The DeFranco Book Club discussion

Hey everyone! I know it's a little early, but it looks like some people have already read this book, so I'd love to see what you all have to say about it! I didn't read it because I didn't think it would be my cup o' tea, or particularly relevant to my career path, but I'd love to be convinced otherwise!

I can't read it.
It's been a struggle (so i'm almost at the give up on this book stage), but so far from what I have read I have a few conclusions...
1)He likes to toot his own horn
2)He likes to deceive/con people eg just tell your boss your working the whole time and find nonprocedural shortcuts to get what you're supposed to get done done, or make yourself drop 3 weight classes by dehydrating yourself and rehydrate right before the fight so you can win the championship.
(come on guys do we really want to emulate a guy like this?)
3)Laziness wins
4) People like Timothy Ferriss are most likely responsible for the economy crash
5)Just because his slimey ways made him rich doesn't mean it will work for anyone else
(Outliers taught us stuff like this is about luck, right?)
6)Readng this made me feel I was getting swindled by a pyramid scheme self-help conman
7)It makes me despair a little that people like this are the same species as me. I was always taught to work hard, take responsiblity, and care about the world and the people who inhabit it, this book doesn't seem to install any of these ethics.
8)Maybe i'd feel different if I read this in it's entirety but I don't think I would.

I can't finish it. I feel dirty from reading as far as I did. I went through the book comments here on GoodReads and found I am not alone. Moving onto the next book!

Rachael wrote: "I feel dirty from reading as far as I did."

Yes!! My sentiment exactly!

Oh my God Shayla and Rachael understand. I feel exactly the same as the both of you. This guy totally rubs me the wrong way. I actually look forward to being a part of the working world and believe in the value of hard-work. Plus a lot of the things he talks about don't apply to my desired profession. I want to be a translator which DOES take a lot of time. You really can't take like 1-2 hours a week to translate something. Some of his ideas are interesting but they're definitely not for me.

Unfortunately, I'm a "completionist" so I still feel compelled to finish reading this book. I'm going to TRY anyway...

Hahaha, really? These are some really interesting comments! I did not expect such a negative reaction! However I can kinda understand why some people would be averse to Tim's methods. Regardless, I really enjoyed this book!

I think the first part, about how to define "rich" lifestyle/success and "dream-lining" is pretty spot on. And I don't wanna spoil anything further in the book (just in case you are planning on reading more) but when I read the extended edition he includes almost a hundred examples of how others have done and are doing exactly what he has, with great success. The only reason I think he "toots his own horn" is because he wants to sell you his idea. It's the classic "I've done this and you can too" method :P

See...I'm in an industry where if the product is effective, they don't really care how you get there, so long as the "essential" rules are followed. Tim discusses that there are rules that can't be broken (either legal or scientific) or shouldn't be broken (moral/ethical)...but then other rules that really need to be broken. That just made sense to me.

I was always the kid who struggled with the "show your work" aspect of math class (because I could just do it faster in my head) and in my current career path I've ignored the advice of many tutors to employ the same basic principals. And yet I've always been one of the most successful individuals in my peer groups.

Maybe I'm the only one, but this book really resonated with me and I plan on implementing many aspects of Tim's methods. Sorry if you disapprove. I just don't understand the obsession of working hard whilst ignoring the philosophy of working SMART.

I think it's interesting that the correlation to Outliers was mentioned. When I was reading this I was thinking the same thing. A main part of what I think Tim is preaching is, "find the atmospheres in which success is most attainable, and then live there"!

Update: I've decided to abruptly quit reading this book. I got to around page 160 but I just can't anymore. As a sophomore in college who has zero desire to be an entrepreneur I feel kind of ridiculous reading it. I can see how it could be appealing to people with actual jobs (haha) but I just kept going "Why am I reading this?" as I read it. On to the next book~!

I'm trying my best to drudge through this book. It's not exactly bad, it's just that it only applies to a very small percentage of people. Most of us have jobs that require a certain amount of effort to advance, or even to keep our jobs.
I can see the appeal of it for people that want to "get ahead without actually trying", but to me it seems kind of like the slimiest way possible to get ahead.
Then again, maybe that's why this guy is more successful than I am! He's willing to do things in a manner that make me uncomfortable.

