Disguised as being efficient and smart, lazy people are constantly searching for ways to work less. This appears to be the popular trend these days, spearheaded by titles such as The 4 Hour Work Week. Tim Ferriss’ national best seller is a great book that is often times misunderstood and misused.
Quit trying to work 4 hours a week. Instead, find what you love and work 120 hours a week. Who wants to work 4 hours and have nothing to do for the other 164? People who have lots of money, whether it was earned or inherited, start businesses, charitable organizations, or make stupid reality shows because they need to be active, they need something to do. THEY NEED WORK. The problem is that work and having a job have a negative connotation in our society. Work has incorrectly become synonymous with doing something we hate. This is quite detrimental to our state of happiness because it creates anxiety, stress, and worst of all, boredom. A common definition of work is, "activity involving mental or physical effort done in order to achieve a purpose or result." There is no mention of money and certainly nothing about misery.
I read the 4 hour work week right after college, and it was one of many many things that propelled me to quit my job in accounting with no concrete plan for the future. The year that I spent working in accounting, I read countless books and articles to help sort out my life. These included The 4 Hour Work Week, The Alchemist, Atlas Shrugged, Steve Jobs Biography, The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt, Steve Jobs' Commencement Speech, Steve Pavlina's "Don't Die With The Music Still In You," "10 Reasons You Should Never Get a Job", Brian Kim's "How to Find What You Love to Do," and many many others.
Though Tim Ferriss' 4HWW is an excellent book and is an incredible source of inspiration and information, it can be a bit misleading. Don't judge a book by its Title. The book is really about time optimization and the best ways to make use of one’s time and life. Most importantly, the book refers to typical, mundane, uncreative tasks. When you enjoy what you do, there is no need to work only 4 hours. Therefore, the title is misleading and provides nothing but a tease to the lazy who want an excuse to do less. Tim Ferriss probably works well over 100 hours a week. Here is a link to an article written by his personal assistant of five years:
http://fourhourworkweek.com/2014/02/13/anxiety-treatments/#more-10562
We are happiest when we are busy, productive and creative. Find what does that for you and work 120 hours a week.
Links to the books and articles mentioned:
http://www.amazon.com/The-4-Hour-Workweek-Anywhere-Expanded/dp/0307465357
http://www.amazon.com/Theodore-Roosevelt-Modern-Library-Paperbacks/dp/0375756787
http://news.stanford.edu/news/2005/june15/jobs-061505.html
http://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2005/01/dont-die-with-your-music-still-in-you/
http://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2006/07/10-reasons-you-should-never-get-a-job/
http://briankim.net/blog/2006/07/how-to-find-what-you-love-to-do/
http://www.amazon.com/Atlas-Shrugged-Ayn-Rand/dp/0451191145
http://www.amazon.com/The-Alchemist-Paulo-Coelho/dp/0061122416