https://www.hulu.com/watch/352863
(Trouble viewing? See Tim Ferriss: A Day In The Life on Hulu. If you’re international, try using Hotspot Shield first.)
I’m often asked, “What does your typical day look like?”
In an attempt to answer this difficult question, I met up with Morgan Spurlock’s film crew for an episode of “A Day In The Life.” The full Friday we shot (I reserve Fridays for in-person meetings) reiterates a point I’ve driven home before: The 4-Hour Workweek is, and always has been, about using time optimally, not being idle.
It also shows how much I love my POS VW Golf, which is having its 10th birthday soon.
To clarify the intro, here’s a mostly complete list of start-ups I advise and have invested in [UPDATE 2014: Here is the most complete list of all my startups, which is kept up-to-date.]:
About.me (acquired by AOL)
DailyBurn (acquired by IAC)
Milk (acquired by Google)
Posterous (acquired by Twitter)
Foodzie (acquired by Joyus)
Uber (The Escalade in the above video was via Uber, which I use whenever parking will be a hassle.)
DonorsChoose.org (educational non-profit)
Schematic Labs (makers of SoundTracking)
Central Kitchen Restaurant (press)
DuoLingo (language learning)
Other investments, including late-stage and publicly traded, include:
Facebook (pre-IPO)
Twitter (pre-IPO)
Alibaba Group (pre-IPO)
SimpleGeo (acquired by Urban Airship)
Unsubscribe.com (acquired by TrustedID)
Digg (acquired by Betaworks)
Basis (acquired by Intel)
Would you like to work together? If so, watch the “Advise This!” video below and tell me about your company in the comments, ideally in 200 words or fewer. Stats are always helpful.
Look forward to checking it out. In the meantime, I have to wrap up The 4-Hour Chef!
It’s shaping up to be a fun one… 🙂
Odds and Ends:
WellnessFX Competition – Would you like to spend 30 minutes with me? I’d love to learn what you’re up to and see if I can help. WellnessFX, featured in the above episode, is sponsoring a giveaway for six 30-minute slots. Click here to learn more.
SXSW – “Advise This” Panel – So, what do start-up “advisors” do, exactly? How do you recruit A-listers to your cause? Or, better yet, how do you assemble and leverage the right team? In the below panel, Gary Vaynerchuk, Tony Conrad, JR Johnson, Chase Charvis, and I discuss the relationships between founders, investors, and advisors in start-ups. You’ll recognize the now familiar “14 minutes into my 15 minutes…,” which I say to keep my head from getting too damn big. It’s a Seneca thing:
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.)
Hey Tim love your stuff, keep it up. You and your readers are an inspiration to thousands. It opened my eyes up to a whole new life. I would love to have you take a look at my business
Last year I invested in a online retail scooter company and scooter rider. Ya kids kick scooters. It’s a fast growing action sport. Think snowboarding 20 years ago.
I jumped in without any knowledge and now we’re trying to capitalize on the business and partner/rider. He has won competitions all over the world http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pecK54PErv4 and he’ll be on a national T.V. show this summer. However we are having problems figuring out a way to monetize the whole situation. We just created a new website, old one http://www.shop.kotascooter.com new one is http://www.kotasports.com. There is tremendous opportunity, but we need help with some direction.
Thanks
John
Hello Tim,
Staff.com will be a $1 billion company. We’re a global recruitment platform similar to oDesk and Elance except that we are focussed on full time jobs only. We have several advantages over the competition: We have lower rates because we negotiate full time salaries which is also better for staff, we have full time recruiters to help companies get started, tracking technology better suited to full time hires, we only approve and work with good employers to keep staff happy, and we help to manage workers and make sure they are reliable. oDesk is at $25 million and growing at 100% every year for the last 6 years, and we believe we can beat them.
Would love to have you as an advisor. I was actually on that video you posted asking questions at the end 🙂
If you guys base your operations in Canada, you can receive up to 60% of the cost of employees refunded back to you by the Canadian Government. Let me know if you want more info, or to be connected with someone who can help you set this up.
Hi Tim,
My company, EasyPaint (easypaint.com), is currently discussing various options from VC funding, to angel investors, to continuing to bootstrap, but bringing on advisors was not something we really considered, so very cool to see this angle.
Our site allows homeowners to post photos and information about paint projects for free, then let paint contractors bid on the job. Homeowners choose the painter for them based on the prices, proposed scope of work, profiles and past job reviews. Users have loved the site so far.
After launching quietly last month, we’ve gotten 464 uniques in the past 30 days, and have 143 registered users including painters and homeowners (adding 5-10 per day). Facebook likes are also jumping like crazy.
Though we’re still early on, we’ve spent over $30,000 ourselves on the product because we (and our users) see it growing very big. I’d love some feedback on the site for now, and if you have a room in your new place you’d like to have painted, I’d love for you to use it.
If you see yourself adding value somewhere, I’d obviously be willing to discuss advisory roles, although my main interest is in getting the product as efficient as possible before an endorsement from you.
Thanks for reading and keep up the great work,
Marty Cornish, CEO
EasyPaint
Tim,
Good choice with the M&P 45 and I’m stoked to see you are putting a lot thought into your shooting. Looks like you’ve received some good training. One must be a thinker before one can be a shooter.
If you want to take your marksmanship to another level very rapidly (within hours), drop me a line. I’ll put you in touch with a couple of the true professionals in the industry. They share your passions for learning and doing the things that keep inspiration in life flowing.
Stay safe and mahalo.
14 minutes into your 15 minutes of fame…… not by a long shot Tim! You’re humble and extremely relevant. I’d say you’re more like 4 minutes into your 15 minutes of fame.
Tim – Love all your work. I’m always impressed by both your lavish tastes and your minimalist tastes intermingled. Having a chauffer drive you around one minute, next minute driving around a 10yo VW. Seriously, we all know you can afford a BMW or Lexus, or if you just love VW, at least a brand new VW, but you don’t. In your huge house, which I’m sure with SFO real estate costs must be worth a fortune, you use two little old stools to make a stand-up desk for writing vs. something herman miller custom designed for you. Thanks so much for sharing a peak into your life, it was awesome.
