I've been aware of Tim Ferriss' bestseller, The 4-Hour Workweek, since it hit the shelves in 2007 because his whole philosophy is so well suited to bloggers, especially us travel bloggers. As a result, it received a lot of online publicity. I knew the basic precept, but didn't sit down to start reading it until this past weekend.
While I've only read the first three chapters, it is reassuring to see how he has developed a structure and lexicon for something I was already doing. Not that what I was doing was groundbreaking. Plenty of people before me had quit their jobs to travel the world. But it is certainly far from the norm, especially in the United States. It can only be a good thing for such a radical book to reach bestseller status.
Here are a few key concepts he lays out in Chapter 2 which have paralleled my thought process and experience regarding life since 2002.
Interest and energy are cyclical:
Alternating periods of activity and and rest is necessary to survive, let alone thrive. Capacity, interest, and mental endurance all wax and wane. Plan accordingly.
The New Rich aim to distribute “mini-retirements” throughout life instead of hoarding the recovery and enjoyment for the fool's gold of retirement. By working only when you are most effective, life is both more productive and more enjoyable.
Going through a layoff in 2002 was a blessing in disguise. It gave me the time to reassess my values and nerve to think I could liberate myself from debt, save more than I spend, and travel around the world. Sometimes I still have to pinch myself that I've done all that already, and a whole lot more!
The timing is never right:
For all the most important things, the timing always sucks. Waiting for a good time to quit your job? The stars will never align and the traffic lights of life will never be all green at the same time. The universe doesn't conspire against you, but it doesn't go out of its way to line up all the pins either. Conditions are never perfect. “Someday” is a disease that will take yoru dreams to the grave with you. Pro and con lists are just as bad. If it's important to you and you want to do it “eventually,” just do it and correct course along the way.
I recently received an e-mail from an American reader over on my Medellin Living blog. The person was questioning whether to use a recent layoff as an opportunity to travel and work in Costa Rica or Colombia. The crux of the concern was tied to a lack of money to take on such an adventure. But the beautiful thing about backpacking and budget travel and being up for the challenge of carving out a new existence in a country with a lower standard of living than the USA (or Europe, or Australia, etc.) is that it doesn't cost a lot. Really. And what you stand to gain as a person is far more rewarding than you'll probably be able to imagine.
Retirement as worst-case-scenario insurance:
It should be viewed as nothing more than a hedge against the absolute worst-case scenario: in this case becoming physically incapable of working and needing a reservoir of capital to survive.
He goes on to say that this attitude doesn't mean you shouldn't financially plan for retirement. Instead of contributing less to my 401k as I earned more money, I contributed more. I didn't want to shortchange my long term situation for my short term trip abroad. This definitely delayed my departure, but the end result would've been the same, writing you 18 months later from South America!
I'm looking forward to continuing with The 4-Hour Workweek over the next week or so, and I'll be sure to share any additional observations that strike close to home.
If you've already read it, leave a comment and let me know what you thought!
_____________________
PS – As far as I'm concerned, reading e-books will never replace the experience of holding a paper book in one's hands (something I truly began to appreciate while reading books abroad last year), yet reality in Colombia dictates I read them. Someone really needs to open an English bookstore in this country!
Last Updated on
Gurran says
June 9, 2009 at 2:31 pmGreat post. I haven’t read “The 4 Hour Workweek” but I’m a little familiar with the story. I have read many travel blogs/books/publications and one thing they all have in common is this notion of “Go now (travel) or you will regret later”. Now as an American I can say that is easier said than done. It is quite an accomplishment if you can; 1)save enought money to travel RTW, 2) break free from a job which likely supports your lifestyle and (hopefully) provides you with health insurance, and 3) gain approval or at least understanding from your family (or loved ones) to leave everything. I do feel it’s different for us (Americans) because there is no concept of “Gap Year” here and with the majority of Americans working 50 out of 52 weeks a year how could they understand taking all 52 weeks one year to travel.
Dave, I hope you are able to keep this blog going when you return to the US. It will be interesting to see how you feel when re-enter life here. With unemployment data close to hitting double digits (9.1%, right now) its difficult to even speak about travel for a week around here.
At the moment im trying to find an out, to get back out on the road, but i feel the time isnt quite right yet for me. I do look forward to a mini-retirement in the near future though and I wholeheartedly aggree with Ferriss that Interest and Energy are cyclical. In the meantime I’ll continue to look forward to future posts on your site..
