If not in 2010, then when? (Photo: jphilipson)
The video case studies that I asked for in the last post really caught me unprepared.
I…am…so happy that it’s hard to put it into words.
From Denmark to India, from college students to retirees, from yoga instructors to engineers, the stories poured in. Narrowing them down to finalists, even with several people, was excruciating, but below you will find 15 of our favorites. Many more are worth watching (I watched them all) and can be found here, or by searching “4hww success” on YouTube. There are also 150 comments on the last post full of practical how-to implementations.
The below videos represent a real-life crash course in the many paths and practicalities of lifestyle design. I hope you love watching them as much as I did…
Happy New Year, y’all. Decide today that 2010 will be the year when everything changes.
It can be.
Gary Misner (below)
Gary is a 22-year old from Long Island. He left his family’s autobody business to start his own businesses, travel the world, redesign his body, rediscover his love for his family, and enjoy the best the planet has to offer, including philanthropy and the little things we so often undervalue. Philosophically, I think he nailed what I was hoping to impart — it’s about living more, not just working less — as did many of the other case studies below.
Chuck Holton (below)
From Chuck:
My attempts at leaving the corporate world met with very limited success until I read the 4-Hour Workweek by Tim Ferriss. In the last few years, we’ve successfully done the following:
1. Left the corporate world for good.
2. Taken a 1-year mini-retirement (with 5 kids!) to Panama.
3. Paid off our house through the application of geoarbitrage.
4. Diversified our cash flow into more than ten different streams
5. Automated over 50% of our cash flow (passive or semi-passive)
6. Cut my work hours from 70+ per week to however many I feel like (closer to 20/wk)
7. Implemented 4hww strategies into my children’s home schooling, teaching them to structure their own lives to attain freedom.
Two of Chuck’s children–both under 15 years of age–are also earning $300-500 per month with their own companies.
The World’s Best Fruit (below)
This video doesn’t include a name, as the narrator wants to quit her job in person 🙂
She and her husband put in 4-6 hours per week and earned an extra $2,200 in their first month of testing. Our anonymous lifestyle designer, whom we’ll call “The World’s Best Fruit” for obvious reasons, shares the following:
I did it Tim! Until 14 months ago, I was destined to retire in 30+ years. Twenty days from now I’m giving notice of my intention to leave in May. Thank you!!
I want to be an example of possibility for others that are just getting started. In this video I’ve shared how I applied the following techniques:
-picking a muse
-becoming and expert
-adding a VA (or an intern in this case)
I have also highlighted the first techniques I used to improve my life.
-Dreamlining
-Speed Reading
-Elimination
-Surrounding myself with like-minded people
These helped me in the early stages when I was stuck trying to figure out a product, but knew I wanted to become part of the New Rich.
Ki’une (below)
[Ed. note (2021): Video no longer available.]
Ki’une’s video needs to seen — and listened to — to have its full impact. Recorded over a year of traveling, it also showcases why his dance muse has been successful. That’s some damn fine locking.
Oh, and in case you miss it, don’t forget the sunscreen.
Jose Castro-Frenzel (below)
Think your business is too bricks-and-mortar for lifestyle design?
Using several principles he describes in this video, Jose transformed his concrete company, Omega Masonry Inc., into a virtual company. He also added more than 40 hours per week of free time and has started a new online product based company. Jose also helped me and others (like Matt Mullenweg and Andrew Rosca) build a preschool in Vietnam, which we visited together in 2009.
SoulTravelers3 (below)
From the mother in the family known as SoulTravelers3 (edited for length):
We are beyond thrilled that we are one of the case studies in the new expanded 4HWW & we are a family traveling the world non-stop, on an open ended world tour since 2006!
Unlike someone who mentioned in the comments that it could not be done once these men were married and had families, I am here to validate that it not only can be done, but might also be the most rewarding way to do marriage and family and probably the best possible education for future 21st century global citizens!
…We have traveled over 175,000 miles (most overland) to 4 continents, 32 countries since we left in 2006…
I think [this video] “talks” to the 70% of families that dream about extended travel, inspires many of every age & gives hope to women who love freedom and travel, but fear they must give that up when they have a child.
YES! Families can and DO live the 4HWW dream too! 😉
On the video, which has been viewed more than a million times:
It took 18 months to make this video and it was hard enough to get the film, let alone decent sound in these crowded, noisy environments. Thus we did a montage cover song as all do in these kinds of videos. She is young and it takes great concentration to play such sophisticated songs under such circumstances, but her nature is one of great joy as you can see in our other videos or website. We are not rich and travel and live on a total of 25,000 dollars a year.
Bolding is mine. Living richly does not require riches.
Dane Low (below)
Dane used Facebook to get incredible press for Room to Read and build a school in Vietnam in the process. His approach is an incredible model for the future of giving back and karmic capitalism.
Alex Climent (below)
[Ed. note (2021): Video no longer available.]
Alex, who read the Spanish version of 4HWW in Valencia, Spain, used Pareto’s and Parkinson’s Laws to shoot an independent, low-budget film in 8 locations in 4 days. The script had been in a drawer for 4 years.
The Ren Men (below)
[Ed. note (2021): Video no longer available.]
The Ren Men have created a 3-day workweek (9am-3pm), built a net wealth of $2-million, take 10+ mini-retirements per year, and much, much more. This video explains the 3 principles they focused on to automate a brick-and-mortar business.
Maneesh Sethi (below)
Maneesh has created a digital lifestyle that has allowed him to live in Italy, Spain, Brazil, and Argentina, among others. His video includes an exact screencast of how he has created automated income based on Google Adwords and outsourced article creation.
From Maneesh:
I currently work exactly 3h59m per week (11am-2:59pm on Monday), and in the video I show EVERYTHING—my entire job, the software I’ve written to automate myself out of existence, and how my VAs literally do everything without me. I’m about 4 weeks away from outsourcing the final 3h59m, as well. My business is an SEO SEM biz, writing articles based on keywords that people are searching for on google. My business is monetized by adsense and ad revenue—i literally go to sleep, wake up, and check how much money I’ve earned. I’m serious–no matter where I am in the world, my work is getting done, and I am getting paid, no matter what the hell I do.
