The 4 Hour Work Week Book Review by Timothy Ferris

I sat at my gym on the outside upper deck over looking The San Diego Skyline, after finishing the audio version of Timothy Ferris’ “The 4 Hour Work Week”, and I had to give pause for a few minutes and start to do an assessment of my own life, goals and direction I am headed. I’m not happy that I am not further along in my goals, but I am happy that I have a good start on my four hour work week,  I just wish I was further along in the trail.

After going to his website and signing in and watching his videos of him in real life doing the things he talks about, or walking the talk, this guy is the real deal and is putting it all out there for all of us to grab. After reading this mans book, I want to be doing the things I want to do, like he does. That simple. I know several other bloggers I watch and read who are doing the same type of thing, and I long for the life of the New Rich. I’m already living this way but on a smaller scale. I am looking for this book to help me move along at a quicker pace.

I am happy at 45 I have already got a start on this path with several things in place making me the money to survive in this world and bad economy. I am Lucky, that I got rolling when I did, because I am not sure where I would be right now had I not started my online entrepreneurship when I did. The economy pretty much wiped out my day job as an I.T. Consultant and Network Engineer. My Clients couldn’t pay me and my income from that pretty much went from 40-50k to 20k or there about, but I haven’t really looked at the damage yet, and I am not sure I really want to.

What I am seeing now, is an upswing in my income from online enterprises and have been able to maintain my previous lifestyle so far with just the income from the things I am doing online. This is a good thing because I am only doing a “few” things so far. I can only imagine when I have several more in place, on autopilot and am doing nothing but walking with my daughter to the park everyday planning my escape to China, for my hike up Wu dang Mountain. The birthplace of Chinese Kung Fu and my personal quest for self indulgent fulfillment.

The Good

“The 4-Hour Workweek“ or 4hww is a GREAT read and an excellent audio. I listen to it in the car, at the gym and at home sometimes but I usually just listen to it in the car and at the gym. I liked the audio because the tones and inflections of the spoken word, make it that much more memorable, and hilarious as all hell. I mean I would listen to it at the gym and when I would start laughing people would turn around and stare at me, it was really funny at times.

4hww starts with Tim’s story, of living the 9 to 5 hell many of us have and still do, fortunately, I do not anymore. The book is broken into chapters but the chapters are contained in steps 1-4. His chronology of how things happened and why we need his book. Yes if You want freedom from the drudgery of 9 to 5, you NEED this book, it’s mandatory reading.

Step 1: D is for Definition, it defines some terms, theoretical situations which I know some people will have a hard time grasping. There’s always someone who has a hard time grasping because they can’t wrap their heads around certain actions and realities. But if you have an open mind and can see things in action you will have no problem with his definitions and realities. This book is for real.

Step 2: E is for Elimination, which talks about eliminating things from our life that suck the life and time out of us. To automate and eliminate. Email for one, has been the bane of my existence as I have over 20, yes I said over 20 accounts I check daily, or used to check daily, I don’t anymore. Phone calls that meander along with not much to accomplish but waste time and breath. The hem and haw’ers, that want your help and suck the life and time from you like the vampires they are and how to deal and get rid of them.

Step 3: A is for Automation, which talks about outsourcing things that we should never do again, unless we really want to. Income on Autopilot, finding what he calls the muse, a “Thing” that we flirt with and it brings us income. Our “Muse” our passionate little friend who gives us that which we long for, how to test it, and put it on autopilot.

Step 4: L is for Liberation, liberation from the previous life of the office automaton, disappearing from that life, mini-retirements and adding life after subtracting work. Most of us will definitely freak out after that happens, because of our “conditioning”, and he definitely walks us through how to deal with life after there is no work involved. One thing that he talks about is service to others. Helping others in need and making our life more meaningful. If any of you have ever helped out at a soup line or given food out to the homeless at Christmas or Thanksgiving, then you know how good it feels. Service to others is important, but not necessary, but I personally can guarantee you it will help to keep you sane, after adding life after subtracting work.

The last chapters which are not labeled as chapters are appendages that have all the needed referenced materials, companies, phone numbers, websites  and all the needed forms or anything else he talked about and he answers ALL THE QUESTIONS. His website also has a forum and additional chapters, which are available to people who won the book or audio, because there’s a secret password on a certain page, to get you into the forum and additional chapters.

