My 4 Hour Workweek

I just wanted to post a quick note about two new features that I’ve added to this blog today.  You’ll notice at the top menu, there are now two links for “Reading” and “Resources.”

Reading: This page will contain my current month’s reading list, in addition to past months’ lists and any book reviews I’ve written.

Resources: This will eventually become a comprehensive page of resources for starting and developing your online business or muse (and will even contain tools relevant to “offline” businesses).  I plan to update this page frequently, so it’ll eventually become a massive resource for you to browse and use however you wish.

Enjoy!

The concept of a “4 hour” workweek is very compelling.  You have your interests, and then you have your work.  If you can spend less time on work and still make enough money, simple math will tell you that you have more hours in the day for the things that really capture your interest.

This is what Tim Ferriss envisioned when he redesigned his life and outlined his story and methods in The 4-Hour Workweek.  The plan is simple to describe: DEAL. Definition, Elimination, Automation, and Liberation.  It’s obviously much more difficult to implement.

I run the risk of contradicting the very name of my blog when I ask this question:  Should we really strive for a four hour workweek?

[Warning: This post consists mostly of my entrepreneurial ramblings.]

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This is the first part of The Social Networking Experiment series, where I’m going to examine a wide variety of social networking sites, evaluate their ability to help you succeed with your muse or business, and show you how to use them effectively.  Click here to read the introduction post for The Social Networking Experiment.

Twitter is massively popular “micro-blogging” platform that took the internet by storm in 2006.  In its early days, many people (myself included) were baffled by its purpose – after all, your Twitter messages (“tweets”) have a limit of 140 characters.  Today, you’re hard-pressed to find someone who doesn’t own a Twitter account, from your 10 year-old little sister, to famous celebrities and U.S. President Barack Obama.

When something is this popular on the internet, you cannot afford to ignore it (no matter how ridiculous you might think it is).

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Creating streams of passive income is something we’re all striving to accomplish.  After all, the idea that you can make money while you sleep is infinitely appealing, but it’s often much more easier said than done.  I have a few passive income experiments going on simultaneously right now, so I thought it would be a good idea to start giving a monthly update on everything.

Right now, my three passive income experiments consist of Lending Club, Squidoo, and autoblogging.  Overall, I think I’m doing okay, but it’s still far too early to make concrete conclusions.

Let’s dig into the details…

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I recently had the pleasure of interviewing Maren Kate, who blogs at Escaping the 9 to 5 about a variety of topics related to entrepreneurship (with a very motivating style).

She has one of the greatest attitudes of any blogger who I’ve ever followed or spoken to, and it really shows through her writing.  Best of all, she has successfully escaped the “9 to 5,” so there’s probably a lot we can learn from her.

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People often struggle with inspiration, and generally fail to realize that inspiration is EVERYWHERE if you just keep your eyes open for it. I don’t usually do lists (besides my monthly reading list), but I thought this would be a fun way to present places I’ve found ideas or inspiration, in addition to places that I think could provide inspiration. There are an infinite number of ways and places to find inspiration, but here are 34 to get you started.  Please note: These are not listed in any particular order.

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Social networking is by far one of the most pervasive phenomena in our world today.  In the past 5 years (maybe more), it has taken the internet by storm, and it’s gotten to the point where if you’re ignoring it, you’re behind.  Furthermore, if your business or muse is ignoring social networking, it is at a distinct disadvantage (whether you know it or not).

There are definitely exceptions, but even those businesses that have nothing to do with the internet could still benefit from social networking.

Because of this, I’ve decided to start something I’m going to call The My4HWW Social Networking Experiment.

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If you remember from my May 2010 reading list, I put Crush It (by Gary Vaynerchuk) as #1 on my list of books to read.  I recently finished it, and now feel compelled to write a review about it (be sure to look at the end of the post where I’m giving away my copy of the book!).

Crush It was a fairly quick and easy read, but that doesn’t really take away from the book’s powerful message.  In short, Vaynerchuk explains that now is the time to turn your passion into money.  More importantly, he gives some pretty clear (yet somewhat general) steps to actually taking your interest/love/obsession and turning it into a business.

Overall, I definitely think it’s a book every aspiring (or even currently successful) entrepreneur should read, but let’s dig into some of the details…

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