Tim Ferriss Has Changed His Mind About Success | Hacker News Reader

Tim Ferriss Has Changed His Mind About Success

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For those who don't know, Tim Ferris is one of the biggest bs vendors in "self help" market of our time. His ground breaking ideas which are pivotal in his books are:

- Outsource your chores and your job to freelancers in the third world, and you can have a four hour work-week

- Do weight lifting with really slow movements and a bunch of supplements from his affiliate links and you'll have a four hour body

- Use these recycled recipes from an outdated fad diet ("slow carb", if you're old enough to remember that nonsense) which have been picked from internet forums and you'll be a four hour chef

The other books I'm aware of are a collection of ideas from other less influential bs vendors.

I gotta say that, while I feel we're in the minority, I 100% agree. This is precisely how I feel. To me it comes across as unethical even.

Especially that slow carb diet. Try finding a single reputable person in the nutrition space that's talking about it, or has talked about it.

From a copywriting perspective they're good titles. Huge promises. So big in fact that you can't live up to it.

If I write a book called, $10M business in 47 days, to certain people that'll be attractive, but there's no way you can actually deliver on that promise.

I feel like people like him just take advantage of gullible people.

Then again, devil's advocate, maybe I'm too harsh. M&M's are bad for you, and people buy those. Perhaps, this is similar. People know it's intellectual junk but want it anyway.

As is often the case, the headline doesn't do justice to the article. "Changed his mind" suggests a pivot, whereas his progression is more of an evolution, or a progression up the hierarchy of needs:

"Certainly in the beginning you might think that money is the answer. After that, you might think that more time is the answer. After that, you might think, I simply need to care more for the physical vehicle, or I want to learn more. Then it's really just about acquiring skills, maybe they're productive skills, or maybe they're just for fun. And then, at some point, you have to sit in a room and be able to live with yourself."

I get that Ferriss is a polarizing figure here (for his namedropping and "killing it/crushing it" vibe), but I find his relentless self-improvement through self-experimentation fascinating. His books are worthwhile on their own, but even better as documentation of one man's quest to level-up his life.

Any explanation to why this post is being downvoted?

I had never bought his books before until I got Tribe of Mentors last month. Pretty good, and the chapters are short and self contained.

The book that I have got the most from in this genre this year has been a Jiddu Krishnamurti collection. Jiddu Krishnamurti is probably best when in conversation with someone who draws him out, especially the interviews with physicist David Bohm on YouTube.

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