Four Hour Work Week – reality, myth or legend?

This week Sean and I discuss The Four Hour Work Week, a book and lifestyle written and conceived by Timothy Ferris. Somewhat controversial, the book describes alternatives to our busy lifestyle. Those that have mastered this lifestyle, Timothy refers to as the New Rich…or the N. R.

Is the “Four Hour Work Week” reality, myth or legend?

Listen to the Netcast using this player or visit Talkshoe.com

Tim Ferriss presents entrepreneurship as a tool for ideal lifestyle design and world change. His book has two parts: (1) Realize how you spend your time and (2) Identify and apply tools to restructure your life to get more satisfaction from what you spend your time on.

I’m here today with Trailing Spouse Network regular Sean McKee to talk about the book and some of the concepts.

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I’ve listened to the Audible version a couple of times. Both times I’ve felt mixed emotions, from absolute garbage to….maybe this guy has some good points. But on each occasion my interest has been held and I’ve taken away several ideas.

Talking Points

1. Do you accept the concept?
   1. Refer Amazon review comments
   2. Companion site at http://www.fourhourworkweek.com
2. How do you feel about Outsourcing your life?
3. Can it be practically applied to most peoples situations?
   1. People relocating within their own country
   2. People relocating outside of their home country
   3. Logistics challenges and adaption of concepts?
4. Pareto Principle
   1. Is the 4HWW concept just the 80/20 rule taken to the extreme, or are these practical and workable techniques?
5. Parkinson’s Law
   1. Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.
   2. Long time to deadline implies “big” project
6. Low information diet
   1. Cold turkey – online avoidance
   2. Don’t read news
   3. Don’t read email – often, first thing in morning, as it happens
   4. Challenge of doing this as an expatriate who needs to learn about his/her surroundings
7. Selective Ignorance management style (JP – Manage by ignorance)
   1. Eliminate, automate, delegate
8. Outsourcing is the focus
   1. Great ideas for employing / implementing VA
   2. Learning curve for using VA services?
9. Evolve to the NR (New Rich)
   1. Don’t give up the day job
   2. Identify product/service (Muse)
   3. Build the Muse
   4. Remote work ‘real job’
   5. MBA—Management-By-Absence
   6. Beyond Repair: Killing Your Job
   7. How long could all this take to implement?
   8. Tools necessary and learning curve?
10. Telework
    1. Negotiating techniques for introducing telework to your work environment
    2. IDEA: Teleworking as a service enhancing option for expatriate professionals?
11. Achieving Balance
    1. Doing what matters to you
    2. Working for a purpose rather than work for work’s sake
    3. Its not only about money and career or is it?

Blogger Trent Hamm has a great synopsis of the 4HWW on his blog at The Simpledollar.com

Next program; Introducing the “How to” Series How to Backup.

Resources

1. Tim Ferris (Author) Blog – http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/
2. Wikipedia – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_4-Hour_Workweek
3. Video with Tim Ferris describing the book and lifestyle – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYpRja0-vrU
4. Fastcompany video interview – http://www.fastcompany.tv/video/timothy-ferriss-and-the-4-hour-workweek
5. Good synopsis – http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2007/04/29/review-the-4-hour-workweek/