Author: Timothy Ferriss

ISBN:978-0091929114

Funny, this was one one of the first books that I've read voluntarily. I was approaching the end of my student yeas and I had a giant lump in my throat. The job at a prestiguous corporate law frim was just behing the corner. In a couple of months my relatively worry-free life was about to be replaced by the 40-year 9-9 grind. More than anything this book offered hope. A hope that work is not necessarily a cubicle with no windows that you enter and leave only at night. It offered hope that with courage and creativity I can still live adventurous life. In addition to original thoughts about the nature of work the book is very hands-on, offering advice as to which websites to use for outsourcing your work, how to pay your employees, how to value your time etc.

EXCERPTS

What would you do if you had $100M? Inactivity is not the goal. Doing what excites you is.

The point is not to buy things, but to do what you want to do, be who you want to be. If this includes tools and gadgets, so be it, but they are a means to an end or bonuses, not the point.

"You must not fool yourself. And you are the easiest person to fool." - Richard Feynman

Money is multiplied in practical value depending on the number of W's you control in your life: What you do, When you do it, Where you do it, and Who you do it with (the "freedom multipliers"). With this criteria, the rich-but-tied-down banker is less "powerful" than the person who makes $40k but only works a few hours a week, and can choose all his Ws. Options - the ability to choose - is real power. How to see and create those options with the least effort and cost.

If it's important to you and you want to do it "eventually", just do it and correct the course along the way.

It is far more fun and lucrative to leverage your strengths instead of attempting to fix your weaknesses.

"If I only had more money" is the easiest way to postpone the decision-making necessary to create a life of enjoyment now, not later. Using money as a scapegoat.

Measure money not by total-income but $/hr.

Write down the worst thing that could happen. Really really terrible where everything goes wrong. Realize it's not that bad.

Doing the unrealistic is easier than doing the realistic. It's lonely at the top. 99% of the world is convinced they are incapable of achieving great things, so they aim for mediocre. Therefore, competition is fiercest for "realistic" goals. Easier to raise $10M than $1M. Easier to pick up the one "perfect 10" in a bar, than the 5 "8"s. Having an unusually large goal is an adrenaline infusion that provides the endurance needed to the end. Realistic goals are uninspiring and will only fuel you through the first couple hurdles, then you give up.

What are you putting off, out of fear? What is it costing you (financially, emotionally, physically) - to postpone action? What are you waiting for? You should live fearless; not make decisions based on fear!

Don't ask "What do I want?" or "What are my goals?" - but : "WHAT WOULD EXCITE ME?" Boredom is the enemy, not failure.

Propose solutions instead of asking for them. Elicit desired responses instead of react. Be assertive without burning bridges. Develop the uncommon habit of making decisions, for yourself and others.

"One does not accumulate, but eliminate. It is not daily increase, but daily decrease. The height of cultivation always runs to simplicity." - Bruce Lee

Being busy is a guise for avoiding the few critically important but uncomfortable actions.

What you do is infinitely more important than how you do it. Efficiency is useless unless applied to the right things. [efficency vs. effectiveness]

Doing something unimportant well does not make it important.

"What gets measured gets managed." - Peter Drucker

The Pareto Principle : the 80/20 rule. The ratio is often skewed more towards 90/10 or even 95/5, but at least 80/20.

• 80% of consequences flow from 20% of causes.
• 80% of results come from 20% of effort/time.
• 80% of profits come from 20% of products/customers.

Being busy is a form of laziness: lazy thinking and indiscriminate action.

Being overwhelmed is as unproductive as doing nothing, and far more unpleasant.

Focus on the important few, and ignore the rest. Lack of time is actually a lack of priorities.

If I give you 24 hours to complete a project, the time pressure forces you to focus on execution.

If you're an employee, spending time on nonsense is not your fault. There is no incentive to use time well unless you are paid on commission (paid upon completion of task). Time is wasted because there is so much time available.

Am I inventing things to do, to avoid the important?

Focus on demonstrating results instead of showing dedication.

If you had a heart attack and had to work 2 hours per day, what would you do? If you had to stop doing 80% of different time-consuming activities, what would you remove? What are the top 3 activities I use to fill time to feel as though I've been productive?

There should never be more than two mission-critical items to complete each day. Do them separately, from start to finish, without distraction.

Do not multitask.

Problems, as a rule, solve themselves or disappear if you remove yourself as an information bottleneck and empower others.

Increased output necessitates decreased input. Most information is time-consuming, negative, and irrelevant to your goals. [NEWS!]

Ask for the phone numbers of 2 attractive women each day. Maintain eye contact. The real goal is not the numbers, but getting over the fear of asking, so the outcome is unimportant. "Excuse me. I know this is going to sound strange, but if I don't ask you now, I'll be kicking myself for the rest of the day. I'm running to meet a friend, but I think you're really gorgeous. Could I have your phone number? I'm not a psycho - I promise. You can give me a fake one if you're not interested."

Make it clear that remaining on task is your policy. Train those around you to be effective and efficient.

For the employee, the goal is to have full access to necessary information and as much independent decision-making ability as possible. For the entrepreneur, the goal is to grant as much information and independent decision-making ability to employees or contractors as possible.

Tell employees: "Keep the customer happy. If it's a problem that takes less than $100 to fix, use your judgement and fix it yourself. Fix these problems without contacting me. I am no longer your customer; my customers are your customer. Don't ask me for permission. Do what you think is right, and we'll make adjustments as we go along." People are smarter than you think. Give them a chance to prove themselves.

Important to eliminate before you delegate: Never automate something that can be eliminated. Never delegate something that can be automated or streamlined. Don't waste anyone's time - not even someone you're paying for cheap. For example: instead of having an assistant read all your email, use automation & approach described above to just reduce it. I don't need an assistant to set meetings and conference calls because I've eliminated meetings. Refine rules and processes before adding people.

Per-hour cost is not the ultimate determinant of cost. Look at per-task cost.

[Personal assistant: bike mechanic, grocery shopping, cooking etc.]

Don't chase customers, particularly unqualified or international prospects, when you have sufficient cash flow to finance your nonfinancial [non-business] pursuits.

Don't work where you live, sleep, or should relax. Separate your environments.

Don't answer email that will not result in a sale, or that can be answered by an FAQ or auto-responder.

Don't strive for endless perfection rather than great or good-enough, whether in personal or professional life.

The new mantra (even for your employees) is this: work wherever and whenever you want, but get your work done. [Tell employees what they need to do and tell them to stop working when tired; can be after 4 or after 12 hours. They can work from whenever they want, unless we agree for the meeting (effective meeting rules!). At the end of each week/month measure their output, not hours clocked.]