Review: 4-Hour Work Week

and other musings

This week, I finished my second pass of “The 4-Hour Work Week” by Tim Ferriss. In the novel, the author outlines his story along with the tools and tricks that he used to “Escape the 9-5, live anywhere and join the New Rich.”

(Aside: If it were me, I would include the Oxford Comma in that tagline, but that is another post. However, enjoy this graphic related to it.)

There are a few questions that I believe one must face upon finishing the book:

1. Do you believe that the New Rich lifestyle is possible given the model that the author puts forward?
2. If you believe it is possible, is your own personality a match for the level of uncertainty you might have to experience to get there?
3. Assuming the first two are a yes, what is your muse that you can turn into profit?

Number three is what I am working on. I have a couple of possibilities that I am actively pursuing, and one that is in my back pocket.

The author outlines several ways to find your muse which I have used. In addition, he talks about niching down. After all, the goal is to not necessarily be a millionaire, but rather to decouple yourself from the norms of modern society to allow you to take advantage of the benefits that come from going left when others go right.

There are two additional notes I would offer for those who are trying to discover their muse. The first comes from Tim Ferriss himself through a recent LinkedIn post. I have linked that here.

The second, related idea comes from James Altucher. He talks about the concept of “idea sex” in some of his work. In short, take two (or more) great ideas that have been done, and combine them. An example of this is the iPhone. iPod + cell phone + camera = iPhone.

For my brief review of the 4-Hour Work Week, see my goodreads post. And the same for James Altucher’s recent book, Skip the Line.

And finally, I will say that even if your answer to the 2^nd question about uncertainty is a resounding “no”, I would still recommend the 4-Hour Work Week. The author outlines tips for those who never want to leave corporate America, but still live like the New Rich.

Enjoy!