4-Hour Workweek

Lately I'm reading this book entitled 4-Hour Workweek, written by Timothy Ferriss. Simply it will tell you (as the book cover says) that you can escape the 9-5 work, live anywhere and join the "New Rich" or NR.

My sister lent it to me months ago, with just a remark that if I read this, I'll be so excited to resign from work as soon as possible. whoa. This book intrigued me a lot, so I started reading it ...only till the first chapter as I became so busy at work (see the irony? haha) Anyway, last night, as it was a long weekend, I continued reading, eventually hitting the strong points, which really excites me a lot. slowly this book is becoming so encouraging. not really to resign (for now) but to deal with work and vacations differently. I think anytime next week I'll finish the book, with a different life perspective! thus far, here are the insights I got, written in my own words:

1) your "richness" isn't defined by income. It is defined by what you do, and when you do it. A top ranking employee, for example, may earn more than a million pesos annually but works 60 hours a week (for example lang ha!). He may be financially rich, but he's not living like a millionaire, so unlike the NR who earns just half a million annually, works 4 hours a week, and has a "complete freedom of when, where, and how to live". Just by looking at the figures, the NR earns more per hour. thus, teach boss to value performance over presence, or in your business, learn to trust, to delegate and to outsource -so you could earn while doing the things that you like more!

2) your dream is so possible. Timothy's example was a lawyer almost at the top of the corporate ladder, who suddenly decided to leave the law office in exchange for a surf-adventure company in Brazil. he's now living happily and at peace, not regretting the career he left. Point is, we could always turn to that thing which will make us genuinely happy. forget the corporate ladder, the comparing of new cars and all those stuff -it just sounds so risky because we are all, by nature, insecure of big changes but the truth is, if you want it, you can do it.

3) take mini retirements. a lot of people save for a one-time-big-time moment called retirement . but the truth is, 2 weeks after you retire, you'll die of boredom, wanting to do something else rather than bumming around. So spend your money once in a while for mini-retirements, which actually is the same as 20-30 years of retirement spread over the years, spent at an age when you need relaxation and when you enjoy travel the most. and this may not even mean travel, mini-retirements could actually be a year-long (or more) immersion in a non-profitable org intended to help other people.

Now I'm wondering if having my own business is the only solution to earn while doing something more meaningful in life. I definitely can't teach bosses to "value performance over presence" because hello, there's time and attendance. hahaha! I'm also wondering if there's actually someone I know who quit his/her job in exchange for an effective, radical, profitable business or job PLUS travels around the world. Shifting is really scary huh? But seriously I'm willing to go through the risk. as timothy said, shifting is possible. but, like what I said before, I don't know where to start.

I know I can't just rely on a random book for career change. Sometimes I'm thinking that the author could just be a plain lucky NR, a good writer and an idealist. I think there are so many financial/personal issues that he didn't consider.

But I can say that this book helps, at least to workaholics out there. As for me, the book's encouraging me so far BUT there's more to read, to pray about, and to learn when it comes to making money. I hope by the time I finish the book, I'm so full of ideas. for now, I can only make mini-retirements. hahaha.