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| Source: Thanks to 401K for sharing their pic on Flickr through the Creative Commons |
Cheesy, impractical, and impossible were some of the thoughts that I initially had five years ago when I stumbled across books and blogs about lifestyle design; claiming that you could work less and make more money. I have to admit, I was too quick to judge and I almost wrote off a valuable paradigm that has come to shape many of my decisions and has taught me that lifestyle design is possible.
Lifestyle design is certainly not a new concept, but it was brought to the forefront in 2007 by author and entrepreneur, Tim Ferris, in his book "The 4-Hour Workweek
". His book is essentially the recipe for escaping the traditional 9-5 grind, and helps people live anywhere and join what he calls the 'newly rich'. Like any worthy author his point of view is provocative, so you either love'm or hate'm. I have to admit I've read Ferris' book at least twice and refer back to it quite regularly so I guess I'm part of the 'love'm club' and I encourage you to pick up a copy if you even have the slightest interest in exploring the concept and seeing if you could make it work for yourself.
". His book is essentially the recipe for escaping the traditional 9-5 grind, and helps people live anywhere and join what he calls the 'newly rich'. Like any worthy author his point of view is provocative, so you either love'm or hate'm. I have to admit I've read Ferris' book at least twice and refer back to it quite regularly so I guess I'm part of the 'love'm club' and I encourage you to pick up a copy if you even have the slightest interest in exploring the concept and seeing if you could make it work for yourself.
The Freedom Multiplier Made It Stick For Me
But what convinced me to give lifestyle designing a try? There is one message in particular that resonated with me from Ferris' book that I'd like to share with you as it is central to my belief about lifestyle design and made me get off my butt and start doing something about it (Ferris, T. 4-Hour Workweek
2007. p.24):
2007. p.24):
"Money is multiplied in value depending on the number of W's that you control in your life: WHAT you do, WHEN you do it, WHERE you do it, and with WHOM you do it. I call this the 'freedom multiplier' " - Tim Ferris
I define statements like this as 'trigger statements' meaning they make you stop you in your tracks, challenge your norms, force you to make a decision and require you to take action. So could you pull the trigger and multiply the value of your money?
--the dotCommoner
