The 4 hour work week

by Tim Ferriss

This book is written with a tongue in cheek wit which makes it an enjoyable read. It’s also full of great quotes and useful case studies too. It’s not a particularly long read but the exercise at the end of each chapter make you think long and hard about where you’re going and what is the best route.

Putting aside his own history, experiences and journey (which is what makes the book so entertaining), there are lots of tips and techniques to implement that will make your life more time rich which is the whole point of this book. Being financially rich and having the ability to live like a millionaire are fundamentally two very different things. Money is multiplied in practical value depending on the number of ‘w’s you use to control your life (what you do, when you do it, where you do it, with whom you do it) which he calls the freedom multiplier. Realising you have options is where the real power is.

In essence, this book is asking questions like:

ü      How can one achieve the millionaire lifestyle of complete freedom without first having $1,000,000?

ü      What is the pot of gold that justifies spending the best you years of your life hoping for happiness in the last?

ü      Which 20% of sources are causing 80% of your problems and unhappiness?

ü      How much is your time worth with lots of calculations in the book to help you think this one through.

Key chapters cover for instance and much more

ü      How fundamentally flawed our thinking is around retirement and how it would be better to enjoy mini retirements throughout our life when we’re fit and healthy which makes us more effective and productive when we do go back to work refreshed. Conquering fear – 9 – 5 x 40 or 50 yrs = 500 solid months of slave labour if you’re in the wrong job!

ü      How to turn dream lines into timelines; how to end the obsession with time management and being effective vs. being efficient. Parkinson’s law – that tasks swell in in relation to the time allotted for it’s completion and Paretos law – the 80/20 principle.

ü      The more options you offer a client the more problems you’ll get in return and the fewer orders you’ll receive. Note, those that spend the least and ask for the most before ordering will do the same after the sale and those that spend the most tend to complain the least. So, offering freebies is the best way to attract time-eaters!

ü      Time stealers – meetings, interruptions, phone calls, e-mails that are unimportant (and someone else’s important or urgent is not necessarily your important or urgent). Book meetings at odd times such as 11.20am to finish in 10 mins rather than 11am and loosing half an hour.

ü      Beg forgiveness, don’t ask for permission – great chapter on doing what you want to do then saying sorry rather than asking if you can do something and being told ‘no’. Getting what you want often depends more on when you ask for it than how you ask for it.

ü      Time – get people used to getting to the point with you by not chit chatting, always say how long you‘ve got. For meetings, always ask for an agenda to define the purpose and specify and end time.

ü      Wear headphones when at your desk so people think you’re on line and are less likely to interrupt you and learn to limit access to your time by forcing people to define their requests before spending time with them. Get comfortable with saying ‘no’.

ü      Outsourcing. You can outsource anything and everything apparently (and the case studies in the book prove it) to live your ideal lifestyle, just define exactly what it is you want and when first. As outsourcers get paid on performance or when product ships, negative cash flow is impossible. Outsourcers work while you sleep so there is lots of info. on the pros of hiring a VA especially in a different time zone to you and getting the best out of them.

ü      How to set up an automated company by beginning with the end in mind, including how to define your niche market by being a member, besting the competition, creating money where your mouth is guarantees, branding, image and how to become an expert in 4 wks. Also, finding products to resell, finding public domain info to repurpose, creating products and licensing ideas to others for royalties. 

Useful reminders

ü      Don’t abuse the gatekeepers (receptionists).

ü      Call difficult to get hold of people (decision makers) first or last in the day – you’ll get more done instead of spending all day doing ring backs.

ü      Focus on being productive instead of busy.

ü      Don’t put your life on hold ‘until’ – the timing is never right, just do it.

ü      To do or not to try? Risks aren’t that scary once you take them.

ü      If you’re insecure, guess what, so is the rest of the world. Do not overestimate the competition and underestimate yourself.

ü      Forget asking yourself what do you want or what are your goals, ask instead what excites you? Excitement is the more practical synonym for happiness so live your passion or your bliss.

ü      Niche marketing – fish where the fewest go.

ü      Maximum income from minimal effort is the primary goal because more customers does not automatically equal more income.

ü      Never check e-mail first thing in the morning – instead, complete urgent tasks first.

ü      Micromanaging is time consuming and peoples IQ doubles when you give them responsibility!

ü      Establish yourself as a consistent challenger of the status qua and most people will learn to avoid challenging you.

ü      You only have the rights you fight for.

ü      Eliminate before you delegate. Never automate something that can be eliminated and never delegate something that can be automated.

ü       Intuition and experience are poor predictors of which businesses will be profitable and focus groups are equally misleading.