What I got from Four Hour Work Week

The book was interesting and it did lead me to clarify some things about my life. It made me think about my time and what I'm good at, what I'd rather be doing. I don't think I'm going to get a VA from India, as that goes against my values. If I were to hire an assistant, which I most likely will do when I become a successful author, I will hire someone from the US, either a VA or a local person to work with directly.

But I have decided on a few things based on the book. Again, I have to remind myself it's not action that matters. It's how I feel about things.

First, I know it's time to stop my evening transcription service. I want to spend that time on my writing, time with my family and other interests. That feels right.

I also want to see what can be automated more so that I don't have to feel like I'm doing everything. Some ideas were:

Maid service twice a month. Look into cost and see about fitting into budget.
Setting up everything on automatic bill pay.
Taking turns with family members on making meals.
Preparing work clothes ahead of time. For example, hang up a week's
worth of outfits, with some options for weather available, in the
closet, ready to go. Have accessories and everything else needed on
hand as well.
Limit time spent on things like television, Facebook, etc.
Go to bed / get up earlier.
Leave 10 minutes earlier than needed for appointments.

While the book's main purpose seems to be to lead people to finding a way to earn money without a traditional job and travel all over the world, that is not a primary goal for me, although I do want to travel. My ultimate goal is to live a wonderful, beautiful, abundant and creative life. And I know that being able to cut some of the day to day stuff from my life will free me up to follow creative pursuits and spend time with people I love. And that feels right to me.

How do I feel?

As I said I'm reading the 4 Hour Work Week. And I'm feeling excited and happy and positive, but I'm also feeling scared. And whenever I feel like this I know I need to back off a little bit. I'm trying to do things differently. And one thing that all LOA people / deliberate creators need to think about is this:

How do I feel.

It's feelings that go along with our creation. Our actions don't really matter. It's the feelings attached to the actions.

So I feel I need to slow down. I don't want to go full steam ahead and spend money and start the whole cycle that was a big part of ruining my marriage up again.

I like that the book is giving rules when it comes to our "muse", which Tim Ferriss calls a business. So I'm going to take the rules to heart and slow down. Nothing says I have to start right now. I also don't need to take my eye off my goal - to be a successful writer. Or my even bigger goal - to live a wonderful, beautiful,
creative life. One that I already feel I am living, even in the context of working at an entry level assistant position at 40 years old. So why change anything?

Because I don't want to work at an entry level assistant position for the next 27 years before I can retire. A big part of my wonderful, beautiful creative life includes having an income that I don't have to be concerned about.

So I'll finish the book. I'll do the research. I'll slow down. And I'll use prayer and faith and LOA to warn me if I'm heading too far off the path.