  Be willing to fly standby... /sigh  Never mind.  I'm like the idiot that bought the x-ray vision glasses...]

So, anyhow, Tim does have a lot of good stuff to say but I can't help but think this book will seriously screw some people up. First -- Tim is brilliant and can get away with being an ass because people will overlook his social disgraces because, well frankly, they are farming his time for their own value.  Second, Tim is a 'worker'.  Tim WANTs to accomplish things and is driven to get it done no matter how many suffer.

Which is fine... It's always nice to know where you stand with people and with Tim, it was clear. Yet, I feel bad for Tim. Because Tim hates his job. Which is why, I guess, he thought a four hour work week was preferable over a 40 hour or 60 hour? Anyhow, I'd have read the book sooner but I couldn't imagine who'd want a four hour workweek.

Now, don't get me wrong -- I said it earlier:  Tim is brilliant... I just think that... without having gone through enough life experiences, you could get seriously damaged following some of the advice in the book.

My recommendation?  Read it...  It's a quick 2-hours that gives a great deal of insight into our new 'Flat World' from a high-energy 30-something, looks at direct marketing and provides a crash course in basic economics. Just remember -- Tim wrote this book so he could make money and only have to work 4-hours per week.  

Comments

[Alice Richmond]

I was reading this book in an Applebee's, and the waitress couldn't stop bubbling over with excitement to share what she thought of it. I have to agree with Carl. If you're a waitress, or you are living the life of quiet desperation that many (most?) working Americans are living . . . then a 4 hour workweek is a goal.

But if you are doing that, you aren't likely to have the skill, the chutzpah, and the sheer pathological ability to delude yourself, to pull off Tim's advice. (Advice which has been written in many management books before him, I do need to add.)

Despite its multiple gems of wisdom, which can be plucked and examined in the light, and considered in the context of your own situation, I'm afraid I have to relegate The 4-Hour Workweek to the realm of Real Estate Flipping, Day Trading, and Pyramid Sales. One or two will luck out, many will be destroyed.

It is still possible to be an "overnight" success, even in post-Bush America, but it takes 20 or more years of effort for that "overnight" to happen.

The lesson I see? Love your work. Live your passion. And you won't want it to end after four hours.