<rant>
Four-hour work week? Work smarter, not harder?
I just don't buy those kind of ideologies if you really believe your idea will change the world. If you want a lifestyle business that provides for you and your next of kin, more power to you.
And if that's the route you take, please stop trying to convenience everyone your path to enlightenment is the right way. For awhile, I found that whole movement to be quasi-religious and therefore quite annoying.
When you love what you do, it's not work and therefore there's no reason to want to avoid it. And that's why they win.
</rant>
If I recall correctly, Four Hour Workweek doesn't say you can change the world in four hours a week. It specifically describes how a "lifestyle business" can provide for you and let you travel many days out of the year.
You recall correctly. The key takeaway from that book (from my perspective) is that you can make enough money to sustain yourself doing as minimal work as possible that lets you do what you want with your time. If you want to travel and sip wine with your time, go for it. Or, you can start an exciting new business in your free time without sacrificing all your cash flow and taking huge risks.
My experience is that it more or less depends on your goals. I tried to do the 4 hour workweek thing and it worked... kind of. As others noted, it probably is possible to support yourself in a frugal lifestyle in 4 hours, but you're still left with the question of what to do with the other hours of the day. I've seen enough startups up close now to pretty confidently say that if you want to succeed in the startup world, its gonna take some 100 hour weeks. So, if you want to do a startup, you'd better make sure you love what you're doing.
The fact is, all -- ALL -- the research on work effectiveness & work-related health shows that this kind of work schedule is terrible. Not only do you stop working effectively after a few hours (you only get the illusion of still being sharp), it's terrible for your body.
I just don't buy those kind of ideologies if you really believe your idea will change the world. If you want a lifestyle business that provides for you and your next of kin, more power to you.
And if that's the route you take, please stop trying to convenience everyone your path to enlightenment is the right way. For awhile, I found that whole movement to be quasi-religious and therefore quite annoying.
When you love what you do, it's not work and therefore there's no reason to want to avoid it. And that's why they win. </rant>