The 4 Hour Work Week: Myths, Fallacies, and What Works
Within months of my coming online as an entrepreneur back in 2006, Tim Ferriss released his book, “The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich” to the world. Entrepreneurs, small business owners, and those in the corporate world would never see their business life in the same way again. I was one of the many people who purchased the book and left a 5-Star review that catapulted Ferriss to fame and fortune. There was only one problem with the rosy picture he had painted about a 4 hour work week…it didn’t work for 99% of his readers.
For one thing, he described time management as an illusion and on page 65 says “Just a few words on time management: Forget all about it.” I tried that as I was building my business that would replace my former income as a classroom teacher and part-time real estate broker and appraiser. I devoured his “Step 3: A is for Automation” section on outsourcing. And as I got further and further behind I closed the book and embraced a new strategy…I did what Tim Ferriss was doing, not what he was saying. This made all the difference and I replaced an income of 150K/year and this has continued to grow exponentially each year for fourteen and a half years now.
What was Tim Ferriss actually doing? Three things stood out to me…
1) He was building an authority blog by writing and publishing several times each week and sharing his thoughts and ideas. These posts would be repurposed into new books on a regular basis.
2) Creating information products and online courses became his source of income, giving him credibility and profits.
3) He only outsourced the few tasks that he did not do well himself, like technology and clerical work. Everything else he did himself.
So what I did was the opposite of what the book said to do, and my results were closer to Tim’s than to the million people who read and followed his teachings in the book. You can do the same and my belief is that you may experience similar results.
1) Blog with regularity. If you are in my “Really Simple Authority Blogging” training you have everything you need, and more to become a respected authority blogger by the end of 2020.
2) Create simple info products to sell online that will bring in income as you gain credibility and visibility. Here is one of mine that continues to do very well, called “Syndication Optimization” that could be of great value to you as well.
3) Outsource the things you aren’t good at and don’t love to do. I have now done this with some of my affiliate marketing through the “Affiliate Triad” program I’ve been sharing with you.
There are three key elements to success with any online business. And they are inter-related. A great offer to one audience would be a poor offer to another. Even the perfect offer to the perfect audience will fail if you don’t have the right message. The point is that it’s hard to do all three well or even to get one of these right. You need:
* A world class offer
* A hyper responsive audience
* A pitch perfect message
So then, how do you manage to succeed? You choose one of these to focus on first, and you outsource the other two. Then, take a closer look at what you enjoy doing in your business on a regular basis and what you not only do not like to do, but also what you don’t know how to do and do not wish to learn. This is what it looks like in my business…
I only focus on four activities as an author and entrepreneur. These include:
- Writing – this includes email messages to my list, articles and blog posts, short reports, and books
- Creating – I’m creating products, courses, programs, and presentations on a regular basis
- Marketing – this includes sharing everything I create with others throughout each day
- Mentoring/Learning – I pride myself with being a caring mentor, and someone who also values learning more in the areas I am focusing on both personally and professionally
You’ll notice that I did not include technology or clerical tasks as a part of my four things I’m focusing on each day, as these are not a good use of my time. Make your list and see what comes up for you so you can create a business along the lines of the 4 hour work week.
What can you do next?
Become an expert in time management and commit to protecting your time. Savor every moment as the gift it is and make it count. Here’s an example of what this looks like in my life…
Early this morning I set out to hike in an area I haven’t been to on foot in almost a decade. I can even remember the last time I was there because that’s when my excuses around fitness began. Back then I thought of them as reasons, but on closer inspection I discovered they were simply excuses for me to not be consistent in my exercising, to not make walking for an hour every day a priority, and to not choose my health as my ONE THING to keep me strong physically, emotionally, and mentally. That all changed at the beginning of March this year when I committed to improving my health on a daily basis. As I made the final turn along the long and winding road this morning I said out loud “This is my life and I take full responsibility for everything that happens in it each day.” Then I stepped up my pace and finished strong and proud of myself.
I encourage the people I mentor and work closely with to commit to three things. They are…
* Consistency with whatever you choose to work on in your business – for me this is writing, creating, marketing, and mentoring
* Prioritizing the tasks and activities within each project you choose to complete and outsource what will be better done by someone else
* Choosing your ONE THING to specialize in, from among the mountain of things in your business – for me this will always be the marketing, as I am turning this skill into a gift and talent to share with others
I would love to hear from you about what I have discussed here. Are you pursuing your own version of a 4 hour work week or do you have another goal in mind that will serve you even better?
I’m bestselling author, marketing strategist, and entrepreneur Connie Ragen Green and I would love to connect further with you to help you to achieve your goals. If you are interested in learning how to optimize the syndication of your content, please take a look at my popular Syndication Optimization training course and consider coming aboard to increase your visibility, credibility, and profitability.
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