The 4-Hour Work Week

This book has given me the biggest paradigm shift of any book I’ve ever read. From critical thinking, to bending rules, to working smarter not harder. It’s an enjoyable read, just a bit shocking to see how other people decide operate.

Timothy Ferris shares a bunch of stories where he questions the world and how it operates, and find ways to side-step those rules. He manages to stay within the legal rules, but is an outside-of-the-box thinker. He shares how he’s had this critical mind ever since being a kid and how it’s helped him.

The main part I remember is about him winning some fighting tournament by using his size to push people outside of the ring. Which causes the opponent to be instantly disqualified. Not very good sportsmanship, but in line with the rules and very much allowed. Just noone else abused that system.

His critical thinking reminds me of videogame speedrunners. They find creative wasy to totally break, from skipping cutscenes to skipping whole sections of the game.

There is a whole section on useful tools and methods for turning your business into a less busy business, where you direct where the ship should go with minimal time rather than steer the ship yourself.

He also gives so many tips and tricks on travelling, assistants, selling digitally, working remotely etc.

It’s essentially a playbook for gaining time back after you’ve already worked hard. And only focusing on the most useful tasks.

9/10 recommend, even if just to shift how you think!