“One may have a blazing hearth in one’s soul and yet no one ever come to sit by it. Passersby see only a wisp of smoke from the chimney and continue on the way.” ~Vincent van Gogh
‘Disruptive Culture’ was my first blog set up in the heady days of 2007. I had jumped in to blogging feet first. Claiming my premier personal soapbox on the internet. My very first post was an interview with Tim Ferriss on the brink of launching his publishing sensation ‘The Four Hour Work Week‘. To say the ideas within the pages of the book had a profound and life-changing impact on me is an understatement.
The tag line for Disruptive Culture was a line from the film ‘Fight Club‘: You are not your job.
At the time I had dabbled in self-employment and over-workaholism. Many of the ideas expressed in Ferriss’ book I had realised through painful lessons but the philosophy and sheer belief in unrealistic ideals resonated at such a frequency that this weary entrepreneur was resuscitated with such gusto that I embarked on such a massively creative and daring attack on my business, personal and physical lives. The price for which I am still paying for on a daily basis (more on this later).
Today I visited the ‘Way Back Machine‘ on the Internet Archive to read what was going through my mind at the time. The blog post was the first and last that appeared on the site and I have this niggling feeling that I only set the blog up as a ploy to have direct access to Tim and ask him the smartest questions that I could think of at the time.
The blog post marks a milestone for me. Due to hit 30 decades orbiting Sol and a ludicrous self-made deadline for an unrealistic goal. Nothing could stand in my way – not even me. Except, I did.
I repeat the post below, along with comments, both for posterity and prosperity. I no longer own that URL.
Maybe when I hit that blue glowing ‘Publish’ button this time, it will flap the embers that are still glowing somewhere within.
Monday, May 14th, 2007
The 4-Hour Work Week
Anarchist and self-styled 9-5 iconoclast Tim Ferris is on a mission to wake us up from our zombie sleep. The deferred life plan is a un-workable in the information age, there is no pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. You must WAKE UP. Now!
The saying goes ‘that success leaves clues’, well Ferriss’ new book apparently gives the whole game away.
Using the blueprint in his new book The Four Hour Work Week. He spells out how to get the split right and asks questions to challenge you – with clear pointers on how to get what you want from your work, life and if you still have one -your boss.
The revolution will be delegated
I sent a few questions to Tim Ferris. His answers are below.
What is the most inspirational thing someone has said to you?
“The surest way to fail is to try and make everyone happy.” It can’t be
done, and it’s the most liberating thing in the world to realize this.
Who is your biggest influence?
My parents, who exposed me to a richness of experience instead of material excess.
What effect do you hope your book will have on people?
I want a huge national backlash against overwork ethic. Being busy instead of productive is no way to spend life.
If you had to live your life over again, what one thing would you change?
Nothing.
What was the last thing that made you laugh till you cried?
Shaun of the Dead
Anything else you want to say?
Big dreams are the only dream worth chasing. Don’t let others convince you to be mediocre. It’s a slow and painful fate worse than death.
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The marketing campaign for 4HWW is a phenomenon in itself, meticulously strategized and implemented with aplomb manipulating social proof with the skill of Alistair Campbell. His ideas are spreading like a virus every now and then being boosted with a jab of an offer of a free round the world ticket or a nice Diggable blog-post or two. The book is rich in humanity and I challenge you to not let it change you for the better in some small way.
Where now? try never get a job.
Other books to read:
The Magic of Thinking Big
How to Make Millions with Your Ideas
This entry was posted on Monday, May 14th, 2007 at 3:42 pm and is filed underBusiness, People. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
I saw Tim speak and it was absolutely amazing. I was at a tech conference and never expected this little 1/2 hour session squeezed into the mini-stage near the lunch area that I went to on a whim to so completely alter the way I think.
I highly recommend his book!
Well, I like this initial blog post. Probably because of the footnote to Steve Pavlina? I don’t know. Keep up with the blogging. I’m starting a new blog myself next week and I wonder how things will work out for me. It’s really interesting to watch blogs grow.