It's been a while since I've posted a blog entry on here so I feel it's time to update. My life has been going quite well as of late. I'm not really sure what I'm going to do with the previous posts and the Four Hour Workweek. That is on hiatus until I can get back into that realm of thought and delve into the book. My previous blog entries have felt like they're verbatim from the book and to be honest, if you want to know these things, you'd just read the book. We'll see if/when I decide to pick that back up.
Tonight, as I sit meditating on my rooftop, I felt inclined to add a blog entry about life, the universe, and everything. I've done very little meditating in the past and the last few days have had weight on my mind. Within the past few weeks, stones have been cast that have created small ripples of change that have grown into waves that have been rather difficult to deal with. I have watched good friends graduate and move away, an almost instantaneous disappearance that has left voids, both big and small in my life. These things are change and these are expected as the universe is only prone to stagnate for so long. Change is inevitable and we must accept it at face value. My neon goddess has also returned which has ben a very positive change. It's been tremendously uplifting having her wonderful aura here.
Change has always been an interesting concept for me. I've never really dreaded it, nor have I had trouble accepting it. However, I realize that there are many who share different views on it. The changes I've witnessed, specifically a close friend in my group leaving, has completely shifted our dynamic and it's been difficult to adjust accordingly. As a result, we have for the most part stayed separated, hanging out less frequently. I've been preoccupied with trips, work, and the changes in my life, but it's starting to shift to some semblance of balance for the moment.
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This week has not been the easiest situation to deal with. Due to my busy nature, some things haven't gone as smoothly as I would like, but these things happen. I prayed to God and the Universe that the energies should go where they would best suit those that could use them the most.
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I've never been overtly spiritual, but this evening as I sit among the sounds of mother nature, I find that the universe is speaking to us constantly. A message is constantly being reverberated to us and many of us are oblivious to it. I've recently taken an interest in the messages the universe sends to us, with the help of my neon goddess at times. Energies are constantly being sent to us, but it's up to us to harness them in the most beneficial way.
I've looked into Astrology and Divination techniques such as tarot cards and from these studies, I've realized one thing. These techniques are meant to be used as a guide. Many people use them as a means of future telling and I feel that these are inadequate uses of these techniques. Take astrology, which has allowed me to map out individuals' tendencies and various personality traits. Astrology has had a knack for mapping things in the past if you look at the planets' positions at the times of various catastrophes or important events, but to use this to map out the future really creates unnecessary worry, in my opinion. If I had the ability to tell the future, I would hardly ever use it. The future is meant to happen a certain way and it will happen regardless of our knowledge of it. Astrology should be used as a guide, a means of mapping out our tendencies, our strengths and weaknesses. Divination should also be used similarly. I've apparently shown a slight knack for divination and I understand that these are to be used to keep our lives in check and help us recognize the energies the universe sends us.
The world truly is a beautiful place and I love that I am growing slowly more in tune with it. I take comfort in he fact that I am in the right place and state of mind. Everything feels as it should be and I pray that those around me can harness the energies they are given to help improve their lives one step at a time.
Thursday, June 21, 2012
Saturday, March 31, 2012
Escaping the Fear (Ch. 3)
In life, there are many times where we have to make a choice. To move forward with change or sit comfortably (or oftentimes, uncomfortably) in the lifestyles we've chosen. Many people are opposed to change and would rather stay with the status-quo. Regardless of how brave somebody is, most would choose unhappiness over uncertainty. Fear of the unknown is a powerful deterrent and it's something Ferris wants us to think long and hard about.
Most of us won't call it fear. I certainly don't most of the time. If you guys are anything like me, I try to rationalize it as optimism, hoping that things will get better on their own or some sort of event will improve our quality of living. My life right now isn't bad in the slightest, but I do at times take issue with how stagnant everything feels. I wake up, go to class, and go to work and I see this with many other people as well. I spend time with friends and have fun when I can, but there are times where I feel like I'm not living to my full potential. I want to explore the world, learn new skills and hobbies, and live life to the fullest while in the prime of my life.
