★★★★★ 5
Which Life Changes are you Open to?
I was given a copy of Tim's book at a business conference I went to. I thought the title was catchy and the cover well designed. On top of that, several people in the room had recently read it and said it was a MUST READ.
As an active business person and somebody who relies on distilled experience from people in the trenches (often in their books or courses) I wasn't resistant to this book. However, based on my already full schedule, I wasn't sure when I'd fit a thick book into my reading program.
After ten day, the title kept nagging at me. I wanted to just get into this book if for nothing else to grab some ideas from the TOC. I told myself if I just got one idea I could put the book down and move on. What I found was more than one great idea.
First, the book is a VERY good read. It flows well with a mix of Tim's personal experience and resources. It took me two extended reading sessions over a weekend to finish it.. and that led to some interesting results.
I was able to immediately apply some of the ideas for outsourcing and virtual assistance to get ideas started that had been put on permanent hold. Tim's ideas gave me great content to share with others and I ended up giving my copy to a friend in my Toastmasters group - just requesting a book report in return.
She read the book in about a day and a half and gave me a three-page email report. It was solid. She wasn't a total believer of 100% of the content or Tim's approach but really liked the possibilities the concepts made her think of. We discussed it over the weekend and it made for great conversation about outsourcing.. what "work" really means and why the career track is wrong in so many ways given the internet, a global economy, and a 24/7 way to get your products and services into people's lives.
I realized after talking to another friend that I had indeed already met Tim. Of course, it was prior to his book's release and we only had a few conversations while at another conference, but Tim is the real deal. He's not as intimidating as the choke-holds on his web site pictures might intimate. He's clearly confident, fit, and well spoken. And now having read his book full of experiences, I can see why.
How to read this book: Okay, if you've read this far, let me share a couple of ideas. 1. You don't need to make $40,000 per month and work only a few minutes each day to be successfuly and happy. (But, when you start doing what I like to call "Internet Math" you'll see why these numbers aren't really impossible.
Tim's ideas work for him and many WILL work for you - making you more productive while increasing your income and your enjoyment. Even just thinking about what's possible puts me in an enjoyable frame of mind.
2. Get through the book and share it with a couple of friends who want more than their current job offers. You'll know these people because they can't seem to feel content building somebody else's dreams. The ideas lead to very stimulating conversations that will expand what you believe is possible.
Don't dismiss the book because of the title. A four-hour work week is a very real possibility given an internet-based business. If you're not already part of this culture, you will need to invest (to speed up the process) and learn. But that's true if you want anything.
3. Realize that the 4-Hour work week does not mean don't work as much as it means work SMARTER. I'm sure Tim has lots of things he's working on that he absolutely loves.. and thus spends more than 4 hours each week in action. But it's likely not considered "work" in the labor definition.
"If you love what you do, you'll never work a day in your life." Believe that.. let this book give you some ideas for that.
Finally, I think the book is in the wrong place in the bookstores. I found it on the Self-Help shelves in Borders. It should definitely be in the Entrepreneur or Business section - the publisher might need to re-classify.
At first, I wanted to keep this book a secret.. because some of the ideas seem so ... well.. valuable. Then I realized that if I shared the ideas with my friends, maybe we could all implement them and start some business projects that lead to us having more time to play. So far, I can say that it is happening. Thanks Tim for a brave title.
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Reviewed in the United States on May 29, 2007
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