Tim, thank you for all of your mind opening work throughout your 14 minutes.
Please consider my startup, which turns learning of foreign languages into a tactile experience…
Mission: provide the best designed experience to casually pick up foreign languages on mobile devices, especially to accelerate vocabulary acquisition.
What’s shipping now: iPhone apps released on the app store this January for 14 languages, available in 10 localizations.
Early results: with little promotion other than app store signage, the app is getting picked up in Asia especially, with 25k downloads in Japan and 35k downloads in China in the past 30 days. Reviews are favorable, averaging 4.5 to 5 stars. Conversion rate from free to paid product (ex-China) is 4.0%, with a high price point and no iterations so far on optimizing upsell.
What is coming in 2 months: the tablet UI, which I believe is an exciting innovation that will make foreign languages much more accessible to a broad segment of the population.
For a lover of languages, this is a really fun project. A redeem code for Bahasa Indonesia on iPhone available for you now, and a demo of the tablet app next month.
Hi Mike, what you’re working on sounds REALLY interesting, especially as we’re working on something to improve the way languages are learned. I’d love to speak with you at some point if you’d be so kind – even to bounce ideas off each other and discuss the language learning market.
Thanks – Chris
Hey Tim I think you should learn how to fire an automatic weapon before you teach other people to do it incorrectly. Ifyou believe that the best way to learn something is to teach it you should at the very least learn how to do it safely and correctly first.
Hey Tim, great video!
I run the men’s accessories retailer http://www.brighterman.com. I also run an online mens fashion magazine called MFM http://www.mensfashionmagazine.co.uk along with a few other niche sites all from my BEDROOM. Be great to get some killer advice from you on how to move things forward and turn my long working hours to steady earning low working hours.
Paul
Tim,
Where in the 4HB does it tell about that deadlift workout? Looked awesome.
Magnus
Tim,
I seriously love you and find you sooo inspiring. I only pray that you have kids one day so I can see how you handle life as a “mogul dad”. Lol. 🙂
Would love to have the transcript from this – so many awesome bits and bytes.
Rock on.
Heather
Rack deadlifts in the smith machine with a 6 inch ROM? How did you arrive at that?
Great panel, and crazy coincidence timing for me. Just started looking for advisors two days ago.
My business, rbutr, although quite new has already received some nation wide press coverage and made it to through to the final 52 applications (out of 1078) for the Knight News Challenge, hopefully making it through to the winning round and taking $250,000 of equity free funding.
The idea is super simple, and super powerful – rbutr allows people to connect rebuttal articles to the articles they are rebutting so that when other people view the original articles, they can see that they have been rebutted.
Simple, yes, but the consequences are huge. This will organise the internet. It will drive cross-platform discussion. It will change the way people have access to information. It destroys the filter bubble world we are all currently stuck in.
We’re in beta testing at the moment, and about to take this project from exploratory testing in to serious business mode. Tim, I have always loved your philosophical side, I hope you can see how philosophically powerful this sort of a tool could be.
So see more information on the website: http://rbutr.com
A fair third party review: http://skeptools.wordpress.com/2012/04/02/rbutr-is-the-newest-tool-in-the-skeptic-arsenal/
and our progress in the Knight News Challenge: http://newschallenge.tumblr.com/post/20962258701/knight-news-challenge-on-networks-moving-to-the-next
< 200 words:
kolstom – revolutionary eyewear
I launched the project on Kickstarter with compressed carbon fiber wayfarer style sunglasses (raised over $80,000 in about 35 days). After this first product, I plan on bringing real technology to eyewear such as better lens technology, frame materials (not just carbon fiber), smart hinges, etc.
This isn't my first rodeo (currently selling my previous business to the largest knife/tool company in the USA). Not sure how this would fit into your "advising portfolio" as it is very different but perhaps you're interested or know somebody who might be a good fit.
thanks!
Tim. Good Afternoon. I would love the oppurtunity to work with you. I have been reading your books 4 hour body and 4 hour work week and I cannot wait to buy your upcoming book 4 hour chef.
Anyway.. I want to work with you and build something cool in the healthcare industry. We all go to docs and healthcare is huge industry. I own a medical billing company and have over 12 years expierence in healthcare. Email me back and lets get this rollling. I will discuss the details of the company and what we want to do in an email or phone conversation.If interested I’d like you to come out to Florida and we can discuss more in detail. Looking forward to the fantastic oppurtunity!! Lou
I would love any advise or tips etc. about how to get my book published. I loved your 4 hour body book as well as your 4 hour work week book. I have a fun, inspiring story with very specific nutrition as to how I obtained my goals. I have thought about doing another e-book, but wondering if getting this book published would be a better route. Support me 🙂 Take a look at my website and facebook page…hmmm maybe even you will learn something. You have not because you ask not, right?
Tim, my startup company is nCostaRica.com. I launched it four
months ago to become the leading directory for local businesses and professional services in Costa Rica, and since day one I designed it with the end goal to replicate
it as a global tool.
nCostaRica.com creates a profile for local businesses with five essential elements that any buyer would need: the store look ( picture ), the location (gmaps), the operating hours, contact information and of course the product portfolio list. See example http://bit.ly/JxUwWI
With enough business listed in the website I emulate what happens in the offline world. You know, by making facebook works for me and with a smart usage of the open graph I soon realized that people buy products or visit stores mostly based on friend’s recommendations or public following; and that’s why I integrated it on the right column;
I am sure you already saw the potential, but summarizing it: need to get a lot of local businesses to join (not hard if we do it with the world), demonstrate the social reach, get investors for the left side column (35 reserved text links for backers) and 8 premium sponsorship spots for investors that are shown across the entire website; so if the website has 2000 pages the sponsors get 2000 adds… just with one line of code in the back end.
Tim, I summarized almost two years of research, coding and design in four paragraphs and I definitely think I am a good fit to work with you. And as I said this afternoon, my company integrates perfectly with: shopify, branchout, taskrabbit, aboutme and trippy on the first stage, and posterous, digg, stumbleupon, facebook and twitter for social media.
By the way, I did not find anything similar to this in LatinAmerica and I think in the USA: Yelp and CitySearch are “reviews” site, not real competitors.
Looking forward to schedule our first meeting.
-Hector,
Tim,
Did you get into combat shooting vs marksmanship?
I started learning marksmanship first, then got into learning combat shooting and later teaching at places like Front Sight and for other cops. It is such a different challenge. Different rewards, but the latter was more fun as it was more ‘practical’ even when you job doesn’t require carrying a gun.
Most people go into business thinking they are going to have more time on their hands. Sadly this is not the case. Most entrepreneurs are small business owners meaning they do everything from accounting, to customer service, to managing employees etc.. This all builds up and can become quite stressful. I’m sure you understand and that is why you wrote the four hour workweek. Here at busybusy we would love to have you involved. We create solutions for busy people. You would be a great fit because of your knowledge on business efficiency and making life easier. That is what busybusy.com is all about. We just finished are first round the website is done beta testing we are launching this June check us out. Hit my up with an email and I will send you an investor packet. The business has huge potential. We only need 3000 users to be profitable. The ultimate goal/exit strategy is 80 billion.
busybusy.com
Trying to watch from an internet cafe in Canada.
Not available in Canada. Ok, activate my VPN.
Video won’t play because ads are blocked. Ok, disable my ad block software. Wait while video reloads.
Video starts. Halfway through ad, starts skipping. “We’re sorry, we can’t show you this video”
Restart video in Hulu itself. Finally works, well worth it.
I’m not listing these to complain – I know Hulu is keenly aware that this kind of stuff costs them views. I mention it only to point out that there is a lot of money to be made for whoever figures out a better system.
It goes without saying that the video ads were all irrelevant, but that I’m also pretty easy to persuade to buy something, if it’s something I’m interested in.
Online targeting and UX has come a long way, but there’s so much more that could be done. It took me about three entire minutes to start the video, and I’m pretty experienced online, have a VPN, run my own website, etc.
“Would you like to work together? If so, watch the “Advise This!” video below and tell me about your company in the comments, ideally in 200 words or fewer. Stats are always helpful”
You know better Tim..never, ever give up your “million dollar idea”, maybe, maybe not, for everyone to see???
You know how you get to work with Tim Ferriss? You fly a helicopter onto his property, and then worry about what happens later…kinda like Kris Kristofferson did with Johnny Cash…that takes balls…but if you believe in YOU..it’s amazing what can happen and what a life you can live when you Just Do It!!!
I’m sure this message will never see the light of day, but guess what?
Based on what I have learned from you and many more long dead sages…well let’s just see???
Hi Tim!
It was your 4-hour work week book among others that inspired me to pursue my own startup. I’m actually tackling one of the problems that you mentioned before, which is that we get way too many emails, and don’t have a good way to manage them. I tried your check twice a day method, but eventually got too frustrated. The fact that we have to go through such extreme measures such as learning a new habit to adapt shows that email is ready for disruption. As such, I went out to create my own solution.
My company is developing a workflow-oriented inbox that will help knowledge workers and professionals manage their emails better through smart filters and intuitive workflow interfaces.
We have a working prototype and are working on a beta right now. My team consists of myself (senior at Stanford), and two ex-Microsoft employees.
Let me know if you are interested, and thanks for continuing to inspire the rest of us!
Seriously enjoyed the Day in The Life vid!
< 200 words:
kolstom – revolutionary eyewear
I launched the project on Kickstarter with compressed carbon fiber wayfarer style sunglasses (raised over $80,000 in about 35 days). After this first product, I plan on bringing real technology to eyewear such as better lens technology, frame materials (not just carbon fiber), smarter hinges, etc. Proprietary technology = extremely high margins.
This isn't my first rodeo — currently selling my previous business to the largest company in its market category (outdoor/tactical gear). Not sure how this would fit into your "advising portfolio" as it is very different but perhaps you're interested or know somebody who might be a good fit.
Thanks for reading!
Why not just put it on Youtube or vimeo so everybody can easily watch instead of using all these extra tools and apps/plug-ins. Don’t like to mess it up too much with all these extra stuff and soon you have no idea what you have or not.
So easy instead of just having it on hulu for US citizens. Get more views by sharing it on Youtube. Maybe there’s a reason to why you don’t but still I think it’s a good idea.
Why you might be interested in working with me:
My Story: In 2008, I quit my investment banking job to start an e-commerce business, inspired partially by the 4HWW. In 2011, I did $1 million in sales (with healthy margins) while spending 7 months traveling the world. For the full story, please see the link below:
http://www.ecommercefuel.com/my-corporate-escape-story/
My Start-Up: I want to create a Code Academy for e-Commerce. My curriculum goes beyond SEO and shopping carts, focusing instead on how to profitably sell a commodity in today’s cut-throat e-commerce environment. As more and more brick-and-mortar shops are forced online, demand for quality training in this field will grow.
Present & Future: The blog for this project launched two weeks ago at http://www.ecommercefuel.com. I’ll shortly be releasing a beta e-commerce video training course to get feedback / test demand / pivot as needed.
Thanks for the consideration and best of luck wrapping up The 4-Hour Chef!
Sad times… not available in the UK
Hey Tim,
Love the blog and books. 4HWW & 4HB have helped me get to where I am today but the one thing I took from you, which has sent my life in a completely new direction is…asking intelligent, conscious questions that challenge assumptions. That is the MED of success in life!
Anyway I’ll keep this short. Don’t wanna kiss your ass too much (hope that get’s past your first wall of outsourced defence lol).
But what happened to your interest in screenwriting? Did the 4 Hour Chef put that on pause?
