Is Tim Ferriss a fraud?

[Michikon]

I have not yet read the book 4HWW but it's on my list. Should I remove it or read it when its turn come? Interesting

 

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[Kid]

90% of the people judge a book by its title. He never said you can build a company on 4 hours a week, which is the most common criticism of 4HWW

So when someone sells you a "Sweet Candy" and then you take it and it happens to be cocaine, you accept "...you know...uhmm...it was just a title..."?


...and btw, writing title is "saying".

...btw 2. before you start with the "yes but its good content" or whatever, realize that there are laws forbidding to advertise something and sell something else. And the title is a part of advertisement.

You can get sued for that in US, it's illegal in Australia and Canada, and you can go to prison for two years in UK.

 

[Ronak]

So when someone sells you a "Sweet Candy" and then you take it and it happens to be cocaine, you accept "...you know...uhmm...it was just a title..."?


...and btw, writing title is "saying".

...btw 2. before you start with the "yes but its good content" or whatever, realize that there are laws forbidding to advertise something and sell something else. And the title is a part of advertisement.

You can get sued for that in US, it's illegal in Australia and Canada, and you can go to prison for two years in UK.

Whatever you say, Kid.

 

[Kak]

Curious, what about him turns you off?

As @MJ DeMarco put it. The life hack, shortcut, stuff definitely.

To me, his content has a new age hipster vibe. So I have always been somewhat indifferent. I have read a few of his books.

He seems like a big extrovert that bears everything he is thinking. Just like Joe Rogan. I find content from folks like him unrelatable. As an introvert I will read a wall of Tim Ferris text and my mind will CONSTANTLY be poking holes, making exceptions and thinking of headwinds and tailwinds to his almost always “definitive” claims.

Then one day I listened to his podcast because he had a very rare interview with Charles Koch. I am a very big fan of Charles so I definitely wasn’t going to miss that one.

Tim spent the first 20 minutes of the podcast basically apologizing to social justice warriors that Charles Koch, “the evil capitalist pig,” was on the show. If I was Charles, I would have walked out of the interview. Tim should have been stoked to pieces that one of the most brilliant businessmen of the century was on his show. Instead he was a complete thankless douche.

So, yeah, he isn’t my cup of tea, but no he’s not a fraud or scam. He has material that helps people, but it has never been game changing stuff to me.

 

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[Ing]

Tim Ferris‘ 4hw was the first „ modern“book about Business/ life/ entrepreneur ... I read.
for me some things were new and interesting. A oposite to Napoleon Hill and oher older. Ferris way was fascinating. When you read Ferris, you soon get, that he exaggerates much. You can read between the lines, that he’s not lazy.
through him L found DeMarco, too.
No fraud at all!

 

[daniel_m]

I have not yet read the book 4HWW but it's on my list. Should I remove it or read it when its turn come? Interesting

A couple of years ago when I was big into reading, I read the 50-60 most notable business and entrepreneurship books.

When I got to the 4 hour work week, I couldn't even get through the first chapter. It was way too regurgitated. Or maybe it was the writing style. But for whatever reason I really didn't like it at all so I wouldn't recommend it. Nothing innovative in it IMO.

 

[biophase]

A couple of years ago when I was big into reading, I read the 50-60 most notable business and entrepreneurship books.

When I got to the 4 hour work week, I couldn't even get through the first chapter. It was way too regurgitated. Or maybe it was the writing style. But for whatever reason I really didn't like it at all so I wouldn't recommend it. Nothing innovative in it IMO.

4 hour work week was written over 12 years ago.

 

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[daniel_m]

4 hour work week was written over 12 years ago.

I'm not sure what your point is. I picked it up in 2015, and what I'm saying is that there's nothing in it that you don't already know if you've read most business books, including the fastlane millionaire. Which I assume everyone here has.

 

[Michikon]

A couple of years ago when I was big into reading, I read the 50-60 most notable business and entrepreneurship books.

When I got to the 4 hour work week, I couldn't even get through the first chapter. It was way too regurgitated. Or maybe it was the writing style. But for whatever reason I really didn't like it at all so I wouldn't recommend it. Nothing innovative in it IMO.

I think I share the same story with Daniel_m. I read one book that has received a lot of recommendation The Millionaire Next Door but I also just read first chapter and got bored. I didn't finish it. But the 4HWW maybe different for me. I will try it and see for myself.

 

[biophase]

I'm not sure what your point is. I picked it up in 2015, and what I'm saying is that there's nothing in it that you don't already know if you've read most business books, including the fastlane millionaire. Which I assume everyone here has.

