“Thanks to Tim Ferriss, I have more time in my life to travel, spend time with family, and write book blurbs. This is a dazzling and highly useful work.”
- A. J. Jacobs, editor-at-large of Esquire Magazine and author of The Know-It-All
At a holiday party in December, I was telling telling a friend about a few of the great books I had recently read like Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience
“Well, I have a book for you,” he said to me. “It’s called The 4-Hour Workweek. It’s written by a guy in his late 20′s who learned six languages, became a kick boxing champion and travels the world while only working four hours per week.”
“Sounds interesting,” I replied, but I thought to myself: “Just another ‘Get Rich Quick!’ book. I filed the name away in the back of my mind then promptly forgot about it.
Last month when I contacted the same friend to write about a race for Rainmaker Publishing’s next book, 50 Great U.S. Triathlons, he asked me, “Have you read the book yet?”
“No,” I said, “Not yet, but I’m placing an order with Amazon so will add it to the list.”
Truthfully, I wish I had read this book 10 years ago – except it did not exist. This books trumps anything I’ve read to date about living a more meaningful life because Ferriss goes beyond theory and actually outlines practical steps to create “freedom of time and place,” which, I believe, create the space and opportunity to do the things that are most meaningful to each of us.
“Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect.”
- Mark Twain
Ferriss challenges the assumptions of the typical American career path: get a 9-to-5 job, work hard, get promoted, manage employees, work harder, manage more employees, retire at age 65 then have fun.
“Why wait until we retire to have fun?” say both Ferriss and me. “Let’s have fun and adventures now.”
True story: my parents were good friends with John and Ellen, a couple that lived near them. John had worked hard all of his life for corporate America, had been promoted to regional manager and finally retired in his early 60′s having taking no vacation days. His attitude at retirement was: “I worked hard so now I’ll retire and have fun the rest of my life.” He died in his sleep one week later.
“Why wait until we retire to have fun?” say both Ferriss and me. “Let’s have fun and adventures now.”
In interacting with hundreds of triathletes over the years, the single biggest complaint that I hear from them is: “I don’t have enough time to train.” If that’s your excuse, then you really need to read this book. The reality is that we all waste time in doing things that really don’t matter or get us to where we really want to be. This book outlines practical steps you can take to eliminate a bunch of the time wasting “stuff” in your life and focus on the more important “stuff” more effectively – think 80/20 rule and performance under pressure.
Of course, the book goes beyond just freeing up time and develops the concept of “lifestyle design” to enable a more mobile lifestyle that is less dependent on being at a certain place from 9-to-5 every day. I like Ferriss’ model of mobility and am taking steps to move in that direction myself.
The bottom line: If you read one book this year, read The 4-Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferriss. You will not regret it.
For more information about the book, please visit: www.4-hourworkweek.com.
Happy training,
David
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David B. Glover
Professional Triathlete, Coach and Race Director
Author of Full Time and Sub-Nine
Personal Web: www.davidglover.net
Business Web: www.enduranceworks.net
©2008 David B. Glover
Whether you're training to win a triathlon, training to finish or just need inspiration from my life journey as a cancer survivor, Navy officer and sub-nine hour Ironman triathlete, my book will inspire you to chase your dreams and live life richly and boldly.