Every so often, I like to revisit my old copy of the 4-Hour Work Week by Tim Ferriss. I saw it sitting on the bookshelf and it just sorta called to me. I picked it up and haven’t been able to put it down since.
The first thing I did was go to the ear-marks I left on sections I loved (yes, I do earmark books. Whatever bookmark lovers). Anyway, the first earmark was to the definition of the New Rich.
I re-read the definition and said to myself, “I should write these down somewhere and remember them.”
So here I am, writing them down to work on keeping these simple philosophies at the forefront of my mind.
Defining the New Rich, life philosophies and distinct priorities
- To have others work for you.
- To prevent work for work’s sake (W4W) sake, and to do the minimum necessary for maximum effort.
- To distribute recover periods and adventures (mini-retirements) throughout life on a regular basis and recognize that inactivity is not the goal. Doing that which excites you is.
- To do all the things you want to do, and be all the things you want to be. If this includes some tools and gadgets, so be it, but they are either means to an end or bonuses, not the focus.
- To be neither the boss nor the employee, but the owner. To own the trains and have someone else ensure they run on time.
- To make a ton of money with specific reasons and definition dreams to chase, timelines and steps to include. What are you working for?
- To have more quality and less clutter. To have huge financial reserves but recognize that most material wants are justifications for spending time on the things that don’t really matter, including buying things and preparing to buy things. You spent two weeks negotiating your new Infiniti with the dealership and got $10,000 off? That’s great. Does your life have purpose? Are you contributing anything useful to this world, or just shuffling papers, banging on a keyboard, and coming home to a drunken existence on the weekends?
- To think big but ensure payday comes every day: cash flow first, big payday second.
- To have freedom from doing that which you dislike, but also the freedom and resolve to pursue your dreams without reverting to W4W. After years of repetitive work, you will often need to dig hard to find your passion, redefine your dreams, and revive hobbies that you let atrophy to near extinction. The goal is not to simply eliminate the bad, which does nothing more than leave you with a vacuum, but to purse and experience the best in the world.
That sounds good, doesn’t it?
-AJM