Timothy Ferriss

For the most part, I really enjoyed this book. I found it compulsively readable, engaging, and, at times, fascinating. I highlighted a ton of content, and scribbled in my notebook often while reading.

Some profiles were more interesting and applicable than others (my eyes glossed over much of the first third of the book, which dealt with everything from psychedelics to performance-enhancing pills, neither of which are things I want in my body, no matter how much these "top performers" extoll their virtues).

The best part of the book, by far, is its tremendously practical application - especially in the areas of business, productivity, and mindset. Much of the advice is down-to-earth and instantly applicable. But just like any other resource chock-full of a variety of information from a variety of sources, it works best when you can take what seems meaningful and relevant to you, and leave the rest.… (mere)

Eh, its okay. It's way too long in my opinion. The only practical takeaway I got from this book is to outsource your tasks (e.g. via virtual assistants in places like the Philippines for cheap). The 80/20 or Pareto principle was also new to me (I've always applied it inadvertently but didn't know the offical name until this book).

I only have two bullets for this book.
-Elimination: The 80/20 principle: this is the method to achieving more (or the same) with significantly less time input). Essentially 80% of your results come from 20% of your efforts. Focus on the efforts that bring the most results, rather than wasting extra effort on things that won’t significantly scale your results. For instance, if the majority of your traffic (90%) comes from one blogpost, why spend effort in creating more blog posts that won’t produce any significant results? This concept also ties in with diversification. The more sources of income you have, the less likely you are to attain mastery in 1-3. If one source of income contributes to 90% of your net worth, focus on scaling that source rather than trying hundreds of other methods that will leave you scraping pennies.
-Outsourcing: Find VAs (virtual assistants) that will do tedious tasks for you (e.g. scheduling emails, finding products, etc.). VAs from China, India, or the Philippines are glad to accept these tasks for a low price. It is essentially trading a small sum of $ for a lot of time. Time is the better asset in this scenario. Be cautious with exposing your privacy. With greater reward involves greater risk. Outsourcing is useful when you take advantage of it.… (mere)