I’ll admit it, I rarely read business or personal development books anymore… I think I OD’ed on them in my twenties, hehe.
But after having been interviewed by Tim Ferriss last year while he was writing this book (i’m on page 136), and having a total of 10 hours available while on a trip this past weekend… I decided to grab myself a copy and dive in for the trip.
Tim’s book is called The 4-Hour Workweek (http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/) and is an exploration of what he calls living like the ‘New Rich’.
What is the new rich? It is living and working free of the restrictions of time and location… creating a lifestyle where you can pretty much live anywhere, work when it fits your schedule and still make a living.
The theme of this book is right up my alley… as i’ve been working this way now since I left my downtown corporate job in 1999. So I certainly applaud Tim’s message… and he does a *great* job of illustrating how this can truly be done in today’s day and age regardless of whether you are a business owner or employee. Anything is possible.
And yes, Tim does work 4 hours a week. I’m certainly not at that point, but after reading Tim’s book I took a look at my hours & income last year… and i’ve been working an average of 16 hours per week and have literally tripled my income in the past few years. Now, to shave another 12 hours off each week… hmmm.
I came away with a few great ideas for my business, particularly around automating a few more things and hiring some folks for our online store. Basically to get me out of the picture even more (ala the EMyth which is another great book).
This book will especially appeal to anyone who dreams of traveling more (or at all!) while still working for a living. I especially loved the story of the guy who was working his job while in China for a month… and his boss didn’t even know. And how much more productive he was while doing so… funny how getting out of the office can really boost efficiency.
The thing I love the best about this book though is this – whenever someone (friends, family) look at me strange when I try to explain that “yes, I do what I like, work from home, set my own hours and make money at it at the same time” I can hand them this book and say “read this”. And if they still don’t get it, well i’ve done all I can. 😉
Anyhow, if the idea of working just 4 hours a week appeals to your… or if you just want to work less and make more then go ahead and grab a copy of Tim’s book. I think you’ll enjoy it.