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

The Tim Ferriss Show

This time around, we have a bit of a different format, featuring the book that started it all, The 4-Hour Workweek, which was published in 2007. It’s crazy to think that the 20th anniversary is around the corner. Readers and listeners often ask me what I would change or update, but in my mind, an equally interesting question is: what wouldn’t I change? What stands the test of time and hasn’t lost any potency? This episode features three chapters from the audiobook of The 4-Hour Workweek that are time-tested. They represent tools and frameworks that have changed my life and that I still use today.

The 4-Hour Workweek: Expanded and Updated is written by Timothy Ferriss and narrated by Ray Porter. The audiobook, produced and copyrighted by Blackstone Publishing, is available wherever audiobooks are sold. You can find it on Audible, Apple, Google, Spotify, Downpour.com, or wherever you get your favorite audiobooks.

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Timestamps:

[00:00] Intro (D is for definition).

[05:43] Beating the game, not playing the game.

[10:11] Challenging the status quo vs. being stupid.

[11:48] Retirement is worst-case-scenario insurance.

[13:40] Interest and energy are cyclical.

[15:06] Less is not laziness.

[16:24] The timing is never right.

[17:24] Ask for forgiveness, not permission.

[18:01] Emphasize strengths, don’t fix weaknesses.

[18:57] Things in excess become their opposite.

[20:02] Money alone is not the solution.

[21:24] Relative income is more important than absolute income.

[24:13] Distress is bad, eustress is good.

[25:59] Questions and actions.

[27:45] Dodging bullets: fear-setting and escaping paralysis.

[32:51] The power of pessimism: defining the nightmare.

[36:59] Conquering fear = defining fear.

[39:55] Uncovering fear disguised as optimism.

[42:00] Someone call the Maître d'.

[45:02] Questions and actions.

[49:45] System reset: Being unreasonable and unambiguous.

[53:13] Doing the unrealistic is easier than doing the realistic.

[55:41] What do you want? A better question, first of all.

[57:41] Adult-onset ADD: adventure deficit disorder.

[59:44] The fat man in the red BMW convertible.

[01:01:21] Correcting course: get unrealistic.

[01:02:28] How to get George Bush or the CEO of Google on the phone.

[01:08:41] Questions and actions and dreamlining calculations.

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Past guests on The Tim Ferriss Show include Jerry Seinfeld, Hugh Jackman, Dr. Jane Goodall, LeBron James, Kevin Hart, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Jamie Foxx, Matthew McConaughey, Esther Perel, Elizabeth Gilbert, Terry Crews, Sia, Yuval Noah Harari, Malcolm Gladwell, Madeleine Albright, Cheryl Strayed, Jim Collins, Mary Karr, Maria Popova, Sam Harris, Michael Phelps, Bob Iger, Edward Norton, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Neil Strauss, Ken Burns, Maria Sharapova, Marc Andreessen, Neil Gaiman, Neil de Grasse Tyson, Jocko Willink, Daniel Ek, Kelly Slater, Dr. Peter Attia, Seth Godin, Howard Marks, Dr. Brené Brown, Eric Schmidt, Michael Lewis, Joe Gebbia, Michael Pollan, Dr. Jordan Peterson, Vince Vaughn, Brian Koppelman, Ramit Sethi, Dax Shepard, Tony Robbins, Jim Dethmer, Dan Harris, Ray Dalio, Naval Ravikant, Vitalik Buterin, Elizabeth Lesser, Amanda Palmer, Katie Haun, Sir Richard Branson, Chuck Palahniuk, Arianna Huffington, Reid Hoffman, Bill Burr, Whitney Cummings, Rick Rubin, Dr. Vivek Murthy, Darren Aronofsky, Margaret Atwood, Mark Zuckerberg, Peter Thiel, Dr. Gabor Maté, Anne Lamott, Sarah Silverman, Dr. Andrew Huberman, and many more.

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