Tim Ferriss Gives His Girlfriend Credit for Their Unique Relationship Nurturing Ritual

Tim Ferriss describes himself as a dilettante who specializes in pattern recognition and accelerated learning. He found fame through his 2007 book The 4-Hour Workweek, which was initially titled Drug Dealing for Fun and Profit, and has since grown into a well-known author and podcaster.

Over the years, Ferriss has shared his learnings about all aspects of life through his books, talk sessions, and podcast. And one thing he has talked about is finding success in his love life.

Though Ferriss has kept his relationships private, he has spoken about what he and his girlfriend do to make their relationship work.

When talking to Ramit Sethi on The Tim Ferriss Show, he shared that he and his girlfriend dedicated a certain amount of time every week or two to discuss things that could make them uncomfortable or defensive.

We have a number of rituals and things in the calendar that I think are important for the care and nurturing of the relationship… What we did was set up what we call this batching times once a week or once every two weeks where we sit down and she has a chance to talk to me...

Ferriss and his girlfriend started doing this after they realized he had a tendency to shut off emotionally or react defensively to certain topics.

He also shared that it might have been because of his stoic upbringing, where it wasn’t common to open yourself to many emotions. He also gave his girlfriend credit for it, stating she did 90% of the work.

'The 4-Hour Workweek'

Ferriss is a hugely successful author with millions of followers. He has been featured by over 100 media outlets, including The New York Times, The Economist, TIME, and Forbes.

These days, he is mostly known for his podcast, but what originally started his rise to popularity was his first book, The 4-Hour Workweek.

It has been translated into over 35 languages and is a #1 New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Businessweek bestseller. When talking to Insider, Ferriss revealed he hadn’t expected the book to be such a hit when he first published it.

The book is a collection of tactics and tools and case studies of people who have designed ideal lifestyles for themselves.

Nobody expected it. I mean, I had an initial print run of 10,000 copies, which isn’t even a partial national distribution.

The 4-Hour Workweek soon became an international hit and spawned off the 4-Hour brand, which included two other books — The 4-Hour Body and The 4-Hour Chef.

After publishing the aforementioned three books of the 4-Hour brand, Ferriss published two more books — Tools of Titans and Tribe of Mentors. Both enjoyed outstanding success, and Ferriss wrote them because he wanted to move away from the 4-Hour format.