If you haven’t read this book yet you are in Luck. There is a newly revised book with additional materials and you can still get it for less than $20 American. The 4-Hour Workweek, Expanded and Updated is a must have and should be considered a Tome for the New Rich. While reading his blog there was a video, well several really, but one was made for the history channel and if you want to see this man in action, walking his talk you should definitely see this video.

The Bad

The only bad I can say is I now have to go buy the new edition as it has case studies from other New Rich and How they Did It. In his first printings, Timothy had a small few to choose from as examples aside from himself. Now that his book has been out for a while there’s been a lot of people step forward to share their story about how they did it. Of course buying his book all over again is something I would rather not do but I am going to do it knowing how good the first printing was. That is the ONLY bad thing I can think of about this book.

I can’t say enough about this book other than I am already reading and listening to it all over again, and need to get the new edition. I’ve started on my quest for another new, highly profitable “Muse” as he calls them, and I have set in motion the process of getting my passport. I’m heading to Wu dang Mountain in China, the birthplace of Chinese Martial Arts to fulfill a life’s Dream. I know this book has already changed my life and there’s a lot to learn, so reading is several times will have to happen for most of us.

I hope that this review has been helpful for many and that you find fulfillment in your journeys. If you intend on buying it please use my affiliate link here to The Four Hour Work Week by Timothy Ferris.

UPDATE: 7/3/10 I recently downloaded the New Expanded and Updated version of 4hww, and liked the new case studies chapters and such, the thing I didn’t like was the way it was read. The narrator, Ray Porter, didn’t have the pizzaz he did in the first reading. I really liked teh first reading and it made me laugh out loud many times.  While the second reading is still good, it just didn’t have the punch the first reading did. Don’t, NOT  get it because of this, it’s still good, this is just a personal observation or preference of mine.

Enjoy,

Sincerely,

Larry Clark

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What people are buying and what they are not.

This economy has made things a little rough, as people aren’t buying luxury items as much, but what they are buying are things that they are desperate for, things that will either help them to Make Money Online, something that is a necessity, or something that they are desperately seeking a fix for. That would be something like a medical condition, or something that affects their social life or romantic life.

Seeking Desperate Solutions.

One such problem people would seek a fix for would be people who have little red bumps (aka Keratosis Pilaris) on their arms or legs. A “bride-to-be” might search desperately for something that will get rid of those little red bumps before her wedding. Why? So when she is wearing her wedding dress, she is not going to be embarrassed of those little red bumps. See my picture?

Seeking Desperate Fixes.

Another thing might be for a heart broken ex-boyfriend wanting to get his ex girlfriend back. He might seek out something on the internet and buy an eBook or a report on “How to get your ex back in 30 days“. This is the sort of thing people are buying right now so being able to adapt and change with the ebb and flow of the changing economy, is what is going to make or break an online entrepreneur.

One product that helps to find or identify niches that people are needy for or desperately seeking is Alexis Dawes’ “Desperate Buyers Only”. I have bought it, I have read it and I have gotten the revised edition as she gives free updates, and I can’t tell you how much this has helped me. My first ever desperate buyer only product that I made, a report on how to get off of painkillers, is consistently making me money each month and I can tell you it’s paying a couple of my bills each month.

I will be putting out a few more “desperate buyers only” products soon, as soon as I clear my plate of a few other projects that need to be tied up. Then maybe I will be making a fortune but until then I am happy with how things are going so far. As Alexis says on her sales page “You DON’T have to be some big-name guru to make thousands of dollars a month selling information products online”. I wasn’t a guru, I still am not a guru but I am doing what I set out to do when this economy started going south: Making extra income from sales generated on the internet to supplement my income.

Related Posts:

• “Desperate Buyers Only”, and “Confessions…”
• My Review of “Desperate Buyer Only”
• Yaro Starack, at Entrepreneurs Journey
• April Monthly Income Report
• I lied, I’m not as good as I thought, learning to blog…

Time…to play…

I have a favorite movie called Hellraiser, some of you may have heard of it, you know that movie with pinhead? Anyway, I love that movie for some strange reason, and I love that little box that everyone is always trying to get their hands on. I found a site that sells them and I ordered one a few years ago.

Quality Lacks

Well I finally got the box after months and many emails hassling the guy for either my money back or the box. when I finally got the box, it was already falling apart. the brass plates were peeling up at the corners and it was tarnished and it looks like he tried to sand the brass to shine it up. It was an unholy piece of crap.

