I have been applying Tim Ferriss’ Four Hour Work Week recommendations on outsourcing and simplifying life, and must say that it’s been quite helpful. While I am no where close to getting down to an actual “4 hour workweek,” I am checking e-mail a lot less, not indulging in so much content (i.e. RSS feeds, blogs, tv news, etc.), delegating a lot more, and am a lot less stressed. One of the exercises in the book is to create a 6 month dream line which forces you to really think about what you want to do (e.g. Taking a two week RV trip across the US.), be (e.g. professional photographer) and have (e.g. MacBook Air) what you want. The next step is to figure out how much it will cost and then how you are going to fund your dreamline. Amazingly, I was stuck on this and really had to think about these things before they became clear.
This is the problem with the way we perceive life; society feels like we all need to work like hell until we are 65, then we can retire. Do I really want to wait that long to retire? I think Tim is right in creating dreamlines, taking mini retirements, pulling oneself out of the 9-5 rat race, and joining the New Rich (NR) club. It’s amazing how new possibilities start with a simple change in mindset. Can you really get to a 4 hour workweek? Tim shows you how in his book, but it really starts with you believing it can be done.