Bestselling author, angel investor, entrepreneur, podcaster and self-experimenter, Tim Ferris is one of my go-to sources when I’m looking to find great information on making improvements in some area of my life, whether it’s time management, entrepreneurship, physical health, relationships, reducing stress or improving mental fitness. I find his practical advice combined with his deeply thoughtful approach to living, a great way to get to the bottom of how and why I do things and make positive changes. It’s no wonder Newsweek calls him the world’s best human guinea pig, and the New York Times calls him a across between Jack Welch and a Buddhist monk.
Princeton educated, Ferris has written five books, The 4-hour Workweek, The 4-hour Body, The 4-hour Chef, Tools of Titans and Tribe of Mentors. He is nothing if not bold and boundless when it comes to seeing potential and seeing things in a new perspective. This is evident in his role as an angel investor with the New York Times calling him one of the planets leading angel investors in technology.
In his book, The 4-hour Workweek Ferris introduces his approach to having a more meaningful life which he calls “lifestyle design” rather than the traditional approach of a “deferred” life plan where you focus on having a grueling work schedule, take few vacations and saving as much as you can in order to relax in retirement. I’m not sure all of us can get to working 4 hours per week, but his thinking in this area is ground breaking and inspiring!
The 4-hour Workweek
#1 New York Times Best Seller, #1 WSJ Best Seller
Ferriss’s career as a self-help guru began when he found himself feeling overworked with his 14-hour work days and utterly frustrated by his lack of free time. He decided it was time to make a change, so he took a 3-week sabbatical to Europe. During his trip, he developed a streamlined system for checking email once a day and outsourcing small daily tasks to virtual assistants. This escape from his workaholic life was the inspiration for The 4-hour Workweek. The 4-hour Workweek is much more than just the logistics of being more efficient and working less, it’s a revolutionary way to think about our lives we all could benefit from Tim’s perspective in this area.
Stoicism for Success
Tim is a huge fan of Stoic philosophy. With just a few central teachings, stoicism reminds us how unpredictable the world can be and how short our time is here. It encourages us to be in control, remaining steadfast and strong. Stoicism started in the third century BC, but this timeless philosophy is ideal for tough times, like surviving and thriving through Covid. While teaching us that our unhappiness lies in our impulsive dependency in our reflexive senses rather than relying on logic. As an advocate of stoicism for success, Ferris encourages us to use its principles to be better entrepreneurs, better friends and better people. Using tools like meditative writing, you can transform negative emotions to establish a sense of calm and perspective. One of the tenants of Stoic philosophy that I really appreciate is the obstacle is the way. This means that our challenges and obstacles are exactly the things that provide our path forward. Instead of resisting challenges, pain, and obstacles, we must find ways to use them as the stepping stones to where we want to go.
The Tim Ferriss Show
Tim’s podcasts (over 600 million downloads!) are another great source of inspiration, filled with great thoughts, ideas and people. In each episode, he deconstructs world-class performers from eclectic areas (investing, sports, business, art, etc.) to extract the tactics, tools, and routines you can use. This includes favorite books, morning routines, exercise habits, time-management tricks, and much more. One of my favorite episodes is Tim reflecting on his past year in 2016 and analyzing the details of his life and experience in order to make positive changes for a better future. I’ve never heard anyone who does this level of detailed reflection of their life to make it better. The episode is titled: What I Learned in 2016 (#212) Click here to listen.
Check out Tim’s Books and Podcasts
Tim has done as much thinking, experimenting and interviewing people about creating a better life than almost anyone on the planet. No matter what area of your life you want to improve, Tim has some great and advice. Tim Ferriss will educate you and inspire you, I encourage you to make him one of your go-to resources, read his books and listen to his podcasts. Visit his blog here.