If not in 2010, then when? (Photo: jphilipson)
The video case studies that I asked for in the last post really caught me unprepared.
I...am...so happy that it's hard to put it into words.
From Denmark to India, from college students to retirees, from yoga instructors to engineers, the stories poured in. Narrowing them down to finalists, even with several people, was excruciating, but below you will find 15 of our favorites. Many more are worth watching (I watched them all) and can be found here, or by searching "4hww success" on YouTube.
The below videos represent a real-life crash course in the many paths and practicalities of lifestyle design. I hope you love watching them as much as I did.
Happy New Year, y'all. Decide today that 2010 will be the year when everything changes.
It can be.
Gary is a 22-year old from Long Island. He left his family's autobody business to start his own businesses, travel the world, redesign his body, rediscover his love for his family, and enjoy the best the planet has to offer, including philanthropy and the little things we so often undervalue. Philosophically, I think he nailed what I was hoping to impart -- it's about living more, not just working less -- as did many of the other case studies below.
From Chuck:
My attempts at leaving the corporate world met with very limited success until I read the 4-Hour Workweek by Tim Ferriss. In the last few years, we've successfully done the following:
1. Left the corporate world for good.
2. Taken a 1-year mini-retirement (with 5 kids!) to Panama.
3. Paid off our house through the application of geoarbitrage.
4. Diversified our cash flow into more than ten different streams
5. Automated over 50% of our cash flow (passive or semi-passive)
6. Cut my work hours from 70+ per week to however many I feel like (closer to 20/wk)
7. Implemented 4hww strategies into my children's home schooling, teaching them to structure their own lives to attain freedom.
Two of Chuck's children -- both under 15 years of age -- are also earning $300-500 per month with their own companies.
This video doesn't include a name, as the narrator wants to quit her job in person :)
She and her husband put in 4-6 hours per week and earned an extra $2,200 in their first month of testing. Our anonymous lifestyle designer, whom we'll call "The World's Best Fruit" for obvious reasons, shares the following:
I did it Tim! Until 14 months ago, I was destined to retire in 30+ years. Twenty days from now I'm giving notice of my intention to leave in May. Thank you!!
I want to be an example of possibility for others that are just getting started. In this video I've shared how I applied the following techniques:
-picking a muse
-becoming and expert
-adding a VA (or an intern in this case)I have also highlighted the first techniques I used to improve my life.
-Dreamlining
-Speed Reading
-Elimination
-Surrounding myself with like-minded peopleThese helped me in the early stages when I was stuck trying to figure out a product, but knew I wanted to become part of the New Rich.
Ki'une's video needs to be seen -- and listened to -- to have its full impact. Recorded over a year of traveling, it also showcases why his dance muse has been successful. That's some damn fine locking.
Oh, and in case you miss it, don't forget the sunscreen.
Think your business is too bricks-and-mortar for lifestyle design?
Using several principles he describes in this video, Jose transformed his concrete company, Omega Masonry Inc., into a virtual company. He also added more than 40 hours per week of free time and has started a new online product based company. Jose also helped me and others (like Matt Mullenweg and Andrew Rosca) build a preschool in Vietnam, which we visited together in 2009.
From the mother in the family known as SoulTravelers3 (edited for length):
We are beyond thrilled that we are one of the case studies in the new expanded 4HWW & we are a family traveling the world non-stop, on an open ended world tour since 2006!
Unlike someone who mentioned in the comments that it could not be done once these men were married and had families, I am here to validate that it not only can be done, but might also be the most rewarding way to do marriage and family and probably the best possible education for future 21st century global citizens!
...We have traveled over 175,000 miles (most overland) to 4 continents, 32 countries since we left in 2006...
I think [this video] "talks" to the 70% of families that dream about extended travel, inspires many of every age & gives hope to women who love freedom and travel, but fear they must give that up when they have a child.
Yes! Families can and do live the 4HWW dream too! ;)
On the video, which has been viewed more than a million times:
It took 18 months to make this video and it was hard enough to get the film, let alone decent sound in these crowded, noisy environments. Thus we did a montage cover song as all do in these kinds of videos. She is young and it takes great concentration to play such sophisticated songs under such circumstances, but her nature is one of great joy as you can see in our other videos or website. We are not rich and travel and live on a total of 25,000 dollars a year.
Bolding is mine. Living richly does not require riches.
Dane used Facebook to get incredible press for Room to Read and build a school in Vietnam in the process. His approach is an incredible model for the future of giving back and karmic capitalism.
Alex, who read the Spanish version of 4HWW in Valencia, Spain, used Pareto's and Parkinson's Laws to shoot an independent, low-budget film in 8 locations in 4 days. The script had been in a drawer for 4 years.
The Ren Men have created a 3-day workweek (9am-3pm), built a net wealth of $2-million, take 10+ mini-retirements per year, and much, much more. This video explains the 3 principles they focused on to automate a brick-and-mortar business.
Maneesh has created a digital lifestyle that has allowed him to live in Italy, Spain, Brazil, and Argentina, among others. His video includes an exact screencast of how he has created automated income based on Google Adwords and outsourced article creation.
From Maneesh:
I currently work exactly 3h59m per week (11am-2:59pm on Monday), and in the video I show everything -- my entire job, the software I've written to automate myself out of existence, and how my VAs literally do everything without me. I'm about 4 weeks away from outsourcing the final 3h59m, as well. My business is an SEO SEM biz, writing articles based on keywords that people are searching for on google. My business is monetized by adsense and ad revenue -- I literally go to sleep, wake up, and check how much money I've earned. I'm serious-no matter where I am in the world, my work is getting done, and I am getting paid, no matter what the hell I do.
