Healthy Living Books Books

Rating: - If my son wrote this, I would be ashamed
The author seems like a great guy to have a beer with. But, there is no meat and nothing new in this hard cover pamphlet. The tips are general and based on assumptions that we all want to take the easy way out and desire no real sense of accomplishment. Some of us derive great pleasure and value from what we produce or create. Finding a way to manipulate others to do your bidding, what is so new about that? Somehow, the moral compass here seems to reflect a new generation of gimme gimme now. My eldest son is 24 and this book I am hiding from him - I don't need for him to actually read a book legitimizing an already established attitude of "hey, why do I have to go to school and learn for years then work hard to achieve results? Why shouldn't I argue every time I get a bad mark so the teacher gives me a good mark to avoid me, and not because I actually earned it?" (Yes, that's what our Ferriss claims to have done in University, and I don't need my kid learning that trick.)

This book is all about manipulation - manipulation for the 21st century. What is so different about a drug dealer from Ferriss? The drug dealer sells something that is overpriced because he can, and there is a market for a quick fix which he manipulates by temporarily filling a fleeting need. I think that there are a few good things about the book too, but nothing new - I have been using these methods for years such as, um, oh yes, prioritizing. Listen, if you are stuck in a rut at work and hate what you are doing, if you are unhappy, this may be a quick "shot in the arm", and borrow it from a friend, but the high won't last unless you are completely lacking in integrity or work ethic.

It strikes me that this book is probaby just another of his schemes to get there quick on a minimal amount of effort. While he could've chosen to elaborate and support his points, he just throws them in the air as an afterthought, like Peggy's musings. The print is large, the book is small, and it is half filled with quotes to take up space. This is not much of a book at all, so once again, our friend Ferriss fleeces us - this is exactly what Ferriss is telling us he does regularly! I can see Ferriss lying on the beach, suddenly yelling "eureka! Another idea for easy money! And I will spend 20% of my effort on it to grab 80% of the market and I will charge the most I possible can!" And the content of this book looks just like that.

Yes, Ferris, you proved your point. Hope IS cheap, and easily manipulated. I am very glad that I had the foresight to raise an eyebrow about it and take it out of the library first to determine whether it was worth my money - so I guess I am one of the 20% that you would "fire", and I will instead spend my money elsewhere. I will also be very wary of anything else you are attached to now - after all, really, after reading how you "win", how could I ever trust you? That said, I can't wait to hear about your next trick to get what you want. My only question is this: are your parents proud of you?

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Rating: - Not for Everyone
Like many of these books you have to realize this isn't for everyone and it will not work for most. On the other hand there are many handy ideas on offloading work you shouldn't be doing anyway.

I know of other people who use elance.com for some of their copywriting and internet projects and the thought of having a personal assistant from India also sounds appealing. Since I am self employed this seems much more plausible than for an office worker to offload their work overseas and start taking more time out of the office.

I would recommend this for anyone self employed, looking to start their own business, or tired of their current grind. It will open your eyes to some opportunities, although I don't see it as the utltimate solution for everyone.

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Rating: - Loved it!
This provides an amazing new outlook on life, I loved every minute of it. And its filled with useful practical information too.

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Rating: - A true how-to-book
Without a question, this is a how-to-book. This book is packed with rsources and including the names of companies and their web site addresses and everything else you need to know to escape the 9 to 5 work week and become one of the newly rich.

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Rating: - Greed Ethic vs Work Ethic
Being a time management nut, I thought I would find all kinds of tips on how to be more efficient. In reality, I found few.

I may have a negative knee jerk reaction to this book because work ethic is one of my core values. This book is more about quick buck artistry than work ethic. Perhaps I am just stupid and choose the hard way to make a living.

I also believe to be successful in business you need to be highly accessible and fast, so his idea of checking email only a couple of times a day goes against my grain. I believe in Crispness not rudeness.

I particularly disliked his attitude that companies are bad and almost an encouragement to steal (work slowly for a couple of days in the office to show how productive you will be at home - fool them into thinking you are working, etc.)

One other premise of the book that I object to is that jobs are bad and the people will hate their jobs. Because of the slant of this book, I did not post a review on my blog which is something I usually do. My reason is because so many of the readers would be my employees and I would hope the jobs they have are not as bad as the ones he portrays (on the other hand, I do expect people to work 10 times as long as he proposes).

I also have concerns that he trivalises the amount of homework required to create a good business and I am sure there are some who could be successful and find exactly the right formula without working at it. I am not sure it would work for me; I am probably not smart enough