My point is the book is probably older than most of the business books you've read.

So you can't knock a book just because you happen to read it after you've read a bunch of newer business books. If you would have read it first you may think the other books you've read had no new information.

 

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[eliquid]

Fraud, no

Stretches out things a bit? Maybe.

My cup of tea, no.

 

[Surf16]

If it weren’t for Tim’s interview of The Spy Guy owner, I never would have found The Millionaire Fastlane.

Exactly where I found MJ and his books as well. I stopped listening to his podcast after that. Went full speed into Fastlane action taking.

 

[silentjay]

He's been caught out quite a few times over the years from what I can recall. Said he had a huge deadlift in one of his books or posts, someone pointed out that it would make him the national champion...he soon backtracked and said it was a rack pull from above the knee. Quite a few of these types of things. Lots of bending the truth or lies of omission. Think his original supplement was meant to be dubious and nowhere near how big he claimed it was. No record of his claims of being a kickboxing champion and so on.

In the end of though who cares? He was just one of the first gurus/snake oil salesman for the internet age. If it wasn't him it would have been someone else selling a pipe dream of drinking cocktails on a beach while $1 a hour Indian slaves run your empire.

 

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[SLX8]

Did you google what "fraud" means?

 

[lukeymacca]

I have not yet read the book 4HWW but it's on my list. Should I remove it or read it when its turn come? Interesting

I would recommend you still read it. Its different and for that many write it off, but I found it pretty inspiring and its opened my mind to a different way of thinking about business. While there is lots in the book that I wouldn't personally follow (and lots that I would) there is still value in understanding the approach Tim suggests. Given that he's ultra successful and has used what he mentions in the book its worth a read.

 

[Ninjakid]

He's not a fraud. Lots of people are getting value out of his work.

Like others have said though, he's not my cup of tea either. His whole approach is about finding hacks and shortcuts to the point where it's way too complex and convoluted. Me personally, I'm always aiming for simplicity.

 

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[Gepi]

Even though his writing itself may not be everyone's "cup of tea",
he gave away these e-books of Seneca's letters in a very nicely designed and compact form for free, which I re-read a few times already and am very thankful for.
Seneca is one of the main authors of ancient Rome from whom we learned about stoicism. His writing is clear and concise, and the philosophy itself is still as useful as it was 2000 years ago.
Link to PDFs
I enjoyed reading many of Tim Ferris' work and I like the way he combines practical advise with entertainment. For me, he is a prime example of "self-made", and for that I respect him greatly.

 

[PayingSimply]

Tim started a supplement business and sold it for a nice profit. He then taught classes which became the basis for the 4 Hour Work Week. In that time he was involved as an angel investor and made a lot of money there. He wrote 3 more bestsellers and started the podcast in the meantime. He has practical, hands-on knowledge and tips to share but when you get to a certain level it's about the big picture not the details so much.

 

[Bruno Calisso]

Well, I am going to be honest, I've read some of his books and I absolutely hated it. So I feel you when you ask if he's a fraud. Though to reach his popularity level and success I'm sure he had to work is a$$ really hard, he certainly has alot of merit.

 

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[rollerskates]

Now, if you can not generalize, or make things abstract, you might get nothing from someone like Tim. He writes about concrete things he did. It's up to you to figure out what those things mean, and how you can apply them.

This is a skill that is lacking in a lot of people, and not just in regards to entrepreneurship and business. This is where a logic/critical thinking type class would be very useful for all, even if it is part of a philosophy curriculum/part of the chief aim of a liberal arts curriculum, which so many people here despise.

I've noticed this in political arguments, a huge disconnect due the inability to extract abstracts from a discussion of particulars.

 

[rollerskates]

There is a really useful tip in 4HWW, though. He said he decided that returns under a certain dollar amount would be given, no questions asked, because they were taking something like 75% of his email time.

I have tried to share this with other online sellers who will literally spend 2 hours arguing with a buyer/asking other sellers, etc about allowing the return of a $10 item. They don't understand that it's not just items that are worth money, but also their time.

 

[Rabby]

There is a really useful tip in 4HWW, though. He said he decided that returns under a certain dollar amount would be given, no questions asked, because they were taking something like 75% of his email time.

I have tried to share this with other online sellers who will literally spend 2 hours arguing with a buyer/asking other sellers, etc about allowing the return of a $10 item. They don't understand that it's not just items that are worth money, but also their time.

