#783: The 4-Hour Workweek Revisited — How to Get Uncommon Results by Doing the Opposite, Aiming with Precision, and Aiming for the Unrealistic

Tim Ferriss (0:00)

Hello, boys and girls, ladies and germs. This is Tim Ferris. Welcome to another episode of The Tim Ferris Show. This time around, instead of a long form interview, deconstructing a world class performer, I thought I would do something different. This time around, I'm going to revisit the book that started it all, what put me on the map, so to speak, way back in 2007, the 4-Hour Workweek. It is completely nuts to think that the 20th anniversary is just around the corner in a few years. And many of you readers, many of you listeners often ask me what I would change or update. But in my mind, an equally, maybe more important question is what wouldn't I change? What are the things that have stood the test of time that have not lost any potency, the things that I revisit most often? And this episode is intended to answer that. It features three chapters from the audiobook of the 4-Hour Workweek that are time-tested. These are the things that have changed my life tremendously, that I continue to use to improve my life, to get back on track. They represent tools and frameworks that millions of you have read and I have seen hundreds and thousands of successful case studies. They do work. The chapters are narrated by the great voice actor Ray Porter. And just as a quick review, a quick primer, the 4-Hour Workweek is written in four sections, each corresponding to a letter in the acronym DEAL, which stands for Definition, Elimination, Automation, and Liberation. The chapters you're going to hear are from the section D is for Definition. Why is this? Well, first things first, it comes first. If you want to craft your best life in your ideal lifestyle to do it proactively, not reactively, these chapters should help. It's a very programmatic. It lays it out. If you want to maximize your per-hour output, whether that's four hours a week, 40 hours a week, or 100 hours a week, the approaches are the same and definition is the most important first step. So I really hope you enjoy them. These are the bedrock of The 4-Hour Workweek, and they are timeless, in part because I borrowed a lot of these from best practices elsewhere. That's why they have lasted so long, because they started off lasting so long and I selected them. If you're interested in checking out the rest of the audiobook, which is produced and copyrighted by Blackstone Publishing, you can find it on Audible, Apple, Google, Spotify, downpour.com, or wherever you find your favorite audiobooks. Please, please, please let me know what you think of this format. Do you like it? Should I do more of it? Should I not do it? Should I do it in a different way? I'm thinking of doing things, not just with my own books and offering additional thoughts, but with other books from other people. So let me know. Send me a note after you listen to this, at Tferriss, T-F-E-R-R-I-S-S on Twitter. That is X, of course. And you can also leave a comment on the blog post associated with this particular episode on tim.blog. And we're gonna get right to the meat and potatoes, but before that, just a minute to hear a few quick words from the people who make this podcast possible. I have been fascinated by the microbiome and probiotics, as well as prebiotics for decades, but products never quite live up to the hype. Now things are starting to change and that includes this episode's sponsor, Seeds DS01 Daily Symbiotic. I've always been very skeptical of most probiotics, but after incorporating two capsules of Seeds DS01 into my morning routine, I have noticed improved digestion and improved overall health. So why is Seeds DS01 so effective? For one, it is a two-in-one probiotic and prebiotic formulated with 24 clinically and scientifically studied strains. But if the probiotic strains don't make it to the right place, they are not as effective. So Seed developed a proprietary capsule-in-capsule delivery system that survives digestion and delivers a precision release of the live and viable probiotics to the colon. And now you can get 25% off your first month with code 25TIM at seed.com/tim, using code 25TIM all put together. One more time, seed.com/tim, code 25TIM.

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