So what do I do with all this time? I travel -- for 2 years straight, I've been living in a new country every four months, studying the language, and just enjoying life. (I have lived in Italy, Spain, Argentina, Brazil, India -- and I speak Italian, Spanish and Portuguese). I do pushups in every city (my life goal is a pushup in every country).
Now, with all of this free time, I'm trying to change the lives of others and give them an opportunity to do the same. I founded an NGO, SaveThem.net, and I am building a classroom in Upli Badi village near Udaipur, India -- an extremely poor shanty town. I've raised over $1500 to buy these children laptops, and I'm going to begin giving them personalized classes starting January 16. I was lucky enough to be introduced to computers at a young age -- hopefully, these poor kids will be able to learn to use the computer, break out of their horrible cycle of poverty by working a good technical job, be able to raise money, and bring back this money to their parents and friends in Upli Badi. Until they do, my NGO will be around helping more and more children.
Austin created two profitable companies while traveling abroad and having the experiences of a lifetime. This video showcases his muses and how he designed them.
KEG used Parkinson's Law and the 80/20 principle as a musician to finish his long-postponed album, and he then used techniques in the book to get on both NBC's America's Got Talent (twice) and Cooking Along with Gordon Ramsey.
Long live rock.
Pete from Australia applied his newfound "free" time back into his business. He first focused on building his business faster instead of mini-retirements, and now he's embarking on the latter. From Pete:
I've really embraced the 4HWW principles in by "business life" with to two full time Philippine Virtual Assistants and a range of part-time specialists across the world taking care of all the day-to-day stuff; so I can spend more time working on the 3 businesses I own (rather than in them) -- This process culminated in being named Global Runner up in JCI's 2009 Create Young Entrepreneur Awards (ceremony in Tunisia) and a mini-retirement to the Halloween Party at the Playboy Mansion.
The first three dreamlines I've set in place and booked for 2010 are 1. Join the circus and learn how to trapeze, tight rope walk, handstand etc (Jan-March) 2. Trek the Himalayas to raise money for charity (April) 3. Train for the NYC marathon.
This is a hysterical video. The theme, however, is practical: shifting from presence to performance. From Nathan:
Book changed my life!!
This really is my lifestyle no joke!
I do whatever I want, whenever I want, and I am semi-famous!!
Thanks Tim!!
- Nathan Jurewicz
Lee gets into logistics around 1:30, and he gives outstanding examples of low-cost and highly effective product development. He is now on track to have a million-dollar muse within 15 months and is a full-time student. Note the video suggestion to take customer phone calls in the beginning stages to compile a FAQ -- this saves hundreds of hours later in e-mail exchanges and customer service. Suggestions from Lee include:
- Figure out what customers want -- and give it to them. By first performing seminars and getting detailed student feedback, I was able to determine where other companies product's were falling short. Keeping their feedback in mind and building a list of FAQs based on the most commonly asked questions/concerns, I developed a product that people want and are willing to pay more than 8-10x mark-up for.
- Outsource. Outsource. Outsource. I outsourced the website creation, content creation, have a VA, professional proofreader, powerpoint expert for building presentations, and customer service "center." All of was done using the books principles and recommendations. (Elance rocks)
If sales continue to grow as expected, I will have a million dollar muse in 15 months (at the ripe old age of 24) and will be helping people reach their dreams along the way.
Can't thank you enough Tim.
Cheers!
Lee
(Btw I came in 2nd in your "Trail By Fire" contest. The Planet Earth DVD's you sent were awesome! I'm definitely excited about the possibility to win a plane ticket to see some of those places in person :p)
In this video, Alex shows exactly how he left a sales job at a Fortune 500 company to travel the world and live like a rockstar (literally), meeting with both billionaires and celebrities. Brilliant use of local Chambers of Commerce. The audio is frustratingly low, but it's worth the watch.
David has grown a venture-backed start-up from 2 to 14 people, written a book, created an audiobook, launched a language learning tool, and produced a popular podcast. Most recently, he founded an early-stage venture investment firm like Y-Combinator.
He must be constantly connected, right?
Nope. David got rid of his mobile phone 4 months ago and is loving life without it.
Brad filmed and edited this video from Morocco on his Sony k100i phone. Cool.
What do you do when you need to add 800 products to a new site but each product takes a fully day? Outsource your life, of course. Brad explains how and underscores the under-mentioned importance of making your instructions teachable.
Now he's surfing, snowboarding, and skating the world over. From Brad:
I talk about three principles from the book as it applies to my life including outsourcing your life as it applies to technical aspects of product addition and seo of my web business, dreamlining and the use of "My Fantastical Autobiography" to initiate my dreamline of starting a skateboard company in Dubai, and finally the 80/20 principle as it applies to my current dreamline of becoming a big wave surfer.
You can make my next dreamline happen by sending me to the Mentawis buddy!!!
Brad
Happy New Year all!
Get the brand-new Expanded and Updated 4-Hour Workweek, published 12/15, which includes more than 50 new case studies (including families) of luxury lifestyle design, muse creation, and world travel. Make 2010 the year when you make the leap.
Elsewhere on the web:
Tim Ferriss on Facebook