Wednesday, April 30, 2014
That is the main reason why I picked up this book in the first place. It was early 2013, and I was hit badly by the travel bug. I had been backpacking for 2 years and really, really wanted to find a way to escape the desk job and find a way to create other income streams so I could travel the world, which is a great passion of mine.
I first bought the book when Fully Booked in Alabang opened. I searched long and hard for it and was thrilled when it was available - it was pricey (in Pesos) but I bought it anyway.
I started reading the book... only, I had to leave a few months later for a new life in America. As the book was quite bulky, I had to leave it at home - only to reunite with it when I borrowed it from the Jacksonville library (YAY).
So, the concept of the book is simple, the New Rich, as the book calls, mostly wants you to look for ways to become more productive by eliminating, automating (or outsourcing), and batching tasks. And for employed workers, to negotiate a remote working agreement so that you can go ahead and live elsewhere while keeping a steady source of income in your pocket.
It also explains the concept of mini-retirements, where you go stay in one place for a while, 3 months, 6 months, however long it takes, before moving on to another place. Every time you move to a new place, a new series of challenges would ensue: how to adapt in the new environment, how to find new friends, and how even the most mundane tasks you do back home are so much different abroad.
Book also provided suggestions on what to do after you have let go of the 9-5 grind, and the main point was continuous learning - which I totally agree with. This is the reason why I keep reading books and travel! Nothing fills up the mind more with ideas of where to go next, and what to do in a certain place (like learn a language and soak up their culture).
The book also warns us that too many options can lead us to become unproductive - as we spend a lot of time mulling over certain decisions, this would mean our attention is somewhere else, and attention is important for us as it consumes our time. It all ties up!
I loved this book - one of the reasons why I have two copies, one of which I'll probably give away to a friend who may need this as well. I have taken a leap - although not the same one as Tim did, but I managed to move to two different countries c/o my company, enabling me to get the best of both worlds (staying employed & living in an entirely different continent from where I used to live in).
Do get a copy of the book and apply some of what's there - I suggest writing down your action points and goals so you could always take a look back at what you've written and see if you did manage to reach your goal.
Rating: 5/5
Published by: Crown
Book borrowed from Jacksonville Public Library.
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