My Vow to the world, or how I sold my soul…

I was pissed. No one should ever have to put up with what I did ever again, nor should this guy ever sell another piece of crap like that ato a Hellraiser fan, ever. So I decided I would make my own.

I got a scan of the box faces, had a friend who does autocad make a blueprint for me of the box faces. I found an etching house to etch the brass that is .005 of an inch thick, it’s thin as paper! Then I found a place that could cut me the 3″x3″x3″ cube of wood. I bought some black lacquer and some clear lacquer and off I went, I started making my own hellraiser boxes.

So I started making these things and I started giving them away to all my good friends. I had made about 15 that first run, and I realized when I was down to my last 2 that I had given them all away and not sold any of them. Well ok, call it self promotions, that was a good rationalization.

Ebay’s time to play…

I started to make my next batch and I decided I would sell these on Ebay and gt my money back to order more plates. The face plates alone were $800 for 25 sets. Each set is 6 plates, one for each face of the six sided cube. $32 for each box just for the brass plates alone, $5 for the lacquer which one can covered approximately 10-15 boxes. The cube of mahogany were about $5 each. Then there was my time into making them, and it took about 2 weeks to complete one box completely from start to finish. However I make the boxes in lots of 10-15 at a time so about $10 per box for my labor. Ok so roughly $50 for a box, what was my markup going to be?

Oh good, Competition…

I looked on Ebay and saw another guy selling them for an insanely low price. I had to email that guy and tell him he was hurting the market and to raise his prices. The theory behind this is that if you lower the price too low it hurt the industry  and the other people in that industry who are trying to make a living. It’s called devaluing the product by making the price so low there is no profit margin.

Well the guy actually did raise his prices and now I had some competition at $150 per box. He was selling them before for like 50$ per box. Insane. Well we both sold our boxes for $150 per box for a while and made a decent profit for a while. It’s not the same today in this economy.

The economy from hell…

I can tell that the economy is pretty bad because no one is buying the boxes anymore. I tried putting up 4 boxes a few weeks ago and deliberatly lowered the prices to about $75 and not a single one sold. I even put one up that was signed by Ashley Laurence, the girl who played Kirsty in the first 2 Hellraiser Movies, and no one bit on that either. A quality prop replica like I make is not easy to find at that price and for no one to bid even the lowest one any of them, it’s pretty bad out there.

I digress…

It’s the same in a lot of different industries that are luxury oriented. The boxes are a luxury, so is photography. I do photography on the side, and the only thing that is happening is baby photography right now, and that is a bit scarce.

So why is baby photography happening and the boxes aren’t? like I said, the boxes are a luxury and people don’t NEED them. Baby photography is somewhat a necessity for people. The need to document their families for historical purposes, for the sake of having pictures of their darling little babies. This is definitely something that people want and they consider it a NEED. Hellraiser Puzzle Boxes aren’t a NEED. They are a WANT. Big Difference.

Reeling it back in…

This is how I find my Niche markets that I plan to cater to. I find something that is a NEED and that people are desperate for. Sometimes its not really a NEED, it’s more of a desperate WANT. One of my Niches I am getting ready to exploit, is a segment in the dating industry.  Yes that’s right I said exploit. The definition I prefer to use is “To advertise; promote”. And not unethically.

I will be advertising and promoting a site that is geared towards a segment of the dating population that doesn’t seem to be hit right now. I found this at Google Insights. That is one place to find up and coming Niche markets, another place is Google Trends.  And yet another place is Amazon and Ebay. Just got to each one and look at the best sellers lists. Ebay has Pulse.

The think tank…

Another why I come up with my niche’s that I delve into is right here at The Niche Think Tank. Thats what I do here, I brainstorm and think and doodle and come up with new and nifty( that’s right, nifty) Niche Markets to Exploit. While I was sitting here writing this I started thinking about how I could get more people to bite on the Puzzle Boxes.

I go for several walks throughout the day and I am usually listening to one of Yaro Staracks Podcasts. While I was walking today thinking about the puzzle boxes and listeing to one of Yaros Podcasts, I had the idea to sell just the brass plates at a discount so that people could make their own. Then my Wife suggested a kit, sell them a 3×3x3 inch block of mahogany and the plates and instructions on how to put it all together. what a great idea. So there you have it, the start of yet another little money maker. Anyway I am hungry and I am going to go get some tacos at Ponces in Kensington.

See you all later.

Larry

P.S. If you would like to see some of my boxes head on over to my Hellraiser Puzzle Box Site:

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