I noticed you read a few well known books in the area. I tried breaking into the industry when I was 15. I somehow managed to get a few Hollywood agents and producers to read my screenplays (I’m from the UK). Little did I know what I was doing was called “informational interviews”!
Hi Tim,
What’s the name of the lower back support you use during your morning meditation?
Thanks,
– Rich
Hi Tim,
Thank you for all the great resources you have provided in your books (FHWW and FHB). I am setting up a nutritional supplement company and am trying to find contract manufacturers in the US who can manufacture capsules, bottle them and ship them out. This bit of information is missing from your resource list…..
Any recommendations? Your response will be much appreciated.
Janani Barath
Tim,
I was wondering what would I ask you if I had one beer with you. So now I am actually asking you what would YOU ask a person you really admire?
Thanks man and keep up with the great job!! 😉
Alex
Ciao Tim!
We met at SXSW last year. I’m the Italian guy from the Milan area.
My company, InterCultural Group, provides cross cultural training, coaching and consulting services to organizations that operate internationally. Through a proprietary methodology, called the Intercultural intelligence® Model, we help avoid cultural faux pas, and work and communicate effectively with people from other cultures.
Among our clients: Google, GE Healthcare, Georgetown University.
The problem we solve:
– Up to 20% of expatriates fail to attain international assignment objectives due to the inability to connect with host culture. Each of their premature returns can cost $1.2 million.
– Up to 40% of multinational teams flunk due to the cultural differences in perceiving and acting on: goal setting, decision making and time management.
– 75% of international ventures that fail experienced cross cultural issues
Our services are analog: workshops, corporate retreats, coaching. I am now working on a web based digital format that will allow us to bring the same value to a much wider audience, and scale. This is why I’d like to work with you.
You and I have been foreign exchange students and both know the power of intercultural understanding. I believe it’s a good fit.
I will be in SF to present my research at Square on May 11. Since Friday is the day you dedicate to meetings in person I am available to meet if you are.
Grazie e a presto,
Ciao
Paolo
Tim – There is a growing interest in how we can age well. This has resulted in the beginnings of scientific research into this area. Whilst there is nothing ‘proven’ as yet, there are some useful guidelines, which are likely to maximise our chances of living longer and, more importantly, living well. I have built on my experiences of training therapists to improve brain function in people who have sustained brain injury, and am developing a company called Life Tree Training (note the website is still being developed). The strap line is: Healthy Brain; Happy Life, and the overall aim is to coach people as to how they can live a healthy, happy and purposeful life. This is not a prescriptive programme (spelled the UK way) as we are all different – so it encourages each person to find what works for them, but provides them with the tools and information to do this and to turn their knowledge into behavioural change (well that’s the idea anyhow). The website is coming into its final stages of production, and once this is done we will begin the marketing stage for the introductory day course (which sets the scene). This will be filmed and then made available to people who cannot travel to London, UK. We have also started to film video episodes (using your random episodes as a kind of loose model) for each of the 7 habits that people need to acquire, and covering the 21 principles of the programme. An app and a web based coach are also in production. I would greatly value investment and advice/guidance on this company if you consider it to be a worthwhile area for yourself to be involved in. Thank you for your consideration and keep up the inspiring work/play!
Hi Moderators (Tim). I sent you my start-up company comment 2days aog but it did not show on the post comment section. Did I do something wrong ? If so, please let me know to adjust it; weird !
-Hector
Tim,
I seriously love you and find you sooo inspiring. I only pray that you have kids one day so I can see how you handle life as a “mogul dad”. Lol. 🙂
Would love to have the transcript from this – so many awesome bits and bytes.
Rock on.
Heather
^
good
Guys guys, Tim can’t host the video, it’s not his it’s a HULU show. If you can’t see it use Tunnelbear or Hotspot, works like a charm
This was great! Especially the part with your buddy — I thought “that looks just like Jason Harris,” and it was. We went to k-12 school together. Small world!
Hi Tim,
That was a very inspirational video, because it was a good example about how to creatively go about your day without being too stressed, fitting in a good amount of work, as well as doing some personal stuff. I especially enjoyed how the personal stuff was not pushed to the way end of the day.
I guess one question I have is…
It shows that you are up at (and quite awake) at 8.00. Around 11pm you start writing, and probably don’t go to bed until 2-3.
How much sleep do you usually get? Are you able to function with very little sleep?
How flexible are you in your writing schedule? For instance, do all your close friends know that you are writing around that time and don’t interrupt you? Or do you get swayed into going on a night in town etc. and sometimes slack off with the writing?
I’m 33, at a point in life where my daily business, my entrepreneurial project that I’m trying to build on the side, social demands, the necessity to eat well, workout, and meetings (despite minimizing them to as bare min as possible) are constantly competing for my attention.
And you seem so calm and centered, that I would like to get your input on at least how flexible or focused you are in your schedule. That’s what I wanted to get from the video, and to a certain level it helped.
Thank you for a very transparent & inspiring video, best wishes.
Hey Tim,
Great video. Can you tell us where you got the straps you’re using in your meditation? I could really use some.
Thanks!
Hi Tim,
I am writing, and about to begin promotion of my book, which I would love to call ‘FOUR HOUR WORLD’. The intent of the book is to explain most of the goings on of the world, from a philosophic, scientific, political, economical and technological standpoint, in a short concise, random and easy to read format to someone with no initial knowledge in anything, as if teaching to a student with a total read time of less than 4 hours.
The book is already 99% written, and currently going through edit after edit after edit. Without your partnership and blessing, it will be called ‘Random Rationality’.
It will be sold as an ebook through Amazon, iBooks, B&N and Nook book stores with a print on demand component through CreateSpace.
Thanks!
Great promotional video. But again, completely void of actual content. Sure it is a feel good piece by hulu stating Tim Ferriss is a cool guy. For those who are outside of the US and was unable to see the video, trust me you didn’t miss anything. If you thought Tim Ferriss was cool before, you’ll still think he is cool and that’s pretty much it.
As for the SXSW video, it is really disappointing. Tim Ferriss mentions that the world is full of noise, and this video is a part of that noise. The points to walking away with?
