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What does Objective Setting and Tim Ferris's bestseller on Lifestyle design, "The 4 Hour Function Week" have in popular? Properly, like most personal development books, it includes a nice 4-letter acronym ('DEAL') to map out the principles! Joking aside, 'DEAL' is basically a workable technique. In this post I will highlight 4 key studying points from the book for anyone searching for to set and implement major career change objectives such as escaping the corporate rat race. Beginning with finding out of that sterile cubicle farm environment.
1- Self-Belief
Considering that many of Tim's readers are likely technology literate Gen X or Y folks who are seeking down the barrels of an ongoing (US) housing cost bubble and the social security time bomb of massive Boomer retirement, it is timely that he is 'preaching' to the converted when he implies that saving for the 'promised' fantastic times of tomorrow-land is not the deal it once was.
He is not becoming cavalier about monetary planning. Far from it! His driving force is that of self-belief, along the lines of: "You will see it when you think it".
For example, it sounds practically nuts to hear him suggest taking a series of mini-retirements in your 20s and 30s, instead of waiting 40 years or much more into an unknown future.
So the primary lesson here is one of altering your beliefs about what is achievable.
From the perspective of what he calls "The New Rich" this reframe is perfectly regular and in reality, highly desirable. To an employee in a cubicle for 50 plus hours every week it may possibly sound plain unrealistic. But with some careful planning (and goal setting!) it is possible to move in that direction and have enjoyable too!
2- Mis-Planning For Retirement
Tim reckons the existing tips about slaving away at a JOB for the most effective (physically and mentally) 40 plus years of your life and then retiring, is now antiquated.
Far more likely is the reality that folks will live lengthy lives but not be able to afford "permanent retirement" and also preserve a decent standard of living i.e. they will still have to have to work anyway. If that is the case then it makes additional sense to locate meaningful function although we are in our prime years and break it up with extended "mini-retirements".
For corporate employees with two weeks annual vacation from a desk, this is once again a tough one to accept. But there are structural forces at function in the global economy (e.g. the mobility supplied by at all times-on Online access) which are diluting the as soon as restrictive nature of geographical barriers for lots of white collar roles. Tim's suggestions is to develop a vision of what you'd like to do and then face the reality of getting managers and co-workers on-board with the increased productivity you are capable of delivering even though out of the cube farm.
three- Leverage Your Strengths
This goes directly against guidance to turn into the properly-rounded individual by filling in your weak points. But aside from it getting a miserable factor to work on an location in which you have little ability and nearly no interest, time is not on your side. There is a limited and unknown supply for every of us.
So why would you leverage your strengths and align your objectives to aid do this?
1 answer is that you are pursuing happiness in all that you do. Tim goes much further than this and suggests that the main driver is "excitement". You are performing most successfully and enjoying it immensely when you honestly are performing all those exciting items you have been putting off and off - nicely, at least a subset of them to get started with!
4- Create a Dreamline
Tim has a novel approach on how to generate inspiring visions for the immediate and near future - he is not huge into lengthy range aim planning given that he believes items alter too much or are merely unknowable that far in advance.
His system for dreamlines is developed to get you into action as swiftly as possible. NOT taking action is what, logically sufficient, kills most peoples' dreams stone dead.
Overall, the initially half of this splendid book is for those wanting to start an active lifestyle design by loosening the corporate chains that bind. Yes, I know you often have the option of resigning but in the win-win language so beloved of corporate personal development programs, you now have an selection to start off tunneling out from inside!
The second half of the book is for heavy hitters who have already crawled out the tunnel and are in totally free territory. The ins-and-outs of passive income streams and how to apply some of your well earned project management and technical abilities to owning your own World-wide-web business enterprise are covered in some depth. Notice, I mentioned "owning" and not "running" your own organization! That is quite possibly the difference between a four-Hour work week and a four-Hour Work day!!