What is the summary of the book, the “4-Hour Work Week”?

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The 4HWW is one of the oldest and biggest books on making money online. Entrepreneurs who started their journey after reading that book regard it very well. I am also one of those people. To call 4HWW a life-changer would not be wrong. Here’s a quick summary.

The book is one-third inspirational, one-third general wisdom of the current age, and one-third technical instructions.  Through an acronym DEAL, the book covers different steps of one important aspect in life: working far less for more money. The book covers its four sections, D-E-A-L, with several chapters for each.

Definition: Define your specific lifestyle goals. Do you want to travel the world, and if so, to what places? Or do you just want to live in a nice house? What kind of activities do you want to spend your free time? Once you know, calculate how much you need to be making per month to comfortably sustain that lifestyle, while also saving up a little extra for safety.

Elimination: Remove distractions, unhelpful mindsets and habits, and unhelpful people. Whatever is holding you back, get rid of it. In particular, Tim uses this section to talk about escaping the traditional office setting and work from home, a topic more relevant than ever in today’s climate.

Automation: Once you’ve removed the things that hold you back, it’s time to minimize your involvement with the things that DO need to get done, but that benefit you the least. Much of this section involves virtual assistants, and how if you make money doing a certain type of work that only you can do, you’re better off spending more time doing that and hiring someone else to handle menial tasks such as taking phone calls or handling your social media. This section also included a lot of digital tools for time management and simplification of complicated online activities.

Liberation: Once your lifestyle goals are defined, and you’re making enough money while having enough free time to pursue them without fear, it’s time to plan that out properly. This section is great for those who want to travel the world because it teaches how even exotic travel journeys, one of the most traditionally expensive goals a person can have, can actually be made much cheaper without sacrificing the luxurious aspects of the trip. Even if you’re not into travel, the section is useful for helping you actually plan out how to pursue your non-career goals, and at minimum cost to not just money, but time, so you are able to accomplish and experience far more than you might have thought.

It’s not a terribly specific book, and it trusts that you already have some kind of game plan for what sort of business you want to run or what sort of career you want. 4HWW is useful for beginners and intermediates and prepares them for faster success and less time spent on slowly grinding forward. It does not teach any quick rich scheme or specific money-making method. Instead, it teaches the principles through which one can make more money, more efficiently. Really, the concept is so universally needed that I can’t see any ordinary person who wouldn’t benefit from what it has to say. With a lot of inspirational stories to help illustrate key points, it can help anyone earn more in whatever way they want, whether that’s through entrepreneur pursuits or just improving their work situation as an employee.

One of the best things about the book is that it was one of the first to suggest an escape route from nine-to-five typical office life. It’s a perfect balance between valuing money and not wasting it, while also doing what it takes to make more.

I mentioned that the book discusses virtual assistants. That means outsourcing of small tasks to other people so that an entrepreneur gets more time for bigger tasks, in other words, manage to earn well by working for just four hours a week. If you are only doing the things that earn you the most money, you can make enough to not just work less, but also afford to pay others to handle the work you’d rather not spend time on. Especially with the modern age and how affordable virtual assistants and other gig workers are.

The author talks about his success and how his ideas have worked in a decent way, not flaunting his wealth. There are many inspiring stories, like the story of a white Thai kickboxer (Tim himself) that shows how the rules can be bent beyond what we typically expect from our careers and lifestyles.

As for flaws, it’s worth mentioning here that the book gets a bit technical in the middle. It’s not the freshest book on the subject, and some of the web links in the book are not working anymore. But, even after thirteen years, the book is still helpful. I have posted the review covering some more details as a summary on my website. If you are interested, you can follow this link.

In conclusion, the book justifies its title and is very helpful. For people who are serious about taking a modern, work-from-home path or are entrepreneurs in general, it’s a must-read.

Please feel free to reply to me if you have any questions.

Good Luck!

Thanks,

Cleo








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