I’ve just finished reading the 4-hour Work Week by Timothy Ferriss – and it’s a book I would recommend to anyone.
I was a little put off at the start by Tim’s intro, it really didn’t appeal to me but I’m glad I didn’t ‘judge the book by the intro’ and give up on it.
I’ld like to share some of the insights I got from reading it.
The 4-Hour Work Week is about the Paradigm shift in thinking to become one of the New Rich, instead of a Deferrer.
Essentially, the New Rich know the benefit of working hard for short, bursts of time and then enjoying mini retirements. Deferrers work (all of the time) and then ‘enjoy’ retirement.
Regardless of the massive leaps I have taken in mindset change over the last 5 to 7 years, The 4 Hour Work Week really bought into clear relief some of the challenges I have been experiencing and helped me clarify (or clear) my thinking! I was bought up in a ‘working class’ household where we were expected to get good grades at school, get a job and work at that for the next 40 years. Our reward would be to retire at 60 or 70 years old and enjoy what was left on our life (on whatever money we had put aside). i.e a Deferrer lifestyle.
Coming from such good working stock, I was also taught that in business – every hour of work you do yourself, is more $$$’s that go to the bottom line… unfortunately, you work yourself sick…. I know this from personal experience.
How can you enjoy your ‘retirement’ when you’ve worked yourself sick – this was the challenge I was having!
Tim, put it all in perspective. The New Rich (NR) set their businesses up to not require direct input from them. The acronym used by Tim is – DEAL
Definition
Elimination
Automation
Liberation
I won’t go into details – that’s what the book is about…. but the definition is solid.
There was one strategy that Tim recommended that really appealed to me – and helped me understand a few things about myself…
He NEVER reads the paper, watches the news or any other current affairs program. He also spends 1 hour (or so) a week reading educational material and 1 hour a night reading fiction…
His reasoning was quite simple – Current Affairs can be incredibly distracting and is time wasting. If it’s topical, someone will ask Tim his thoughts and then Tim will ask them to bring him up to speed…. brilliantly simple.
The idea of reading 1 hour of fiction each night – the lifestyle of the New Rich is about enjoyment and relaxation… fiction is a good way to do this. This appealed to me – because I love reading my fiction books, that’s how I relax and enjoy!
For a challenge to your current thinking, insight into a true entrepreneurial lifestyle and how the NR live their lives – I highly recommend the 4 Hour Work Week.
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