I came back from being out this week on vacation to find a big box sitting on my desk. I didn’t order anything. Where did it come from?
I opened the box. In it was a note that read:
This is a gift. I hope you enjoy!
There was no signature. Who could this be from? I took the packaging out of the box and found that it was The 4-Hour Body by Timothy Ferriss.
Interestingly, I read an article about Tim Ferriss in Wired Magazine. The writer interviewed Tim on his choice of words in his title. Tim told the reporter that he did a market research study and found that certain key words appear first and that’s how he derived the title of the book.
The subtitle is “An Uncommon Guide to Rapid Fat-Loss, Incredible Sex, and Becoming Superhuman.” Those words too had a high SEO (search engine optimization).
After reading the interview, I didn’t think much of the book, until my trainer presented it to me the other day. He told me that there were a bunch of stretching exercises that might be useful. He also told me that the chapter on running would be an important one to read. That night, I decided to buy the Kindle edition of The 4-Hour Body.
So when I got the box with the two books in it, I immediately thought that it was from my trainer. Maybe he feels bad for me with my shin splints and all and going unprepared for a half marathon this Saturday.
When I asked him about it, he told me he didn’t send it. Now I was stuck. Who could it be? Could it be the publisher because he knows that I write for Blogcritics and blog for New York Enterprise Report?
I decided to contact the people who shipped out the book. “Can you tell me who sent these books to me? Here is my order number….” I said.
“Those books were a gift from the author, Mr. Ferriss,” the customer service representative told me. “He surveyed you for the book and wanted to send you something to thank you for your kindness.”
I hate to admit it, but I don’t remember filling out a survey or being interviewed by Tim Ferriss, but I took the representatives word for it and thanked her. She was most likely right. He also may have sent it to me to blog about it on Blogcritics.
Whatever the reason, it seems as if the world wanted me to read this book, now having two hard copy versions, a kindle version and the use of one at the gym….
