Episode Details

Episode 57 – 4 Hour Work Week – still relevant today?

Originally published in 2007, The 4 Hour Work Week by Tim Ferriss, made some huge waves upon its release. It also laid foundations for its author that continue to this day. Indeed anyone who's ever browsed the iTunes podcast charts will have come across Tim Ferriss, whose self-named show is regularly towards the top.

As regular readers and listeners know, the reason Financial Autonomy exists is to explore how we can all gain choice in our lives. Without doubt The 4 Hour Work Week aims to deliver the same, albeit with a quite specific formula for success.

Now I have to confess that I didn't pick up the book when it came out. I can't recall exactly when I became aware of it, but it was a bit like a movie everyone was talking about – I kind of felt I knew all the best bits, and with all the hype, I just couldn't find the enthusiasm.

11 years on and with the hype having faded, I thought it was time to right that wrong.

The first thing you need to know is that - despite the title, this book really isn't about only working 4 hours per week. In fact nowhere in it does Tim say that's all he does, and indeed I've read interviews with him where he fully acknowledges that he works more hours than that.

So don't read this book if that is your sole goal.

The sub-title – Escape the 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich, is actually much more what The 4 Hour Work Week is all about.

The other thing, which is where I got the wrong impression when it was released, is that it's not all about outsourcing everything to India. Sure, that's an important element, but it's not the whole book

I was really pleased to find that The 4 Hour Work Week is a really well written and engaging book. An extremely common frustration I find with many thought-leader type books is that the Big Idea could have been summarised in a 5 page essay, but since you can't make money with a 5 page essay, they've padded it out into a book.

That is certainly not the case here - the book is well structured, and the ideas are consistent throughout. I didn't feel like there was any padding. There were elements in the middle where I felt he wasn't talking my language, but I continued anyway and found value in latter chapters.

It's probably worth explaining the basic structure of the book. There are 4 key elements, broken up into steps:

Definition

Elimination

Automation

Liberation

The first, Definition is where he explains his New Rich concept and challenges some common assumptions.

Elimination is essentially about productivity – getting more done in less time.

Automation explores how you might generate income with minimal personal effort – unquestionably the section I had the most difficulty with.

And finally Liberation – mini-retirement, travel, and flexibility – very much in our Financial Autonomy wheelhouse.

If you think in terms of a Venn diagram, you know, where there are the two circles that overlap in the middle, and one circle is the things Tim espouses in this book, and the other circle contains the ideas and dreams of the Financial Autonomy community, there is definitely significant overlap.

The idea of "wealth" not being defined purely by your balance sheet, but rather with reference to the life you can lead, certainly aligned.

Where 4 Hour Work Week didn't resonate for me though was in 2 primary elements:

1. It seemed a recipe for a single person. Success in the approach espoused equalled lots of living abroad, nomadic style. Now I love to travel and am a keen learner, but as someone with kids, first I have an obligation to ensure they get a good education and upbringing. And whilst travel can be an important element of that, professional teachers