Wikipedia

Tim Ferriss

Not to be confused with the science writer Timothy Ferris or the musician Tim Farriss.

Timothy Ferriss (born July 20, 1977) is an American entrepreneur, investor, author, podcaster, and lifestyle guru.[1][2] He is known for his 4-Hour self-help book series—including The 4-Hour Work Week, The 4-Hour Body, and The 4-Hour Chef[3]—that focused on lifestyle optimizations, but he has since reconsidered this approach.[4] He also supports scientific research into psychedelic treatments.[5]

Tim Ferriss
Tim Ferriss in 2021
Tim Ferriss in 2021
BornTimothy Ferriss
(1977-07-20) July 20, 1977 (age 47)
East Hampton, New York, U.S.
OccupationAuthor, podcaster, investor
EducationPrinceton University (BA)
GenreSelf-help, Physical fitness
Notable works

Early life

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Ferriss grew up in East Hampton, New York, and credits his poor health in childhood for sparking an interest in self-improvement. At age 15, he spent a year in Japan as an exchange student.[6][7] He was a member of the wrestling team in high school.[8] After graduating from St. Paul's School, he attended Princeton University, earning a B.A. in East Asian studies in 2000,[9] then first worked in sales at a data storage company.[10]

Career

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In 2001, Ferriss founded BrainQUICKEN, an internet-based nutritional supplements business, while still employed at his prior job.[11] He sold the company, then known as BodyQUICK, to a London-based private equity firm in 2010.[12][13] He has stated that The 4-Hour Workweek was based on this period.[13]

Ferriss has been an angel investor and startup advisor.[14] He invested or advised in companies including Reputation.com, Trippy, and TaskRabbit.[15] He is a pre-seed money advisor to Uber.[16][17] In 2013, Ferriss raised $250,000 to invest in Shyp by forming a syndicate on AngelList.[18] Ferriss raised over $500,000 through his backers, and Shyp raised a total of $2.1 million. In 2018, Shyp shut down[19][20][21] and laid off all its employees.[22] Ferriss was an advisor to Shopify,[23] helping them to launch the "Build a Business" competition that fostered web-store startups in 2010 with a $100,000 prize.[24][25] He was also an investor in Duolingo[26] and Twitter.[27]

In November 2013, Ferriss began an audiobook publishing venture, Tim Ferriss Publishing.[28] The first book published was Vagabonding by Rolf Potts.[28] Other books include Ego Is the Enemy and The Obstacle Is the Way by Ryan Holiday, Daily Rituals by Mason Currey, and What I Learned Losing a Million Dollars by Jim Paul and Brendan Moynihan.[29]

Also, in 2015, Ferriss declared a long vacation from new investing. He cited the stress of the work and a feeling his impact was "minimal in the long run", and said he planned to spend time on his writing and media projects.[30] In 2017 he stated one of the reasons he moved from Silicon Valley was that, "After effectively 'retiring' from angel investing 2 years ago," he had no professional need to be in the Bay Area.[31]

 
A picture showing cover of one of the most notable works of Ferriss

Ferriss has written five books, The 4-Hour Workweek (2007, expanded edition 2009), The 4-Hour Body (2010), The 4-Hour Chef (2012), Tools of Titans (2016), and Tribe of Mentors (2017).

In December 2013, The Tim Ferriss Experiment debuted on HLN. The series focused on Ferriss' life hacking and speed learning methods. Although 13 episodes were produced, only a portion were shown on television.[32] Ferriss also hosted the 2017 TV show Fear{Less} with Tim Ferriss, in which he interviews people from different industries about success and innovation.[33] In 2015, Ferriss acquired the rights to all of the The Tim Ferriss Experiment's episodes. He distributed them on iTunes, where they were featured in the most-downloaded chart.[34] In 2016, Ferriss was listed in Fortune (magazine)’s 40 Under 40.[35]

Ferriss has publicly advocated the value of Stoicism and meditation, crediting it with helping him deal with his bipolar disorder,[36][37] and states that his personal experience with psychiatric disorders and losing a friend to fentanyl drug overdose motivates his involvement in psychedelics research.[5] In 2017, Tim Ferriss gave the TED talk "Why you should define your fears instead of your goals".[38]

He reevaluated his earlier ideas in a 2020 interview with GQ, concluding that "not everything that is meaningful can be measured."[4] In his turn towards resilience and even spirituality, he recommended three books, Radical Acceptance by Tara Brach, Awareness by Anthony de Mello, and Letters From a Stoic (Epistulae Morales ad Lucilium) by Lucius Seneca.[39] He calls the last one, “My favorite writing of all time”.[40]