1. Gurus who say they hate noise, are very capable(or active) in creating noise. 2. Investors are also suckers for noise(or fabricated stories) as much as normal people. 3. Investors or gurus are really as lost as the rest of people on planet earth. Most have no idea why or how they are successful which points to the fact that luck is a huge factor. 4. Investors or gurus have their own quirks. I’m 99% sure that if you approach any of the individuals in the SXSW video they way they say want to be approached, you’ll never even see their shadow.
This sucks because I really want to like Tim Ferriss’s Stuff. But it just doesn’t have any value. You gotta work harder Tim. Bring the goods.
ha why do you have an army pt cap? Don’t you like how well it sticks to your head when you have short hair? lol
hey, I just wanted to say that i like the personal opinions more over in the descriptions of ur blog entries. when i do entries myself, at first i thought stirring away from personal so i could broaden my readership, but then it came to me that the personal makes the whole thing in the first place.
were not writing text books here, if anything, a good AND bad response to personal opinion is better then nothing at all.
Tim,
First, a thank you: Thanks to the 4HWW, over the past year I’ve successfully reduced work time by 25%, enabling me to spend more time with my wife and daughters, and more time engaged in humanitarian efforts in various third world countries (particularly Haiti).
Secondly, I’d appreciate it greatly if you’d consider serving as a marketing advisor to my Muse Start-Up:
Having spent the last 30 years as a marriage counselor, the challenge for me was exchanging a “fee for service” business model for one that was not at all dependent on my time.
After reading the 4HWW, it occurred to me that up until now if someone was looking for marriage resources, there have always been three basic options: self help tools, workshops/seminars, and face-to-face marriage counseling.
And then I thought: What if I could create a totally new option – a hybrid, essentially – that was every bit as effective as face-to-face marriage counseling, but as cost-effective and convenient as self help tools?
I did some market research and discovered that no one else has even come close to creating anything like this – but I have.
I’ve spent the past year actually creating and field testing this system with real clients, and it has proven to be even more effective than I ever imagined.
So the current challenge is the development of a website and an effective marketing strategy – things which fall outside of my expertise.
Again, I would appreciate it greatly if you would consider partnering with me on this.
HaHa! Your day looks very similar to mine except in reverse. My creative time is in the morning 7:30 – 10:00am, mostly videos via YouTube or writing sales and marketing stuff for my business. Then weight training mid-morning. Followed by lunch and hanging out with my dogs for the afternoon. Then teaching karate at nights for 2 or 3 hrs. (this is considered my business but it doesn’t feel that way). I finish up by taking our kickboxing workout from one of our instructors. Once I get home, I eat a clean recovery meal and read a good book. I really applied the principles of The 4-hour Workweek to my business.
Awesome episode… BTW I cannot wait for BASIS watch to come out.
Hey Tim, loved the video and had one quick question. How long do you spend writing every night? If it’s more than a couple of hours, how often do you take breaks?
Thanks
Joe
awesome
Tunnel Bear worked a treat here in Oz. It only took 5 mins to setup a free account with 500MB allowance per month.
How to wach Hulu if Hotspot Shield/Tunnelbear is not working for you
Essentially:
1. Download and install BOTH Tunnelbear and Ultrasurf ( http://ultrasurf.us/ )
2. Start Tunnelbear
3. Start Ultrasurf
4. Open Browser
a. Delete cache, cookies, authenticated sessions
b. Disable Ad-blocking software (such as ABP) if applicable
5. Watch Vids on Hulu
Hi Tim,
Love the SXSW “Advise This Panel” video. I learned more in this one hour video than any MBA program could teach me. Real, Raw, and Entertaining!
A brilliant collection of entrepreneurial minds. Thanks for sharing this video for those of us who couldn’t be there live.
🙂
John
Another great post. Seriously, how could anyone dislike you and what you represent? You cover the basics of life but maybe it is because you dare go against the “old dogs”. I say a good place for those “old dogs” is on the porch.
Hi Tim,
I haven’t viewed the video yet but am
mesmerized by the commentary.
Fascinating! The majority of contributors
are trying to better themselves and this
world with new, fresh and exciting ideas.
Then there are a minority of individuals
who wax negative.
As one who used to wallow in this mud I
wonder, in this column and to the world
in general what they actually bring to the
table? Cynicism is easy in our present
world as it is almost epedemic. I just want
to put forward that negativity and cynicism
are not an offering! It doesn’t enhance or
add to “Us”. It’s become a very small world.
The neg thing is an old way of doing things
and the only payoff is that the sender feels
“relieved” of his burden which is walking
around feeling bummed and separate from
a very exciting world which he or she could
be part of.
The Best to you Tim and Kudos to the work
that you do. Mu
Cool Video.. I wish they would launch the TV-Series lifehacker…
What does your workout routine look like these days?
Love the Golf, love it.
I don’t think you’re in your 14th minute Tim, you’ve helped give birth to a somewhat new generation and a new type of entrepreneur. So part of your legacy will live on at the very least.
Is it just me, or does this guy look like he could be your brother? Or maybe it is Tim in disguise and your next book will be on the finer points of weed-whacking! Check it out: http://youtu.be/TglNR3lnEhw
Jokes!
DT
Tim, thanks for the insight into your daily life.
Very cool stuff – love your apartment btw. I’d also be interested in knowing how long you write for each night. I wanted to complete my first book while I’m still 16. Unfortunately I haven’t had the time and ended up using all the content for blog posts and an information product launch. Would love to hear more about how you write.
I’ll have to pick up the four hour chef… Just for the insight into how you learn everything.
The muted movies + music idea is a little weird and although I tried it, doesn’t really work for me. Will have to stick to silence.
And man – I’m still waiting for another Random Show.
Hi Tim
Hotspot allowed it to work for me in Sydney, Australia on the laptop. Tried same on the iPad but got an error message on Hulu about an invalid address. Back to the laptop I go.