Take Care,
G
Gurran says
June 9, 2009 at 9:31 amGreat post. I haven’t read “The 4 Hour Workweek” but I’m a little familiar with the story. I have read many travel blogs/books/publications and one thing they all have in common is this notion of “Go now (travel) or you will regret later”. Now as an American I can say that is easier said than done. It is quite an accomplishment if you can; 1)save enought money to travel RTW, 2) break free from a job which likely supports your lifestyle and (hopefully) provides you with health insurance, and 3) gain approval or at least understanding from your family (or loved ones) to leave everything. I do feel it’s different for us (Americans) because there is no concept of “Gap Year” here and with the majority of Americans working 50 out of 52 weeks a year how could they understand taking all 52 weeks one year to travel.
Dave, I hope you are able to keep this blog going when you return to the US. It will be interesting to see how you feel when re-enter life here. With unemployment data close to hitting double digits (9.1%, right now) its difficult to even speak about travel for a week around here.
At the moment im trying to find an out, to get back out on the road, but i feel the time isnt quite right yet for me. I do look forward to a mini-retirement in the near future though and I wholeheartedly aggree with Ferriss that Interest and Energy are cyclical. In the meantime I’ll continue to look forward to future posts on your site..
Take Care,
G
Dave says
June 11, 2009 at 2:13 amGurran – I agree – it is easier said than done, but it CAN be done!
I also agree it will be interesting to see what happens when I return to a country with almost 10% unemployment. The strange thing is I feel much more confident about my situation and prospects than I did 2 years ago before having left on the trip. My parents might not feel more confident, but I do.
Dave says
June 10, 2009 at 9:13 pmGurran – I agree – it is easier said than done, but it CAN be done!
I also agree it will be interesting to see what happens when I return to a country with almost 10% unemployment. The strange thing is I feel much more confident about my situation and prospects than I did 2 years ago before having left on the trip. My parents might not feel more confident, but I do.
Russ says
June 23, 2009 at 11:04 pmI read his book when it first came out and I thought it was great. Since then, I’ve read some other bloggers who are speaking out against his ideas, saying the 4HWW is a scam and are calling BS on him claiming that if he himself truly worked only 4 hours in a week that he’d never be as successful as he is. Which is obviously true and makes for an interesting debate, but really I think they’re missing the point, which is that it’s not about working 4 hours per week and then sitting around, but instead learning how to manage your productivity without just “putting in the time” and designing a lifestyle which allows you to dictate how and when you work.
Clearly Ferriss is a hard worker, but I don’t think that detracts from the ideas he puts forth in his book. I never once thought that he was a scam, I loved the book. I think if nothing else it makes people question what they are really doing, and shows them that there are other paths to follow to meet their goals. Whether it’s through some sort of lifestyle design, mini retirements, or simply saving the old fashioned way and then taking the plunge to do want you want.
He also puts forth a lot of great ideas for managing time and cutting out the crap. And ultimately, I really think it boils down to what each of us considers “work”.
Russ says
June 23, 2009 at 6:04 pmI read his book when it first came out and I thought it was great. Since then, I’ve read some other bloggers who are speaking out against his ideas, saying the 4HWW is a scam and are calling BS on him claiming that if he himself truly worked only 4 hours in a week that he’d never be as successful as he is. Which is obviously true and makes for an interesting debate, but really I think they’re missing the point, which is that it’s not about working 4 hours per week and then sitting around, but instead learning how to manage your productivity without just “putting in the time” and designing a lifestyle which allows you to dictate how and when you work.
Clearly Ferriss is a hard worker, but I don’t think that detracts from the ideas he puts forth in his book. I never once thought that he was a scam, I loved the book. I think if nothing else it makes people question what they are really doing, and shows them that there are other paths to follow to meet their goals. Whether it’s through some sort of lifestyle design, mini retirements, or simply saving the old fashioned way and then taking the plunge to do want you want.
He also puts forth a lot of great ideas for managing time and cutting out the crap. And ultimately, I really think it boils down to what each of us considers “work”.
Dave says
June 24, 2009 at 3:50 amI agree with you. At the same time, I am a bit conscious of how amazing he seems to be at so many different things. Great for selling books and “the dream” of a 4-hr work week, but it almost feels like a bit too much. I’ll just be happy with an intermediate level of salsa skill – I have no desire to videotape myself for 6 months and enter the world championships (which are won by Colombians anyways!). :)
Dave says
June 23, 2009 at 10:50 pmI agree with you. At the same time, I am a bit conscious of how amazing he seems to be at so many different things. Great for selling books and “the dream” of a 4-hr work week, but it almost feels like a bit too much. I’ll just be happy with an intermediate level of salsa skill – I have no desire to videotape myself for 6 months and enter the world championships (which are won by Colombians anyways!). :)
kursy kitesurfing says
October 30, 2010 at 3:02 amGood write-up, good get the job done; now I realize that which you guys are actually undertaking all this time.