The character arc of Tim Ferriss
Born 20 July 1977 in East Hampton, New York. Between then and now sit a hard stretch at university he came through, a nutrition supplement company built almost alone, a first book turned down by more than two dozen publishers before it topped the charts, three more that followed, a podcast heard a billion times, early bets on companies like Uber and Shopify, and a later turn toward funding science. The line below draws the story so far, in order.
Tap the line to pluck it. Hover or tap any mark for its card. Drawn from the public record of his life; the sources are at the foot of the page.
Who is Tim Ferriss?
The founder who redesigned his life.
He grew up on the eastern end of Long Island and studied at Princeton. A dark stretch there once left him close to walking away from everything, a low he has since spoken about openly so others feel less alone. He came through it, sold hard drives for a living after college, and in 2001 built a small nutrition supplement company called BrainQUICKEN, running it almost single-handed and working himself to exhaustion.
Burned out rather than quitting, he took a long trip abroad and turned the systems he had built to run the company from afar into a book. More than two dozen publishers turned it down before one said yes. The 4-Hour Workweek arrived in 2007, climbed to the top of the bestseller lists, and stayed there for years, arguing that you can design a life around what you value instead of around a desk. Two more books, The 4-Hour Body and The 4-Hour Chef, followed, each a bigger experiment than the last.
In 2014 he started The Tim Ferriss Show, sitting down with world-class performers to take apart the habits behind their work, and it has since passed a billion downloads. He was also an early backer of companies including Uber, Shopify and Duolingo, then stepped back from investing to put his time and money into non-profit science, becoming a lead funder of new research into mental health. His line is worth reading because it is a working argument that you can question the default, test a better version, and keep the receipts.
The moments
Tim Ferriss's timeline.
The 1990s
A hard year at Princeton
Setback, and it changed his direction. A dark stretch at university left him close to giving up, a low he now speaks about openly to help others.
The 2000s
Built a supplement company
Milestone. He founded the nutrition supplement company BrainQUICKEN and ran it almost single-handed.
A sabbatical that reset him
Everyday, and it changed his direction. Close to burnout, he left on a long trip abroad and rebuilt how the company ran without him.
Grow the company, or leave it
Crossroads, decided.
The paths laid out: rebuild it to run alone, taken, or push for more scale. The freedom he designed became the argument of his first book.
The Workweek finally sold
Milestone, and it changed everything. Turned down by more than two dozen publishers, the book then topped the bestseller lists for years.
The 2010s
The Body tops the list
Milestone. His second book reached number one, and the same year he sold the supplement company.
The Chef, a bold swing
Everyday. A book about learning anything faster, and a deliberate bet on a new kind of publisher.
Backing founders early
Milestone, and it changed his direction. He put early money into companies including Uber, Shopify and Duolingo.
The podcast begins
Milestone, and it changed everything. He started interviewing world-class performers about their habits. It has since passed a billion downloads.
Keep investing, or fund science
Crossroads, decided.
The paths laid out: step back and fund science, taken, or keep backing startups. He traded a hot streak of deals for a decade of funding new science.
Tools of Titans
Milestone. The routines and lessons of his guests, gathered into one thick book.
Funding the science himself
Milestone, and it changed his direction. Stepping back from investing, he became a lead funder of new non-profit research into mental health.
The line reaches today still publishing and still funding the science, which is why it is drawn now rather than at the end. What it set moving is already everywhere: the readers who redesigned their weeks, and the founders and scientists he backed early.
In his words
Quotes by Tim Ferriss
Define your fears instead of your goals.
A person's success in life can usually be measured by the number of uncomfortable conversations he or she is willing to have.
What we fear doing most is usually what we most need to do.
Your turn
Every story draws a unique line.
His is decades in and still asking better questions. Yours is already further along than you think, and drawing it takes about three minutes.
Sources
- The 4-Hour Workweek, Crown Publishing, 2007.
- The Tim Ferriss Show, 2014 to 2026.
- His blog at tim.blog, including his angel investing portfolio and his 2015 note on stepping back.
- The Johns Hopkins Center for Psychedelic and Consciousness Research announcement, 2019.
- Wikipedia: Tim Ferriss.
- Tim Ferriss, TED talk, 2017.