4 ms·

Using the topic, how is it that Tim Ferriss has such a huge following / impact? To me he lives in a fairy tale world, his pieces of advice are usually laughable

by iagooar 10y ago

Using the topic, how is it that Tim Ferriss has such a huge following / impact? To me he lives in a fairy tale world, his pieces of advice are usually laughable and unrealistic. Basically, all he seems to do is so disconnected from real life. Or am I missing something?

cableshaft 10y ago
It's made up advice that doesn't sound quite as fake as the other made up advice and he talks like a not quite perfect human unlike most of the other self help people out there (who might as well be replaced with a company chatbot for as authentic as they sound), so he can be successful and wow, if he's successful from doing what he says, maybe I can too! Nevermind the way he gets a 4 hour workweek he espouses is by giving self-help advice, not working for a corporate office that demands your butt in a chair 40+ hours a week. I do actually like the guy myself, despite me saying this, but I haven't found too much of his advice practical for my situation.
jonnathanson 10y ago
"To me he lives in a fairy tale world" That's exactly why he's so popular. He's selling a dream: you, too, can live in the fairytale world if you buy my book and do X, Y, Z. It's a classic escapism/wish-fulfillment narrative. Nevermind that 99% of Ferris's readers will never put his ideas into practice the way Ferris espouses they should; the mere act of reading his books provides some emotional support.
Taylor_OD 10y ago
His core audience is well off (100K+ a year) 20-30 year old white males/females in America. He sells a dream that seems incredibly obtainable (almost even owed) to that audience. I'm saying this as someone who owns the TF books and listens to the podcast and falls into his target audience.
kharms 10y ago
I'm a fan of his interviews, especially once I filter out the advice-heavy (usually athletic) ones. Good example: http://fourhourworkweek.com/2016/03/11/the-interview-master-cal-fussman-and-the-power-of-listening/ http://fourhourworkweek.com/2016/03/11/the-interview-master-...
eswat 10y ago
Ever since 4 Hour Chef I’d describe the content he’s making as more “humbler” than what you may have read in the books and blog posts. Now it’s largely him repurposing the information he gathered from interviewing people from his podcast into different formats (the podcasts, tv show, and now this new book). Less about this one weird trick Tim knows that could make you successful, more about what others have done that probably lead to their success.
notadoc 10y ago
Selling fantasy is very effective. Why do you think people buy lottery tickets? Go to Las Vegas? etc
ramblerman 10y ago
No, I've consumed most of his stuff, and the 'lightness/fakeness' of his approach really hit me when I started learning Spanish. learning a language is an investment in time and effort. You can't do it in 4 hours no matter how clever this new trick is. And trust me I spent far too long trying to decipher his many blog posts on the issue, until I realised I was the sucker. That being said, as a complete non cook, I was able to apply quite a lot from the 4 hour chef and it got me kickstarted into cooking.
- AstralStorm 10y ago
  Base ability matters a lot when learning any skill. Apparently you do not have any special ability for languages, but you do for cooking. (e.g. being meticulous, having physics and chemistry training and so on)
- tedmiston 10y ago
  If you liked The 4-Hour Chef, you might find the O'Reilly cooking book interesting - Cooking for Geeks: Real Science, Great Cooks, and Good Food [1]. [1] http://shop.oreilly.com/product/0636920041207.do http://shop.oreilly.com/product/0636920041207.do

by iagooar 10y ago

cableshaft 10y ago

It's made up advice that doesn't sound quite as fake as the other made up advice and he talks like a not quite perfect human unlike most of the other self help people out there (who might as well be replaced with a company chatbot for as authentic as they sound), so he can be successful and wow, if he's successful from doing what he says, maybe I can too! Nevermind the way he gets a 4 hour workweek he espouses is by giving self-help advice, not working for a corporate office that demands your butt in a chair 40+ hours a week. I do actually like the guy myself, despite me saying this, but I haven't found too much of his advice practical for my situation.

jonnathanson 10y ago

"To me he lives in a fairy tale world" That's exactly why he's so popular. He's selling a dream: you, too, can live in the fairytale world if you buy my book and do X, Y, Z. It's a classic escapism/wish-fulfillment narrative. Nevermind that 99% of Ferris's readers will never put his ideas into practice the way Ferris espouses they should; the mere act of reading his books provides some emotional support.

Taylor_OD 10y ago

His core audience is well off (100K+ a year) 20-30 year old white males/females in America. He sells a dream that seems incredibly obtainable (almost even owed) to that audience. I'm saying this as someone who owns the TF books and listens to the podcast and falls into his target audience.

kharms 10y ago

I'm a fan of his interviews, especially once I filter out the advice-heavy (usually athletic) ones. Good example: http://fourhourworkweek.com/2016/03/11/the-interview-master-cal-fussman-and-the-power-of-listening/ http://fourhourworkweek.com/2016/03/11/the-interview-master-...

eswat 10y ago

Ever since 4 Hour Chef I’d describe the content he’s making as more “humbler” than what you may have read in the books and blog posts. Now it’s largely him repurposing the information he gathered from interviewing people from his podcast into different formats (the podcasts, tv show, and now this new book). Less about this one weird trick Tim knows that could make you successful, more about what others have done that probably lead to their success.

notadoc 10y ago

Selling fantasy is very effective. Why do you think people buy lottery tickets? Go to Las Vegas? etc

ramblerman 10y ago

No, I've consumed most of his stuff, and the 'lightness/fakeness' of his approach really hit me when I started learning Spanish. learning a language is an investment in time and effort. You can't do it in 4 hours no matter how clever this new trick is. And trust me I spent far too long trying to decipher his many blog posts on the issue, until I realised I was the sucker. That being said, as a complete non cook, I was able to apply quite a lot from the 4 hour chef and it got me kickstarted into cooking.

AstralStorm 10y ago
Base ability matters a lot when learning any skill. Apparently you do not have any special ability for languages, but you do for cooking. (e.g. being meticulous, having physics and chemistry training and so on)
tedmiston 10y ago
If you liked The 4-Hour Chef, you might find the O'Reilly cooking book interesting - Cooking for Geeks: Real Science, Great Cooks, and Good Food [1]. [1] http://shop.oreilly.com/product/0636920041207.do http://shop.oreilly.com/product/0636920041207.do