Ferriss is the host of The Tim Ferriss Show, an interview-centered podcast that has been running since 2014.[41] The podcast has more than one billion downloads.[42] Popular podcast guests include Brené Brown,[43] Jamie Foxx,[44] Arnold Schwarzenegger,[45] Maria Sharapova,[46] LeBron James,[47] Margaret Atwood,[48] and Matthew McConaughey.[49]

In December 2022, Ferriss launched an NFT project about roosters named "The Legend of Cockpunch".[50] Sales of "The Legend of Cockpunch" NFTs earned more than $2 million, and proceeds were donated to the non-profit Saisei Foundation.[51]

Philanthropy

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Ferriss became interested in the potential of psychedelics due to personal experiences with depression, as well as bipolar disorder, depression, and addiction in his family.[5][52] In 2015, Ferriss met Roland Griffiths, who was leading research in psychedelics at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, and organized a crowdfunding campaign to support Griffiths’ research into depression.[5]

In 2019, Ferriss contributed to Imperial College London’s Center for Psychedelic Research.[53] That year, Ferriss donated more than $2 million to fund the Johns Hopkins Center for Psychedelic & Consciousness Research led by Griffiths, and he organized an additional $8 million in commitments.[5][54][55]

In 2020, Ferriss donated $1 million to the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies for research into PTSD treatments using psychedelic-drug MDMA. He issued a $10 million challenge grant, and helped to raise a total of $30 million for the research by publicizing the challenge on his podcast.[56][57] The following year, Ferriss donated to promote psychedelic research at the Neuroscape Psychedelics Division at the University of California, San Francisco, led by Robin Carhart-Harris and Adam Gazzaley.[58]

In 2018, Ferriss founded the Saisei Foundation[59] to provide funding for early-stage science in the areas of mental health, life extension, and psychedelics.[60] In 2021, the foundation committed $800,000 to UC Berkeley’s Center for the Science of Psychedelics to create the Ferriss – UC Berkeley Psychedelic Journalism Fellowship with author Michael Pollan.[61] The fellowship provides ten annual grants of $10,000 each to journalists working on in-depth print and audio stories focused on psychedelics.[62] The Foundation also collaborated with the Petrie-Flom Center for Health Law Policy, Biotechnology, and Bioethics at Harvard Law School and co-funded POPLAR, the Project on Psychedelics Law and Regulation. [58]

Ferriss was a member of the National Advisory Council of DonorsChoose[63] and, as of 2016, was a donor and a member of the advisory board of QuestBridge.[63][64] In 2016, as part of a #BestSchoolDay campaign led by Stephen Colbert, Ferriss funded all 145 classroom projects on Long Island,[65] as well as all the classroom projects in New Hampshire and Sacramento, California with DonorsChoose.org.[66][67]

Personal life

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Ferriss won a National Chinese Kickboxing Championship by technical knock-out,[8] and is the first American to hold a Guinness World Record for tango spins.[10]

Published works

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  • Ferriss, Timothy (2007). The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9–5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich. New York: Crown Publishers. ISBN 978-0-307-35313-9.
  • Ferriss, Timothy (2009). The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9–5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich (Expanded and Updated ed.). New York: Crown Publishers. ISBN 978-0-307-46535-1.
  • Ferriss, Timothy (2010). The 4-Hour Body: An Uncommon Guide to Rapid Fat-Loss, Incredible Sex, and Becoming Superhuman. New York: Crown Archetype. ISBN 978-0307463630.
  • Ferriss, Timothy (2012). The 4-Hour Chef: The Simple Path to Cooking Like a Pro, Learning Anything, and Living the Good Life. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. ISBN 978-0-547-88459-2.
  • Ferriss, Timothy (2016). Tools of Titans: The Tactics, Routines, and Habits of Billionaires, Icons, and World-Class Performers. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. ISBN 978-1-328-68378-6.
  • Ferriss, Timothy (2017). Tribe of Mentors: Short Life Advice from the Best in the World. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. ISBN 978-1-328-99496-7.

References

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  1. ^ McNicholas, Kym. "Names You Need To Know In 2011: Tim Ferriss". Forbes.
  2. ^ "Angel List".
  3. ^ "Revisiting "The 4-Hour Workweek"". The New Yorker. 2021-10-25. Retrieved 2021-11-11.
  4. ^ a b Skipper, Clay (22 July 2020). "Tim Ferriss Has Changed His Mind on What Success Looks Like". GQ. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
  5. ^ a b c d e Carey, Benedict (2019-09-06). "Tim Ferriss, the Man Who Put His Money Behind Psychedelic Medicine". The New York Times. Retrieved 2019-08-09.
  6. ^ "Tim Ferriss: How travel helped me learn to kick ass". CNN. 5 November 2015.
  7. ^ Feloni, Richard (28 November 2017). "How Tim Ferriss Beat Depression and Became an Inspirational Icon". Inc.
  8. ^ a b Mead, Rebecca (29 August 2011). "Better, Faster, Stronger". The New Yorker.
  9. ^ Richards, Daniel. "'The 4-Hour Workweek' author Tim Ferriss reveals what he's learned after a difficult year of introspection, and how he built a passionate fanbase of millions". Business Insider.
  10. ^ a b Rosenbloom, Stephanie (March 25, 2011). "The World According to Tim Ferriss". The New York Times.
  11. ^ Grech, Dan (November 22, 2006). "From Workaholic to Tango King". 100 Years of Princeton Alumni Weekly.
  12. ^ Multiple sources:
  13. ^ a b Tim Ferriss Wants You to Get a Life, ABC News, October 11, 2007.
  14. ^ Multiple sources:
  15. ^ Multiple sources:
  16. ^ Byrnes, Brendan (2 January 2014). "An Interview With Tim Ferriss, Author of 'The 4-Hour Workweek'". Motley Fool.
  17. ^ Mangalindan, JP. "Tim Ferriss: Tech has too much 'dumb capital'". Fortune.
  18. ^ Constine, Josh (23 September 2013). "Betaworks And Tim Ferriss Among First Using General Solicitation To Ask Crowds For Investment". TechCrunch.
  19. ^ Kumparak, Greg (27 September 2013). "Shyp Raises $2.1M To Pick Up And Ship Your Stuff". TechCrunch.
  20. ^ "AngelList Unveils Maiden Lane, A $25 Million Fund For AngelList Deals". TechCrunch. 16 April 2014. Retrieved 2019-03-16.
  21. ^ "Ranking the Top Angel and Venture Capital Fund Managers (Part 1)". Financial Poise. 2016-08-12. Retrieved 2019-03-16.
  22. ^ Gibbon, Kevin (March 27, 2018). "I Can't Wait for You to See What We Do Next". LinkedIn.com.
  23. ^ Feloni, Richard (September 5, 2017). "These Entrepreneurs are Leading 8 Of the Fastest-Growing New Retailers in the World -and Now Tony Robbins and Tim Ferriss Will Help". Business Insider.
  24. ^ Kolodny, Lora (February 2, 2010). "Shopify, a Start-Up, Starts Its Own Business Competition". NYT.
  25. ^ Baldwin, Stephen M. (March 15, 2017). "The Invisible Selling Machine". Fortune.
  26. ^ Spangler, Todd (June 11, 2018). "Tim Shey, Former YouTube Programming Exec, Joins Duolingo (Exclusive)". Variety.
  27. ^ Guo, Jerry (January 4, 2011). "'The 4-Hour Body': Tim Ferriss's Latest Book Wows". Newsweek.
  28. ^ a b Ha, Anthony (11 November 2013). "'4 Hour Workweek' Author Tim Ferriss Is Becoming An Audiobook Publisher". TechCrunch.
  29. ^ "Tim Ferriss Book Club". The Blog of Author Tim Ferriss.
  30. ^ "How to Say "No" When It Matters Most". 30 October 2015.
  31. ^ "Reddit AMA". 22 November 2017. Retrieved November 22, 2017.
  32. ^ "The Tim Ferriss Experiment" – via IMDb.
  33. ^ "Fear{less} with Tim Ferriss". Show Experience.
  34. ^ Feloni, Richard (November 28, 2017). "How Tim Ferriss Beat Depression and Became an Inspirational Icon". Inc.
  35. ^ "40 Under 40". Fortune. 2016.
  36. ^ "Tim Ferriss, Ray Dalio & Gary Vynerchuk – Managing life with Bipolar", Sean Galla
  37. ^ "Tim Ferriss' simple 3-step strategy for managing fear is his secret to business success", Catherine Clifford
  38. ^ Ferriss, Tim (2017-06-12). "Why you should define your fears instead of your goals". Retrieved 2021-11-11.
