The 4-hour Workweek

The DEAL of deal making is also an acronym for the process of becoming a member of the New Rich.

D for Definition turns misguided common sense upside down and introduces the rules and objectives of the new game. It replaces self-defeating assumptions and explains concepts such as relative wealth and eustress.

E for Elimination kills the obsolete notion of time management once and for all. It shows exactly how I used the words of an often-forgotten italian economist to turn 12-hour days into two-hour days... in 48 hours. Increase your per-hour results ten times or more with counterintuitive NR techniques for cultivating selective ignorance, developing a low-information diet, and otherwise ignoring the unimportant. * Time

A for Automation puts cash flow on autopilot using geographic, arbitrage, outsourcing, and rules of nondecision. * Income

L for Liberation is the mobile manifesto for the globally inclined. The concept of mini-retirements is introduced, as are means for flawless remote and escaping the boss. * Mobility

Fundamental differentiators to keep in mind :

• Retirement is worst-case scenario insurance - Retirement planning is like life insurance. It should be viewed as nothing more than a hedge against the absolute worst-case scenario: in this case, becoming physically incapable of working and needing a reservoir of capital to survive.
• Interest and energy are cyclical - The NR aims to distribute "mini-retirements" throughout life instead of hoarding the recovery and enjoyment for the fool's gold of retirement. By working only when you are most effective, life is both more productive and more enjoyable.
• Less is not laziness - Doing less meaningless work, so that you can focus on things of greater personal importance, is NOT laziness. Focus on being productive instead of busy
• The timing is never right - The stars will never align and the traffic lights of life will never all be green at the same time. The universe doesn't conspire against you, but it doesn't go out of its way to line up all the pins either. Conditions are never perfect. "Someday" is a disease that will take your dreams to the grave with you. Pro and con lists are just as bad. If it's important to you and you want to do it "eventually", just do it and correct course along the way.
• Ask for forgiveness, not permission - If it isn't going to devastate those around you, try it and then justify it. if the potential damage is moderate or in any way reversible, don't give people the chance to say no. Most people are fast to stop you before you get started but hesitant to get in the way if you're moving. Get good at being a troublemaker and saying sorry when you really screw up.
• Emphasize strengths, don't fix weaknesses - It is far more lucrative and fun to leverage your strengths instead of attempting to fix all the chinks in your armor. The choice is between multiplication of results using strengths or incremental improvement fixing weaknesses that will, at best, become mediocre. Focus on better use of your best weapons instead of constant repair.
• Things in excess become their opposite - Too much, too many, and too often of what you want becomes what you don't want. This is true of possessions and even time. Lifestyle design is thus not interested in creating an excess of idle time, which is poisonous, but the positive use of free time, defined simply as doing what you want as opposed to what you feel obligated to do.
• Money alone is not the solution - By using money as the scapegoat and work as our all-consuming routine, we are able to conveniently disallow ourselves the time to do otherwise. The problem is more than money.
• Relative income is more important than absolute income - Absolute income is measured using one holy and inalterable variable: the raw and almighty dollar. Relative income uses two variables: the dollar and time, usually hours.
• Distress is bad, eustress is good - Distress refers to harmful stimuli that make you weaker, less confident, and less able. Destructive criticism, and abusive bosses, are things we want to avoid. Eustress, on the other hand, is a word most of you have probably never heard. Eu = Healthy, is used in the same sense as the word "euphoria.". Role models who push us to exceed our limits, stress that is healthful, and the stimulus for growth. People who avoid all criticism fail. It's destructive criticism we need to avoid, not criticism in all forms. Similarly, there's no progress without eustress, and the more eustress we can create or apply to our lives, the sooner we can actualize our dreams. The trick is telling the two apart. The New Rich are equally aggressive in removing distress and finding eustress.

Having an unusually large goal is an adrenaline infusion that provides the endurance to overcome the inevitable trials and tribulations that go along with any goal. Realistic goals, goals restricted to the average ambition level, are uninspiring and will only fuel you through the first or second problem, at which point your throw in the towel.  The fishing is best where the fewest go and the collective insecurity of the world makes it easy for people to hit home runs while everyone else is aiming for base hits. There is just less competition for bigger goals.

