Aug. 23, 2021
#212 - Why You Shouldn't Be A Slave to a 40 Hour Work Week
Show Notes
* (1:04) The 40 Hour Workweek
* (3:56) The Science of Fear
* (7:57) What Shaan learned from The Four Hour Workweek
* (11:23) Mini retirements
* (13:35) What it's like in other countries
* (17:35) Living like a lion or cow
* (20:04) Shaan on Naval
* (27:05) How to get rich without getting lucky
* (29:27) The future of work
* (36:51) The history of writing
* (41:17) Beware of the rattle snack
* (48:05) Bert behind Bert's Bees
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Key Takeaways
- Linear output is an incorrect work assumption in modern times
- No longer are time inputs directly correlated with productivity outputs
- There are very few time, proximity, and resource boundaries in the modern workplace. You can optimize your schedule for effective output.
- "You might have one hour where you get a burst of creativity or insight that is worth the whole day’s work" - Shaan Puri
- Work like a lion, not like a cow.
- As a society, we currently have misaligned work values. We don't often count the number of amazing weeks, we just count the number of not bad weeks.
- Don't always trade time for money in the first half of your life, figure out what it takes to have mini-retirements throughout your life
- Money is an accounting scheme to keep track of wealth. True wealth (new rich) is the equation of free time, buying power, and living wherever you want.
- "Work is in an unrecognizable shift" - Shaan Puri
- As work evolves with technology, the previous generation often can't differentiate work from leisure
- "Success is getting what you want and happiness is wanting what you get, practice both" - Shaan Puri
Intro
- Sam Parr (@TheSamParr) and Shaan Puri (@ShaanVP) discuss the advantageous evolution of the modern workweek and how your true wealth is the beneficiary.
- Important resources mentioned:
The Modern Work Week
- Linear output is an incorrect work assumption in modern times
- In physical labor jobs, there is a direct correlation between the time spent at work and the output
- But in knowledge, programming, and creative work, Monday’s morning output is not the same as Wednesday’s afternoon
- "You might have one hour where you get a burst of creativity or insight that is worth the whole day’s work" - Shaan Puri
- We work a factory schedule but don't work in factories anymore
- There are very few time, proximity, and resource boundaries in the modern workplace. You can optimize your schedule for effective output.
Tips From Tim Ferriss & Naval Ravikant
- The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich by Tim Ferriss
- Money is an accounting scheme to keep track of wealth. True wealth (new rich) is the equation of free time, buying power, and living wherever you want.
- Traveling as a retired 65-year-old is not fun; don't always trade time for money in the first half of your life
- Have mini-retirements throughout your life
- "Most people work like cows when we should really work like lions" - Shaan Puri quoting Naval Ravikant
- Cows safely graze for 10 hours a day taking in large quantities of low nutrient grass; sleep and repeat
- Lions wait and rest for hours/days until the opportunity strikes to take a high reward risk; then celebrate, and recuperate
- The current work framework is a cow schedule
- We don't often count the number of amazing weeks; rather, we count the number of not bad weeks
- The Almanack of Naval Ravikant: A Guide to Wealth and Happiness by Eric Jorgenson
- Naval Ravikant (@naval) is a philosopher on the middle section of the Venn diagram between life and business
- He not only has original content but also original wisdom in the modern world
- Twitter Thread: How to get rich without getting lucky
- Knowledge work will be independent, take on opportunities and challenges in a 'mission impossible’ style
- Similar to Uber but for creative work or programming, pick and choose the work you want to take on
Future of Work
- "Work is in an unrecognizable shift" - Shaan Puri
- As work evolves with technology, the previous generation often can't differentiate work from leisure
- It's incredibly hard to predict what work will look like in the future, Shaan and Sam try their best:
- Shaan predicts that his daughter will never goes into an office, works completely anonymously in a game-like environment, works whenever she wants, picks from a list of available missions to contribute to
- Sam predicts we won't work on laptops or computers in the future; but rather, a very small handheld device
- "What the nerds in Silicon Valley are doing on their weekends, is what everyone else will be doing on their weekdays in 10 years" - Sam Parr referencing Chris Dixon
- Bet on whatever the engineers are doing for fun (not investment advice)
- Engineers are often so unapologetically passionate about their hobbies that they naturally turn into incredibly high-quality businesses
- Applies to many ventures outside of tech as well
- Sam references the success story in the Burt's Bees documentary
- "Success is getting what you want and happiness is wanting what you get, practice both" - Shaan Puri
- Getting what you want is a 'mountain of more' that you'll never get to the top of
- Wanting what you get is gratitude (pick this one if you can only pick one)
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