The 4-Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferriss

Rating: 9/10

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High-Level Thoughts

Massively influential in my life, giving me the idea that I could pursue my own entrepreneurial projects to sustain myself immediately after college. Haven't gone back to it in a while, but it's still one of the first books I recommend for someone going down the entrepreneurial path.

Summary Notes

We don’t necessarily want to be rich, we want the lifestyle that we think comes with being rich.

Most “rules” can be broken with no consequences, and sometimes with massive benefits. Don’t assume anything is fixed.

If it isn’t going to devastate those around you, try it and then justify it after.

It’s more fun and more effective to leverage and focus on your strengths, rather than try to fix every single chink in your armor.

Look at what you’re doing and ask what would happen if you did things differently from everyone around you. Where will your current track take you in 5, 10, 20 years?

When you completely define your fears, you’ll frequently find that they’re not nearly as bad as you thought. Rather, the likely “bad” outcomes would have a small effect on your life, but the “good” outcomes could massively benefit you (see Antifragile).

The rest of the world is just as insecure as you are.

The unrealistic is frequently easier than the realistic, there’s less competition.

Doing something unimportant well doesn’t make it important.

Taking a lot of time doesn’t make something important.

Being busy is a form of laziness, or lack of control over one’s life.

Parkinson’s law, a task will swell to fit the time given to it.

Ask yourself what you do to feel productive (see Fauxductivity).

Many problems simply go away when ignored.

Don’t check email so much, you don’t need to.

If someone else can do it 80% as well as you, outsource or delegate it.

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