Now don’t get me wrong…I really like Tim Ferriss and his books, hacks, and inspirational goals. He seems to polarize with his material though: either you love his material or are secretly cursing him for making you feel like an underachiever.
This post is a public service announcement for those entrepreneurs who, for many years, have been misinterpreting, misusing, or just missing his techniques from The 4-Hour Workweek. Here are some of the benefits of his books, as well as some of the potential #entrepreneurfail moments related to it, so you can proceed with caution.
Useful Nuggests
Simply put, in all of his books, Tim Ferriss stitches together his knowledge, methods, hacks and accomplishments based on the mini experiments he’s conducted and the empirical results he has achieved. For the new entrepreneur there are many little nuggets of wisdom that can be adapted to simplify and succeed as a small business owner.
Caveats and Proceeding with Caution
Here’s the problem: Many entrepreneurs assume FAST RESULTS when they hear ‘4-hour week’. They don’t realize that to get to this point, entrepreneurs may have to put in some 100-hour weeks. Don’t forget that Tim Ferriss probably still doesn’t work a ‘4-hour week,’ since he is probably busy creating the next book for us. Also, if we all just work 4 hours a week, who will be doing the grunt level of work in our society.?
Another issue for us mere mortals, as David Seah admits in his review of the 4-Hour Workweek, that many of Tim Ferriss’ recommendations are a challenge to complete. Entrepreneurs are already under so much pressure, so the added pressure of working many long hours, and not seeing the galactic results is overwhelming.
And finally, in the 4-Hour Workweek, Tim Ferriss recommends outsourcing for growing a business. But guess what…you’ll find entrepreneurs outsourcing not only the ancillary functions of their business, but also the business development, the secret sauce, and the core business operations. This is a recipe for disaster, and true entrepreneurs know that the key business functions need to stay in-house to truly differentiate and provide value.
All in all, I’m sure you’ll get some pointers if you haven’t picked up his books yet. Just tread cautiously as you dive into his methods.
Let us know what you think of the books: Four-Hour Workweek, The Four-Hour Body, or The Four-Hour Chef in the comments below. Are you a fan or a skeptic when it comes to Tim Ferriss?
This post was originally created for #entrepreneurfail: Startup Success.
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