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By now I suspect you’ve heard something about the absolute runaway best seller The 4-Hour Workweek by Tim Ferris. The book debuted this week at» #1 on the New York Times best seller list.
Tim appeared on my podcast a few months ago and we have the same literary agent, so I’ve followed this pretty closely.
The book’s promise has touched a nerve in the millions of people turning to the Internet and virtual work to build a lifestyle beyond the bounds of a cubicle or even the typical entrepreneur sweatshop.
But, I fear some people miss the real point of the book. It’s not really about the number of hours you work, although that’s part of the appeal of the title, it’s about what you do when you work them.
If I were to read the book literally I’d be in big trouble. See, I’ve got four daughters and somebody convinced them that they should get world-class educations, travel the planet and work to accomplish anything they want. (Some have also suggested that there would weddings, lots of weddings - I’m pushing for the whole equal treatment (payment) plan but my wife rolls her eyes every time I mention it.)
So my take on Tim’s work is this - it’s ok to work some multiplier of 4-hours every week if you love what you do. The message deep inside all the how to get free stuff is that you do so in order to enjoy the journey. If you love your work, the journey of your work, and that gets you where you want to go, gets you the things you want to share with your kids, then go for it. I know I’m a total geek about this but I look forward to turning my computer on every single day and that passion is my 4-hour workweek.
So, don’t worry about how much work, worry about how much joy you get from your work - all the rest is just math. Congrats Tim!
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This entry was posted on Thursday, August 9th, 2007 at Aug 09, 07 | 7:45 am and is filed under Vision. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Well said! When work and play become the same thing, I think it’s perfectly acceptable to do a lot of it. I’ve always been passionate about writing and now that I’m finally getting my feet wet in publishing, blogging and freelancing there really is a lot of joy to be had.
[…] morning I read this article on Duct Tape Marketing about working your passion. The book he refers to, The 4-Hour Workweek, deals with alternative lifestyles in work and using […]
I struggle to make my free-lance work somewhat profitable. In mly experience working, say, at any artistic enterprise requires MORE effort than a regular job - for considerably less return! Even when I feel unemployed I spend 4 + hours on the net just scrounging around for work.
Excellent points John…I agree. I think Tim appeals to the masses because the majority of people don’t work at what they are passionate about. They simply work to make ends meet, or because they were told they should. Thus, working only 4hrs appeals tremendously to them, because they hate their passionless work. Passionate work know’s no time…passion in and of itself transcends time, space, and limits. Ok, I’m getting a little passionate here…but the point is that the 4hr WW, sells “hope” to the passionless. It also has many cool insights that were valuable.
I think Tim’s book is similar to the whole E-Myth series of books, and that is how I approached his book.
As an entrepreneur, I completely enjoy my work, but I still found a lot of valuable information in the 4 Hour Work Week about brutally cutting back on the things that don’t matter so that you have time to do the things that DO matter.
No, I don’t plan to literally work a 4 hour week anytime soon.
But I do see myself implementing a lot of his ideas so that I have more time to do the important strategic things and not get stuck on the stupid meaningless activities that will suck up your whole day, week, month and year if you let them.
Great post John. I think the internet will allow for many people to alter their typical work weeks; although a literal 4 hour week seems pretty difficult.
The truth is that working in something you love that challenges you makes it more of a hobby than a job. Finding the correct employer (yourself?) with the flexibility to allow for it will get easier as we evolve in business.
Good luck with all the weddings. That’s a tough gig in itself.
Amen! I couldn’t have said it better myself. I am so excited to be doing what I do. Thanks to Tim’s book, I’m also setting up my business so I can do it from anywhere in the world. Then, work really does become play. Thanks for the perspective.
Well said John!
I enjoyed the book for some of the key nuggets and ways to think about employing “extreme outsourcing” to my business so that I cut back lots of tasks that don’t add enjoyment or value to my life.
But as someone who has worked since I was 12 and enjoyed the experience, I concur that the ultimate goal is not to spend no time working, but rather to make the most out of what you do for a living. Doing the right thing is a big part of the challenge, not just doing it quickly.
As a former intense martial artist, I found the whole “figure out the tiny loopholes in fighting so that you can call yourself a world champion” to be kind of bizarre. What do titles mean if there is no real growth and experience to go with it?
What is good to see is that a lot more people are interested in viewing work in a whole new way. We are ready for a workplace revolution!
Good luck with the weddings! I am still working on the diaper part
Your post reminds me of the saying, “Find work you love to do, and you’ll never work again.”
I have just begun reading Tim’s book. So far, the book presents some useful ideas for restructuring your life, especially the notion of mini-retirements. I really don’t think the point of Tim’s book is to work only 4 hours/week; rather, the point is to develop the skills to live as you choose, without deferring your life dreams until you die.
Most of us don’t know what really inspires us, so we must try out a bunch of possibilities to discover our talents and passions (which will likely change as time goes on).
Like John, I have responsibilites to my kids for college. But I’m in my late forties, and I don’t want to get any closer to becoming the “fat guy in the red BMW”.
David,
I agree about the what inspires us, but I will tell you in my case as I look back a bit - I’m inspired by much of what has always inspired me - it’s just a little harder to identify it even when it’s in your face.
“fat guy in the red BMW”. - ouch!
How do you feel about the red vintage Alfa Romeo
I definitely agree with what others are saying. I loved the book. I don’t think I’ll do all the things Tim did. I’ve got a passion thats a little more focused.
You can say though that Tim’s job is really a 96 hour work week because being the crazy traveling record holding self is his job!
Carl Zetterlund