Our society is built to chain us down with things like school, full-time jobs, and debt. (I'm not talking down education. It's very important, but especially in the U.S., it's preparation for full-time work, not always our ambitions.) We work best for that system if we adhere to it and work as little cogs in its clockwork mechanism, mindlessly toiling for a golden age that will probably never come for most of us. Retirement as society defines it now is a fallacy and nothing more than a pipe dream to help us move forward with our lives. The retirement we dream of now is very likely never going to exist and I see this everywhere.
Fear disguised as optimism is what keeps us in this mindset and keeps us working. As Ferris puts it, "Pure hell forces action, but anything less can be endured with enough rationalization." In most cases, damage control over a life change is not as bad as it appears to be. Oftentimes, it just takes some simple steps to salvage what is left if something goes wrong. He describes it on a 1 to 10 scale with 1 being absolutely nothing to 10 being permanently life-changing. With the right planning, a worst-case scenario really would only be about a 3 or 4 and that's a temporary negative effect on your life. But if we look at a best-case scenario, it can easily have a permanent 9 or 10 positive life-changing effect. You're risking a low probability negative effect for a probable positive one. There's very low risk for high positive gain when you look at it like this.
So in summary, don't hold yourself back if you feel that you want to change your life for the better. It's easy to rationalize not taking action, but if you feel like society is weighing you down with baggage and keeping you from working towards happiness, cut that baggage away. It won't hurt as bad as it seems like it will and you feel much lighter and happier after the fact when you're following your dreams.
Most of us won't call it fear. I certainly don't most of the time. If you guys are anything like me, I try to rationalize it as optimism, hoping that things will get better on their own or some sort of event will improve our quality of living. My life right now isn't bad in the slightest, but I do at times take issue with how stagnant everything feels. I wake up, go to class, and go to work and I see this with many other people as well. I spend time with friends and have fun when I can, but there are times where I feel like I'm not living to my full potential. I want to explore the world, learn new skills and hobbies, and live life to the fullest while in the prime of my life.
Our society is built to chain us down with things like school, full-time jobs, and debt. (I'm not talking down education. It's very important, but especially in the U.S., it's preparation for full-time work, not always our ambitions.) We work best for that system if we adhere to it and work as little cogs in its clockwork mechanism, mindlessly toiling for a golden age that will probably never come for most of us. Retirement as society defines it now is a fallacy and nothing more than a pipe dream to help us move forward with our lives. The retirement we dream of now is very likely never going to exist and I see this everywhere.
Fear disguised as optimism is what keeps us in this mindset and keeps us working. As Ferris puts it, "Pure hell forces action, but anything less can be endured with enough rationalization." In most cases, damage control over a life change is not as bad as it appears to be. Oftentimes, it just takes some simple steps to salvage what is left if something goes wrong. He describes it on a 1 to 10 scale with 1 being absolutely nothing to 10 being permanently life-changing. With the right planning, a worst-case scenario really would only be about a 3 or 4 and that's a temporary negative effect on your life. But if we look at a best-case scenario, it can easily have a permanent 9 or 10 positive life-changing effect. You're risking a low probability negative effect for a probable positive one. There's very low risk for high positive gain when you look at it like this.
So in summary, don't hold yourself back if you feel that you want to change your life for the better. It's easy to rationalize not taking action, but if you feel like society is weighing you down with baggage and keeping you from working towards happiness, cut that baggage away. It won't hurt as bad as it seems like it will and you feel much lighter and happier after the fact when you're following your dreams.
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Game Changing Rules (Ch. 2)
Now, I will go over several of the rules that Ferriss wants you to keep in mind to help you keep your mind clear. I'll try and add my own insights here and there so I'm not just regurgitating the book here, but there's some good things in this chapter.