So what do I do with all this time? I travel—for 2 years straight, I’ve been living in a new country every four months, studying the language, and just enjoying life. (I have lived in Italy, Spain, Argentina, Brazil, India—and I speak Italian, Spanish and Portuguese). I do pushups in every city (my life goal is a pushup in every country).
Now, with all of this free time, I’m trying to change the lives of others and give them an opportunity to do the same. I founded an NGO, SaveThem.net, and I am building a classroom in Upli Badi village near Udaipur, India—an extremely poor shanty town. I’ve raised over $1500 to buy these children laptops, and I’m going to begin giving them personalized classes starting January 16. I was lucky enough to be introduced to computers at a young age—hopefully, these poor kids will be able to learn to use the computer, break out of their horrible cycle of poverty by working a good technical job, be able to raise money, and bring back this money to their parents and friends in Upli Badi. Until they do, my NGO will be around helping more and more children.
Austin Evarts (below)
Austin created two profitable companies while traveling abroad and having the experiences of a lifetime. This video showcases his muses and how he designed them.
KEG (below)
KEG used Parkinson’s Law and the 80/20 principle as a musician to finish his long-postponed album, and he then used techniques in the book to get on both NBC’s America’s Got Talent (twice) and Cooking Along with Gordon Ramsey.
Long live rock.
Pete Williams (below)
Pete from Australia applied his newfound “free” time back into his business. He first focused on building his business faster instead of mini-retirements, and now he’s embarking on the latter. From Pete:
I’ve really embraced the 4HWW principles in by “business life” with to two full time Philippine Virtual Assistants and a range of part-time specialists across the world taking care of all the day-to-day stuff; so I can spend more time working on the 3 businesses I own (rather than in them) – This process culminated in being named Global Runner up in JCI’s 2009 Create Young Entrepreneur Awards (ceremony in Tunisia) and a mini-retirement to the Halloween Party at the Playboy Mansion.
The first three dreamlines I’ve set in place and booked for 2010 are 1. Join the circus and learn how to trapeze, tight rope walk, handstand etc (Jan-March) 2. Trek the Himalayas to raise money for charity (April) 3. Train for the NYC marathon.
In a show of good humor, Pete also asked one of his virtual assistants to post a video:
Nathan Jurewicz (below)
[Ed. note (2021): This video is no longer available.]
This is a hysterical video. The theme, however, is practical: shifting from presence to performance. From Nathan:
Book changed my life!!
This really is my lifestyle no joke!
I do whatever I want, whenever I want and I am semi famous!!
Thanks Tim!!
– Nathan Jurewicz
Lee Burrell (below)
[Ed. note (2021): This video is no longer available.]
Lee gets into logistics around 1:30, and he gives outstanding examples of low-cost and highly effective product development. He is now on track to have a million-dollar muse within 15 months and is a full-time student. Note the video suggestion to take customer phone calls in the beginning stages to compile a FAQ — this saves hundreds of hours later in e-mail exchanges and customer service. Suggestions from Lee include:
– Figure out what customers want – and give it to them. By first performing seminars and getting detailed student feedback, I was able to determine where other companies product’s were falling short. Keeping their feedback in mind and building a list of FAQs based on the most commonly asked questions/concerns, I developed a product that people want and are willing to pay more than 8-10x mark-up for.
– Outsource. Outsource. Outsource. I outsourced the website creation, content creation, have a VA, professional proofreader, powerpoint expert for building presentations, and customer service “center.” All of was done using the books principles and recommendations. (Elance rocks)
If sales continue to grow as expected, I will have a million dollar muse in 15 months (at the ripe old age of 24) and will be helping people reach their dreams along the way.
Can’t thank you enough Tim.
Cheers!
Lee
(Btw I came in 2nd in your “Trail By Fire” contest. The Planet Earth DVD’s you sent were awesome! I’m definitely excited about the possibility to win a plane ticket to see some of those places in person :p)
Alex from Montreal (below – turn up your audio volume)
In this video, Alex shows exactly how he left a sales job at a Fortune 500 company to travel the world and live like a rockstar (literally), meeting with both billionaires and celebrities. Brilliant use of local Chambers of Commerce. The audio is frustratingly low, but it’s worth the watch.
David Walsh (below)
[Ed. note (2021): This video is no longer available.]
David has grown a venture-backed start-up from 2 to 14 people, written a book, created an audiobook, launched a language learning tool, and produced a popular podcast. Most recently, he founded an early-stage venture investment firm like Y-Combinator.
He must be constantly connected, right?
Nope. David got rid of his mobile phone 4 months ago and is loving life without it.
Brad Kirr (below)
Brad filmed and edited this video from Morocco on his Sony k100i phone. Cool.
What do you do when you need to add 800 products to a new site but each product takes a fully day? Outsource your life, of course. Brad explains how and underscores the under-mentioned importance of making your instructions teachable.
Now he’s surfing, snowboarding, and skating the world over. From Brad:
I talk about three principles from the book as it applies to my life including outsourcing your life as it applies to technical aspects of product addition and seo of my web business, dreamlining and the use of “My Fantastical Autobiography” to initiate my dreamline of starting a skateboard company in Dubai, and finally the 80/20 principle as it applies to my current dreamline of becoming a big wave surfer.
You can make my next dreamline happen by sending me to the Mentawis buddy!!!
Brad
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Happy New Year all!
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Get the brand-new Expanded and Updated 4-Hour Workweek, published 12/15, which includes more than 50 new case studies (including families) of luxury lifestyle design, muse creation, and world travel. Make 2010 the year when you make the leap.
The Tim Ferriss Show is one of the most popular podcasts in the world with more than one billion downloads. It has been selected for "Best of Apple Podcasts" three times, it is often the #1 interview podcast across all of Apple Podcasts, and it's been ranked #1 out of 400,000+ podcasts on many occasions. To listen to any of the past episodes for free, check out this page.
