The Fundamental Four

Here are the four most important books recommended by Timothy Ferriss from The 4 Hour Work Week:

The Magic of Thinking Big by David Schwartz
How to Make Millions with Your Ideas: An Entrepreneur's Guide by Dan S. Kennedy
The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don't Work and What to Do About It by Michael E. Gerber
Vagabonding: An Uncommon Guide to the Art of Long-Term World Travel by Rolf Potts

One more worth mentioning is:
Walden by Henry D. Thoreau

The 4-Hour Workweek

I've been "reading" the audiobook version of The 4 Hour Workweek and it's been pretty interesting. I think it is just the kind of kick-in-the-pants approach that I need. I'm very, very tired of my job and this profession in general. Engineering is a treadmill that I wouldn't wish upon anybody. You usually work for someone else, so you don't see real monetary rewards from your hard work. You area always being paid for "hours of work", which is a foolish concept if you want time do do things you really love. The right way to go about making a living is to create something. I don't care what it is, as long as people are willing to buy it and it has a high enough profit margin to support your desired lifestyle.

If you want to climb mountains in Nepal, help the homeless in NYC, or anything else that needs both money and time, you have to own a business that can be on autopilot most of the time to generate cash for you. Notice that I didn't say run you own business. You want to be the owner who delegates all tasks to a bunch of competent people (preferably outsourced) that can run it for you. You have the idea and get things started and let other people do the rest.

One thing I learned from the book is that product creation does not have to be financially risky. In these days of online everything, test marketing campaigns can be performed with little cash investment. Credit card payment by your customers combined with Net 30 or 90 terms to your contract manufacturers leads to little risk.

So, I am brainstorming ideas for new products and hope to have a business up and running very soon.

Stay tuned...