Retirement Is For Worst-Case Scenario
Retirement planning should be seen as a worst-case scenario and this idea is fundamentally flawed for a number of reasons. It assumes that you dislike right now, when you're in the prime of your life and that some day you will live the "good life". The branches off into the other reason which is that most people won't be able to retire on a completely sustainable standard of living. Over a 30 year period, even a million dollars would be a meager existence. You essentially revert back into a middle-class living like you were while you were saving up for the "good times". Also, if you're spending a ton of time saving money up for your retirement, you're going to be super bored with all of your free time after retirement. Many people go and find another job just because they have nothing to do in their later years.
Give Yourself Time To Rest
It's also in your best interest to give yourself times to rest. This is where the "mini-retirements" come in and more on this later.
The Difference Between Being Lazy and Working Less
Have you ever noticed that our culture seems to reward us based on how busy we are versus the progress we make? We're encouraged to work these 9-5 shifts, despite the fact that many of these jobs are highly inefficient uses of our time. More meaningful results should be considered far more valuable than amount of time that's spent. There's a huge difference between being productive and busy.
"The Timing Just Isn't Right..."
Something else that hinders us timing. Let's face it, the timing is never going to be perfect and I'm guilty of using this as an excuse more times than I can remember. This doesn't mean to go crazy and not evaluate the state of your life at a given time, but don't let that be what stops you from doing what you've always wanted to.
Ask For Forgiveness, Not Permission
This is an interesting point that I've yet to try because there isn't a place to use this, but it's an interesting insight. If you want to do something and it won't hurt those around you or cause significant damage, do it and then ask for forgiveness if you screw up. Don't go crazy, but people are much more likely to accept something in hindsight than they are before it's happened. If it's a success, then awesome. If it isn't then lesson learned.
Work On Your Strengths
Let's face it, we all have flaws, but trying to fix those flaws is easier said than done. It's much more in our interest to work to our strengths than to fix every little flaw we come across. This is one of the more obvious of the rules, but still sound advise.
Too Much Of A Good Thing
Anything in excess becomes its opposite. This is true of money, possessions, and even time. Your should spend your time doing what you want to do, not what you feel obligated to.
Money Isn't The Answer
We've all heard this one before. It's a typical cliche, but that doesn't mean it's not true. You should live for your ambitions, not for money or a "comfortable existence" much later in life.
Relative Vs. Absolute Income
Everybody it seems classifies their job by how much they make per year, but that is such a large time-span to judge things by. A lot can happen in a year and some years can be far more financially troubling than others. Absolute income is defined this way and makes it seem like two people making $100,000 per year have similar jobs. But what if you see that one person works 80 hours per week and another works 10 hours week. Suddenly, the amount per hour is drastically different. The first person makes roughly $25 per hour while the second person makes $100 per hour. Of course, we all want to work less, but the point Ferriss is trying to make is that we should value our income based on the amount of money and time it takes to get it.
Distress Vs. Eustress
Okay guys, this is the last one. This blog entry has gotten a lot longer than I meant it to, but oh well. The point shouldn't be to eliminate stress from your life. Distress is bad and refers to harmful stimuli in our lives. A less-used term is eustress which means healthy stress that refers to healthiness or a sense of fulfillment. It's used as a synonym for "euphoria" often and the more we apply to our daily lives, the sooner we can actualize our dreams.
Retirement Is For Worst-Case Scenario
Retirement planning should be seen as a worst-case scenario and this idea is fundamentally flawed for a number of reasons. It assumes that you dislike right now, when you're in the prime of your life and that some day you will live the "good life". The branches off into the other reason which is that most people won't be able to retire on a completely sustainable standard of living. Over a 30 year period, even a million dollars would be a meager existence. You essentially revert back into a middle-class living like you were while you were saving up for the "good times". Also, if you're spending a ton of time saving money up for your retirement, you're going to be super bored with all of your free time after retirement. Many people go and find another job just because they have nothing to do in their later years.
Give Yourself Time To Rest
It's also in your best interest to give yourself times to rest. This is where the "mini-retirements" come in and more on this later.
The Difference Between Being Lazy and Working Less
Have you ever noticed that our culture seems to reward us based on how busy we are versus the progress we make? We're encouraged to work these 9-5 shifts, despite the fact that many of these jobs are highly inefficient uses of our time. More meaningful results should be considered far more valuable than amount of time that's spent. There's a huge difference between being productive and busy.
