The 4-Hour Workweek

January 25, 2008 in Books with Comments Off

4hourworkweek
I recently wrapped up The 4-Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferriss. This one was a stretch for me. The ultimate goal of the book is to help you become part of what Ferriss describes as "The New Rich." That involves a combination of financial freedom and freedom from time constraints to be mobile–not tied to the responsibilities of your career. I, on the other hand, was more interested in the truths that might help me be more effective in my family and ministry roles.

Though I lost interest in chunks of the book, I pressed through and found some great insights that challenged me to revisit my priorities and how I invest my time. The book also provided a helpful reminder of how empty life can be when it’s void of the purposes God places on our lives.

That aside, here are some highlights from the book:

  • "Finding a market before designing a product is smarter than the reverse."
  • "I can’t give you a surefire formula for success, but I can give you a formula for failure: try to please everybody all the time." –Herbert Bayard Swope, first recipient of the Pulitzer Prize
  • "’Someday’ is a disease that will take your dreams to the grave with you."
  • "Measure the cost of inaction, realize the unlikelihood and repairability of most missteps, and develop the most important habit of those who excel and enjoy doing so: action."
  • "Being busy is most often used as a guise for avoiding the few critically important but uncomfortable actions."
  • "Problems, as a rule, solve themselves or disappear if you remove yourself as an information bottleneck and empower others."
  • "The vision is really about empowering workers, giving them all the information about what’s going on so they can do a lot more than they’ve done in the past." –Bill Gates
  • "People can dislike you–and you often sell more by offending some–but they should never misunderstand you."
  • "The more options you offer the customer, the more indecision you create and the fewer orders you receive–it is a disservice all around. Furthermore, the more options you offer the customer, the more manufacturing and customer service burden you create for yourself."
  • "People say that what we are seeking is a meaning for life. I don’t think this is what we’re really seeking. I think what we’re seeking is an experience of being alive." –Joseph Campbell, The Power of Myth
  • "Lacking an external focus, the mind turns inward on itself and creates problems to solve, even if the problems are undefined or unimportant. If you find a focus, an ambitious goal that seems impossible and forces you to grow, these doubts disappear."
  • "If you don’t make mistakes, you’re not working on hard enough problems. And that’s a big mistake." –Frank Wilczek, Nobel Prize winner in physics

No Responses to “The 4-Hour Workweek”

  1. Brad Ruggles January 25, 2008 at 10:12 am #

    I read this book and got tons out of it. Like you said, there are large chunks that are either irrelevant to ministry or are slightly obnoxious. I’ve recommended this book to several people and have told them to at least read through chapter 8 or 9.

    There are lots of great principles in this book that apply not only to ministry but life in general. Not all of it is necessarily going to be something that you will want to act on but if you have a discerning mind you can walk away with a lot of ideas to challenge you and provoke change.

    Brad Ruggles
    http://www.bradruggles.com

  2. Read Scott January 25, 2008 at 11:44 am #

    I run a business and work on staff at my church. This book helped me focus my work time so that I have more time for ministry.

    I’m a big Tim Ferriss fan.

  3. Stephen Walters January 25, 2008 at 3:34 pm #

    Tony, I am hoping to launch a new church in the next 6 months. The line about finding the market then designing the product was exactly what I needed to hear. I have read books based on your recommendation and I will check this one out. Thanks.

  4. The Journey Blog January 29, 2008 at 9:39 am #

    Someday (Part 1 of4)

    Someday is a disease that will take your dreams to the grave with you. — Timothy Ferriss The Four Hour Work Week
    Tony Morgan posted that quote last week in his recap of the book and it perfectly sums up what I was going to…

  5. Mark Doebler February 7, 2008 at 8:29 am #

    Tony, I’m the Head Coach/Pastor at a church in Peoria. We’ve been speaking of finding “something more” this year. Your review of this book, especially the quote saying that we are seeking the experience of being alive fits nicely with that them. I’ve referenced this review in one of my posts. Thanks for sharing this with the rest of the body…

    Mark Doebler
    http://www.markdoebler.wordpress.com