Tim Ferriss is a self-described “ultravagabond.” At 29, he has been a tango champion, a business owner, learned half a dozen languages, became a kickboxing champion, and now, with the launch of his book The 4-Hour Workweek, is a best-selling author.

The book is a reality-bending journey through the mind of what Ferriss calls “The New Rich,” which are a breed of people who separate their time from their income, their job from their location, and live in “mini-retirements” scattered throughout their lives.

Tim naturally took the time for BipolarNation.com to answer a few questions.

BPN: I ask this one of everyone – if you had to tell me, without describing your personality, your hobbies, your interests, or anything like that, can you tell me the answer to the question “who are you?”

Tim Ferriss: Tim Ferriss. Is that cheating? Otherwise, I’m the sum of my genetics and my experiences.

BPN: I want to get into automated income right away. First, tell me it’s possible (just so I can hear it) and second, do you have any examples of people who accomplish this in a short time?

Tim Ferriss: Automating income is possible, and more common than people think. This ranges from the more familiar passive income — stocks, bonds, etc. — to “remote control” CEOs who run multinational companies while overseas in flipflops. It can be done in a short period of time if we decide on our target monthly income (TMI) in advance. Otherwise, we just end up working for work’s sake, squandering our most precious non-renewable resource: time.

Examples range from a father with a 9-5 job who started a ringtone business on the side, which now nets $10K+ per month, to a friend who freelance edits through other people while skiing in Argentina.

BPN: How short, usually?

Tim Ferriss: Most entrepreneurs can get there in 2 months; most employees can cut time 40-60% in 2 months and then shift to automating income by outsourcing life, geoarbitrage, etc.

I’ve seen it happen in 1-2 weeks, but it depends on the person.

BPN: Why do you focus so heavily on global mobility and travelling in your book?

Tim Ferriss: Because I think that surrounding yourself with a different culture — one without the same assumptions and baggage as your own — is one of the fastest routes to becoming aware of self-imposed limitations. It’s a shortcut to redesigning your life and lifestyle.

BPN: Let’s say you were forced, under punishment of death, to live in one city the rest of your life, outside of where your family lives. Where would you live?

Tim Ferriss: US or non-US?

BPN: Either one, let’s say outside of California.

Tim Ferriss: For now, NYC or Buenos Aires.

BPN: When you’re travelling to a new city – in the past or currently – how do you get a social life going?

Tim Ferriss: Talk to everyone and ask them for advice on restaurants, movie theatres, activities, etc. Within 24-48 hours of asking a person every hour or two, you’ll have found at least one well-educated and fun person willing to introduce you to all of their friends.

Then you’re set.

BPN: You talked about distress versus EUstress in your book, and how there’s stress that actually benefits you. Can you expand on what stress is GOOD for you? And how can you tell the difference?

Tim Ferriss: Eustress is any stress — any stimuli — that encourages growth and expands your comfortable sphere of action. in other words, your ability to act on bigger things that would previously have made you uncomfortable. ’stress’ as we usually use it — distress — doesn’t serve a productive purpose like this.

BPN: Could you describe what your last 1-2 weeks were like?

Tim Ferriss: The last 1-2 weeks have been mind-expanding. I launched the book along the principles in the book — focusing on what worked vs. what was popular. Thus, no book tours, no book signings, etc. everything was done via new media and phone. I could have launched this book from Amsterdam or Thailand just as well as i did here. The results have been amazing. It hit both the NY Times and Wall Street Journal bestseller lists.

BPN: Based on your bios, and chronology in the book, you seem like you find unique solutions to alot of things. Is this a conscious strategy, or have you done it your whole life?

Tim Ferriss: I think most motion is wasted motion. My successes have come from removing the unimportant and focusing on the few important things. That’s it. I’m a good “reductionist”, as some people have called me. Doing fewer things well gets better results than doing more and more. The latter isn’t sustainable.

BPN: If I looked up “Tim Ferriss” on wikipedia or something in 100 years, what would you want the entry to read?

Tim Ferriss: One of the most successful educational reformists of the 21st century. We’ll see. I think I’ll get there. Quite a few tricks left up my sleeve that will be coming out in the next year.

Thanks to Tim for the interview. I’ll be writing a full-length review of the book, which I recommend you buy clicking the link at the start of this post.