Timothy Ferriss
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Tim Ferriss | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Born | 1977 (age 31–32) |
| Occupation | Writer, |
| Genres | Non-fiction |
| Notable work(s) | The 4-Hour Workweek |
Timothy Ferriss is an American author, public speaker, and productivity guru.[1] In 2007, he published The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich, which was a New York Times, Wall Street Journal and USA Today bestseller.[2][3][4]
Contents |
[edit] Career
Tim Ferriss grew up in East Hampton, NY and graduated from St. Paul's School. He received a degree in Neuroscience and East Asian Studies from Princeton University.[5][6]
Ferriss founded BrainQUICKEN, a San Jose-based online company that sells sports nutrition supplements.[7][8]. He sold the company in January 2009 to an unnamed private equity firm.[9] He is now a full-time angel investor, investing in companies like Twitter, Posterous, DailyBurn (formerly Gyminee), Reputation Defender, Foodzie, Badongo and Rescue Time.[10][11]
He holds the Guinness Book of World Records' record for the most consecutive tango-spins in one minute.[12] Ferriss and his dance partner Alicia Monti set the record live on the show Live with Regis and Kelly.[13] Prior to his writing career, Ferriss served as an advisor to professional athletes and Olympians and was a National Chinese Kickboxing Champion, a title he won through a process of shoving opponents out of the ring for which he was nicknamed "sumo."[14][5][15] In 2008, he won Wired Magazine's "Greatest Self-Promoter of All Time" prize [16] and was named one of Fast Company's "Most Innovative Business People of 2007."[17] Ferriss has also spoken at the EG Conference.[18]
His show "Trial By Fire" aired on the History Channel in December 2008. In the show, Ferriss had one week to attempt to learn a skill normally learned over the course of many years and in the pilot episode he practiced the Japanese art of horseback archery, Yabusame.[19][20]
[edit] Productivity and teachings
Ferriss is known for his application of the Pareto Principle to business and personal life.[21] He has also taken the position that technology such as email, instant messaging and internet-enabled PDA's complicate life rather than simplify it.[22][23] His teachings fit under the umbrella of what he calls "Lifestyle Design," which he positions as an alternative to the "deferred-life" career path where one would work a 9 to 5 job until retirement in their 60's.[24][25] This involves breaking what he calls "outdated assumptions" and finding ways to be more efficient so that 'work' takes up less of people's time.[24]
Ferriss has guest lectured in High-Tech Entrepreneurship and Electrical Engineering at Princeton University.[26][27].
[edit] The 4-Hour Workweek
In April 2007, Random House released his book The 4-Hour Workweek through its Crown imprint. The book warns against information overload, recommends what Ferriss calls 'selective ignorance' and coins the phrase 'lifestyle design.'[25] He also advocated hiring virtual assistants from developing countries such as India.[25]
Before the release of the 4HWW, Ferriss was an unknown.[28] He marketed the book heavily through bloggers with whom he created personal relationships.[28][29] He has since been praised for this technique.[28][30] The book eventually hit number 1 on both the New York Times bestseller list and the Wall Street Journal bestseller list.[31]
The release of his book moved Ferriss' blog to the Top 1000 on Technorati.[32] According to Fast Company, it is read by many of the "top tech CEOs in the world."[33]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Grant, Elaine (March 25, 2008). "4 Questions for Productivity Guru Tim Ferriss". US News and World Report. http://www.usnews.com/articles/business/small-business-entrepreneurs/2008/03/25/4-questions-for-productivity-guru-tim-ferriss.html. Retrieved on 2008-04-04.
- ^ New Times Bestseller List Feb. 2008
- ^ " Tim Ferriss: "...4HWW is simultaneously #1 on the NY Times and #1 on the Wall Street Journal business bestseller lists"
- ^ # 5: 4 Hour Work Week as of March 30th, 2008
- ^ a b About | The Blog of Author Tim Ferriss "Advisor to more than 30 world record holders in professional and Olympic sports"
- ^ PAW: Alumni Spotlight
- ^ Ferriss, Tim (September 5, 2007). "How I Work". CNN Money. http://money.cnn.com/2007/05/04/magazines/fsb/4_hour_week.fsb/index.htm. Retrieved on 2008-04-05. "I run BrainQuicken (brainquicken.com), a six-year-old developer and distributor of sports-nutrition products in San Jose with wholesale customers around the world."