Comment Rules: Remember what Fonzie was like? Cool. That’s how we’re gonna be — cool. Critical is fine, but if you’re rude, we’ll delete your stuff. Please do not put your URL in the comment text and please use your PERSONAL name or initials and not your business name, as the latter comes off like spam. Have fun and thanks for adding to the conversation! (Thanks to Brian Oberkirch for the inspiration.)
Tim,
You’re right about women being reticent to share. Although I’ve used many of the principles in your books to completely change my life this year, I didn’t think my accomplishments would be interesting enough for people to want to watch a video about them. I simply quit a job I loved (at a Gartner Cool Vendor company) to take a leap of faith and start a new software company with a schedule that allows me to spend every afternoon with my two young toddlers. I work with both a US development team and an Indian development team and our first application will be launching in a few weeks.
I didn’t go to Thailand or take a few months off. I haven’t learned any new languages. I haven’t yet automated enough work to get to the gym every day. But, when schools close or my child gets sick, I no longer endure the frenetic scramble to find a last-minute babysitter or have to tag team work hours with my husband. I pick the kids up every day at 3:15 instead of 6:30. On nice days, we go to the park and/or get ice cream or play with the girls next door. When it rains, we watch Sesame Street or color or do puzzles. The extra few hours a day is a treasure. I’m no longer missing their precious toddlerhood stuck in an office whether I’m busy or not. And I’m so very proud of the new app my teams and I have built. I hope it will help other people add a few more precious hours to their lives too.
This is not a flashy, exciting success story with exotic travel footage worthy of a video entry, but I’m very, very happy. Thanks so much for your wonderful book. I’m sure lots of other women have also put it to good use even if they aren’t submitting videos either.
All the comments about women not participating publicly just gave me my own smack upside the head moment – don’t overestimate the competition.
I got the book the summer of 2007 – I was in massive debt, 100 lbs overweight, on customer service duty for a cage of my own creation 22 hours a day, friendless and about ready to throw in the towel. I radically changed nearly every aspect of my life – I found US-based people to outsource my problematic customer service issues to cheaply (and everything else I could think of), I moved to a new city, I pursued hobbies and made new friends, I cleaned up my spending, then stumbled across renting my real estate resources by the night for 5x what I would make renting them monthly. Now my business runs on its own, I’ve paid off nearly $15k of credit card debt, my real estate pays for itself, I have friends and a boyfriend and..well, I’ve only lost 15 lbs, but it’s a start, and the product of major lifestyle changes.
I started from -50 and made it to about 50. The 0 to 100 stories are totally inspirational, but I made the mistake (probably like lots of women who did a lot better than I did) of assuming that my story wasn’t worth putting in the ring. What’d you tell the kids at Princeton? You’re probably better than you think you are.
The second edition and the videos were exceptionally well timed. I look forward to going the distance in 2010!
-Avery
WOW. Simply amazing. Damn you Tim. Such good videos. It’s hard to pick just one. At least I have a few hours to mull it over.
As far as why there weren’t more entries from women, my hypothesis is that, as a general rule, women seem to be less secure with their bodies and more hesitant to “put themselves out there” so to speak. I see it frequently in the bartending classes that I teach.
And is Pete the one responsible for Market Samurai?
Chuck Holton gets my vote
@cebenz No, Market Samurai is not mine. That’s the brainchild of Eugene Ware, Brent Hodgson, Rob Sommerville and a few other ubber smart online marketers from the ’30DC world’ – I wish it was mine 😉
@CharlieJones Thanks for the support man.
@Tim I’m going to take you up on that offer and catch up when I am state side next 😉
Absolutely Awesome. I’m voting for the first dude. Honest and heartfelt 22 year old. Painting motor cycles and skateboarding and going to Italy. Maybe I just relate to him more. I relate less with those and am less inspired by those who are making money but are “over worked”. I just don’t have any money so for me it’s all about muse creation, automation, then destination. Thanks again.
Chuck Holton’s video contained no real information and the videos of folks just talking into the camera were boring.
Had to go with the World’s best fruit..lots of info presented in a lively, engaging way.
Hey Gary… man, I wish I had the time to skate like I did when I was 15. I absolutely forgot to add skateboarding to add to my list of things to do, its on there now. Great video.
I thought you guys should know that Chuck holten runns a large website and posted a “sticky” post that shows on top that requests members of his board to go here and vote for him- not exactly fair I don’t think… Likely other finalists may also think bringing in tens of thousands of folks may be unfair….
here is the link
http://www.homesteadingtoday.com/announcement.php?f=12
David Fideler said: “Chuck’s case study was good in many ways, but there was no concrete information on how he generated income, so that was a major shortcoming.”
I could write my own book about the journey that took me from harried stockbroker to where I am now. It was hard to get into it too deeply in the 5 minutes given.
But here’s a little more info: I use concepts learned from the brokerage business – diversification and leveraging. I try to develop as many income streams as possible – even if they are only fifty bucks a month. Some are completely passive, some are semi-passive and some require consistent work, but I find the time to manage all of them by a practice I call “dovetailing.” That is, finding ways to work once and get paid twice or three times for the same job.
Example: I went to Afghanistan for the month of September as an embedded journalist. While there, I shot video that became new stories on CBN. I shot photos that will appear in my next nonfiction book, and my son can use the footage after I’m done with it in his stock-footage business. So work once, get paid three times.
As a writer (I have seven books in print) I’ve found that my lifestyle experiments (like moving to Panama for a year) are all fodder for another book. As Tim knows, part of the price of being a writer is having your life be transparent enough so that people can learn from your struggles.
So here are some more examples of ways we’ve found to make money – I hope by putting them up here, others will be spurred to change their lives in 2010.
Real estate rentals – not just renting to people – we also rent pasture to folks who need a place to keep their horses.
micro-loans to Panamanians – it’s amazing how profitable it can be to provide capital to help put people to work.
Expeditions – I’m an adventurer, (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xG6wlusxBuw) and have found that I can get companies to sponsor these adventures and make money by writing about them. It’s also awesome to take my kids along, when possible.
Writing magazine articles, then compiling some of them for later use in books.
