I’ve always been one for working hard and playing hard. It’s about balance and getting that balance right can be tough. But don’t despair, because Tim Ferriss is here to help with his book titled “The 4-Hour Workweek”.
A quick glance at the back comes with a warning. The message reads, “Do not read this book unless you want to quit your job”. And that’s where it all begins. It’s about empowering yourself to maximising the effectiveness of your income. Rather than putting in 60-hour weeks and not being able to enjoy any of the benefits, Tim Ferriss encourages you to take another look at how you spend your time and your money and how you can ‘trim the fat’.
The incredible story of Tim Ferriss is that he went from earning $40,000 per year workng 80 hours a week in a dead-end job, serving the needs and wealth of his superiors. He was able to change all that and figured out a path that led him to $40,000 per month and a work week of just four hours. Believable? It’s certainly hard to swallow, but some of the tips do make sense and have in fact helped TechCast Network boost its ad revenues over the last few months.
Tim talks about how to outsource some of the time consuming and less important tasks to virtual assistants. A virtual assistant is very much the same as hiring a real assistant. They take care of your appointments, they can take of your bills, administrative tasks, get you in touch with people or even just help you pick out gifts for birthdays. He provides some interesting insights into efficiency versus effectiveness. Is what we do the most efficient way of doing it or is it the most effective?
Another thought-provoking idea that this book introduces is the concept of mini-retirements. Doing frequent but short holidays as opposed to saving up thousands to splash out on one long holiday that comes around maybe once every couple of years.
The 4-Hour Workweek at the very least is a very interesting read. Some of the claims will feel exaggerated but it’s up to you whether you want to believe in any of it. People that I’ve run this book by have dismissed it as another get rich quick scheme. Personally, having read through the book, I’m not convinced that if I follow everything that the book says, I will get instant success and in some cases it’s not possible to do some of the things he mentions. However, if I can just take one thing away from this book that either helps me reduce my workload or earn a bit more income or just enjoy life a bit more, then I’m onboard.
Buy this book from Amazon today: