four-hour.jpgI saw my brother picked up a new book from Borders the other day, so I promptly borrowed it and begin reading. It’s by Timothy Ferriss and called, The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich. I had heard about the book from my buddy GK, but I’d never gotten around to reading it. Several hours later I had finished the book and become a new man. Well, maybe not, but I was energized and inspired to break out of the 9-5 prison and begin to take charge of my finances. In 320 pages, Tim details his strategy for generating streams of income, simplifying life and focusing on what really matters. Tim talks about “the living dead”– those who work amazingly hard to amass ultimately worthless stuff and about “deferred living” — slaving for 30 years “sav[ing] it all for the end only to find that life has passed them by.” Tim gives practical advice on how to outsource your life, batch related tasks, negotiate telecommuting, and create a nearly self-running business in a niche market. Tim recommends not attending meetings, checking email weekly, not finishing bad things (food, movies, etc), getting a personal assistant, empowering your employees to make most decisions for you and finding a product and selling it online (the fulfillment of the sale is also outsourced.)

If you’ve contemplated a mobile lifestyle, then this book is for you. Don’t spend the next 30 years working with people you don’t like in order to buy things you don’t need. Remember: life is short. Buy the book. Read the book. Then use the info to change your life for the better.