Have you all read Timothy Ferriss’ book, The 4-Hour Work Week?  If you haven’t, then I highly recommend it.  Don’t read it unless you want to quit your job though.  The book even has that warning in bold letters on the back.

For the past 7 years I’ve been focusing on trying to make more money because I thought that would make me happy.  I thought if I make more money, I would be able to buy lots of stuff, travel, pay bills without worrying, and that would make me happy.  A few years ago, I got everything I wished for.  My husband and I were given the opportunity to move to Japan where we both got better jobs.  Our bosses and coworkers are cool, the work was interesting, and the pay was great.  We never had to clip coupons when we went grocery shopping and we paid our credit card bill balances off in full every month.  We were able to fly back and forth from the U.S. and Japan at least twice a year and even went to China for vacation last year.  So why was I still unhappy?  I felt really guilty that I was so lucky to have this great life, and it still wasn’t enough.  I felt tired all the time, gained weight, and just felt trapped.  Trapped in boredom.

The 4-Hour Workweek helped me realize that no amount of money was ever going to be enough.  Tim Ferriss talked about how he started a very successful company that was making $40K per month, but was working 12+ days, 7 days a week, and was miserable.  I knew I didn’t want to head down that road either.  I realized I was focusing too much on money and not enough on the type of lifestyle that I wanted.  Tim Ferriss now has the lifestyle he wants and spends his time traveling all over the world and doing the things that he likes every day without ever having to work a typical 9-5 job.  He tells you how everyone can do that in his book and I was completely inspired.

I’m not sure about what I would be doing every day if I only had a 4-hour workweek, but my dream is to have what I describe a “Slacker Lifestyle”.  My sister and I talk about how some of the best times in our life was our summer vacations off from school where we would sleep past noon, then sit in front of the TV laughing and eating Triscuit Sandwiches (Triscuits with a slice of cheddar cheese in between…I love cheese!).  We were total slackers, but we were happy.  I don’t mean I want to just sit around now everyday and be lazy, but I want to have that feeling of freedom again.  I want to go explore different countries for months at a time if I want to without having to save up vacation time.  If I don’t feel like working and I want to play World of Warcraft all day, I don’t want to have to call in sick and feel guilty.  I want to spend time with family and friends without needing to schedule out every spare minute I have.  When I am working, I want to work on things that are fun and I believe in without obligation.

I know it sounds impossible, but after reading the book I really believe I can have this lifestyle.  His book tells you how to free up time to do more of the things you like and automate income.  Tim walks you through a step by step process for reinventing yourself and provides some real tools for achieving this lifestyle.  I know it sounds all dramatic, but he really changed my life!  The 4-Hour Workweek inspired me so much that I cut my hours to part time so I can dedicate more time to do things that I find fun like starting up this blog.  I would love to hear from all of you out there too.  I hope you enjoy!

Check out The Blog of Tim Ferriss

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