Tim Ferriss is a well-known business and productivity expert whose work has been featured in The New York Times, Forbes, and other top publications. He’s also the author of several books, including “The 4-Hour Work Week” and “Tools of Titans.”
Ferriss is known for his succinct, no-nonsense advice on everything from time management to business growth. In this blog post, we’ll take a look at some of Ferriss’ most memorable quotes on productivity and success. Enjoy!
1. “By working only when you are most effective, life is both more productive and more enjoyable. It’s the perfect example of having your cake and eating it, too.” – Tim Ferriss
2. “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.” – Tim Ferriss
3. “A person’s success in life can usually be measured by the number of uncomfortable conversations he or she is willing to have.” – Tim Ferriss
4. “The question you should be asking isn’t, “What do I want?” or “What are my goals?” but “What would excite me?” – Tim Ferriss
5. “Role models who push us to exceed our limits, physical training that removes our spare tires, and risks that expand our sphere of comfortable action are all examples of eustress – stress that is healthful and the stimulus for growth.” – Tim Ferriss
6. “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.” – Tim Ferriss
7. “It is possible to become world-class, enter the top 5% of performers in the world, in almost any subject within 6-12 months, or even 6-12 weeks.” – Tim Ferriss
8. “The opposite of love is indifference, and the opposite of happiness is boredom.” – Tim Ferriss
9. “For all their bitching about what’s holding them back, most people have a lot of trouble coming up with the defined dreams they’re being held from.” – Tim Ferriss
10. “Most people are fast to stop you before you get started but hesitate to get in the way if you’re moving.” – Tim Ferriss
11. “If you let pride stop you, you will hate life.” – Tim Ferriss
12. “Poisonous people do not deserve your time. To think otherwise is masochistic.” – Tim Ferriss
13. “Learn to be difficult when it counts. In school as in life, having a reputation for being assertive will help you receive preferential treatment without having to beg or fight for it every time.” – Tim Ferriss
14. “Pareto’s Law can be summarized as follows: 80% of the outputs result from 20% of the inputs.” – Tim Ferriss
15. “The fishing is best where the fewest go and the collective insecurity of the world makes it easy for people to hit home runs while everyone is aiming for base hits.” – Tim Ferriss
16. “Different is better when it is more effective or more fun.” – Tim Ferriss
17. “People will choose unhappiness over uncertainty.” – Tim Ferriss
18. “Many a false step was made by standing still.” – Tim Ferriss
19. “Age doesn’t matter: an open mind does.” – Tim Ferriss
20. “The goal is not to simply eliminate the bad, but to pursue and experience the best in the world.” – Tim Ferriss
21. “People are fond of using the its not what you know, its who you know adage as an excuse for inaction, as if all successful people are born with powerful friends.” – Tim Ferriss
22. “Life is too short to be small.” – Tim Ferriss
23. “The bottom line is that you only have the rights you fight for.” – Tim Ferriss
24. “Remember – boredom is the enemy, not some abstract “failure.” – Tim Ferriss
25. “Information is useless if it is not applied to something important or if you will forget it before you have a chance to apply it.” – Tim Ferriss
26. “$1,000,000 in the bank isn’t the fantasy. The fantasy is the lifestyle of complete freedom it supposedly allows.” – Tim Ferriss
27. “Excitement is the more practical synonym for happiness, and it is precisely what you should strive to chase. It is the cure-all.” – Tim Ferriss
28. “The golden years become lower-middle-class life revisited. That’s a bittersweet ending.” – Tim Ferriss
29. “Alternating periods of activity and rest is necessary to survive, let alone thrive.” – Tim Ferriss
30. “It’s lonely at the top. Ninety-nine percent of people in the world are convinced they are incapable of achieving great things, so they aim for the mediocre. The level of competition is thus fiercest for ‘realistic’ goals, paradoxically making them the most time and energy-consuming.” – Tim Ferriss
31. “If you spend your time, worth $20-25 per hour, doing something that someone else will do for $10 per hour, it’s simply a poor use of resources.” – Tim Ferriss
32. “It is predicated on the assumption that you dislike what you are doing during the most physically capable years of your life. This is a nonstarter—nothing can justify that sacrifice.” – Tim Ferriss
33. “I will take as a given that, for most people, somewhere between six and seven billion of them, the perfect job is the one that takes the least time.” – Tim Ferriss
34. “Being able to quit things that don’t work is integral to being a winner.” – Tim Ferriss
35. “Never automate something that can be eliminated, and never delegate something that can be automated or streamlined. Otherwise, you waste someone else’s time instead of your own, which now wastes your hard-earned cash.” – Tim Ferriss
36. “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.” – Tim Ferriss
37. “Life punishes the vague wish and rewards the specific ask.” -Tim Ferriss,
38. “The most important trick to be happy is to realize that happiness is a choice that you make and a skill that you develop. You choose to be happy, and then you work at it. It’s just like building muscles.” -Tim Ferriss
39. “Desire is a contract you make with yourself to be unhappy until you get what you want.” -Tim Ferriss
40. “The superheroes you have in your mind (idols, icons, titans, billionaires, etc.) are nearly all walking flaws who’ve maximized 1 or 2 strengths.” -Tim Ferriss
41. “I’ve seen the promised land, and there is good news. You can have it all.” -Tim Ferriss.
42. “If you let your learning lead to knowledge, you become a fool. If you let your learning lead to action, you become wealthy.” -Tim Ferriss.
43. “Our goal isn’t to create a business that is as large as possible, but rather a business that bothers us at little as possible.” -Tim Ferriss
44. “The goal is not to simply eliminate the bad, which does nothing more than leave you with a vacuum, but to pursue and experience the best in the world.” -Tim Ferriss
45. “If you cannot find meaning in your life, it is your responsibility as a human being to create it.” -Tim Ferriss
46. “What would you do if there were no way you could fail? If you were 10 times smarter than the rest of the world?” -Tim Ferriss
47. “There is no sure path to success, but the surest path to failure is trying to please everyone.” -Tim Ferriss
48. “The question you should be asking isn’t, ‘What do I want?’ or ‘What are my goals?’ but ‘What would excite me?'” -Tim Ferriss
49. “Information is useless if not applied to something important. Or if you will forget it before you have a chance to apply it.” -Tim Ferriss
50. “The opposite of love is indifference, and the opposite of happiness is boredom.” -Tim Ferriss
If you’re looking for some inspiration, or just a good laugh, check out Tim Ferriss’ twitter account. You won’t be disappointed. In the meantime, we hope you enjoyed these hilarious and thought-provoking quotes from the man himself.
What was your favorite? And more importantly, what will you do differently as a result? Let us know in the comments below!