Great episode. Incidentally, I recent ally had a blood test and asked if I could come in and request my own blood tests. The nurse said I’d need a script from my doctor. I said it’s for my own reference but I got the same response.. Like talking to an automaton.. It’s a private commercial lab though so I figure if I wave cash and say I’ll pay instead of booking it to Medicare (gov), then they might oblige.. It’s my IP and if I pay for it my self…you would think they would do it.. My Doc once had a full panel requested from a weird stomach ache and I managed to get a full copy of the 15 pages of results. Fascinating to get a baseline, it would be great to compare every 6 months or so after experimenting with different diets. Eg bulletproof/paleo vs low fat etc My science degree is actually becoming more useful!
Keep up the great work and adventures
Andy
Science grad, BulletProof dieter, GTDer , work shifting/home based jaded corporate (striving to further unshackle ) ops director, ex-triathlete training for cross-fit/tough bloke, body fat goal 11%, kindle- currently – art of war by Sun Tzu, struggling sleep-deprived new Dad and husband. Msg me if like-minded.
Tim,
I viewed the “day in the life” segment and I have to say I was delighted to see you pickup a firearm. Being a successful businessman and pretty much a successful everything else I am elated to see you tackle the subject of firearm training and I, like many others that read your blog/books, am interested to see what you will learn and teach. If I may make one request and suggestion. I hope you will investigate and learn practical self defense technique even though it is nearly impossible to defensive carry in the state of California. You may want to look into IDPA (International Defensive Pistol Association) as they offer a more practical level of competition. Secondly I would like to recommend Massad Ayoob Group’s MAG40 and MAG80 seminars. Mr. Ayoob is our nation’s leading expert on defensive firearm use and the legal repercussions. Thank you for your time and your impact on our society.
** ADVICE COMMENT
Hey Tim, great post as usual, I really enjoyed the SXSW panel, Gary V drops a lot of Fbombs but the guys is super passionate. Plus, I am looking forward to try some marksmanship when I move to San Fran, way easier to do it in the US then Norway you guys love your guns!
So advising startup wise, How did you meet your gf? or have a look at most of the good couples in your network, how did they meet?
Would probably guess something like 90% of them did not meet through online dating but it is something around a $3-4 billion dollar business.
Made a facebook game that rewards my friends to make introductions to friends they think I should meet (trade pts for prizes, missions, badges,etc.). No pressure, just an indirect way of promoting the behaviour I want with some psychology. End of the day it increases the chances I will meet the right girl, most likely through a MUTUAL FRIEND, especially when I work for a startup, run 2 companies, do crossfit, and a million of other things.
It is http://www.frogle.me, launching BETA in May, was at StartupWeekend in Oslo, Norway. Applied for YC but no luck this time but still moving forward anyways 🙂 http://www.facebook.com/froglematch for our timeline.
I am moving to San Fran permanently in August, but there 3 weeks for work in May. While I am there I am looking forward to meeting some of the guys at Branchout (through some startup friends here in Norway) and maybe the Buried Life guys (From Canada and good friends with my friend Louise).
Hope to add you to the list 😉
Cheers,
Brian
Tim,
Thru other attempts on FB, your private email, and Twitter my goal is so far un-reachable. #Persistence I will now move to your blog in hopes that you will see it and your heart will be softened 😛
I am in Guangzhou, China and am working with some partners on getting a couple of different companies off the ground. They are all looking very successful but all did take some original investment.
I think it is important that you make sure that people understand that in order to get a muse going you have to be in a financial position to throw some money down. Anyone can put everything they have into their ideas but I would assume most people are un-willing to take this dramatic step #IHowever..Am
Here’s my question. In China if you want a factory to design your own product (unless you want to switch just the brand name/logo) you need to make a MOQ (Minimum Order Quantity – usually 500 pcs) order to cover the design and mold prices. Any ideas on how to avoid this?
#Attempt#17toContactmyFavCeleb.
p.s. Congrats on the great doc. w/ Morgan Spurlock. Good to see more of the man behind the brain
My company, GiftWoo, is developing a gift recommendation engine to help men foster better relationships through periodic and thoughtful romantic gestures, utilizing behavioral science, models of preference and social trends.
Check us out!!
Fantastic video, Tim. It really made my entrepreneurial heart glow.
It was amazing seeing you at all the local haunts here – it makes me hope I will bump into you one day at Samovar, or that perhaps, I too will reach my dreams! Thanks for the inspiration.
A long time fan,
-Charlie
I’ve heard you are opposed to soy. Have you read this, and if so, what do you think? http://zenhabits.net/soy/
Hulu really sucks ! But the video was Great ! ; )
Hello Tim,
Here’s my invitation for me to join me (it’s in the early stage so still room for you to set it up correctly based on your experience):
I am about to publish Napoleon Hill’s “Think and grow rich” in Greek language (translation organized by me as not available in Greek up to now). It’s rather a ‘philanthropic’ motive because I am not sure yet how much profit is in there, financially. But the book has helped millions and millions of people, and when it was released in the Great Depression in 1937 it was a success. It will be again here in Greece. “Right time, right place”. I will be he publisher and offer it as ebook first. Then we’ll see. It’s a passionate project of mine, trying to do my insignificant part in making the situation better and give hope to people (I am a German who has lived in Greece for 5,5 years now).
Regards from Greece,
David
That was very inspiring .
Quick question, do you find that the juice is worth the squeeze when working on very little sleep? Or do you think that lack of sleep is almost always due to poor planning.
Thank you!
