The bestselling author's next book will focus on superhuman workout regimens. (Photo from Tim Ferriss' Blog: http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/)

I have no idea if Tim Ferriss is the real deal, but he’s certainly made himself into a big deal. His 2007 bestselling book, The 4 Hour Work Week, promised to show you how to exit the rat race, make tons of money, and pursue your life’s goals without working yourself to death. He appeared at MIT, Harvard, Princeton, the CIA, Google, Live with Regis and Kelly…the list really never ends. He’s been on a constant lecture circuit while still achieving some ridiculous titles. He holds a Guinness World Record for Tango spins, he’s a champion kickboxer in China, and even had a TV show: Trial by Fire on Discovery Channel. Check out the promo after the break.

So, with all the accomplishments, the accolades, and the action, I’m still left with some serious doubts about Tim Ferriss. The 4 Hour Work Week was a great motivational tool, giving detailed plans to refocus your life and live your goals rather than live waiting for them. It was carpe diem for the Internet-age. Likewise, I expect Ferriss’ new book to be well conceived, well researched, and enjoyable. I just don’t think such programs really have the ability to work for everyone.

We don’t have time to review The 4 Hour Work Week here, but sufficed to say that the strategies it lays out are not sustainable for society as a whole. It’s much more about working your way into the upper class and pursuing your interests than it is about increasing the productivity of the economy. It doesn’t take a long time to realize that we can’t all be rich. In fact, riches like Ferriss describes require a base of poorer people. He more or less admits that. In the same vein, I doubt that this next book will form a society-wide revolution in health care. It’s much more likely that it will allow a talented (or indomitable) few to achieve amazing results. That’s kind of already the situation, anyway.

What does excite me about the book, and why were including here at Singularity Hub, is that it will be based on years of personal fitness research. According to Tim, he’s been collecting data on his workouts since he was 15 using state of the art equipment and regular blood tests. There are an increasing number of products that will soon come to market that would allow you to do similar testing. Soon, we all could be writing our own books about getting fit. Like Ferriss’ book, these results would probably only be relevant to the author, but who knows, you might turn yourself into a life-guru. In the end, we’re all suckers for short cuts.