Free Life Coaching

The 4 Hour Work Week has been one of the most successful AND influential books written this decade.  The author, Tim Ferriss, makes his case brilliantly for a failing society of people who are convinced (or have been brainwashed from birth) that working for “works sake” is a good thing and that working hard enough WILL make you wealthy and happy.

Proven

Not only has he written a fascinating thesis on living your life differently, AND given step-by-step instructions on HOW to achieve this, but he actually LIVES this lifestyle himself.

For example, he runs several businesses from his laptop, regardless of whether he’s in the U.S., Brazil, China or any other country he has chosen to spend one of his “mini-retirements” in.

He also refuses to employ direct staff, but instead “farms-out” his more menial tasks to people in India, paying them about 10% of what the same job would cost him in the U.S.A., AND without paying for the normal benefits that American employees expect.

Life Coaching

While many people pay “experts” to tell them how to better live their lives (known as “life coaching”) the very idea of this is, if you think about it, quite absurd.

Now, I’m not saying that people can’t benefit somewhat from some good advice; most people certainly can.  However, paying somebody on a weekly/monthly basis is probably a waste of money.  After all, how long should it take to tell you that you need to get rid of some body-fat with a little exercise and eating less food, or to start your own business?

Be Your OWN Life Coach

While not exhaustive, here is what any life coach will tell you in a nutshell (but you won’t have to pay them each week; all you have to do is read this post again every week!).

1. Take one hour (or thereabouts) each week and dedicate it to improving your life.  You would have done this with a paid life coach anyway, so you may as well do it by yourself (and save some time and money traveling). Don’t EVER fill this time with ANYTHING ELSE.  Not EVER!  That hour will add up to over six 8 hour days during the course of a year.

2. Be nice!  To yourself that is.  It’s EASY to beat up on yourself for all the things you haven’t done, or think you can’t do.  FACT: most people can’t do most things. We all have to learn, and NONE of us can be good at everything.  So, give yourself a break; you’re just human, not super-human!

3. Put your life into perspective.  How does your life COMPARE to BILLIONS of others around the world?  Not so bad is it?  After all, you’re reading this, which means you have ACCESS to a computer, probably with high-speed internet, which in turn means you’re living in a country that is better off that most other countries in the world.

4. Think about what your ideal life would be like.  This can be “pie-in-the-sky” stuff if you like, but you HAVE to have something to aim for, otherwise you can’t possibly get there.

5. Write down all the changes you would make ON PAPER and keep the paper by the side of your bed so you can read it every night.  Then, choose the change you want that you think will be the easiest to achieve.

6. Write down the things you need to do to achieve your first change.  What type of books would you need to read?  Research books in that field to find out which ones are the best.  Get a library card and order the books (online is easiest).  READ THE BOOKS!

7. Write a blog or keep a diary about your progress and struggles.  Writing it down makes it REAL and creates a sense of sharing.  If you know how, blog about it; you’ll get comments from other people who may be able to help you and YOU may be able to help them!

8. Once you made your first change successfully, work on the rest of your list in order of easiness.  As you make progress in each one, your confidence will grow, making it easier to achieve the more difficult changes you want to make.

Change

Change, whether voluntary OR mandatory (like losing your job) is never easy, but it IS NECESSARY if you want to improve your life.  Change is going to happen anyway, so WELCOME it, don’t be afraid of it.

Luke.