- ^ Tim Ferriss Wants You to Get a Life ABC News. October 11, 2007.
- ^ Lec Le Moir interviews Tim Ferris
- ^ http://www.crunchbase.com/person/tim-ferriss#src5
- ^ Kingcaid, Jason Feel the DailyBurn TechCrunch. May 26, 2009.
- ^ PAW: Alumni Spotlight"...Ferris and Monti executed a jaw-dropping 37 tango spins in a minute. They shattered their own record of 27, set in June 2005 during the tango world championship in Buenos Aires."
- ^ Tim Ferriss. (2006). Tango World Record. [http://youtube.com/watch?v=H9pWKB2D23k]. Live with Regis Philbin and Kelly Ripa.
- ^ CNBC Profile of Timothy Ferriss
- ^ The 7 Commandments of Blogosphere (and Life) Self-Defense | The Blog of Author Tim Ferriss
- ^ Tweney, Dylan (March 31, 2008). "Tim Ferriss Takes Wired.com's Self-Promotion Prize". Wired. http://blog.wired.com/business/2008/03/tim-ferriss-tak.html. Retrieved on 2008-04-04.
- ^ Hannessian, Kevin (February 15, 2008). "Fast Company's Most Innovative Business People of 2007". Fast Company. http://www.fastcompany.com/multimedia/slideshows/content/innovators-2007.html?page=12. Retrieved on 2008-04-22.
- ^ Tim Ferriss: Smash fear, learn anything TED. December 2008.
- ^ Marketing Ideas #17 Tim Ferriss Trial by Fire on the History Channel Unconventional Marketing. December 3, 2008.
- ^ Big News and Sneak Peak - Tim Ferriss TV Show Debut The Blog of Tim Ferriss. December 4, 2008.
- ^ R. della Cava, Marco. "Services cater to our speeded-up lives". USA Today. http://www.usatoday.com/life/lifestyle/2008-01-27-speeded-up_N.htm. Retrieved on 2008-04-04.
- ^ Ferriss, Tim (March 4, 2008). "I receive 500 to 1,000 emails per day". The Economist. http://www.economist.com/debate/index.cfm?action=article&debate_id=5&story_id=10795313. Retrieved on 2008-04-04.
- ^ Williams, Alex (November 11, 2007). "Meet the Press". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/11/fashion/11guru.html?ex=1352610000&en=c84216adfad48b9c&ei=5124&partner=digg&exprod=digg. Retrieved on 2008-04-04. "Most fundamentally, Mr. Ferriss turned ruthless against e-mail. "
- ^ a b Dannen, Chris (September 2007). "Seven Questions with the 4-Hour Workweek Evangelist". Fast Company. http://www.fastcompany.com/articles/2007/09/4-hour-work-week.html. Retrieved on 2008-04-24.
- ^ a b c Ferriss, Timothy The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich' Crown (2007)
- ^ The Blog of Author Tim Ferriss About Section
- ^ YouTube: Tim Ferriss Guest Lecture at Princeton Q&A Added: March 06, 2007
- ^ a b c Scoble, Robert (March, 2008). "Meet the Press". Fast Company. http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/124/meet-the-press.html. Retrieved on 2008-03-21. "A year ago, Timothy Ferriss was a relative unknown. If the serial entrepreneur was known at all, it was likely for being the only Princeton University guest lecturer..."
- ^ Williams, Alex (November 11, 2007). "Meet the Press". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/11/fashion/11guru.html?ex=1352610000&en=c84216adfad48b9c&ei=5124&partner=digg&exprod=digg. Retrieved on 2008-04-04. "...Ferriss has seen his book quickly become a best seller, largely on the strength of blog chatter in the tech community."
- ^ Rubel, Steve. "The 4-Hour Workweek - Behind the Meme". MicroPersuasion.com. http://www.micropersuasion.com/2007/05/the_4hour_workw.html. Retrieved on 2008-04-05.
- ^ " The Blog of Tim Ferriss: How Does a Bestseller Happen
- ^ Technorati profile: 4hww
- ^ Dannen, Chris (September 2007). "Seven Questions with the 4-Hour Workweek Evangelist". Fast Company. http://www.fastcompany.com/articles/2007/09/4-hour-work-week.html. Retrieved on 2008-04-24."My blog is on the blogroll of some of the top tech CEOs in the world. "