"The Timing Just Isn't Right..."
Something else that hinders us timing. Let's face it, the timing is never going to be perfect and I'm guilty of using this as an excuse more times than I can remember. This doesn't mean to go crazy and not evaluate the state of your life at a given time, but don't let that be what stops you from doing what you've always wanted to.
Ask For Forgiveness, Not Permission
This is an interesting point that I've yet to try because there isn't a place to use this, but it's an interesting insight. If you want to do something and it won't hurt those around you or cause significant damage, do it and then ask for forgiveness if you screw up. Don't go crazy, but people are much more likely to accept something in hindsight than they are before it's happened. If it's a success, then awesome. If it isn't then lesson learned.
Work On Your Strengths
Let's face it, we all have flaws, but trying to fix those flaws is easier said than done. It's much more in our interest to work to our strengths than to fix every little flaw we come across. This is one of the more obvious of the rules, but still sound advise.
Too Much Of A Good Thing
Anything in excess becomes its opposite. This is true of money, possessions, and even time. Your should spend your time doing what you want to do, not what you feel obligated to.
Money Isn't The Answer
We've all heard this one before. It's a typical cliche, but that doesn't mean it's not true. You should live for your ambitions, not for money or a "comfortable existence" much later in life.
Relative Vs. Absolute Income
Everybody it seems classifies their job by how much they make per year, but that is such a large time-span to judge things by. A lot can happen in a year and some years can be far more financially troubling than others. Absolute income is defined this way and makes it seem like two people making $100,000 per year have similar jobs. But what if you see that one person works 80 hours per week and another works 10 hours week. Suddenly, the amount per hour is drastically different. The first person makes roughly $25 per hour while the second person makes $100 per hour. Of course, we all want to work less, but the point Ferriss is trying to make is that we should value our income based on the amount of money and time it takes to get it.
Distress Vs. Eustress
Okay guys, this is the last one. This blog entry has gotten a lot longer than I meant it to, but oh well. The point shouldn't be to eliminate stress from your life. Distress is bad and refers to harmful stimuli in our lives. A less-used term is eustress which means healthy stress that refers to healthiness or a sense of fulfillment. It's used as a synonym for "euphoria" often and the more we apply to our daily lives, the sooner we can actualize our dreams.
Comparisons (Ch. 1)
When looking at a person's life and what they're working towards, Ferriss explains that a person can be put into one of two categories, Deferrers and the New Rich. Deferrers are those that save their money for a "glorious" retirement once they've done their time and can finally relax in the later years of life. These people attempt to save up to eventually life a happy life free from the chains that have bound them to their work lives. Then, you have the New Rich. The New Rich stand out from the others based on their goals, hobbies, and life philosophies. These people often go into "mini-retirements" or frequent breaks in order to keep their life moving simply. This doesn't have to be an expensive endeavor necessarily like a trip to Europe, but humans need time to recharge and relax. This is something that is less common in the Deferrers, the ones that work an 80-hour job or work 9-5. Many of these people are defined by their occupation. It should be the other way around, you should define your job and your life. As a brief aside to my readers, I neither criticize nor look down on this type of life, I merely don't want that for myself as it seems unfulfilling.
This chapter is handy since it states a few things that are so often forgotten or unrealized. The first is if you can free yourself of the constraints of time and being completely tied down to a location, your money is worth a whole lot more than you realize. You don't have to be a millionaire to live like one. The millionaire just has the ability to do this while being tied to a location. There are many however, that are unhappy with this lifestyle. The amount of money is definitely not a good figure of personal wealth or happiness. It's practical value is a much better measure meaning what you want to do, when, where, and with whom. Having the freedom to have options, to choose what you want is what gives you power.
