Tim Ferriss’s mega success in
publishing comes full circle.
IF THERE WERE A WAY
to hack into the code of life’s most frustrating problems, Tim Ferriss is likely to
be the man to break through that illusive, existential firewall. His two books,
The 4-Hour Work Week and The 4-Hour
Body, both New York Times best-sellers,
helped readers work less, make more
money, travel the world in true rock-star
fashion, lose weight while still being able
to have cupcakes, sleep better, hold their
breath under water longer, and—as if
that all weren’t enough—have better sex.
His two books helped readers work less, make
more money, travel the world in true rock-star fashion, lose weight while still being
able to have cupcakes, sleep better, hold their
breath under water longer, and—as if that all
weren’t enough—have better sex.
For being the man that touts a week
filled with only four hours of work,
Ferriss ironically always seems on the
go, reaching for his next brass ring
which, for now, is his upcoming book,
The 4-Hour Chef. Ferriss is a bit of
an enigma who could possibly be best
described as someone who is highly
determined and focused, driven by
regular bouts of ADHD. This makes
more sense when you look at his various
accomplishments in his short 34 years:
Princeton graduate, angel investor in
various start-ups (including Twitter),
national champion in Chinese kickbox-
ing, Guinness Book of World Records
holder for most tango spins in one
minute, and he speaks five languages. He
is a student of Seneca with a lifestyle like
Richard Branson. I spoke with Ferriss
following one of his recent events.
The big news in the publishing world
is that Amazon has announced that it
is now publishing its own books, with
you and The 4-Hour Chef as its flagship
project. What prompted you to make the
move to Amazon as your new publisher?
It was a matter of choosing a technology company first and a publishing
company second. I had organically come
to know some people on the technical
side of Amazon, which has consistently
been, from a user experience and fulfillment standpoint, a best in breed as a
retailer in publishing. The opportunity to
