You might just do a double take when you first hear about Timothy Ferriss’ “revolutionary” book, The 4-Hour Workweek. If that conjures up an image of a magician talking through his hat, rest assured… you’re not alone.
But guess what, cut to the core and Ferriss actually delivers! Contrary to conjectures, the book is a complete package of path-breaking ideas and examples. It is far from a stale prescription of ‘how to add spice to your life’. Nor does it promote any kind of unfounded ideal. It simply attempts to inspire you, give you ideas on how to automate or outsource boring life tasks, and drive you to come up with products that can drive passive income.
Ferriss has actually tried educating people so that they can become more productive and effective by limiting their workweek. After all, who wouldn’t love to cut back on working and roam all over the world… visit the most wonderful places, and pursue pet hobbies and a host of other recreational activities? The 4-Hour Workweek discusses new and innovative ideas that can help one in doing what he/ she wants to… and at the same time ensure a steady flow of income.
The book also discusses a number of other interesting concepts, such as ‘How to convince your boss to allow you to do your work from home’! Ferriss advocates using the power of globalization, technology and available brainpower to come up with various solutions that can help in simplifying work. He provides the roadmap for your dreams and goals to materialize. Ferriss’ concept of simplifying work is based on the principle of 80/20 (e.g., 80% of revenue is generated by 20% of customers).
The ultimate message conveyed by The 4-Hour Workweek is that, instead of planning a giant retirement at the end of your working life, putting together a bunch of mini-retirements can be much more beneficial and productive. Here’s Ferriss’ recipe for those who’ll have it all, “…the New Rich aims to distribute ‘mini-retirements’ throughout life instead of hoarding the recovery and enjoyment for the fool’s gold of retirement.”
If you’re convinced and want to maximize your life’s potential, check out Lifehacker and Zen Habits for some excellent time-saving tips and tricks, and simple productivity ideas. Also, take a look at my post “Timothy Ferriss Says – DEAL With It” for more outsourcing suggestions.
Until next time, J.
“Take control of your destiny or someone else will”