The 4-Hour Work Week: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich
As mentioned in a recent post, I am using my time in the car and at the gym listening to audiobooks through Audible.com. I’m just two weeks in and I’m halfway through my second audiobook. That’s about one and a half more books than I have read in the past year! Sadly, I don’t think that is an exaggeration. However, after reading my first audiobook: The 4 Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferriss, I was excited to fly right into my next self-improvement book.
Seems like an odd book for a teacher to read, but based on how many times I have heard this book being referenced by podcast hosts as “must read,” I thought I should probably check it out. Thanks to the internet, more people than ever before are leaving their office jobs and pursuing alternative ways to make money. For example, the Bitcoin boom has got a lot more people looking on sites like https://www.cripto-valuta.net/es/bitcoin-trader/, finding the best ways to invest in cryptocurrency. The most successful investors are able to maintain an income and let automatic traders do most of the work for you. There are so many other options out there for people wanting to escape their 9-5 and this book shows it.
Unsure if it is better to learn about the author once you begin reading the book, but it is really hard to hold back from sharing just a few of this guy’s accomplishments, including:
Tim has amassed a diverse (and certainly odd) roster of experiences:
- Princeton University guest lecturer in High-Tech Entrepreneurship and Electrical Engineering
- Finance and Entrepreneurship advisor at Singularity University at NASA Ames, co-founded by Peter Diamandis and Ray Kurzweil.
- First American in history to hold a Guinness World Record in tango
- Speaker of 5 languages (video samples here)
- National Chinese kickboxing champion
- Horseback archer (yabusame) in Nikko, Japan
- 2009 Henry Crown Fellow at the Aspen Institute
- Political asylum researcher
- MTV breakdancer in Taiwan
- Hurling competitor in Ireland
- Wired Magazine’s “Greatest Self-Promoter of 2008?
Source: The Blog of Tim Ferriss: Experiments in Lifestyle Design
What a random list of experiences! I feel that it is important to share those with you so you can better understand the purpose of the book.
First Impression
When you first hear “4 Hour Work Week,” you will probably be skeptical and assume that working four hours a week is just merely impossible. If that is your mindset, then the chances of you actually attempting to follow any of the suggestions offered throughout this book is probably slim to none. However, if you give the book a shot, you will definitely take something away to help you improve your daily life.
As the title might suggest, the book is targeted more for those working from 9-to-5 in an office cubicle. Of course, many people work these long hours in office cubicles. When working these hours, it’s usually vital that staff are supported whilst sitting at their desk. That’s why most companies make sure that they provide office chairs from office monster or somewhere similar. Having a comfy chair can make all the difference to staff who are working 9-to-5. This is just one way that companies can maximize effectiveness. The book also goes on to introduce many other strategies and “rules” to help you maximize your effectiveness, reduce distractions, and get to the things you enjoy doing most in life.
Takeaways
The biggest takeaway I received from The Four Hour Work Week was my new found understanding of what success in life really means. Ferriss really makes you reevaluate what you consider important in your life by considering how you currently spend (or waste) your time, who we should really be focusing on impressing (i.e.: family), and what being “rich” (the “new rich”) really means.
Regardless of whether you want it or not, Tim also shares how employees stuck in the prison of the office can negotiate remote work agreements to slowly reduce the number of hours you work while accomplishing more. He extends this idea to building online businesses in order to earn income to support you and your family according to your new “Lifestyle Design” at home or abroad. He doesn’t hide any details in regards to how you can find a “muse” business that will work prior to investing any time or money, how to market it successfully, and outsource all of the work while you reap the benefits. Working from home can have a lot of benefits for many workers, it can make their life a lot easier, particularly if employees are unable to drive to work for whatever reason. It gives them the ability to work from the comfort of their own home without having to worry about the issues that come along with getting to work each day. In most cases, all they require is a good internet connection and a place to call their office (see more here). Of course, if they are unable to work from home, then this can create problems if the employee is unable to come in for whatever reason. For example, say the employee has broken their leg then working from home is the perfect opportunity, but if they cannot work from home, then this means that they might miss out on their income. However, if they have something like this individual short term disability insurance, then there might not be an issue.
Curious yet? You should be! Here’s a few places you can check out The Four Hour Work Week:
Listen to The Four Hour Work Week FREE from Audible!
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About Kyle Pearce
I’m Kyle Pearce and I am a former high school math teacher. I’m now the K-12 Mathematics Consultant with the Greater Essex County District School Board, where I uncover creative ways to spark curiosity and fuel sense making in mathematics. Read more.
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Kyle, this is a great review of “The 4-Hour Work Week.” I think you hit the nail on the head with your observation that the book redefines success. The author’s comment about the importance of TIME FREEDOM in particular struck me hard. That’s a kind of freedom that is difficult to obtain in a conventional corporate job.
I can see major challenges to implementing some of the book’s most creative ideas in a public sector/union setting – best wishes in overcoming those hurdles!
I’m also a big fan of consuming audio while commuting and doing chores. I tend to focus on audio podcasts (e.g. I Love Marketing) though I enjoy the occasional audiobook as well (e.g. John Maxwell’s leadership books).
One last point. I’m running a survey of readers of “The 4-Hour Work Week” right now ( http://svy.mk/1nNT9T4) for an article I’m writing. It would be very helpful to me if you could fill out the survey – it’s just 10 questions.
Thanks for the reply. Now reflecting a couple months after reading Four-Hour Work Week and reading some other self-improvement books since, I think the book helped me realize that money doesn’t make you happy. I was trying all kinds of things to make additional income and realized I was burning all of my free time doing it. I now focus on my family and passion (teaching) and that is it. I cherish my free time with family and am really looking at my future career plans through that lens.
I also completed your survey and wish you all the best on that endeavour.
Cheers!