4 Hour Workweek versus Working Your Face Off

By Ron Pereira Updated on April 8th, 2013

With all the news of our struggling economy (in America) and massive bail outs I couldn’t help but think of two people – Tim Ferris, author of The Four Hour Workweek and Gary Vaynerchuk of Wine Library TV fame.

Four Hour Dream is Bogus

Now, I’ve written about The Four Hour Workweek before. In case you missed those articles let me cut to the chase and say that while Ferris does offer up some great ideas for simplifying our lives and being more productive… I personally think his whole pitch of striving to only work 4 hours per week is dangerous. I’ll explain why in a second.

Work Your Face Off

Conversely, Gary Vaynerchuk preaches a very different doctrine. If I were to narrow Gary’s approach down to a few words I’d fall back on his famous quote of “you must work your face off.” Check this video out when you have a few minutes to spare to get a better idea of what I’m talking about. Please note that there is some bad language used during the video.

Contrasting the Two Approaches

So to contrast the two styles, we have Ferris waving this carrot of the easy life in front of us… you know only working a few hours per week while our virtual assistants slave away for far more than that… and we have Vaynerchuk telling us to work our face off as the way to true and lasting success.

Now to be fair Vaynerchuk also preaches to stop doing things we hate while searching for the things you love. But once you find this love he recommends pouring your heart into it.

No More Teachers

The main problem I have with Ferris is this. How does he expect, for example, the school teacher making $36k per year (who also works 50+ hours per week) to profit from this approach? The only way I can see it happening is for this school teacher to stop being a teacher! Obviously this presents a problem if all teachers decide to essentially “outsource” the instruction of our children. I’m not certain, but I don’t think Ferris has any children so perhaps this isn’t high on his list of importance.

And what about the construction worker or even the employees at any manufacturing company? Are they supposed to walk away from their jobs as they set up some automated money making system? If so, who builds our houses, cars, microwaves, and just about anything you can imagine?

Best of Both Worlds

As I said, I do believe Ferris has some great ideas for being more productive. But, at least for me, Mr. Vaynerchuk’s approach to success is far more meaningful… not to mention beneficial for society overall.

Perhaps the best solution is to combine the best of Ferris with the best of Vaynerchuk. In this case, we’d all work our faces off while being wickedly efficient and productive at the things we’re truly passionate about. Now this sounds like a decent plan if you ask me.

What About You?

Where do you land on the spectrum? Do you aspire for the 4 hour work week or want to work your face off doing something you’re truly passionate about? Or is it somewhere in between?

Ron Pereira

Ron has more than 20 years of experience in various manufacturing, supply chain, and senior leadership roles. Ron has held the titles of process engineer, engineering manager, master black belt, and director of manufacturing & continuous improvement. In 2002 Ron was the first American to win the Nokia Global Six Sigma and Overall Quality award in Helsinki, Finland. Ron holds a bachelor's degree in automated manufacturing and an MBA in technology management.

Jeff
October 6, 2008 - 6:10 am
Reply

While I like Tim’s approach, I feel that the “Four Hour Work Week” will come after I’ve “hustled my face off” as Gary suggests. Unless you come across a large sum of money, I don’t see any other way to get to the point that time talks about.