-S
Tim,
Since this was titled “day in the life”, I thought this might be a good place to share. I read your 4 Hour Body book and found it fascinating. The part that most interested me was the swimming portion. I was never a strong swimmer and almost drowned at the age of 10 trying to swim out to a raft on a lake with friends. Of course, I always meant to learn, but hadn’t. This weekend, my family and I went to the beach. The kids were playing, chasing the waves and my husband (who can swim) and I were just watching them have fun. A girl, she looked about 8, came by the kids and they were playing. The waves were getting a little rough and this child got caught in the break. She was disoriented and looked to be in trouble. I started to panic, since I couldn’t do anything if I wanted to, I don’t know how to swim! My husband ran in and basically saved this girls life. All I can think about now is “what if”…..he wasn’t there, it was one of my children, etc!! I just ordered Total Immersion and am going to learn to swim, more importantly, in the ocean ! Since this experience, I realize I never want to be in that position again. After reading your book, I have a the confidence that even a non-swimmer like myself can learn and that its never too late. Thanks for giving me a resource to turn to.
my muse…
SHAKA BURRITO!
healthy eats on the eco tip! “muchas ALOHAs!”
burritos, tacos, brown rice bowls, paleo salads.
REPRESENT THE POSITIVE….
podcast about SHAKA
http://restaurant-hospitality.com/how/how-make-eco-friendly-restaurant-pay
ALOHA!
On this video you are seen doing deadlifts on a Smith Machine and its a very limited movement. Can you post a video including the finer points of how to do this?
Hey Tim,
Just got around to watching the videos – enjoyed them. I would love to discuss an advisory relationship with you for my company, Bungolow (bungolow.com). We feature private flash sales for upscale Latin American hotel bookings, and we’re the first company to do so for the Spanish Latin American market. Our user base is split about 50/50 between North American and South American travelers. We’ve featured hotels in 8 Latin American countries and counting.
We’re from the U.S. but currently based in Buenos Aires, participating in a TechStars Network-accelerator here.
I would love to hear your thoughts.
Thanks,
Scott T.
Co-Founder, Bungolow.com
thompson at bungolow dot com
Hi Tim,
AppAppeal is a web app discovery site that offers reviews, screenshots, pricing information, video’s and more. The platform makes it easy for everyone to find the best app for their needs.
Number of newsletter subscriptions: 2,900+
Number of Twitter followers: 990
Number of Facebook likes: 2,836
http://www.appappeal.com/
Thanks for sharing Tim, another great video as usual!!
Tim – You might like this song because it sounds like something that would be on the Vegas album by Crystal Method if they made that album today.
The M Machine – Immigrants
Do you Write standing up merely to stay awake or to
break out into song and dance when the moment just hits?
Have you ever considered that one could experience unexpected breakthroughs as a result of learning and mastering many different things?
Tim,
I’ve been in the cut/sew clothing industry for the last 6 years and have seen so many inefficiencies with the model that it encouraged me to create DeRossi.
DeRossi is a unique custom clothing company offering a full service agent who comes to your home or office and provides a fitting with style advice for our custom polos, dress shirts, and sartorial jackets all at a lower price point of what you would pay off the rack.
What makes us different is our proprietary “Fit Kits” and our wholesale program to our sales agents.
Traction:
Sales Agent Team: 18 and growing since February 2012
Company Sales: +33% Growth Each Month
I would love to have you on our team of advisors to help better our practice and business plan. Your experiences speaks volumes…Keep up the great work!
That is some quality product you have there. Are you in the bay area?
Hi Jason,
Thanks for the kind words. Believe it or not, but I’m based out of Ft. Wayne, IN out of all places. Feel free to contact me anytime if you need any gear. info@derossico.com
Have a great weekend!
JP
While reading page 57, I was intrigued by the quote “The existential vacuum manifests itself mainly in a state of boredom” (Viktor Frankl). So found the following on Wikipedia:
The Good Life (in Existentialism): Existentialism suggests that it is possible for people to face the anxieties of life head-on and embrace the human condition of aloneness, to revel in the freedom to choose and take full responsibility for their choices. They courageously take the helm of their lives and steer in whatever direction they choose; they have the courage to be. One does not need to arrest the feelings of meaninglessness, but can choose new meanings for their lives. By building, by loving, by creating one is is able to live life as one’s own adventure. One can accept one’s own mortality and overcome death……Facing the void and the possibility of nothingness are the indispensable counterparts of this quest for the eternal.
Is this what you, Tim Ferris, had in mind when writing? Any comments from other readers are going to be most welcome… thanks..sg
Tim,
I know ideas are not a commodity but I have many of them I’d like to share with you if your interested. I prefer not to publish them in public, I am a single father of three so I can only find one idea into patent pending. Anyway I would enjoy presenting some of these ideas with you for feedback and partnership if you would like. Thank you.
Hey, Tim,
First, I want to thank you for what you’ve done to demonstrate that life is fully hackable.
I have a unique lifestyle situation, and I thought it’d pique your interest.
I retired from the Army almost two years ago after losing my left eye in Afghanistan (turns out mom was right about running with scissors). This leaves me with disability income, which takes the form of 3k popping into my bank account the last day of every month for the rest of my life (or until the economy collapses, whichever happens first), and I can earn all I want on top of that. So, I’m 25 and I’ve got fully automated income. Up til now, I’d been “freehanding” my retired life, and that’s gotten me good times, I spent most of the last year and a half bartending in Peru. But, as I analyze things with your insights, I see that things could be better.
I’ve decided on a few things, like focusing on my writing and going to train muay thai for a few months this year, but I’m very curious as to what ideas you might come up with looking at the situation, even just off the top of your head.
ABOUT MY COMPANY
Hi Tim,
My company is Flogs – http://www.flogs.com
A digital calendar “populator”, meaning it is used to populate any digital calendar of the users (platform neutral) with events of their interest.
Already launched and running in Europe, US and LatAm.
I run the LatAm operations from Brazil, I am not the founder.
I am an investor and also head of the management team.
We already have top clients in the world (clubs like Real Madrid and Barcelona, TV channels like Fox Sports), but here in Brazil we still did not take off after one year.
I would like to ask for your advice in product design and marketing.
It is all digital and all internet.
I have been thinking of trying to reach you for consultancy for a while now, but with this post you opened the window I wanted.
Hope you see this and reply to my e-mail.
