Tim Ferriss (The Author)
The author of the book, Tim Ferriss, writes this book from his own experience. Most of the book's illustrations are from his own life, making himself the principal character in this productivity-improvement book. Illustrations include the time he won a Guinness World Record for dancing a tango, the time he won the Chinese national kickboxing title, and how he became an MTV breakdancer in Taiwan. He has actually taken all the steps he advises others to take, so he knows from he's talking about, more or less.
Dale Begg-Smith
Dale Begg-Smith is an Australian-Canadian Olympic gold medalist in the ski mogul, and he serves as an example of an enterprising role model in The 4-Hour Workweek. He and his brother wanted to make enough money to fund their Olympic dreams, so they started an IT support business when Dale was 13. He balanced his ski training with his business responsibilities, so by the time he won that gold medal, he no longer had to go back to working a dull job in order to make a living.
Julie
Ferriss uses the example of "Julie," a young mother, in one of his chapters. Julie decided that if she didn't take a year-long trip around the globe with her family now, it would never happen, so she and her husband organized a great, cost-efficient trip, pulling their three sons out of school for a year and embarking on a tour of the world. The risk was worth it; it was all she expected and more, and her kids learned more than they would have in school anyway. Julie is presented as a model of someone who went for her dreams without worrying about saving up to make it a reality, which usually ends in abandoning the dream.
Hans Keeling
Hans is another example of a person used as an inspirational model in Ferriss's book. He was a rising attorney, but he was sick of his job, so he suddenly decided to take a vacation to Brazil. Instead of going back, he started his own surf-adventure company in Brazil, making a lot of money and having a great time while doing it. On top of that, he met his dream girl in Brazil and married her. He embodies the virtue of leaving a job that you hate in order to find one that you love - the rest will work itself out.
