BootsnAll Travel Community

Ok, cube dwellers...has anyone read this? Heard of this? Followed its treasure map to a better cube-free life? I'm interested, but have that too-good-to-be-true feeling. Thoughts?

I'm waiting for someone to write about the zero-hour work week. Let me know when that hit's shelves

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Originally posted by Justin7199:
I'm waiting for someone to write about the zero-hour work week. Let me know when that hit's shelves

I think people campaign on this idea in France.

quote:

Originally posted by Felix:

quote:

Originally posted by Justin7199:
I'm waiting for someone to write about the zero-hour work week. Let me know when that hit's shelves

I think people campaign on this idea in France.

I'll settle for two hours in Spain then.

Hmmm...these books are generally guides to self-employment/entrepreneurship and are nearly always misleading. As a fella who started a couple of sole-proprietorships, I can assure you that self-employment is typically a quick way to rack up an 80 hour work week. Easy to see why:

1. You go home with your boss, and he's always with you, reminding you of something you still haven't done this week.

2. There is no "delegating" to the new guy in cubicle #8.

3. When big problems occur on the company's high management levels, not only do you have to go to the meeting, but you're the only one who can resolve said problems.

4. The business becomes a child rather than a career.

5. You can't call in sick, and you can't quit. (And if you could it wouldn't matter anyway, as there's no severance package.)

That said, I've enjoyed the freedom it provides, and it is a small price to pay to keep myself out of a series of gray boxes and break rooms looking over parking lots.

Just don't think being an entrepreneur will actually decrease your work hours. Anyone who says or writes otherwise is trying to sell you something. (Which is itself a form of entrepreneurship, so kudos to them.)

Note: I haven't actually read this guy's book, so I don't know if it's actually about entrepreneurs or self-employment. Perhaps instead he is selling a new and revolutionary method to cut work hour, increase efficiency, and form a "micro-retirement plan." Those are all quite popular topics these days for Reader's Digest, AARP magazine, and the Today show, so it's just as likely.

I've read that book...or, well, most of it, since I read it while standing in a bookstore. A lot of his ideas are of the "do more in less time" variety. He suggests outsourcing work in order to make better use of your time - like he has a personal assistant that works for him from India. He also lays out some sort of plan (that I skimmed over, because it wouldn't work for me at this point in my career) of how you can convince your boss to let you work from home. Then, once you're working completely away from the office, he suggests spending more time in countries where there's a favorable exchange rate for the US dollars, so you can get more for your money.

So yeah, I didn't read anything groundbreaking in there. It might be worth a look if you think you can somehow convince your current boss to let you work from home. I was sort of hoping the book would tell me how I could get a job where I only work four hours a week!

Actually, I won the book on the travel contest, and I'm eeking my way through it.

I find his tactics kind of sly, and I'm curious where he'll be in 10 years, as he's only 30 now.

However...there are alot of good tips to be had...Already, on page 30, I've decided to propose to my boss a few things to make my work life and productivity better.

Example-flex hours, which willhelp the office by running equipment at night, Comp-time in lieu of overtime, and a shorter work day in lieu of a raise.

Take it for what it is, but its worth skimming through the book.

Actually, the way to a four-hour work week is to convince people to buy your book about how to achieve a four-hour work week.

quote:

Originally posted by Felix:
Actually, the way to a four-hour work week is to convince people to buy your book about how to achieve a four-hour work week.

Winner

I'll definitely check this one out, at the library.

I won it in the BnA travel contest, and am also making my way thru it. He's defnitely accomplished a LOT before reaching 30. Hard to "verify" all of his claims to fame, but most if not all seem somewhat legit.

His paradigm that people don't necessarily want to be "rich", that if they do, it's because they want the "lifestyle" they think the rich have, is intriguing.

I like his ideas on looking at time w/ an economics paradigm, low&high yeild, etc. Probably the same old "work smarter, not longer", "simplify your life" stuff we've all heard---but his take on it is refreshing.

I do mean to check out the website for his book at some point.

anything is possible.

That is my personal motto and i really believe it. Right now i'm working on files of people buying an expensive development downtown. I am always astounded when i'm looking thru their financials only to discover they are my age or younger and then i ask myself why am i surprised?

You can work a 4 hr work week if you want. you can retire in 5 - 10 yrs if you want. There really isn't anything you can't do if you don't put your mind to it and have the desire. One thing i can tell you is that you'll never get rich working for someone else. Almost every single client is self employed. They discovered a great idea, ran with it and made their millions. the only difference between them and the majority of the population was that they actually DID IT. They made it a reality, they worked really hard w/ a lot of sleepless nights. I can guarantee that his 4 hr work week book wasn't written in 4 hours a week. But now he's probably enjoying the fruits of his labors.

Plus continentalop is totally right. I've started a couple businesses and all you do is work! the only difference is that usually - it doesn't really feel like work

I've read the book, and it was well worth my time.

