FAMILYFANS Books & Comics

THE 4-HOUR WORKWEEK: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich

by Timothy Ferriss

(Crown Books)

Reader Appeal: Adults

Genre: Self-Help / Business

Timothy Ferriss possesses Solomonic wisdom, he really does. Unfortunately, Ferriss’ advice resonates most with King Solomon’s memoirs in Ecclesiastes, chapter 2, where the ancient king recounts his undisciplined lifestyle in which he denied himself no experience in an attempt to find meaning.

The 4-Hour Workweek opens with Ferriss establishing his credentials for offering time management and business advice: Racing motorcycles in Europe, skiing in the Andes, extreme fighting in Thailand, scuba diving in the Panamas, and competitive tango dancing in Buenos Aires. Ferris is a self-described member of the “New Rich.” The New Rich, according to Ferris, refuses to play by arcane notions such as delayed gratification. Ferris carries Thoreau’s torch and suggests that life is meant to be lived now.

Ferris challenges the reader to define his or her measure of success and then to ruthlessly eliminate the time-wasting cluster that prevents us from chasing our dreams. Ferris built his fortune with a diet supplement company, and he offers his experiences to help readers create their own businesses and to “automate” them so they don’t encumber their owners.

According to the author, once the reader has divested himself or herself from the burden of hard work, he or she is free to live one pleases. Those who reach this state of becoming one of the New Rich often experience a kind of post-working depression, and Ferris is there to offer help for those suffering from such existential purposelessness. World travel, language acquisition, and serving others are among the pastimes offered.

Timothy Ferriss is the anti-Stephen Covey. Instead of offering a moral compass, Ferriss offers the promise of a hedonistic nirvana. The first 100-pages or so are simply autobiographic about how Ferriss obtained it all (setting up the “and so can you.”). I nearly set the book aside at this point, but I’m glad I didn’t. The section on time management is brilliant and nearly justified the twenty-dollars I spent on this book. Ferris offers practical advice on how to control the flow of your time and how to increase your efficiency. I’ve incorporated several of these practices into my workday and have already seen results.

However, those twenty-five pages of genius didn’t justify this purchase overall. Ferriss' monetary success seems to have separated him from the reality of a truly fulfilling lifestyle. So, check out The 4-Hour Workweek at your local library, and purchase Getting Things Done for sound time management advice without the ridiculous invitation to escape the drudgery of work for the sake of jet-setting.

FAMILYFANS RATING: C

--LS

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