Ok. I’m back. Just to let you all know that I was blessed with another son on the 8th of April. Kid and mom are doing great. God is great ...
So, even in the midst of all the chaos at home, I managed to write about this book (read the book before the event though). I must say, at first, this book (4 Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferriss) gave me mixed emotions. I did not exactly follow and agree with all that he is preaching. May be because he is taking a cheap shot at all those who religiously go to work 8am to 5 pm and hope to retire and travel “some time in the future”. May be because he is advocating something that I always wanted to do? May be he is addressing the first thoughts that came to my head when I took on the first job: “is this what I would end up doing for the rest of my life?” And somewhere between marriage, kids, the hoopla of wage-earning, and keeping up with the Joneses, I completely forgot about those initial thoughts of how mediocre you feel once you take on your first job. May be it’s because some of what he is preaching is against the ethical frame work that I was molded in? May be ...
But all I can say is that by the time I got done reading it – there was only one thought in my head – “I must tell about this book to all my close friends and relatives!!” It may be too late for me to get out of this rat race, but others can definitely use it if they know about it soon enough..
So, here is what this book is all about! If you are stuck in an 8-5 rut, stuck in a cubicle – there is a way out. This books explains how? And when I say, explains how? It really gives you all kinds of details on how? For example, it gives you a very detailed strategy to approach your boss with a work-from-home flexibility. Exactly how to do it? How to prime your boss? How to fake sickness and be highly productive at home (Just to show you can be very productive)? And then using these data points, how to negotiate your terms etc.? Now you can be doing skydiving in Kathmandu and still work on your assignments (on your spare time). The author also suggests how to best use the online tools to develop a self sustaining, revenue generating enterprise – so, you can focus on your life rather than the mediocre working-till-you-die existence. He also lists all the online tools that he used in the past to work from remote work stations, to have regular ‘mini retirement’ around the world.
This is one of those books that change ones perspective on life. It certainly has got me thinking!! The other one was the “A whole new mind” that I reviewed earlier in my blog. We live in a world that is becoming more and more extremistan (Ref: Black Swan by Nassim Nicolas Taleb – See my past book reviews on this); where small efforts have potential to reap huge benefits. Well, then, if this guy did it and he is sharing all his secrets with us? Then why not give it a shot? I just may .....
God speed ...