A few things stand out in my mind. One is his application of the 80/20 rule to everything in his life. 80% of his revenue comes from 20% of his clients. What did he do? Dump 80% of his clients! Those 80% were the ones that called 4 times per week to complain, required several refaxes, or paid with bounced checks. He then created a workflow system that pretty much ran itself using by using email instead of phone calls, FAQs to answer silly questions that took up hours of his workweek, and allowing the supplier to interact directly with his distributers. All pressing issues were dealt with by virtual assistants from India that work for $4 an hour and follow specific guidelines. All this guy did was login and check his email twice a week and took phone calls on occasion.

Another thing that I remember is his idea of retirement. He says, "Take a mini-retirement several times a year." He'd work for two months, then take a two month tour of Argentina. After working for another three months, he'd fly to Africa for several weeks. He tried to perminately retire and got bored.. don't think that'd ever happen to me!

There IS a section in the book about getting your boss to let you work from home. It basically says to start small. Pace yourself at work, then call in sick on a random Wednesday when you're working on a big project. The next day, tell your boss that despite being sick, you got more done that day than in two days working in the office. Ask the boss if you can take every Wednesday off and work from home. Then make it two days. Then say there is a family emergency and you'll be out of town for two weeks but you'll take your work with you. Etc etc.

Its a great book to read, even if you don't run your own business. I think we could all use a refresher on the 80/20 rule!

I haven't read it yet cuz I can't seem to find the thing in any bookshops around here but I'll probably pick it up eventually.

I've heard bits and bobs here and there and I wonder how possible it is to apply what he says to a typical 9 to 5 type office job working for someone else but definately think it's possible if you're self employed depending on the business.

I agree with Littlemustard and think that people can achieve anything they want if they work hard enough and that you'll never get rich working for someone else.

I've got a little internet business on the go and will be quitting my job in December to work at it full time. I don't expect I'll need to work at it too much once I get things set up the way I want but I've put in thousands of hours of work getting to that point. Here's hoping I can prove that a 4 hour work week is possible!

I read the whole book in 2 days and found it really interesting. A few of his tactics were a bit suspect. I don't know if I'd feel comfortable outsourcing to India to take advantage of cheap labor, but that's just me. I'm also not about to ask strange guys for their phone numbers and then throw them away (his suggestion for people in relationships) just to get comfortable with rejection.

Otherwise, his ideas about automating processes and weaning yourself off of email, batch processing and doing away with face-to-face meetings were right on. I can waste a whole day slogging through emails.

Definitely worth the read even if you only take a few juicy tidbits from it. Could save you a few hours a week!

quote:

Originally posted by Aquarius83:
A lot of his ideas are of the "do more in less time" variety. He suggests outsourcing work in order to make better use of your time - like he has a personal assistant that works for him from India.

I have a real problem with that. I've just had to contact Monster AGAIN, with account issues, and I'm about 97% certain that this is what they do. Now, I have no problem outsourcing, and I have no problem with hiring people from all over the world. I have a problem with a website that's supposed to be somewhat professional hiring people to do their CS work without an excellent grasp of the language that Monster works in. This goes in all directions - I wouldn't expect a French company to hire me for that kind of work either, as my grasp of French isn't good enough (if, supposing for whatever reason, that the French started outsourcing to Canada...)

I find it wholly frustrating. And it's not just Monster. Other companies do it, and I just can't stand reading emails that look like a Babelfish translation gone wrong.


My 2c.
And I suppose that's why I'll never work a 4 hour week and get rich doing it.

I've read it. It is, as suggested above, partly a guide to entrepreneurship, which ain't for everyone. However, there is some solid advice for the corporate rank and file.

I'd recommend it to anyone who feels like they're on the treadmill, and needs a shove to question where they're at and make change. I'm not sure how many people on these boards are in that position, but the book's great for that.

All in all, I'd say the best part of the book is the theme of questioning the status quo - I think many of us can appreciate that.

I'm still slowly plugging away at it. I like his general theme of arguing the assumptions in life about what is not possible. I think some of his "accomplishments" may seem a bit overrated. I do like the idea of "mini-retirements", and have taken several of them, and can attest to how cool they are. Still pluging away....

Actually I'm a big proponent of this book for one simple reason. It confirmed that my POV on the world isn't crazy and impossible. I had thoughts very similar to his for a while before even reading the book but since no one else shared them just kinda figured I was crazy.

It did inspire me to start planning a business last August and I am wrapping up production soon and should have the website and final product available for sale very early in March.

I actually carry this book around with me in my gym bag to and from work almost everyday and pick it up and just open to a random page on the subway when I need to motivation. Then again, I'm an entrepreneur at heart and just needed the switch flipped...

Tim Ferriss along with Sir Richard Branson are my two idols...


EDIT: I do realize the title is very gimmicky and I saw the book several times and never picked it up cuz I figured it was a b.s. get rich quick scheme, but I think it gives some very good advice...

I read it and here's what I think:

To start any kind of business you must have the start-up funds, which tends to cut in to a travel budget. If you've already got that kind of wealth, why not invest it wisely and just retire early...forget the 4 hours a week.

Second, to start a business and make it work, it almost has to be something you're passionate about and committed to. Creating a business just for the sake of selling it off in a few years sounds like a gigantic gamble.

Just my opinion!