Geo-arbitrage – get Tim’s book for more info about that. But it has changed our lives.
ad revenue from my websites, the largest of which exists to help people share knowledge about simple/sustainable living practices. (homesteadingtoday.com)
Freelance video production (lets me work from home, and, as much as possible, take the kids along when I travel.)
The bottom line is that I don’t want to do anything that doesn’t give me the chance to pour into my kids lives on some level. When they are grown and gone, I’ll be able to go make all the money I want. But for this TINY window of time, I have a chance to give five children lives that most kids couldn’t even imagine. And THAT is what I’m talking about.
Just to restate for emphasis, as this was a common question. From Chuck:
David Fideler said: “Chuck’s case study was good in many ways, but there was no concrete information on how he generated income, so that was a major shortcoming.”
I could write my own book about the journey that took me from harried stockbroker to where I am now. It was hard to get into it too deeply in the 5 minutes given.
But here’s a little more info: I use concepts learned from the brokerage business – diversification and leveraging. I try to develop as many income streams as possible – even if they are only fifty bucks a month. Some are completely passive, some are semi-passive and some require consistent work, but I find the time to manage all of them by a practice I call “dovetailing.” That is, finding ways to work once and get paid twice or three times for the same job.
Example: I went to Afghanistan for the month of September as an embedded journalist. While there, I shot video that became new stories on CBN. I shot photos that will appear in my next nonfiction book, and my son can use the footage after I’m done with it in his stock-footage business. So work once, get paid three times.
As a writer (I have seven books in print) I’ve found that my lifestyle experiments (like moving to Panama for a year) are all fodder for another book. As Tim knows, part of the price of being a writer is having your life be transparent enough so that people can learn from your struggles.
So here are some more examples of ways we’ve found to make money – I hope by putting them up here, others will be spurred to change their lives in 2010.
Real estate rentals – not just renting to people – we also rent pasture to folks who need a place to keep their horses.
micro-loans to Panamanians – it’s amazing how profitable it can be to provide capital to help put people to work.
Expeditions – I’m an adventurer, (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xG6wlusxBuw) and have found that I can get companies to sponsor these adventures and make money by writing about them. It’s also awesome to take my kids along, when possible.
Writing magazine articles, then compiling some of them for later use in books.
Geo-arbitrage – get Tim’s book for more info about that. But it has changed our lives.
ad revenue from my websites, the largest of which exists to help people share knowledge about simple/sustainable living practices. (homesteadingtoday.com)
Freelance video production (lets me work from home, and, as much as possible, take the kids along when I travel.)
The bottom line is that I don’t want to do anything that doesn’t give me the chance to pour into my kids lives on some level. When they are grown and gone, I’ll be able to go make all the money I want. But for this TINY window of time, I have a chance to give five children lives that most kids couldn’t even imagine. And THAT is what I’m talking about.
It’s too late to make a 4HWW Case Study submission, but I really want to share my muse, Tim. I think you’ll really like it:
All brilliant videos, really well done guys.
I voted for David as what he’s done is very in line with my situation, I really liked Maneesh’s video and what Chuck has done is awesome, I’m gonna implement the same thing with my (future) kids!
Awesome!
Chuck! An inspiration to all of us to take real control of ourlives in an imaginative way.
This was a lot of fun to watch, and very inspirational. It has been about a year since I first read the 4HWW, and I just got the revised edition (I also gave it as a gift to my business partner). I’m finally ready to act – for some of us it takes longer to get off our butts. This year is extraction year! I started writing about it on a new blog – let’s see if I can keep this up. I have noticed that many of the proponents and practitioners of lifestyle design seem to be male – I would be happy to be proven wrong – so I’m trying to explore it from a woman’s perspective.
Thanks again Tim and all of the entrants – this is a great way to start 2010.
Hey Tim,
Love all the videos, each was hugely inspirational and it’s really difficult to just vote for one. People out there have used the 4HWW teachings and have done some amazing stuff!
Great stuff, I’m loving the 4HWW culture!!
Cheers,
Paddy
These videos were the missing link for me in the FHWW process. I wanted to real testimonials from people living the lifestyle. I’m loving the new edition of FHWW. This is the year I put all the pieces together!
After 10 years and more than 10,000 hours of professional experience I was really good at programming computers. But it wasn’t me. I sold everything and moved to Siberia. That was 3 years ago.
I tried many of the techniques outlined in the book, but I ended up getting ripped off, screwed over, stolen from, stepped on, and otherwise abused by pretty much everyone I tried to hire.
My latest attempt was to hire a man from Pakistan to write an E-Book about uploading files with PHP. I found him on odesk.com, and he had top ratings and great feedback. He talked the talk, so I gave him a shot. Result? He stole a number of blog articles, munged them into a PDF and passed it off as his own. He had my $$ before I realized what he’d done.
I found the same types of underhanded, shady and/or useless things being done as common practice in my attempts at using VAs, freelancers, and other similar services. I am always amazed to see stories like the ones in this article; I’ve put in the time and effort and I’m never afraid to throw down and do some dirty nasty hard work to get things done. But seriously, I’ve come up short enough that I don’t think that what you’ve got in this book is the whole story on the success stories you’re selling.
Tim – Thanks! This feels great and overwhelming at the same time. I am honored. Each one of these examples have given me some ideas. I love the Ren Men’s energy and am happy to have found their show as another resource to stay plugged in. Chuck – you’re an inspiration. Taking this to the next level when we decide to start a family is a worry in the back of my mind. I’m looking to follow more people with stories like yours.
I figured it would help if I told some of you about who I am and share my goals so you’d have a better idea of WHO you’re voting for if you’ve narrowed your selection down to me. And since a goal of mine for 2010 was to start a blog, I decided I might as well start the new year off right so you can find this info here if you’re interested. http://theworldsbestfruit.posterous.com/
And Brian – Thanks for the comment. That was pretty cool to see.
I vote for Chuck Holton’s video
What a brilliant way to publicize your book, Mr Ferriss! I watched, I voted, and then I went to Amazon and bought. My vote went to the person who sent me to the site, not because he asked for my vote, but because he walks the walk in addition to talking the talk, and led me here and to a resource that will help me, I hope, in my own journey.
