4 hour work week book review overview part 4 of 4
June 18, 2007 by Cash
By working faithfully eight hours a day, you may eventually get to be the boss and work twelve hours a day.
-Robert Frost
LIBERATION
The final phase in the 4HWW is liberation. It focuses on four areas, all intended to help reduce (or eliminate) time physically spent in the office. Creating a strong demand for your work by proving yourself more effective than the competition is one key piece. Another idea is to gradually build up to full-time telecommuiting by suggesting one day a week at first. Some of the ploys here have been criticized on ethical terms; for instance throttling your work so that your productivity seems to take a leap when you’re in the telecommuting trial period. Overall though, the tips and tricks are squarely aimed at MAKING you a better employee, so that the freedom to work from home is more acceptable to your boss.
The second area involves cutting your losses (by planning ahead) in the event your employer refuses your request. You can quit your job and survive.
As Ferriss wisely points out;
It’s too big a world to spend most of life in a cubicle.”
The next area focuses on the nuts and bolts of mini-retirements. From travel websites for ‘vagabonds’ to insuring you have multiple copies of all your documentation (one tip? scanning everything and emailing it to yourself so you can access it from an internet cafe if necessary) and a timeline of events to follow leading up to your departure, Tim covers this topic in depth.
Finally; “Filling the void: Adding life after subtracting work” looks at how to insure the shift to carefree days is as fulfilling as possible. This includes suggestions to continue your education (learning languages, tango, martial arts etc) and doing something for the greater good, such as volunteer work.
Decreasing income-driven work isn’t the end goal. Living more- and becoming more, is.”
CONCLUSION
It should be obvious from this series that I’m an enthusiastic supporter of the ideas presented in the 4HWW. However, after reading some other reviews and participating in discussions with readers here I think it is important to point out a few things.
1) This book is not for everyone. Single people 18-40 years old, without children are the primary target (and most likely beneficiaries) of the suggestions in the book. Having the responsibility (and additional time burden) of children does not lend itself to either the risk nor flexibility required to pursue 4HWW to its fullest.
2) To try the income automation piece of the 4HWW will require a minimum of $1000. This is the cost of test-marketing and then producing your product. This figure will be substantially higher if your own technical skills are lacking.
3) This book (and the monetary figures listed within) assumes a very detailed knowledge of computers and the internet. There is talk of cost per click advertising, implementing shopping cart functionality into websites, and testing a variety of rotating campaigns within Google’s AdWords program. None of this stuff is rocket science, but if you’re new to computers/the net your financial outlay will be *considerably* more. This is the result of needing to hire someone to set up your website.
Overall I found the 4 Hour Work Week a compelling read. There is an incredible allure to freeing yourself from the corporate grind and discovering your true passion. Even if you’re not planning on starting your own business, the time saving tips and tactics should still prove useful. Recommended.
Stay tuned; in the coming weeks we will be unveiling our first Urban Monarch reader project, based on 4HWW.
This article is part of a series. Be sure to check out Part I, Part II and Part III
I know someone with a Kitchen Aide Mixer… It’s real nice.
I’m still skeptical, but intrigued enough to check it out.
Transalated: I haven’t tried the Kool-Aid, but I want to be riiiiiich.
Thanks for the book review. I will visit my local library.
PS - Who has a great idea for my product? (My ideas - Pet Rock, Big Black Dildo, and computers named after fruit - are all taken.)
Regardless of the 4 hour work week, I love this quote…
By working faithfully eight hours a day, you may eventually get to be the boss and work twelve hours a day.
I know for one, when I take my regular 3 month out-of-cubicle time, within a week of freedom, I was thinking about getting a job. We train ourselves to be at work 40 hours a week, and when it’s removed, it’s a little freaky.
Casey; one of the biggest themes that keeps coming up in the book is the fact that you don’t have to be a millionaire to have a millionaire’s lifestyle.
When most people think about have a million bucks, they don’t sit there fixating on how happy it would make them to see that seven digit figure in their bank account.
Instead, they think about all the cool things they could do with their time rather than working, thanks to the freedom of the huge nest egg.
4HWW reframes this belief system by pointing out ways to obtain much more freedom of time, even if you continue earning the same amount.
Greg; get to yoga class and meditate away that foolish nonsense.
[...] We’ve written a fair amount about the 4 hour work week, and now it’s time to put it to the test. Starting next week, we’re assembling a limited group of just 5 people to form an entrepreneurial club to see what we can do to live this life of luxory. [...]
[...] This is part of a series. See Part I, Part II and watch for Part IV tomorrow at noon. Filed under: Music & Media, Lifestyle | Author: Cash | [...]