This chapter is handy since it states a few things that are so often forgotten or unrealized. The first is if you can free yourself of the constraints of time and being completely tied down to a location, your money is worth a whole lot more than you realize. You don't have to be a millionaire to live like one. The millionaire just has the ability to do this while being tied to a location. There are many however, that are unhappy with this lifestyle. The amount of money is definitely not a good figure of personal wealth or happiness. It's practical value is a much better measure meaning what you want to do, when, where, and with whom. Having the freedom to have options, to choose what you want is what gives you power.
Sunday, March 18, 2012
The DEAL
I'll be starting with the introduction portion of the book to kind of explain exactly what this book is trying to achieve. The intro goes into the author's crazy, care-free lifestyle to get the reader excited that this is a life-changing experience, which is fine, but this book shouldn't be considered that and after the crazy intro, the author makes this point. The point isn't to become a millionaire, it's to get you to the point where you realize you don't have to have a million dollars to enjoy your life. Many people get caught up in their day-to-day lives, myself included and people resign themselves to a cubicle or monotonous job saving for the day that they can start having fun in their life. It doesn't have to be this way. It's all about finding a healthy balance and remaining in control of your life so you can enjoy it now and later. This is one of my curiosities as I'm only a college student right now, but I sure as hell don't want to wind up working 9 to 5 every day to support myself and hope that one day, I will be fortunate enough to travel and do everything I've always wanted to. I want to thrive on every ounce of life I'm given.
The book is laid out in 4 main sections. These sections form together the acronym DEAL. I'll lay out what each letter stands for below:
Definition
This section essentially sets up the framework for the lifestyle that best suits you. It helps you get past the assumptions and doubts that stop many from achieving their goals.
Elimination
This section goes into time-management and the author goes into how he turned 12-hour days into two-hour days for 48 hours. It also goes into productivity and getting rid of distractions and ignoring the unimportant aspects of life that can drag you down.
Automation
The section will go into creating an automated source of income via methods like outsourcing so that you can live your life without being tethered to a 9 to 5 job. I'll be curious to see how useful this section will be for me as I'm only a college student, but there is sure to be some interesting aspects to take away from it.
Liberation
The section introduces the concepts of mini-retirements and escaping the office workplace and bosses. It's not so much about cheap travel as it is breaking the bonds that hold you in one place, increasing your mobility.
Again, not everything has to be taken exact, but there are many life lessons that can be pulled from this book and I'm excited to see how this will change my lifestyle for the better.
The book is laid out in 4 main sections. These sections form together the acronym DEAL. I'll lay out what each letter stands for below:
Definition
This section essentially sets up the framework for the lifestyle that best suits you. It helps you get past the assumptions and doubts that stop many from achieving their goals.
Elimination
This section goes into time-management and the author goes into how he turned 12-hour days into two-hour days for 48 hours. It also goes into productivity and getting rid of distractions and ignoring the unimportant aspects of life that can drag you down.
Automation
The section will go into creating an automated source of income via methods like outsourcing so that you can live your life without being tethered to a 9 to 5 job. I'll be curious to see how useful this section will be for me as I'm only a college student, but there is sure to be some interesting aspects to take away from it.
Liberation
The section introduces the concepts of mini-retirements and escaping the office workplace and bosses. It's not so much about cheap travel as it is breaking the bonds that hold you in one place, increasing your mobility.
Again, not everything has to be taken exact, but there are many life lessons that can be pulled from this book and I'm excited to see how this will change my lifestyle for the better.
The 4-Hour Work Week
So, I've been wanting to start posting about this book and how it influences my life for some time now and now that it's Spring Break, I can finally start to organize things. I'll probably go chapter-by-chapter trying to integrate this stuff into my life and see how it affects me. I haven't worked out the finer details just yet. Here's a preview of the book. I've already read parts of this book and it has a lot of good things one can glean from its pages, despite the sort of ultimate problem solving approach overview below.
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Whether you're an overworked employee or an entrepreneur trapped in your own business, The 4-Hour Work Week is the compass for a new and revolutionary world.
Forget the old concept of retirement and the rest of the deferred-life plan—there is no need to wait and every reason not to. Whether your dream is escaping the rat race, high-end world travel, monthly five-figure income with zero management, or just living more and working less, this book is the blueprint.
