Tim Ferriss is an American author, entrepreneur, podcaster and early-stage tech startup investor.
He has written several best-selling books and is probably best known for his podcast and being the author of The Four-Hour Work Week, which has been translated into more than 35 languages and was a number one New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and BusinessWeek bestseller.
He has also acted as an angel investor for several tech companies, including the likes of Facebook, Twitter and Uber.
Tim is clearly one of the most successful and sought-after people in the personal development space.
But where did time’s story start and what can we learn from his journey?
This in-depth Tim Ferriss biography is going to focus on all of the important things you need to know about him, as well as the key things we could learn from Tim.
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Tim Ferriss Information
• Full name: Timothy Ferriss
• Date of Birth: 20 July 1977
• Age: 45 years old
• Net Worth: Unconfirmed
• Podcast: The Tim Ferriss Show
• Instagram: @timferriss
• Twitter: @tferriss
• Facebook: @timferriss
Who Is Tim Ferriss?
Tim Ferriss is an American entrepreneur who has gained a large following from hosting his own podcast – The Tim Ferriss show.
Tim grew up in East Hampton, New York and graduated from St. Paul’s School, Concord, New Hampshire.
(Photo: Tim Ferriss / Handout)
He received a BA degree in East Asian Studies from Princeton University in 2000.
After his graduation, Tim worked in sales at a data storage company. He then began building his own internet business, BrainQUICKEN, while still employed at the data storage company.
Tim then sold BrainQUICKEN to a London-based private equity firm in 2010.
Tim launched his podcast, The Tim Ferriss Show, in April 2014, with Kevin Rose as his first guest.
Since then, the podcast has grown a huge following, and is often the number one business podcast on all of Apple Podcasts, and it’s been ranked number out of 500,000+ podcasts on many occasions.
Tim has been dubbed “the Oprah of audio” due to the sales impact of the podcast, and past guests include the likes of Jamie Foxx, General Stanley McChrystal, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Edward Norton and more than a hundred others.
Readers of Fortune Magazine‘s Term Sheet selected The Tim Ferriss Show as their top business podcast, and the show has now surpassed more than 300 million downloads in total.
Tim has written five books in total, but he is perhaps best known for having written The Four-Hour Work Week, which was first published in 2007.
The book spent more than four years on The New York Times Best Seller List, has been translated into more than 35 languages and has sold more than 1.35 million copies worldwide.
The book reveals the streamlined system of working to escape from his workaholic lifestyle, and it includes checking email just once per day and outsource small daily tasks to virtual assistants.
(Photo: Tim Ferriss / Handout)
Tim has been listed as one of Fast Company‘s ‘Most Innovative Business People’ and one of Fortune‘s ’40 under 40′.
Tim is an early-stage technology investor and advisor, and has invested in the likes of Uber, Twitter, Facebook, Shopify, Duolingo, Alibaba, and more.
Tim also serves on the advisory board of DonorsChoose.org, an educational non-profit organisation.
On his blog, Tim says that he developed his non-fiction writing with Pulitzer Prize winner John McPhee and formed his life philosophies under Nobel Prize winner Kenzaburo Oe.
Tim has spoken about psychedelic medicine on a number of different occasions. Dr Gabor Mate was a guest on the Tim Ferriss Show in February 2018, and the pair discuss the use of the traditional Amazonian brew Ayahuasca.
According to the Tim Ferriss Wikipedia page, Tim has raised funds for psychedelic studies at institutions such as Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Also, in 2016, Tim is said to have donated $100,000 to research the use of psychedelic drugs in the treatment of depression.
Quite clearly, Tim is looked up to by many people for his innovative approach to personal development and self growth.
(Photo: Tim Ferriss / Handout)
He has become a master marketer of his own content and deserves plenty of praise for the way he has managed to reach so many people via his podcast and books.
Tim Ferriss Net Worth
Unfortunately, Tim Ferriss’ net worth is not officially known.
There are various websites on the internet which claim to attribute a figure to Tim’s net worth, but these are likely to be nothing more than estimates.