  39. ^ Adriana Huffington (26 April 2021). "Tim Ferriss on Giving Up Control" (Podcast). Apple. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
  40. ^ "The Tao of Seneca". 22 January 2016.
  41. ^ Mattox, Brendan (May 8, 2019). "Tim Ferriss Wants to Show You his Toolkit". Podcast Review.
  42. ^ "Best Business Podcasts". Ramsey Solutions. August 20, 2024.
  43. ^ Pugachevsky, Julia (June 16, 2023). "A Resurfaced Clip From Bestselling Author Brene' Brown Explains Why Marriages Should Never Be 50/50". Business Insider.
  44. ^ Feloni, Richard (December 11, 2015). "Jamie Foxx Explains the Insight That Fueled His Highly Successful Career". Business Insider.
  45. ^ Flannagan, S. (September 18, 2023). "The Trick Arnold Schwarzenegger Used to Defeat His Bodybuilding Competitors". Grunge.
  46. ^ Elkins, Kathleen (September 8, 2017). "Tennis Star Maria Sharapova Wakes Up At 6:30 A.M. Every Day – Here's Her Morning Routine". CNBC.
  47. ^ Davis, Scott (November 28, 2018). "LeBron James has a Detailed Sleep Plan, and his Trainer Says it's the Key to his 'Never-Ending' Recovery". Business Insider.
  48. ^ Hayward, Andrew (April 27, 2022). "Author Margaret Atwood Wants Students to Envision Future Utopias – And Mint Them as NFTs". Decrypt.
  49. ^ Gupta, Boshika; Pereira, Sergio (December 16, 2020). "The Tragic Real-Life Story of Matthew McConaughey". Grunge.
  50. ^ Hayward, Andrew (7 December 2022). "Author Tim Ferriss Tops NFT Sales Charts With 'Cockpunch'". Yahoo!Finance.
  51. ^ Hayward, Andrew (December 7, 2022). "Author Tim Ferriss Tops NFT Sales Charts With 'Cockpunch'". Decrypt.
  52. ^ Skipper, Clay (July 22, 2020). "From Productivity to Psychedelics: Tim Ferriss Has Changed His Mind About Success". GQ.
  53. ^ Brodwin, Erin (April 26, 2019). "Tim Ferriss just helped launch the world's first research center dedicated to turning psychedelics into medicines". Business Insider.
  54. ^ O’Brien, Jeffrey. "Business gets ready to trip: How psychedelic drugs may revolutionize mental health care". Fortune.
  55. ^ Lebowitz, Shana. "'4-hour Workweek' author Tim Ferriss plans to donate $100,000 toward studying how to treat depression with psychedelics like magic mushrooms". Business Insider.
  56. ^ Ramachandran, Shalini (August 20, 2020). "Silicon Valley and Wall Street Elites Pour Money Into Psychedelic Research". Wall Street Journal.
  57. ^ "2020's Most Groundbreaking Developments in Psychedelics". Lucid News. December 20, 2020.
  58. ^ a b Love, Shalya (June 30, 2021). "Harvard Lawyers Will Study the Legal Questions Around Psychedelic Treatment". Vice.
  59. ^ "Saisei Foundation". Saisei Foundation.
  60. ^ Andrew, Hayward (Dec 7, 2022). "Author Tim Ferriss Tops NFT Sales Charts With 'Cockpunch'". Decrypt.
  61. ^ Jarvie, Emily (September 15, 2021). "Tim Ferriss and Michael Pollan Team Up to Launch UC Berkeley Psychedelic Journalism Fellowship". Psychedelic Spotlight.
  62. ^ "The Ferriss – UC Berkeley Psychedelic Journalism Fellowship – UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism". fellowships.journalism.berkeley.edu.
  63. ^ a b Schawabel, Dan (December 6, 2016). "Tim Ferriss: What You Can Learn From the Habits of World-Class Performers". Forbes.
  64. ^ Carlton, Jim (May 13, 2015). "Venture Captitalists Help Connect Low-Income Students with Elite Colleges". Wall Street Journal.
  65. ^ Sampson, Christine (May 17, 2016). "All by Himself, 145 Projects". East Hampton Star.
  66. ^ Lee, Rebecca (March 10, 2016). "Stephen Colbert Unveils Donors for #BestSchoolDay". CBS News.
  67. ^ Kitchen, Patricia (March 12, 2016). "Author Tim Ferriss 'flash funds' 145 school projects on LI". Newsday.
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