I discovered Tim thanks my son Tito. I’m starting again. All the videos were excellent, but I vote for Chuck Holton Video. Pure Inspitarion.
Remeber everybody: “Believe in yourself” is the way
I vote for CHUCK HOLTON’S VIDEO
Great videos!
Every one of them is motivating. I have already read your book twice and after watching these vids I will have to read it again.
SKATEBOARDING IS A GREAT WAY OF LETTING OUT YOUR CREATIVITY IN A POSITIVE WAY . GET TO IT!
Tim –
Congrats on yet another successful launch and love the interactive and social components to this post and others involving the community.
You are setting the example and precedent for authors of the future looking to go way beyond just putting words on paper.
Cheers,
David
I vote for Chuck Holton!
I vote for Nathan Jurewicz aka “The Short Sale Kid”
Incredibly inspirational! My vote goes to Dane Low.
I just picked up your revised 4-hour work week, began reading it on the plane on the way to spend the holidays with my family. I then gave the book to my Dad to read and bought another copy on my Kindle to finish the rest.
This post is maybe the best inspiration anyone could have to get the book. It provides real practical and proven testimonials from real people who got tremendous value from what you describe in the book.
I imagine this might be the most effective tool you’ve ever created for selling your book!
Keep up the great work, you earned yourself a lifelong friend.
Man, it’s really hard to pick one. I can see two good criteria for narrowing it down though. A good video should give some specifics about what was done by the contestant, as opposed to “I followed Tim’s advice and got the results he promises.” I also like what you said about the first video; the best ones say something about the cool stuff people do with their newfound time and money. To add to your comment, it IS about working less because you need to to survive. Working because you want to is a different story. And speaking of philanthropy, I would love to see more blog posts about it. Most of the charities I have worked with have been poorly run, inefficient and without clear direction. Once I become rich and free, I’d love to give back to the world, but I want to do so in an effective way, and not merely put in time and money so I can pat myself on the back.
Absolutely brilliant! Fantastic idea on Tim’s part and wonderful videos and stories to motivate more people to the endless possibilities in this fast growing trend thanks to 4HWW!
I adore all this inspiration! Tim Ferriss, thank you so much for what you do and how many people you touch and move!
I must say though, I am a little sad not to see more women, more families and more age range. Your book & blog inspire more than just men of a certain age!
We are beyond thrilled that we are one of the case studies in the new expanded 4HWW & we are a family traveling the world non stop, on an open ended world tour since 2006!
Unlike someone who mentioned in the comments that it could not be done once these men were married and had families, I am here to validate that it not only can be done, but might also be the most rewarding way to do marriage and family and probably the best possible education for future 21st century global citizens!
In 4HWW, Tim, you have ignited the world to a dream lifestyle that few knew was possible & that (combined with fast moving tech advances & an economy reset), has started the digital nomad/ location independent/freedom trend that grows exponentially every day!
It will be one of the biggest trends in the next decade! They also predict 60% 0f all schools will be virtual by the end of the decade. Travel, school, work for MANY people will look very different in 10 years, so some of us are “pioneering” the new ways & possibilities!
I did think about entering this competition, but putting together the kind of video we would like to do just seemed to be too much to add to our family holiday time. We have traveled over 175,000 miles (most overland) to 4 continents, 32 countries since we left in 2006 & taken over 200 hours of videos and 75,000 pictures, so just organizing that for a fun, creative video was too much for us right now.
I had a bike wreck on the Danube last August & became a bionic woman via surgery to my right dominant arm due to a severe broken bone & that has left my arm & hand totally paralyzed. Thankfully, temporarily, but severed nerves heal very slowly, so we can’t take on anything extra as one handed peck typing is life in the slow lane. 😉 Nothing stops us, but this slowed us a bit.
We are Youtube Partners though & have had several viral videos. Our very 1st one went viral, so I think it “talks” to the 70% of families that dream about extended travel, inspires many of every age & gives hope to women who love freedom and travel, but fear they must give that up when they have a child.
YES! Families can and DO live the 4HWW dream too! 😉
Hell, yes! Fantastic comment. To reiterate and emphasize:
“We are beyond thrilled that we are one of the case studies in the new expanded 4HWW & we are a family traveling the world non stop, on an open ended world tour since 2006!
Unlike someone who mentioned in the comments that it could not be done once these men were married and had families, I am here to validate that it not only can be done, but might also be the most rewarding way to do marriage and family and probably the best possible education for future 21st century global citizens!”
🙂
I am so glad that I have finally picked up this book. I started reading it yesterday and can’t put it down.
I am getting ready to start my own company so the timing is impeccable.
To all the people who submitted a video, thank you. Knowing how you have implemented the 4hww into your lives has been an insipration.
Tim, thank you for going against the norm and sharing your success with us.
God bless!
PS….I think the mom should get the trip.
Tim,
Thank you for picking my video for your list! All of these videos are VERY inspiring!! Happy New Year!
Austin
Hey Josh aka. @josh_crocker
Let’s connect! I love your spirit. We’re definitely not doing everything “by the books” and have lots to learn. Connecting with like-minded people is key. Call me crazy, but I’m also a big proponent of having someone to make a commitment to, as being the motivation for getting something done. Twitter is next on my list to learn (but the LIP group has that as their topic for this coming month so I’m sure I’ll be caught up soon). Right now email or Skype is best for me: info@theworldsbestfruit.com or Skype at theworldsbestfruit works great.
Cant wait!
Sarah,
I’d love to talk with you as well. I am researching which muse to choose and am a little stuck in this phase. 4HWW only mentions looking up magazine subscriptions numbers and repeat advertisers in them, I am wondering where google adwords Keyword traffic works into this equation. My general keyword generates HUGE traffic, but my micro-niche keyword generates next to none. I am scared to move onto the next phase: testing the muse which will include looking up manufacturers and creating a website if the low keyword traffic is an indicator of a “non-demand” product. Any advice will be appreciated.