According to the promotional material of The Four-Hour Work Week, Tim went from earning $40,000 per year and working 80 hours per week to $40,000 per month and working four hours per week.
(Photo: Tim Ferriss / Handout)
Fasting
Tim has publicly spoken about intermittent fasting as a practice he undertakes, and there are also posts about it on his blog.
In case you didn’t know, Intermittent Fasting is the general term used to describe deliberately determining periods of eating and non-eating on a regular basis.
When appearing as a guest on the Gary Vaynerchuk Ask Gary Vee show in November 2017, Tim revealed the current practice of fasting that he was undertaking.
“I do a three-day fast every month and then I do a longer five-to-10 day fast two or three times per year. It’s debatable which is of greater benefit,” Tim said on the Ask Gary Vee show in November 2017.
Please note, you should always consult a medical professional before trying any form of fasting.
(Photo: Tim Ferriss / Handout)
Podcast
As we have already touched on above, The Tim Ferriss Show Podcast is one of the most popular podcasts available.
It was launched in April 2014 and there have been more than 360 episodes since then.
In his podcast, Tim interviews people from all walks of life, and past guests have included the likes of Jamie Foxx, General Stanley McChrystal, Arnold Schwarzenegger.
The Tim Ferriss show was the first business/interview podcast to pass 100,000,000 downloads, and it has been selected as ‘Best of’ Apple Podcasts for three years running.
Tim has also appeared on a number of other podcasts, and in November 2017, he was a guest on Gary Vaynerchuk’s Ask Gary Vee show.
Books
Tim has written five books at the time of writing.
They are:
• The 4-Hour Work Week (2007)
• The 4-Hour Body (2010)
• The 4-Hour Chef (2012)
• Tools of Titans (2016)
• Tribe of Mentors (2017)
Tim is probably best known for the 4-Hour Workweek, which has sold more than one million copies worldwide and has been translated into 35 different languages.
(Photo: Tim Ferriss / Handout)
Quotes
Tim has a number of great quotes, either from his books, blog or from his words spoken in interviews over the years.
Here are some of our favorites:
“What we fear doing most is usually what we most need to do.”
“Most people are fast to stop you before you get started but hesitate to get in the way if you’re moving.”
“A person’s success in life can usually be measured by the number of uncomfortable conversations he or she is willing to have.”
“If you are insecure, guess what? The rest of the world is, too. Do not overestimate the competition and underestimate yourself. You are better than you think.”
“To enjoy life, you don’t need fancy nonsense – but you do need to control your time and realize that most things just aren’t as serious as you make them out to be.”
“Focus on being productive instead of busy.”
“You are the average of the five people you associate with most, so do not underestimate the effects of your pessimistic, unambitious, or disorganized friends. If someone isn’t making you stronger, they’re making you weaker.”
What Can We Learn From Tim Ferriss?
Tim Ferriss is clearly an inspirational figure who has shown a brilliant knack for entrepreneurship while developing his own businesses.
It could be said that Tim has a ‘healthy obsession’ with personal growth in all areas.
That means that he is constantly refining his daily strategies, routines and rituals to make sure that he is at peak performance.
Along the way, he has been fortunate to speak to some of the most successful and inspirational people in the world on his podcast.
Learning from others’ success was the theme of his 2017 book, Tribe of Mentors, where he asked a select group of high-achievers a set of identical questions.
Tim clearly understands the importance of continual growth and why it is important to keep refining your everyday practice and rituals.
He has shown a brilliant willingness to delve deep into research studies and data to find truth, and he has been able to present his findings in easy-to-digest formats for us mere mortals.
Simply put, you could do far worse than follow Tim’s example of working hard on yourself and refining your life in all areas.
In Conclusion
Tim is clearly an inspirational figure to many people, and his success as an author and podcaster is testament to that.
He has shown an impressive ability to refine his lifestyle and daily habits for more productivity and success.
Tim has also not been afraid to talk about his own flaws and vulnerabilities in the past.
All in all, Tim stands as an example to many modern-day entrepreneurs, and his books have become go-to references for people looking to maximize their output and get the most out of life.