As you said in your first video,
Muito Obrigado! (guess the driver was Brazilian)
Tim,
Brilliant answers, I appreciate you posting this. With all of the great people on the panel you, by far, communicated best are someone worth taking advice from. As an entrepreneur, I look forward to hearing your wisdom and experience in future posts.
Here’s something you can check out.
http://flyrightapp.com
We’re about to launch and are based in Australia & San Francisco.
FlyRight is a new “personal empowerment app” that harnesses the real-time social web to empower you with a stronger voice as it enables airlines to improve service.
FlyRight is neither a snarky app nor a complaints board. It’s about collaborating with airlines in real-time to improve things. Win-win.
Tim, you won’t bealive it!
We’re a startup brazilian web company and aims to provide a new and very promising service in internet. This service will definitely make the life easier for Internet users, which will produce reflections on attracting new customers to other companies. We’ve been following your work for many years and we are the new company you are looking for.
We just can not wait to show your our company and ideas!
As usual great video….more, more, more…
good call on the wellnessFX. my girlfriends and I were just saying how annoyed we were to have to go through the Dr. to get labs run and then they don’t even run half the stuff you’re interested in. my friend from poland was saying she noticed the acceptable ranges on things like cholesterol were different in Europe as well….anyway, I want the whole gamut, not just the mainstream tests so i can deal with and monitor any discrepencies myself. I’d definitely use that service.
For the last 20 years, Parents would send their children in college a care package full of chips, candy, toys and a personal hand written letter. We revolutionized care packages by incorporating the ability for parents to send a personalized recorded video message in each care package, bridging the emotional divide between parents and their children. Students can now experience the emotions and personal touch that Parents put into their message.
While we are starting in the college market, this idea is also perfect for connecting families and soldiers who have conflicting schedules because of time zone differences. It adds another personal touch to help comfort soldiers while in the battlefield.
I need your help in marketing advise for my business.
Website: http://www.upackages.com/
I look forward to hearing from you.
I’m from Romania and I found finaly your book in bookstore and I just read it. It was a pleasure to read it.
Hey,
Tim Ferriss how do you stay so humble? I would have cracked eventually and bought a Lamboghini if I had the same financial freedom.
Hopefully I’ll meet you in person one day so I can ask you.
so humble! and cool. love it
I bet we’ll work together, because even you would use my product! You will love my company, I can assure you. It is totally based on the principles of your books, videos and philosophies of life. However, because the site is not yet ready, I can’t describe the company here in the comments. Let me know if you are interested in knowing her better and I’ll send you a private short explanation. Hugs from Brazil.
*Advise Me!*
Individualizing Learning.
We provide custom-built prep courses for the LSAT. First, we learn the student’s LSAT skills, weekly schedule, law school goals, etc. Then, we design a schedule that fits her specific needs. During her course, we track her progress and support her. The prep extremely targeted and efficient (maximal learning/progress per hour invested).
Adaptive learning courses are not new, but they lack expert support. Our advantages:
1) Every aspect of the course is built to be individualized for the student based on her ability level, learning style, length of course, etc.
2) The schedule is hand-crafted by an expert in the field. Remote expert assistance keeps the student motivated and learning optimally, while minimizing costs.
The LSAT prep market is large – 60 Million – and standardized test prep as a whole is massive – 4 Billion. However, the idea is to master the fundamentals of individualization in learning and then bring this system to any skill. Individualized courses are the future of learning, so the ceiling for this endeavor is uncharted.
Bonus: we are based in Telluride Colorado. World-class outdoor sports and unparalleled beauty.
Thank you for your consideration Tim.
Just saw your day in the life episode. I enjoyed finally seeing someone on TV holding a personal defense weapon correctly. Nice strong modified isosceles stance. Will you be addressing both precision marksmanship and reactive shooting techniques in your new book?
I am a USCG Small Arms Instructor (15 years). If you would like further informal exchange or advisement on the subject matter, shoot me an e-mail.
Tim, a great piece on your daily rituals. I see that once again, Yerba Mate was part of your ritual. Thanks to you Yerba Mate tea has gone from being a hidden gem for a select few to main stream. I have two questions for you in regards to your own experience of Yerba Mate:
1. On binge day, you mention in the 4HB that you will have 16 oz of Yerba Mate during or before the start of your binge meal. How much loose leaf Yerba Mate are you using in the 16oz of water to extract the maximum effect.
2. On non-binge days, how much Yerba Mate is “enough” to get the maximum effect, how much loose leaf Yerba Mate are you using as well as how much water is being consumed.
Thank you.
Jeffrey
Great post Tim. Thank you for being helpful and for being what appears to be real and authentic. Greatly appreciated.
Hi Tim, big fan of what you do and I love the new series!
Super cool. thanks
[Start-Up Advising]
Who are we? Music Tech Start Up based in Talladega, Alabama
What are we making? – $30,000 of pro guitar amps and effects combined into one amp with touchscreen UI. You can develop any guitar sound you want and change between them with one button push on our footpedal.
Prototype? – Yes, can send pictures and video if desired.
Why you? – You understand UI, marketing, and know the right people that can help us move out of seed phase.
Target Market? – 16-25 year old demographic. Special because they want a professional sound but can’t spend $10,000 to get it.
If this interests you, feel free to contact and we’ll talk further. A million thanks to you for simply reading this.
Hey Tim. Are you working on any apps for iPhone or Android? If not, why? It seems like a market with huge potential..
Tim,
My dad underwent a intense back surgery in which a rod was put in his back some years back. Because of this he is unable to do many of the moves necessary for the majority of fitness work outs. To put in perspective he is unable to bend down and has trouble laying down and getting in and out of bed.
Since his surgery he has added some unwanted weight and I was wondering if you had any suggestions on the matter. I think if he was able to shed some weight his life would be much easier.
Thanks in advance
Chris
put him on a low carb diet. will lose weight without having to exercise
Tim, I’m very keen to see the updated & expanded edition of the 4HWW made available from Australia on Amazon Kindle! When I went to purchase it on Kindle from amazon.com, I was informed it is unavaliable to customers from Australia (http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B002WE46UW)