Thank you,
Nicole
@theabsolutenorm
Hi, I am not purporting to be a business guru but I have spent some time working on the automated lead generation thing.
Here are some ways to automate this:
Driving traffic to your website – your site may need to be able to handle your sales in an automated fashion (ours does not currently – our sales process is still manual) – via SEO, google adwords campaigns, and an affiliate sales-force.
Driving traffic to your site/business via off-line methods such as advertising and P.R.
Outsource to telemarketers: – I have done this with warm leads and have found it very successful.
Buy lists for direct mail or telemarketing.
Utilising your personal networks for word-of-mouth – as Tim does very sucessfully with this blog.
All of the above can be done by others. And a combination of more than one would be wise.
The Downside: Like most things, that which doesn’t cost you time does cost you money.
Good Luck, Lynda.
@Paul Prudhoe – I think you might be missing the point of this contest. 😉
well done Dane! youve got my vote and have done amazing things! I hope everything turns out as you wantit to, you deserve it!
Great contest! Was the winner picked yet???
I’ve been truly inspired. For the past couple of years I’ve thought about what you wrote in your book, but didn’t have the practical applications available for me to put things into action.
I received your book as a gift over the Holiday’s, and am already applying it to what I’m doing online. My time is already freed up considerably, and I expect the two sites I manage to grow exponentially with the help I’m now outsourcing.
In short:
Thanks
The videos were interesting, and I agree with other posters – it’s tough to pick one. But I am voting for Chuck Holton.
Wow! Thanks Tim!
What a great surprise to wake up to this morning in Spain! 2010 is going to be a fantastic year & 4HWW rocks!
Great video Nathan…he gets my vote
I don’t where else to ask, so I’d like to pose a question on this blog. I am just starting my quest for the 4-hour workweek, and I’m contacting advertising departments. My question is: Do I look for the cost of a full page ad for one issue, two, three, etc? I don’t think the book mentions this; although it may be implied. Thanks in advance!
Tim that was an amazing contest. To all the contestant: You are all truly amazing and seeing your stories really inspired me to make 2010 a great year :). I recommend: http://tinyurl.com/692uuz to conduct your own Annual Review, great free tool to help you out!
I just had a question (especially to people in their 50s using the concepts):
How do I go about convincing my dad to follow in those foot steps? He’s a realtor in a smaller town in French Canada. I strongly believe he could be much more happy taking a leap of faith into the unknown but he is stuck in his belief that if he doesn’t have money or technological skills, he has to stay where he is right now. He is one of the best negotiator I know and has a passion for art, and goes to art auctions every month but always tells me he can’t do what he loves because he doesn’t have the money. For example, he has dreamed to go to Paris for the past 20 years but never been (although he takes vacation many time a year but closer). He use to be really entrepreneurial younger but seems like he is just getting by nowadays. I even found him an opportunity opening a new branch for my friend’s brokerage firm in Buenos Aires but he can always find hundreds of reason why not to. His current job already allows him enough free time to start something else. If anyone here as any advice on how to talk to him, it would be greatly appreciate :). It’s a lot easier to convince my friend to join the 4HWW lifestyle but it would mean a lot to me to convince my own father.
Thanks in advance for the advices!
Hi Tim,
thanks for organizing so inspirational videos! I like Chuck one.
From Barcelona, Spain we have put into practice some of your advices. We bought your book in Mallorca, last year after coming back with our little 3 years old girl from Hong Kong. My husband is working as a freelance private investigator, now in Panama – on his miniretirements- and has achieved to have about 60 days of holidays per year -some with family !-. I am still a professional in a multinational company, working now 32 hours a week -I asked the 20 % reduction ! – , thanks to delegation on homecare and some techniques I used at work, I can go home about 4, that is a great hour to be with your kids in Spain. I am planning to start working as freelance this 2010 and starting to write a book about education, work life balance and my own thoughts. I am updating my blog every week http://www.judithaparicio.blogspot.es and hope to continue being spired by you during this 2010.
Yes, I think videos are male dominated, probably we women are too shy to show our progresses.
My contribution to visibility ;-))
My vote goes to Maneesh Sethi. I would love to have a script like that and to know who does his seo/sem.
Hi! I just wanted to take this opportunity to congratulate everyone on their amazing accomplishments! It is great to learn from one another and I have the feeling 2010 will be a great year :)!
I had a question that I’d like to ask. Would anyone here could offer some advices on how going about convincing my father who is in his late 50s to join community? I have been trying for the past couple years but it seems like there are always hundreds of reasons why not to do it : I don’t have any money saved up, I don’t know anything about computers, Where would I put all my stuff and furniture?, etc…
My father is a realtor in a small town and I know for a fact that he dreams about the type of lifestyle the 4HWW is trying to preach. He loves coming see me in Montreal to go to art auctions and he’s built a strong knowledge in that field. He used to be a serial-entrepreneur when he was young but it seems like that fire left him. He has dreamed for the past 20 years to go to Paris and has never been, although he takes many vacations throughout the year.
My goal is to see my father happy and making a living doing what he loves. I even found him a great opportunity helping my friend in Buenos Aires opening a new branch for his real estate brokerage business that is currently booming there.
I think maybe if the advices were coming from someone his own age that has faced the same questioning but was successful, it could help convince him. And I’m sure your advices could help many more in his position.
Thanks in advance for your advices!!!
p.s. @Tim: Wasn’t the deadline to vote for the contest yesterday at Midnight? Seems like voting is still open.
All the videos were great.
I want to personally thank Tim for sharing his knowledge to the world because he lived the life most of do on a daily basis and now has opened a door for each of us to walk through.
I can now say I’ve just turned the door knob and entering becasue these videos gave me the motivation to automate my business.
Much Love and Blessing for 2010 to everyone.
I vote for the crazy Short Sale Kid. I like the zebra outfit with the hair. That’s funny.
I vote for chuck holton
Gary is AMAZING. Huge inspiration. Love his video! Went out and bought the new version to do a reread after seeing the actions he’s taken to make changes in his life.
