“Warning: Do not read this book unless you want to quit your job!”
With such a dramatic introduction to The 4-hour Work Week, I was instantly hooked. The blurb on the back cover continued, “Whether your dream is escaping the rat race, experiencing high-end world travel, earning a monthly five-figure income with zero management, or just living more and working less, this book is the blueprint.” I mentally placed a check against each of these desires.
As I started reading Timothy Ferriss’s debut Wall Street Journal best-seller, I realised that his cautionary advice was not merely a great marketing plug. The 4-hour Work Week is not a recommended resource for employees who value the perceived security of their jobs. If you really love working for other people, this book may be too disturbing or intimidating for you.
However, if you yearn for personal and financial freedom and are willing to make the necessary sacrifices to get there, then you will find some innovative, slightly insane, but solid instructions on how to create the lifestyle of your dreams. Let’s look at some of the highlights of Ferriss’s thought-provoking recipe for living life on a higher plane.
What’s the D.E.A.L.?
From the outset, Ferriss explains that the strategies he shares are applicable for both overworked employees and entrepreneurs who are trapped by their own businesses. He declares that his principles can help you to “double your income, cut your hours in half, or at least double your vacation time”.
Ferriss’s concept revolves around attaining a designation which he terms the “New Rich” (NR). These are persons who are not prepared to wait until retirement to live out their dreams, but are focused on creating “luxury lifestyles” at any age. The NR do not value money as much as they crave time and mobility, which Ferris describes as the “the currency of the New Rich”.
The route to the NR lifestyle is outlined in a four-step process called the D.E.A.L. The first step is Definition, which explains the rules of the NR and defines relative and absolute wealth. The next phase, Elimination, allows you to instantly free up your time. In Automation, you learn how to create passive income, while Liberation will break the “bonds that confine you to a single location”.
Who are the New Rich?
Ferriss asserts that people who spend all their time working and postpone pleasure until they retire are actually deferring their lives for an uncertain future. The NR decide to go after their life’s priorities and purposes right away. He declares that the goal of waiting to enjoy retirement life is flawed, because it assumes that you dislike what you are doing during the best years of your life.
The NR lifestyle is all about having options. An employee who negotiates to work flexible hours off site can rearrange his schedule to produce the same results in half the time, and spend the remaining hours doing what he chooses. A business owner who outsources her operations and creates online sales channels can decide where and how to
Article source: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/lifestyle/Getting-Out-of-the-Rat-Race_11271960