Before I review this book I have a confession to make – I thought I would hate it. Nearly every interview I have read of the author, Tim Ferriss, has left me thinking he is a total wanker.* For example, this interview in the New Yorker does him no favours. And nearly every one of the ‘Location Independent’** blogs that rub me the wrong way name checks him and his book. However, in the spirit of not dissing a book that I haven’t actually read, once I had a copy of my own I thought I would give it a read so I could actually judge if the book was as rubbish as I thought it would be.
And was it? Short answer – no, not at all.
Long answer – it is actually a really good book. A great book even. It is inspiring, it gives both theories and concrete examples on how you can change your life, and while much of it is common sense that you could have figured out yourself, I found that there were some surprising suggestions.
Some of the things I found most valuable about this book:
- Ferriss makes a point that getting the most out of life is not making more money, it is about deciding what you want in life, and how to achieve it, and that usually DOESN’T mean you need lots of money. As he points out, most people who say they wish they were millionaires don’t actually want one million dollars/pounds, they want the lifestyle that affords. And you know what – to get that lifestyle doesn’t usually require a million dollars.
- To get a lifestyle where you have time to do the things you enjoy does not necessarily mean working hard now so you can afford to take time off later. Nor does it mean you have to live off super-to-do-lists and some Über-efficient lifestyle. If anything, you really should be doing less.
- Many of the ideas are applicable across most spheres of life: even if you don’t want to travel the world, create businesses and learn multiple languages, there are principles here that could work for you. Even if you are a stay at home home-educator who doesn’t run a business, there is stuff here that can probably help you be happier with your day-to-day life.
Many people come to this book hoping it will show them how to afford to travel the world. And it does do that. So do heaps of other books. However, don’t expect there to be lists or tips on ‘jobs abroad’ or how to make money as a travel writer. Ferriss’ approach is to either develop a business that doesn’t need much input from you to make a living (something I am really not interested in) or organise your job so that you are able to do it away from the office, and with a lot less time involved (not really an option for us right now). And a final note on the ‘muse’ idea developed by Ferriss: this is developing a business that provides an income stream with very little long-term input from you (examples can be found on his blog here). He has copped a lot of flak for this, and I can see why – frankly it is not an idea that appeals to me, and I can see why some people might even think it is not ethical. Please don’t let this put you off the book – Ferriss himself provides ideas of how to fund an ‘ideal lifestyle’ without going down this route.
Okay, so this probably reads like I am now some -brainwashed Ferriss worshipper. I am not – I think some of his ideas are less than ideal. I think he probably still is a bit of a wanker – he still manages to raise many of my natural misanthropic tendencies. That said, the book is really worth a read, whether you are trying to figure out how to travel the world, quit work or even just make your life a bit better.
*If this term doesn’t really make sense to you, think blowhard.
** I don’t have a problem with people who identify as location independent, and think it can be a great choice of lifestyle. T0 see what I am talking about, read this post.