Anyway, I'm going to try to get through this book. I've already started on the next one, and really have no interest in this one, but I have trouble leaving a book unfinished. Wish me luck...

Judging by the other comments in this thread (Aaron notwithstanding), I think I made the right decision in not reading this book. It didn't seem like it would apply to me, whose career ambitions wouldn't include a normal 9-to-5 40 hour work week job anyways. I would like to see Phil's reaction to this as I know he is very entrepreneurial and such.

Ryan, I am with you on being curious about Phil's reaction to this book! As a guy that seems to work 8 days a week, and a fan of "Outliers", I think his take on this would be really interesting. Hopefully he will get a chance to give us his input.

I have Tim Ferris's new book about learning though cooking. But this book did not seem to fit me as a college student, so I never considered reading this one. So I simply jumped to the next one.

I had so many problems with this book, the biggest being the fact that he preaches outsourcing the way that he does. The economy is weak enough already, without everyone who reads takes his ideas to heart pouring their profits into other countries. Another thing that really bothers me is the fact that there are so many industries in which you can't just find a more efficient way to do your work. For instance, I work in an oil refinery as an operator. No matter how efficiently I work (which is encouraged) I still have to be there for my full 12 hour shift, in case something goes wrong. If I, and everyone who works in the refineries, were to all quit to follow Mr. Ferris' ideas, there would be no jet fuel for him to fly around the world...

Okay, I think a lot of people are missing Tim's points. He talks a lot about how this formula is not meant for every person in every job, but it is meant for everyone who is tired of living for the weekends and (on a more macro scale) retirement. He talks about how he would quit any job that doesn't allow him to live his desired brand of lifestyle. He's quit or been fired from more jobs than many people have ever had. But he's done all this in the name of achieving his desired lifestyle. And if you really love your job and you're okay with where you are and the idea of hording for retirement then go right ahead! Different strokes for different folks. And Tim acknowledged that as well. He said, if I'm not wrong, that the world needs people who are okay with living in stationary lifestyles where they're going to the same place of employment from 9 to 5 every day. What I got from this book is simply the idea that if we want to live like rich people then it's possible. I cannot belive that this #1 New York Times best seller is getting such harsh reviews from this group. I loved it.

And I simply don't understand the idea of it being immoral to take advantage of the idea of outsourcing. If it were really that huge of an economic problem then why wouldn't be legal?! And why do you all not have a problem buying from companies like Apple and Sony and Microsoft and Shell and McDonald's?! Every modern corporation outsources to some degree or another, and many of them do it to a huge extent! Why do you think that you see "made in china" on absolutely everything? It's such a strange and hypocritical contradiction to say that it hurts the economy yet buy foreign products and pay for services... What percent of America buys foreign cars? A huge percent, and we never give someone crappie for driving a Ferrari or a Porche or a Honda or an Audi or a Mitsubishi or a Toyota! I really think these comments are strange... I'll leave it at that though.

Also, I was the one who recommended the 4 Hour Chef for the reading list and I believe that's why Phil decided to add this book ton the list.

It's a book on learning and I think it might resonate a little better with the average person here as we all go thought learning stages of our lives. I plan on reading it very soon!

This book wasn't exactly relevant to my life as a college student so I just skipped it(which was hard for me because I read like 100 pages and am kind of a completionist). Anyway I can see where all the negative viewpoints are coming from, but also where Aaron is coming from, taking away the positives of the book which is essentially "work smarter, not harder."

I agree with most everyone here: this book is not really applicable in my life, and it's very annoyingly written and ethically challenged.

But what I'm most sad about is that I don't get to hear Phil's thoughts on everything. Where have you gone, DeFranco?! I think we all miss the Sunday book reviews, and they helped keep us motivated to stick to the deadlines. I'm afraid this whole great system will fall apart soon if Phil doesn't get involved again. At the very least, I wish he would address what's going on, get some moderators and start sharing his thoughts again.

I listened to this one on audiobook some time ago and started out really liking it, but then just endured the way-too-much-detail-on-outsourcing-administrative-duties-to-India type parts. The premise was good; the inspiration was good; but not everyone has/needs/wants to outsource their simple tasks to a secretary in India, and I didn't need to listen to two or three hours of inane detail about it. :)

Yeah, there were some parts that I didn't think applied to me either but I'm a completionist so I just had to read it all lol.