Excitement is the more practical synonym for happiness, and it is precisely what you should strive to chase. It is the cure-all. When people suggest you follow your "passion" or your "bliss" I propose that they are, in fact, referring to the same singular concept: excitement.

Here are 2 truisms to keep in mind:

1. Doing something unimportant well does not make it important.
2. Requiring a lot of time does not make a task important.

Remember - What you do is infinitely more important than how you do it. Efficiency is still important, but it is useless unless applied to the right things.

Pareto's law can be summarized as follows: 80% of the outputs result from 20% of the inputs.

• 80% of the consequences flow from 20% of the causes.
• 80% results come from 20% of the effort and time
• 80% of company profits come from 20% of the products and customers.
• 80% of all stock market gains are realized by 20% of the investors and 20% of an individual portfolio.

Parkinson's law dictates that a task will swell in (perceived) importance and complexity in relation to the time allotted for its completion. It is the magic of an imminent deadline. If I give you 24 hours to complete a project, the time pressure forces you to focus on execution, and you have no choice but to do only the bare essentials. The end product of the shorter deadline is almost inevitably of equal or higher quality due to greater focus.

1. Limit tasks to the important to shorten work time (80/20)
2. Shorten work time to limit tasks to the important (Parkinson's Law)

The best solution is to use both together: Identify the few critical tasks that contribute most to income and schedule them with very short and clear deadlines.

• Develop the habit of asking yourself, "Will I definitely use this information for something immediate and important?" - Information is useless if it is not applied to something important or if you will forget it before you have a change to apply it. Focus on "just-in-time" information instead of "just-in-case" information
• Practice the art of nonfinishing - If you are reading an article that sucks, put it down and don't pick it back up. If you go to a movie and it's worse than matrix III get out of there before more neurons die. If you're full after half a plate of ribs, put the fork down and don't order dessert. More is not better, and stopping something is often 10 times better than finishing it. Develop the habit of nonfinishing that which is boring or unproductive if a boss isn't demanding it.

Learn to be difficult when it counts. In school as in life, having a reputation for being assertive will help you receive preferential treatment without having to beg or fight for it every time.

• Don't accept large or costly favors from strangers - If you can't pass it up, immediately return to karmic neutrality with a gift of your choosing.
• You don't have to recoup losses the same way you lose them
• One of the most universal causes of self-doubt and depression: trying to impress people you don't like
• Slow meals = life - Have at least one 2 to 3-hour dinner and/or drinks per week with those who make you smile and feel good. Mealtime with friends and loved ones is a direct predictor of well-being.
• Adversity doesn't build character; it reveals it.
• Related: money doesn't change you; it reveals who you are when you no longer have to be nice.
• It doesn't matter how many people don't get it. What matters is how many people do.
• Related: You're never as bad as they say you are.
• Eat a high-protein breakfast within 30 minutes of waking and go for a 10-to-20 minute walk outside afterward.
• A good question to revisit whenever overwhelmed: are you having a breakdown or a breakthrough?
• Rehearse poverty regularly, restrict even moderate expenses for 1-2 weeks, and give away 20%+ of minimally used clothing
• It's usually better to keep old resolutions than to make a new one.

More output and less overwhelm

• Considering options costs attention that then can't be spent on action or present state awareness.
• Attention is necessary for not only productivity but also appreciation.

1. Set rules for yourself so you can automate as much decision making as possible
2. Don't provoke deliberation before you can take action
3. Don't postpone decisions just to avoid uncomfortable conversations.
4. Learn to make nonfatal or reversible decisions as quickly as possible - fast decisions preserve usable attention for what matters.
5. Don't strive for variation, and thus increase option consideration, when it's not needed. Routine enables innovation where it's most valuable.
6. Regret is past tense decision making. Eliminate complaining to minimize regret.

Not to do list : habits to stop

1. Do not answer calls from unrecognized phone numbers.
2. Do not email first thing in the morning or last thing at night.
3. Do not agree to meetings or calls with no clear agenda or end time.
4. Do not let people ramble
5. Do not over communicate with low-profit, high-maintenance customers.
6. Do not work more to fix overwhelmingness, prioritize
7. Do not expect work to fill a void that non-work relationships and activities should.