Amazing stories… I vote for Gary…
I vote for GARY !!! Thank you
I vote for Gary…awesome story and super inspiring!
Excellent work Gary.
I vote for Gary.
mk
Mike Katz
I vote for Gary!!! Good Luck!
I vote for Gary!!!!!
Gary’s video is the best!!!!
I vote Miracle Fruit from the anonymous author.
Ki’une-
Man…I just love that video…100% pure joy and inspiration…
PPC4
My man… Nathan J. “The Short Sale Kid”… has taken the real estate investing game to a whole new level.
Ahmen to 4HWW
These are really great. It’s tremendous to see so many people using the principles in the book so successfully, and to see some of the names I’ve seen as commenters in living color!
One thing that would really be awesome though, is to develop some sort of repository of the people and firms that have helped some of these firms become successful. As a business owner, I think the hardest things is finding great reliable people, and also people who understand the 4HWW approach to work.
Tim, would it be possible to gather some tools and resources (perhaps this is already in the new version!?) and share them with the community? I would love to share some of my own A-team members as well, as I’m sure the community could utilize some of the talent I’ve been able to work with as well?
Any takers? For example, I know of a great cold-calling/telemarking guy that has been a gem for my business. . .(I can be emailed for his contact info…)
Also, there are some great tools that I use pretty regularly use to streamline my organization and time management tasks.
Tungle.com (automatically schedule appointments) I previously had a VA do this for $15 an hour.
CrowdFlower.com (outsource list development) This service is SO awesome and saves so much money, you can’t possibly imagine.
Samasource.com (I will be using this in 2009 to automate list entry …paper lists to electronic lists)
Zoho tools and Google Apps. More CRM and HR stuff than you could dream of…(great for service businesses)
Well, those are a few of the tools I use. . .would anyone else like to share? I’m particularly in need of good VAs as well as non-spam content creators!
Cheers,
Doc
Great Post Tim!
There’s some amazing and inspirational stories here!
I’ve found it challenging so far to find appropriate success stories of young undergraduate students such as myself using the FHWW to accomplish their dreams. It’s been even harder, with school loans totaling more than $45,000 while living on a friend’s couch in Manhattan to meet my budget as a full time student, with nearly $0 savings.
luckily though, I’ve been following you for a while, and I bought and read the book for the second time. I’ve begun the dreamlining process and am trying extremely hard to accomplish everything that I have planned in my life, starting first by getting out of debt and beginning to accomplish my dreams.
For you and all your amazing readers out there, I’d be ever so grateful to get some references of others with success stories coming from a similar situation such as my own. I’d like to see how others in my position obtained success, to be a source of inspiration for me while I attempt to do it myself, to start a dialogue with other amazing success stories.
Thank you Tim, for the book and the blog; for changing my life
-Ryan
[…] Right now on Tim’s site he has 18 videos and case studies from people who’ve successfully implemented… found within the 4HWW. I suggest watching them […]
Great family values and life style.
Great thought in personal finance arangements.
Great family values.
I vote for Chuck Holton!!!
I vote for Chuck H. What a great way to go, and his kids have it going too!
I was inspired by how Chuck entwines his newly gained knowledge with family life, teaching by showing….I vote CHUCK Holton.
@Doc Kane
I couldn’t agree more with your comment “I think the hardest things is finding great reliable people, and also people who understand the 4HWW approach to work.”
It took me a long time and many headaches (plus $$ down the drain) to find the team I work with now.
I can obviously recommened the company/team Em (seen in my video above) works for – If you, or anyone for that matter, is interested in their details, just shoot an email to preneuradmin@gmail.com and I’ll pass their details over.
FYI – Theses guys are a little different to YMII (+ others Tim mentioned in the 4HWW) as you basically “hire” that resource in either a part or full time capacity.. There is no 10 hours a month type program.
Hope it helps, those interested.
Pete
Loved Nathan Jurewicz, who gets my vote!
Is it really thie easy?
It`s 230 am and i can`t stop with the videos…awesome stuff
Great ideas. Great people.
Thanks Tim
You’ll be hearing from me again soon
+pb
Really looking forward to watching these videos… will definitely make time this week. Seems like an interesting mix of stories regardless of the low number of female participants.
I attribute my lack of engagement in this contest to the laser-like focus I currently have on getting my conversion rate to where I want it to be. Its paying off as measured by today’s performance improvements. Not quite satisfied yet… but getting there. I’ll be really pleased when I have enough data to really make accurate predictions about what my conversion rate will be over time, as then I’ll have a better idea of how to conservatively scale things. Right now, it’s still a bit of black magic to try and guess how much I can spend on AdWords and maintain profitability.
Despite my concerns regarding the competitiveness of the women’s apparel industry, I recently decided to invest considerable time and effort into designing the store the ‘right way’ and just really going after the business in spite of said concerns. (Tim has said he regretted building a business on a consumable product, so I figure no plan is perfect). Now, I’m actually thriving on the fact that I’m an underdog in the space, and I can hardly wait to source additional product lines, expand and exceed my own expectations. Worst case scenario, I learn a hell of a lot about eCommerce. Best case scenario, I build an army of similar applying the exact same principles on multiple product lines/industries.
Point noted from above about the reticence of public self-promotion amongst some women. I think I need to start seriously studying media and PR to get to the next level now.
I hope some interesting conversations spring up in the Shopify forum! Right now it’s mostly housekeeping stuff regarding the Shopify system. I would love to have some smart go-getters to brainstorm with! I won’t actually be using the Shopify system at this time (though I think it’s great), so won’t be fully participating in that contest either, though am eager to discuss universally applicable eCommerce issues.
Happy New Year everyone!
I vote for Gary! Awesome!
Gary’s video is awesome…totally inspirational!
wow, that’s some great stuff!! thanks again for more inspiration and the swift kick in the pants. I read the 4hww 2 years ago, set out to do something great, and have trapped myself in a business that owns me. Somehow I failed at applying everything taught in the book and did almost the exact oposite. Didn’t realize it untill 1.5 years into it. But I have started over, I’m re-reading the 4hww, launching a new company (the right way), and this is just the stuff I needed to see to get me fired up!
thanks again tim!
