Powerful ideas from top nonfiction
Try Blinkist to get the key ideas from 7,000+ bestselling nonfiction titles and podcasts. Listen or read in just 15 minutes.
Start your free trial
Blink 3 of 8 - The 5 AM Club
by Robin Sharma
Listen to the Intro
The 4-Hour Workweek summary
Tim Ferriss
Escape 9–5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich
28 mins
Brief summary
The 4 Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferriss presents unconventional strategies for achieving financial freedom and living a fulfilling life on your own terms.
Topics
Table of Contents
The 4-Hour Workweek
Summary of 12 key ideas
Audio & text in the Blinkist app
Key idea 1 of 12
For the New Rich, wealth means luxury in the here and now.
So you’re working 40 hours a week. Maybe you’re working even more than that. You’re constantly exhausted. You’re constantly stressed. You’d give anything to extract yourself from the daily grind – but it feels like you just can’t. You’re stuck in your job. You need your job.
Well, there is a recipe for escaping the nine-to-five. There is a formula. And that’s exactly what we’ll be exploring in these blinks. But, before we get to the formula, let’s talk about where you’re escaping to, and how the author got there.
The goal is to become a member of the New Rich. The New Rich is a subculture characterized by mobility and financial freedom. They’re tied down by nothing. They decide where they go. They decide what they do. They’ve realized that the right moment to live your dreams, to really live you life, is now.
But how do you do this? How do you live your dreams, how do you live your life to the fullest, right now? Well, here’s something else the New Rich have realized. Basically, you only need two things to accomplish this: you need more freedom and more free time.
See, what most people associate with millionaires – extensive travels, extravagant hobbies, maybe a butler – essentially add up to two things: more freedom and more free time. And you can have those things without having millions of dollars in your bank account.
So that’s the goal: get more freedom, get more free time, and join the New Rich.
The author got both of these things sort of by accident. Back in 2004, he was in a situation that, maybe, is similar to yours. He was overworked. He was exhausted. He was actually so overworked and exhausted that he suffered a burnout and had to take a break. But this break turned out to be a blessing. During his time off, he traveled around the world and realized that he could run a profitable business from wherever he was. And that he could do it with minimal effort. And, just like that, he joined the ranks of the New Rich.
Sounds like magic – but it’s not. Remember, if you want to live a life of luxury, all you need are two: more freedom and more free time. They are the prerequisites for the ability to do whatever you want to do, whenever you want to do it, and from wherever you want to do it – and neither can be achieved by working a standard 40-hour week.
So let’s get to that formula – the formula that’ll give you all the freedom and free time that you could ever wish for.
Want more?
Read or listen to the key ideas
from 7,000+ titles
Read or listen to the key ideas
from 7,000+ titles
Key ideas in The 4-Hour Workweek
More knowledge in less time
Read or listen
Get the key ideas from nonfiction bestsellers in minutes, not hours.
Find your next read
Get book lists curated by experts and personalized recommendations.
Shortcasts New
We’ve teamed up with podcast creators to bring you key insights from podcasts.
What is The 4-Hour Workweek about?
The 4-Hour Workweek (2009) describes the life of the New Rich, people who’ve emancipated themselves from the slavery of office work and built a life centered around happiness in the here and now. If you want to lead such a life too, you’ll have to start by being more productive and finding a source of continuous – and almost entirely passive – income. These blinks will show you how.
The 4-Hour Workweek Review
The 4 Hour Workweek (2007) provides a blueprint for escaping the 9-5 grind and living life to the fullest. Here's what makes this book a game-changer:
- It introduces the concept of lifestyle design to help you achieve work-life balance.
- The book offers practical tips on automation, delegation, and time management to maximize productivity.
- Ferriss shares inspiring stories and case studies of people who have successfully redefined success on their own terms.
Best quote from The 4-Hour Workweek
What we fear doing most is usually what we most need to do.
—Tim Ferriss
Who should read The 4-Hour Workweek?
- Anyone sick of the nine-to-five rat race
- Employees who dream of a lifestyle of travel and leisure
- People who aren’t sure how to achieve their dreams
Categories with The 4-Hour Workweek
Book summaries like The 4-Hour Workweek
People ❤️ Blinkist
Sven O.
It's highly addictive to get core insights on personally relevant topics without repetition or triviality. Added to that the apps ability to suggest kindred interests opens up a foundation of knowledge.
Thi Viet Quynh N.
Great app. Good selection of book summaries you can read or listen to while commuting. Instead of scrolling through your social media news feed, this is a much better way to spend your spare time in my opinion.
Jonathan A.
Life changing. The concept of being able to grasp a book's main point in such a short time truly opens multiple opportunities to grow every area of your life at a faster rate.
Renee D.
Great app. Addicting. Perfect for wait times, morning coffee, evening before bed. Extremely well written, thorough, easy to use.
People also liked these summaries
4.7 Stars
Average ratings on iOS and Google Play
31 Million
Downloads on all platforms
10+ years
Experience igniting personal growth
The 4-Hour Workweek FAQs
What is the main message of The 4 Hour Workweek?
The main message of The 4 Hour Workweek is to achieve financial freedom and live life on your own terms through lifestyle design.
How long does it take to read The 4 Hour Workweek?
Reading The 4 Hour Workweek takes around 8 hours, while the Blinkist summary can be read in 15 minutes.
Is The 4 Hour Workweek a good book? Is it worth reading?
The 4 Hour Workweek is a game-changing book that offers innovative strategies for achieving financial freedom.
Who is the author of The 4 Hour Workweek?
The author of The 4 Hour Workweek is Timothy Ferriss.
How many chapters are in The 4 Hour Workweek?
There are 16 chapters in The 4 Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferriss: Introduction, The Rules, Time Management, The Low-Information Diet, The End of Time Management, The Art of Non-Finishing, Interrupting Interruption, The Art of Refusal, Outsourcing Life, Income Autopilot, Testing the Muse, Virtual Slavery, Income Autopilot II, Adding Life After Subtracting Work, Mini-Retirements, Filling the Void, and The Top New Rich Mistakes.
How many pages are in The 4 Hour Workweek?
There are 416 pages in The 4 Hour Workweek.
When was The 4 Hour Workweek published?
The 4 Hour Workweek was published in 2007.
What to read after The 4-Hour Workweek?
If you're wondering what to read next after The 4-Hour Workweek, here are some recommendations we suggest:
- Tools of Titans by Tim Ferriss
- The 4-Hour Body by Tim Ferriss
- Get Smart! by Brian Tracy
- The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel
- The 80/20 Principle by Richard Koch
- Deep Work by Cal Newport
- Zero to One by Peter Thiel with Blake Masters
- Atomic Habits by James Clear
- The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey
- The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck by Mark Manson