I agree with this. Even if you didn't award ALL returns, you should still be able to trust an employee to manage returns with autonomy, and just report the results to you every so often. Then you could correct any problems with too many returns in the aggregate, where your time is at least better spent. People get focused on one-off problems, even getting emotionally involved in them, and they accidentally create repeating, scaling, thousand-off problems for their organizations.

 

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[Martin.G]

I don't think Tim Ferris is a fraud. His book, The 4-Hour Work Week, was one of the first books I read and what it help me to take the step to become an entrepreneur. I guess that people tend to think that this kind of content will help you to work less and get rich, but that couldn't be further from reality.
He talks about create something great in that you don't need to work every day on it, so you can spend the rest of the time working on other aspects of your life, like learning a new language or working in another project. The problem is that you have to work a lot in a project to reach a level like that.
Also, he is one of the most working men in the world. With a lot of project like a podcast, a blog and other things that were named in the thread.

 

[valuecreator]

Fraud, no.
Sociopath, probably.
Like the rest of the west coast techno-hipster crowd, did not age well.
He's not a real investor, so kinda disappeared from my radar.

 

[Hadrian]

Terrific News!

His Tools of the Titans book is now on Audible and he has just started a short form Podcast (Tools of Titans) based on the book. The first one is really really good!

Like his books or not his main Podcast is probably the coolest thing I have ever listened to. It literally has the best minds on the Planet... he has an older one called Tribe of Mentors too.. the James Cameron interview really blew me away and has put me on course towards Veganism!

From psychedelic Shamanic journeys where you can meet beings from a higher dimension to plans to build orbital living habitats like Interstellar I couldn't recommend him more highly!

 

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[Deleted78083]

the James Cameron interview really blew me away and has put me on course towards Veganism!

"Jeff Bezos' interview blew me away and has put me on course towards only buying on Amazon!"

`Avatar' Director Sees Global Salvation in Plant-Based Investing

www-bloomberg-com.cdn.ampproject.org

 

[silentjay]

Terrific News!

His Tools of the Titans book is now on Audible and he has just started a short form Podcast (Tools of Titans) based on the book. The first one is really really good!

Like his books or not his main Podcast is probably the coolest thing I have ever listened to. It literally has the best minds on the Planet... he has an older one called Tribe of Mentors too.. the James Cameron interview really blew me away and has put me on course towards Veganism!

From psychedelic Shamanic journeys where you can meet beings from a higher dimension to plans to build orbital living habitats like Interstellar I couldn't recommend him more highly!

Another Tim Ferriss shill/stooge reviving old threads of the fake "guru" to publicise his latest guru crap for sale. Do you really think we're that dumb? Take that shit elsewhere.

 

[Hadrian]

Another Tim Ferriss shill/stooge reviving old threads of the fake "guru" to publicise his latest guru crap for sale. Do you really think we're that dumb? Take that shit elsewhere.

You seem very angry for no reason.
Now since you're ON a Tim Ferris thread let's review:

The Facts:
1.) His Books are multiple New York Times Bestsellers (whether you like them or not)
2.) His Podcast is the biggest one on the Planet with over 500 million downloads. (whether you like them or not)
3.) His Guests include some of the most brilliant minds on the plant. (whether you like them or not)

The Four Hour Work Week was a very successful if controversial book title but it wasn’t meant to be taken literally as many thought. It was simply a guide.

To Quote MJ "There is no F*cking list" Unscripted Pages 248/249

 

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[Deleted78083]

1.) His Books are multiple New York Times Bestsellers (whether you like them or not)
2.) His Podcast is the biggest one on the Planet with over 500 million listeners. (whether you like them or not)

1. That doesn't mean anything on the quality, just that a lot of people bought his book.
2. Same thing as above + the reason why people listen to it is for the guests, your point number 3. And why do guests come to his podcast? Because a lot of people listen to it, because he sold a book about "making millions working 4 hours per week!" Funny thing, none of Ferriss's guests have applied Ferriss's methods!! None of them.

Oh, and you quoted the fastlane? By fastlane standards, what most people do is what you shouldn't be doing because most people don't do well, and by subscribing to an "everyone is doing it, it must therefore be good!!" mindset, you join the slowlane/sidewalk crowd.

So go buy Cameron's pea protein, go build a 4-hour outsourced-in-india-business then come back here to tell us about how much of a scam it was. Can't wait to read your post!

 

[Vigilante]

I HATE the premise of this entire thread.

Go F*cking do something productive, Philip Reardon.