For the past few weeks I have been becoming more and more sluggish at work… and every little task is starting to feel like a chore. I don’t know whether it’s down to my short attention span or whether I just need a break (my last day off was for my birthday mid-June)- but whatever the reason- I have been struggling to stay motivated.

For those of you who don’t know, I work for a company who buys obsolete stock from large retailers, then re-distributes the stock. I am in charge of the marketing for the company as well as helping with the buying side of it. Anyway… I had an apprenticeship meeting last week and it turns out that I have to learn basic code for one of my units, the Joys! Either way, I’m tired. I saw this book on LinkedIn and the title was very appealing to me because of this sluggish feeling I have had recently, so I ordered it.

Best decision ever.

Honestly, books like this usually feel like more of a sales pitch, and they just seem fake. This one however was a pleasant surprise- and it has really made me think differently about working life. It really doesn’t have to be a case of working for 40+ hours a week for a menial wage, there can be a much better way.

Tim Ferriss talks through how he went from earning $40,000 a year to earning $40,000 a month- with a difference from working 80 hours a week to 4 hours a week. He went from owning a supplement company to travelling the world whilst working.

‘How can one achieve the millionaire lifestyle of complete freedom without first having $1,000,000?’    p8

This book isn’t about becoming a millionaire overnight, it’s about finding a way of working which suits you and is productive, while allowing you the freedom to live your life as you want. It’s a lifestyle change.

The message Tim tries to get across is that you shouldn’t have to be defined by your job, and that its important to separate your income from time. In other words you don’t need to work 12 hours a day to get things done. You can be productive in a shorter space of time.

‘What is the pot of gold that justifies spending the best years of your life hoping for happiness in the last?’ p9

He stresses that we should not be working towards some grand retirement in our 60s, where we won’t even have the energy to be able to do half of things we want to do. Instead we should work for less time, being just as productive and have the freedom to live our lives as we want while we are young. It’s a powerful message and one I haven’t ever thought about until now. Why should we spend all of our lives working hard for the promise of a cottage in the countryside in our later years?

‘Is it really necessary to work like a slave to live like a millionaire?’ p9

I’m not saying that this book is god’s gift to the modern entrepreneur, but I think it is a great read because it really makes you think outside the box. Take a different perspective.

If you are an ambitious person, whether that be an aspiring business owner or even just to get ahead in your career, I would definitely recommend this book to you.

My overall rating for this is…

2/3! Purely because as I said, this book isn’t THE answer, but it does invite you to consider your own answers.

Have you read this book? If so what did you think?