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Tim Ferriss argues that “Reality is largely negotiable” and that most limits are “a fragile collection of socially reinforced rules you can choose to break at any time.” To prove it, he shares 17 questions that reshaped his career, business, and life.
- Do the opposite. In his early sales job, he asked, “What if I did the opposite for 48 hours?” By calling outside of normal hours, he reached CEOs directly and outsold competitors.
- Scratch your own itch. He noticed, “What do I spend a silly amount of money on?” For him, it was supplements, which led him to create BrainQUICKEN.
- Redefine success. Burned out, he journaled: “What would I want to do, have, and be if I had $10 million in the bank?” and discovered his dream life cost far less than he thought.
- Fear-setting. When overwhelmed, he asked: “What are the worst things that could happen? Could I get back here?”
- Force focus. He challenged himself: “If I could only work 2 hours per week on my business, what would I do?” This led him to cut 80% of low-value activity.
- Delegate smarter. Instead of being the bottleneck, he told employees: “If it involves less than $100, please make the decision yourself.” Later he raised that limit to $1,000.
- Find uncrowded channels. Before launching The 4-Hour Workweek, he asked, “What’s the least crowded channel?” and found success networking with bloggers in person.
- Sell stories, not products. “What if I couldn’t pitch my product directly?” drove him to share human-interest stories and experiments instead of hard-selling books.
- Shift perspective. When pressured to rent a failing house, he asked: “Do I need to make it back the way I lost it?” and realized he could earn elsewhere instead of clinging to real estate.
- Simplify. Advising startups, he asked: “What if I could only subtract to solve problems?” and found that removing clutter often improved results.
- Systems over hustle. He posed: “What might I put in place to allow me to go off the grid for 4 to 8 weeks, with no phone or email?” The answer: better systems, not more effort.
- Focus on antelope, not mice. He borrowed Newt Gingrich’s metaphor: “A lion can’t live on field mice. A lion needs antelope.” The lesson—pursue big-impact projects, not busywork.
- Be present. He reflects: “Could it be that everything is fine and complete as is?” and uses daily rituals to cultivate appreciation.
- Keep it simple. Overwhelm usually signals complexity, so he asks: “What would this look like if it were easy?”
- Spend money to buy time. As Dan Sullivan puts it: “If you’ve got enough money to solve the problem, you don’t have the problem.”
- Move without rushing. His mantra became “No hurry, no pause”—luxury now means “feeling unrushed.”
Ferriss closes with a reminder: “Be sure to look for simple solutions. If the answer isn’t simple, it’s probably not the right answer.”