You can have it all—really.
Join Tim Ferriss, popular guest lecturer in entrepreneurship at Princeton University, as he teaches you:
- How to outsource your life and do whatever you want for a year, only to return to a bank account 50% larger than before you left
- How blue-chip escape artists travel the world without quitting their jobs
- How to eliminate 50% of your work in 48 hours using the principles of little-known European economists
- How to train your boss to value performance over presence, or kill your job (or company) if it's beyond repair
- How to trade a long-haul career for short work bursts and frequent “mini-retirements”
- What automated cash-flow "muses" are and how to create one in 2-4 weeks
- How to cultivate selective ignorance—and create time—with a low-information diet
- Management secrets of Remote Control CEOs
- The crucial difference between absolute and relative income
- How to get free housing worldwide and airfare at 50-80% off
- How to fill the void and creating meaning after removing work and the office
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
The Cog Theory
An interesting philosophical thought crossed my mind last night. What if you pictured your life as a cog in a clockwork mechanism. Every decision you make and every experience you have works to move that cog forward. But in order for a cog to work as its intended, it must move other cogs, or other lives, the ones you influence in your life. Everything you do in life influences how the cogs move. But we don’t even have to think of a person as being the only cogs that exist. Larger cogs can be perceived such as governments and organizations, in fact all of these cogs can also move a cog that could represent the world or a universe or even the whole of reality itself.
What if in combination with the cog that is our reality, there are also cogs that represent realities that parallel our own. Ones with slight changes, different experiences, and even mirror opposite realities. All of these realities work in unison to slowly move the machine that is the whole of creation forward. Cogs that get infinitely big and small, past the scope of our realization or comprehension, must exist and that creates something we can’t wholly understand or define and then with things going off to infinity, paradoxes are formed. Every time we reach a paradox, we can go no further, be it the laws of physics breaking down or dividing by zero. These situations simply can’t exist, or can they?
Up until this point, I’ve explained my cog theory as mostly a two-dimensional model, not unlike a graph with x and y planes. Say we’re only accustomed to seeing these two dimensions and we simply cannot perceive anything greater, but a 3rd dimension is added into the mix. What would a third dimension look like to somebody who can only perceive two dimensions? I believe that where this third dimension intersects with our two dimensional perspective, paradoxes are formed. Situations that cannot exist, but do for the sake of the machine. So, in this clockwork theory, there’s multiple dimensions of cogs at work, but we can only see the cogworks that run through our dimensions.
Now, placing ourselves in a system such as this defines us in two ways which are at odds with one another. The first thing this with us being in a system such as this, it sets up up to say that our actions are predetermined, since we’re moving the machine around which comes at odds with our idea of free will. However, because this cog machine exists in all dimensions, any action you can take is taken into account in the cog machine so while you make the decision of your own free-will, the machine has taken your actions into account by accepting all possibilities. The second definition is that in a life, everything happens for a reason. This is a theory I’ve firmly believed all my life, but I can apply it here too. The problem is that saying everything happens for a reason dictates that the action was foretold or premeditated, but in the cog theory, your action just moves the machine along. It was supposed to happen because that’s what makes the machine move. You can still dictate the action and change it, but in the end it will move your life and everything forward.
I realize that this concept is at war with itself to an extent. It creates a paradox in which you have free will, but everything you do is for the good of the system, which is an endless loop. For me as I’ve said before, when I see a paradox, I merely think it’s an intersection point into another dimension that I cannot perceive. I think that in the end, all of this clockwork connects to a central point and that point is God. He exists in a dimension we cannot perceive, despite our attempts, but everything that I’ve seen has always seemed so one-dimensional for an almighty being. I don’t believe he is just somebody that sits on a throne watching down on us as I’ve always been told in church. He is something far greater and any attempt at describing how almighty and glorious he is does not do him justice. God is the center cog and keeps the machine working. He guides us on our journeys and ultimately shows us the path that we can choose to live our life.
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