After having recently read the "4 Hour Work Week" a best seller by Tim Ferris, I wanted to note and to share what I think I learned. To be honest, sharing my thoughts here (publicly) comes second to merely documenting what I learned so I can revisit my list from time to time, something I want to get into the habit of every time I finish any book. However, if someone can learn something from my analysis then, well that would be fantastic!
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1
Deferrers versus The New Rich
Tim quickly introduces the concept of the Deferrer and the New Rich. The latter being the kind of guy who follows his principles. However, I thought the Deferrer was the more interesting of the two cases because that is where most people probably live. By Deferrer, he talks about those people who work really hard, sacrifice much for some future goal or time when everything will be achieved and life will be good.
When he talks about the New Rich he makes the excellent observation that when we all say we want to "be" a millionaire, what we are really saying is we want the freedom to do and experience what millionaires do, or at least what we think they do. Again he encourages us to realize life is happening right now so get engaged and start living not deferring.
Its so easy to forget that life is a process that must be enjoyed each and every day. Of course there are always time in life when we may need to bite the bullet but if you spend your life working for people you don't like, away from the family you love, then no amount of gold at the end of the line is going to fix what you just missed.
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2
Remote Working
Much of the book is dedicated to how you can free up your time by persuading your boss to let you work remotely so you can crank up your efficiency and produce the same results in a fraction of the time. Frankly I felt that for the most part this is not realistic. Most jobs, bosses, business owners are not going to let people start working from home unless their job can be very subjectively measured e.g. number of customer service calls answered or sales closed etc. I also think that a big part of being truly effective in the work environment is your ability to form relationships and exert influence and you can't do either by sitting in your boxer shorts or scuba diving in the Caribbean.
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3
Fear
He makes some great observations about fear and how we often handle it. At one point he states "what we fear most is what we most need to do...a person's success in life can usually be measured by the number of uncomfortable conversation he is willing to have". So if there is a problem you are putting off, deal with it now if you can, if there is nothing you can do about it now then its not really a problem so leave it until it is something you can change.
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4
Is Your Work Filling a Hole?
He focuses on an excellent question about work in your life. I immediately thought of those people that are always busy, busy busy. Sorry can't talk I'm crushed. Sorry going to have to cancel - crisis at work. Not all, but many of those people are probably creating work because it fills a vacuum in their life, gives them an identity, makes them feel they belong. To an extent that okay but watch that balance!
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5
80:20 Rule
More than ever, the 80:20 rule applies. Do what's important, leave what's not. Be okay with imperfection when imperfection is good enough.
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6
Low Information Diet
With all the reading material at our disposal, along with TV and the internet, it is possible to spend an extraordinary amount of time consuming news and other information. The truth is that a lot of this just isn't really making a difference and we could do well to go on a low information diet.
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7
Outsourcing Life
I found his insights on outsourcing extremely interesting. I don't think I am at the point of needing a virtual assistant to organize my personal life but in my business life there are a lot of things I could outsource and save time. I did however, do some research on the issue and I found that the "virtual assistant" world is the wild west. It seems everyone in India and the Philippines is a virtual assistant or runs a VA firm. I assume though trial and error you can eventually find something that works but be prepared to spend some serious time finding the right one.
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8
Your Own Business
Obviously the best way to live the Tim Ferris dream is to have your own business and the type of business he seems to know best is ecommerce. He has some excellent tips but anyone who knows anything about ecommerce knows that its not a slam dunk and if you don't know anything about paid search or online marketing or can get (cheap) access to top talent then its not gonna happen too easily.
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9
Mini Retirements
His concept around Mini Retirements is awesome. Instead of waiting until you are eighty plan 3 or 4 really good getaways a year. Things you really look forward to. They don't have to be super expensive but the more you get away and feel some living, the more charged and invigorated you will be on your return.
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Summary
This was not supposed to necessarily be a 10 point list but finally he gives some great reading material in his final chapter. I must say I enjoyed the book and can recommend it because it does have some gems. Personally, I am not looking to work for only 4 hours per week, I like what I do and well...it feels like a hobby but I can certainly use some lessons to be better at it and not to forget to live in the process.
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