Seven Questions with the 4-Hour Workweek Evangelist

Timothy Ferriss is quite an accomplished man. He's a Princeton University guest lecturer in High-Tech Entrepreneurship and Electrical Engineering, the first American in history to hold a Guinness World Record in tango, a national Chinese kickboxing champion, and even a MTV breakdancer in Taiwan. But, what he's most known for, at least lately, is his bestselling book, The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join The New Rich, that focuses on the 80-20 principle, outsourcing your life, and getting away from your desk.

Perhaps it's not as easy as it sounds, but Ferriss's own life makes it appear so. We caught up with him recently to assess whether his theories are more hype than fact. Read on to learn what he had to say.

Admittedly, some workers have probably discovered the "4-Hour Work Week" principles on their own. However: are people who've discovered these practices themselves the only ones who are risk-ready enough to use them effectively?

Not at all. The principle concept of "lifestyle design" is lower risk than the "deferred-life" career planning most follow. It is not anti-investment, but it is anti-retirement-as-life-goal. I have maxed-out IRAs and 401(k)s and never gamble. The 4-Hour Workweek is intended to save people the trouble of trial and error -- it's the mistakes that cost you, not the recommendations I make.

Some of your critics dislike that you condone the use of loopholes or technicalities to gain advantage; they think its tantamount to cheating. Is your school of thinking at odds with, or consistent with the idea of the "American work ethic?"

It's 100% consistent with work ethic. People are fond of misquoting me, but I only criticize the predominate overwork ethic that focuses on activities instead of results, being busy instead of productive. The founding fathers advocated innovation, dissent, and hard work when applied to the right things. This book is reflective of their philosophies.

Most critics haven't read the book. I never break rules -- I analyze them and question the outdated assumptions and habits based on them. To put this in historical context, the bar in the Olympic high jump used to be jumped in a hurdling motion. Then, one athlete started used the current back-flop technique and revolutionized the game. Similar evolution can be seen in almost all sports, from better materials and drafting in the Tour de France to hydrodynamic suits in swimming. Is this cheating? Is Netflix "cheating" against Blockbuster by eliminating retail? No -- it's being a smarter player. Career planning is now evolving, and I'm trying to teach people how to be the chess player instead of the chess piece.

This book has generated controversy among readers. Do you take readers' invective personally (when they express disbelief or criticism), or was this bestseller simply a low-maintenance money-making venture, or "muse?"

I don't take it personally. This book challenges a lot of behaviors people hold dear, even though they are counterproductive. People either "get" this book or they don't. At the end of the day, it's just the number of people who get it that count. My blog is on the blogroll of some of the top tech CEOs in the world. Do I have all of the answers? Of course not. But I'm asking some important and long-avoided questions that make people uncomfortable. I knew people would either love this book or hate it, and I'm fine with that.

I never expected to make a profit on this book. Something like 13 of 14 publishers turned it down, and some editors -- just like some readers -- were offended and hostile that I would question their work-a-day comfort zone. No one expected it to become a phenomenon, getting parodied on Jay Leno, sold into dozens of countries, and so forth. It's been unreal.

Do most corporate workers hate their jobs?

No. Most corporate workers are bored and dangerously comfortable. They are in that gray area between love and hate that leaves most with constant low-grade anxiety and an acute sense of wasted potential. This is more common and more damaging than hate, because hate spurs action. Tolerable mediocrity leads you to wake up one day and ask "what happened to the last 20 years?" That's no way to spend the prime of life. I was in that zone from 2000 to 2004, and it could have continued until I had a heart attack 20 or 30 years later. I realized this in June of 2004, and that's when I started experimenting with more uncommon alternatives. Boredom should scare people as much as hate.

Is this the future of out-sourcing? Not just corporate exportation of labor, but personal exportation of labor?