Today is Day 3 of my 30 day challenge to write a blog every day.
So I've decided to dedicated it to Tim Ferriss and his lifestyle approach in particular.
His book The Four Hour Working Week for me was one of the those books that when you read you feel like you agree with the author and know that something is going to change if you push yourself to the given direction even more. Tim's lifestyle and his unstoppable attempts to develop himself, to learn new skills and to travel all the time made me love the book. The author himself has become a role model. Here are is why.
10 lessons from the book/the author himself:
1. Being busy is different from being efficient
You can spend hours and hours doing stuff that don't need doing! Tim is a fan of choosing the most important things that need doing and only if you ave time, to do other things. I personally love a book called Eat That From by Brian Tracy. The author suggests that you should start the day by listing all things that you need to do, separate them into three groups by importance - A, B and C - and circle the most important of all A-s, that being the ugly from. Then you need to "eat", i.e. complete that frog and you are sorted for the day!
Photo from: www.gauraw.com
2. Travelling around the world is eye-opening and achievable
When you travel around the world, you learn so much about other cultures, you get unexpected adventures on your way and you thoroughly enjoy yourself! And in fact, a lot of other principles from the book show that travelling is achievable even when you supposedl have to work 5 times a week...
3. Learning languages is beneficial...
Photo from: www.returnofkings.com
even if you're a native English speaker! It trains your memory, concentration, and it makes you more connected to different nationalities.
4. Outsourcing the most of your work
Photo from: biz30.timedoctor.com
This is one of my favourite principles that I hope to be able to do when I get the chance. There are websites where people can find virtual assistants from countries where payment per hour is cheaper. They are hard-working and they save a lot of time!
5. Applying the 80/20 rule
Photo from: crowdfunduk.org
The picture says it all!
6. "You are the average of the five people you associate with most"...
Photo from: magerempowerment.com
"...so do not underestimate the effects of your pessimistic, unambitious, or disorganized friends. If someone isn't making you stronger, they're making you weaker.”
Those positive, inspiring people around you can make a huge change to your personality. Same as moaning and self-diminishing who transfer their negativity onto others. So get yourself a bunch of happy, funny, high-achieving friends!
7. You can become excellent even if you are a beginner now
Photo from: quantifiedself.com
That is Tim Ferriss on the picture who swore he could never learn how to dance. Look at him now - a tango champion!
8. Don't check your emails all the time
Photo from: lifehacker.com
Emails are distracting!
9. Ask some of the best for advice
Photo from: castlepersonaltraining.com
Because they know the way.
10. Negotiate to work from distance
Photo from: www.essentialtravel.co.uk
As long as you can do your work from distance, there is no reason why you can't ask your boss to do so!
Finally, here are a couple of videos featuring Tim Ferriss that I find quite inspiring:
You've probably had this feeling when you meet somebody and are supposed to have a chat, but you just cannot think of some interesting topics to discuss. You end up being in an awkward position with two adults smiling politely to each other, but none of them daring to break the silence.
What is happening is that you both are trying to find an excuse to escape. (Phone call/suddenly remember that you have piles of work to do etc.) It doesn't have to be like that. One of you can start a simple conversation with personal questions and than use the information provided in the form of answers to continue.
Example:
"So you said you were born in X." "Yes" "Do they still have this shop Y" "Yeah, and I go they every day" "Really? Is the shop owner still Mr. Z?" "Oh, yeah, he is a nice man"
Or
"Do you know long we are supposed to wait?" "Probably 10 mins" "Yeah, if they stick to the timetable. I wonder why they need so much time to give these simple results. They're probably chatting to each other" "Or drinking coffee" "They should use the break for this purpose"
And so on.
But of course you need a responsive interlocutor in order to continue the chat. If he/she just gives you 1-word answers, you're in danger of another awkward moment.
Next time, I'll give you more tips for that. But for now, just have in mind this amazing book
