The Book That Changed The Way I Think. Forever

Last September I was lucky enough to go on 6-week European holiday. I know what a life eh.

Little did I know that this holiday would change the way I think forever. Not solely because of wonders of different cultures and glorious sites of Europe, although that was definitely a factor.

No, it changed the way I think because of a book I was reading at the time. If you live in America you’ve probably heard of it because it was a New York best seller, its called the 4 Hour Work Week.

Now, to a previously “career minded” person like myself the ideas in this book were controversial and ran totally against my upbringing. And, I’d never heard of “Passive Income” either?

However, this book really resonated personally with me. For a lot of reasons!

While I know that there are always a set of unique circumstances that lead to peoples massive success, I actually saw how some of the concepts in this book could be applied to my life.

4 Hour Work Week  really got me thinking, hard.

I enjoy reading self-help books. I love looking for little secrets for wealth and happiness (I’m still working, so I obviously haven’t found any just yet).

Some of these self-help books are good, but most are rubbish.

How do I know they are rubbish? Well, when I stop reading I don’t give the concepts any further thought.

In other words the books had no impact on me.

Not so the 4 hour work week.

This book was the sole reason I started this blog. It’s also the reason I question and challenge myself. I’m actually seeking to replicate some of the concepts in the book.

If you haven’t read it I won’t ruin some of the major themes, suffice to say, for those that have, the fat man in the red BMW is an image I am desperately seeking to avoid.

It’s the SOLE reason I’m working frantically on passive income business opportunities!

Personally I got the most out of the time management and obviously the passive income ideas sections. To some these concepts would seem natural to other it’s madness.

Here is just one such controversial concepts. Don’t read the news.

I used to be news junkie, I’d spend hours browsing news websites. It was a ritual, I had to know what was going on so I could be up with the latest.

I decided to copy the 4 hour work week media diet suggestion. I went for a week without any contact with any news sites or TV coverage.

I realised after the exercise this advice was brilliant. News by and large is not relevant to me. I find news mostly depressing. I also realise I wasted a massive amount of time reading and consuming news.

Instead I used the time to do some free writing including ideas for what would eventually be this blog.

The 4 hour work week suggests the lack of news can be used as a talking point. Why not start conversations with “What’s news in the world today I missed the paper this morning”. This will dramatically help you start a conversation with anyone!

This is just one of gold nuggets in the book.

It’s definitely one of my favourite books.

But here is the warning I think you should know. This is definitely not for everyone. Some things in the book seem far-fetched and the shocking concepts do not apply to everyone, be warned.

I’ve changed my “what I’m reading” advertisement to the new version of 4 hour work week. If you buy through that link I’ll get a few dollars which help support the blog.

If you read the book, leave me a comment and tell me what you think! It certainly changed my thinking.