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The 4-Hour Workweek is the first book listed and I have heard of it so many times I finally decided to read it. I picked up an old copy from the local library

The 4-Hour Workweek is the first book listed and I have heard of it so many times I finally decided to read it. I picked up an old copy from the local library and I'm a little over 1/2 way through. So far I have not been all that impressed. Just in general it seems so light on anything really concrete and more just a motivational book. Where it does have concrete things though they are just really out of date (One example is that they recommend Yahoo Stores where today someone would probably use Shopify or another alternative. Another example is there is a LOT of talk about using magazine ads, but how many people are actually still reading/buying print mags today?). What are other people's thoughts on this particular book, and what about the updates in the latest edition? Has it changed enough to be somewhat current when the realities of today?

komali2 9y ago
He specifically recommends niche magazine ads, which then and today will probably get you a print + ad on their site. So like, take an ad out in PCGamer, and get yourself an ad on their website as well, if you're making an indie game. Better yet, find a magazine + website that specifically is about indie gaming. I can't think of a single magazine that doesn't have an accompanying website. EDIT: Might as well include my thoughts on the book. For me, it was the second "success genre" or "self help" style book I had read, the first being How to Win Friends and Influence People. I was about 22 at the time, fresh out of college, living abroad in Taiwan, trying to figure myself out and find myself. Very impactful time, so for me it was a very impactful book. Not so much for anything specific, but because the specifics were there. Here was a guy laying out concrete plans, concrete schedules, to making money. It guided me to how it really was possible to make money on my own, to live the kind of life I wanted to, to work remote etc. It planted a seed that took a long fucking time to grow, but it did grow, and the result is by the time I was 25 I had managed to sneak my way out of my liberal arts degree'd relatively futureless life into software engineering. Now my goals and objectives are framed by that first read - I haven't looked at it since, though I should. In short, it's a great book for those new to the whole concept of working for yourself, creating a life for yourself, stepping outside the "normal boundaries" of life (go to school, get job, poop kids, die). Those on this site reading this may not think it's such a big deal, to those of us here it's pretty normal to step outside the box, but there's a reason I'm here now and this book contributed in a big way to it.
arthurwinter 9y ago
It was a groundbreaking book _at the time_. For me, certainly. But I hear it mentioned in nearly every SMB interview podcast I listen to. Many things are outdated now or simply more mainstream, as it's been read by almost everyone and part of the culture of many. I consider it a book marking an "era", at least to myself, much like "The Web Startup Success Guide" or "Micro-ISV" by Bob Walsh. You can't ask Tim to "update" the concrete steps, as those are the ones that worked for him at the time, and now he's doing very different things and he's a very different person.
mapster 9y ago
Ferris's claim to fame are two books: how to work from home (4 hr work week) and how to lose weight.

komali2 9y ago

He specifically recommends niche magazine ads, which then and today will probably get you a print + ad on their site. So like, take an ad out in PCGamer, and get yourself an ad on their website as well, if you're making an indie game. Better yet, find a magazine + website that specifically is about indie gaming. I can't think of a single magazine that doesn't have an accompanying website. EDIT: Might as well include my thoughts on the book. For me, it was the second "success genre" or "self help" style book I had read, the first being How to Win Friends and Influence People. I was about 22 at the time, fresh out of college, living abroad in Taiwan, trying to figure myself out and find myself. Very impactful time, so for me it was a very impactful book. Not so much for anything specific, but because the specifics were there. Here was a guy laying out concrete plans, concrete schedules, to making money. It guided me to how it really was possible to make money on my own, to live the kind of life I wanted to, to work remote etc. It planted a seed that took a long fucking time to grow, but it did grow, and the result is by the time I was 25 I had managed to sneak my way out of my liberal arts degree'd relatively futureless life into software engineering. Now my goals and objectives are framed by that first read - I haven't looked at it since, though I should. In short, it's a great book for those new to the whole concept of working for yourself, creating a life for yourself, stepping outside the "normal boundaries" of life (go to school, get job, poop kids, die). Those on this site reading this may not think it's such a big deal, to those of us here it's pretty normal to step outside the box, but there's a reason I'm here now and this book contributed in a big way to it.

arthurwinter 9y ago

It was a groundbreaking book _at the time_. For me, certainly. But I hear it mentioned in nearly every SMB interview podcast I listen to. Many things are outdated now or simply more mainstream, as it's been read by almost everyone and part of the culture of many. I consider it a book marking an "era", at least to myself, much like "The Web Startup Success Guide" or "Micro-ISV" by Bob Walsh. You can't ask Tim to "update" the concrete steps, as those are the ones that worked for him at the time, and now he's doing very different things and he's a very different person.

mapster 9y ago

Ferris's claim to fame are two books: how to work from home (4 hr work week) and how to lose weight.