I Vote for Gary!! INCREDIBLE!!
i vote for gary, he changed my life!
[…] 18 real-world lifestyle design case studies […]
Hi Tim,
Love your blog – the ability to learn is something I consider to be one of our greatest gifts, and this website always teaches me something and makes me think!
When does the revised version of 4HWW come out on the Kindle? Some people have alluded to it in the comments to your last few posts, but I can’t find it in the Kindle store!
Kind regards
Rich
I love what Maneesh Sethi has done with his business. Using software that he has developed is great as well and makes everything so automated and fast. Thats the whole point of this process, eliminating tasks that can be either automated or outsourced. Great work!
A vote for Chuck Holton!
Question for Pete:
I have read many good things about VAs in the Philippines … any suggestions on how to find a good VA? What is your own experience in selecting a good VA? Any pitfalls not previously mentioned in the 4HWW?
Many thanks in advance,
Kind regards
Greg
It is a shame there isn’t more females!
Amazing post. I’m really enjoying going through these. 2010 is the year of the 4HWW for me.
When your book was first introduced I immediately cleared up numerous hours by hiring a tech support team in India but it’s time to take it to the next level.
The expanded and updated version of the book was fantastic! Keep up the goo work!
I blogged about the book on my blog.
http://noahfleming.com/blog/creating-your-own-4-hour-workweek-in-2010
Thanks Tim!
All absolutely AWESOME videos. Seeing people respond to your book, Tim, must make you incredibly proud. Keep up the fine work in 2010.
Regards from Cebu, Philippines (a stone through away from Bohol…!).
Chris
I read your book a while back but the lessons have stuck with me on a subconscious level.
I’ve decided to use some of your ideas to develop my own personal brand/lifestyle…. AfterIt100. I’m going to rock out in 2010, bust my ass to become the better man I should be.
Thanks Tim… will update you as time goes on.
I vote for Gary!
I am slightly depressed but also motivated. I read the book over three years ago and have not been able to successfully launch a muse. I can not stand going to my job. I loathe it. I just recently decided to try the muse thing again last month. It is now Jan 4 and I am still no closer. Information overload. My launch date is Feb 1st. As I stated earlier, watching the videos is depressing me because it reminds me of my inability to follow through on something that is so dear to my heart. I must have this freedom I must get out of this rat race. However seeing the diversity of muses that people came up with tells me I am thinking to hard.
Heres the thing that is getting me. I have got connected with a internet marketing coaching company that you have to pay 200 bucks a month for and I still have no muse. I think 200 is worth it but if you have no idea all the seo and social marketing tactics dont work.
None of the people in the video mentioned it but it seems none of them joined any monthly internet marketing coaching programs and yet they were all able to launch a successful muse. Do they have number 1 ranking for their key words…
Maybe I am going at this thing all wrong….
I launched a company last year that had to deal with real estate investing mixed with 4hww techniques. That only lead to thousands of dollars of debt for my business partner and I.
So we both went back to regular jobs and that has not been fun.
Even this morning I am about an inch away from calling in sick to job because I didnt get any work done over the weekend on my muse.
Going to my job wouldnt be so hard if I actually had a good muse idea to work on during my non job time. But as it stands I have no idea after a month of bullshitting sort of (i have really tried but no idea yet so not bullshitting in correlation to laziness) so going to my job is the main piece of my life.
Ok I know this was a random venting session but I just decided to keep it real….
Can any body offer some advice to this troubled soul of mine?
So Tim…
Who won the voting?
Or did I completely miss/overlook something?
Ok, after watching Ki’une’s video I am no longer depressed. That sparked a serious joy in my soul. Partially cuz I love dancing and love the fact he created a muse from his passion!
Be on the look out for me I think I will eventually go big!
[…] HERE: Case studies based on the 4HWW principles (time management/life improvement) […]
I’m actually on my 3rd muse. Haven’t quite been able to get one to gain traction. Seems my shortcoming is testing. I since have read a few more books and ordered the revised version of your book. Now I’m onto number 4.
My current hurdle is testing product names / slogans. I’m using campaigns on Google adwords. However, it seems slow and tedious. Perhaps I’m going about it incorrectly. Any Perls of wisdom would be greatly appreciated.
I also have a post on your forum… “Creating trademark quality muse name”. Thanks!
Hi Tim, All:
I just bought the new 4HWW on my lunch break. Read the original early in 2009 while I was attempting to build a MLM business, which did not work out so well for me, not the book of course, the MLM. How I got to MLM and eventually your book is, after realizing how confused and unhappy I am; and it all started after graduating college in 2008 – every job after that left me bored or unfulfilled or broke. I’m already realizing how disillusioned I was to the whole Big Biz/Climbing up the ladder crap. I can’t take it anymore! I hate my job, I’m only 23 and can NOT imagine being dependent on someone else for my career/money/freetime. Your book inspired and scared me. Made me a believer and a skeptic. I think I’m finally getting the courage to go ahead and develop a muse. I have NO idea what I want to do with my life, (I Like too many things) but I KNOW I have to escape this rat race. I’ve Literally made myself physically Sick thinking of how boring and non-important my work is. So…after reading the new version, I plan on developing a muse. I have NO biz experience, NO idea for a product, and LOTS of fear of failing and ending up at a crappy job again.
I guess all I’m asking for is…… a “Good Luck Reene, It’s Possible!!!!” From you all. :–)
Reene
Ok Tim,
Were all getting impatient… when are the results going to be posted?
My vote goes to the Ren Men!
Hey Nathan. Just noticed you were homeschooled. I knew there was something I liked about you. 🙂
Thanks Chuck…. I think its absolutely the best way to bring up your kids. I am definitely home schooling mine when I have kids.
@Ki’une.
Have only just watched your video as it was a later addition ( I think). Poignant and beautiful – you obviously have enormous creative talent. And the sunscreen song -“advice, like youth, just wasted on the young” – is pretty cool.
Bought a tear to my eye….
This must not be Tim’s 4 hours to work. 😉