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

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.


*


For show notes and past guests
on The Tim Ferriss Show,
please
visit tim.blog/podcast.


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Ferriss Show, please
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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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