While patiently waiting for an oil change at the local tire shop, I found myself perusing the pile of well-worn magazines in the customer lounge. Having little interest in bass fishing or lowriders, I thumbed my way through a few issues of Money and Entrepreneur. What I found was a bit alarming; each article, however well-worded or stylishly accented with pie charts and data sheets, focused their attention on the importance of social media, email and an endless barrage of blogging to propel your business. I found it ironic that a printed magazine would focus so much of internet technology. In fact, the book I recently finished, The Four Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferris, advises to do just the opposite: turn off the email, Facebook and Twitter and focus on doing less to accomplish more.

Being a unknown author whose first book made it to #1 on the New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestseller lists is only one of Ferriss' accomplishments. A Guiness World Record holder and Chinese Kickboxing Champion, Ferriss can also speak six languages and has written a handful of other "4 Hour" books after his initial success. Did I mention he is only 30?

The Four Hour Workweek focuses on a few key principles, two of which you are probably already familiar, Pareto's Law and Parkinson's Law. The former is also known as the 80/20 rule, stating that 80% of revenue is generated from 20% of customers while the latter is a bit of diversion from what you find online but is generalized that the apparent level of importance a project contains increases as the deadline draws ever so near. In a nutshell, do less extraneous busy work and give yourself less time to do the important stuff. The idea is to accomplish the same or more amount of work in a tenth of the time, thus elevating your standard of living and freeing up time to do more of what makes you happy. Pretty simple, right?

While it may not work for every employer in the job field, there is no reason anyone reading Ferriss' book cannot glean a few bits of wisdom to enhance their lifestyle, whatever it maybe. In an age of technology and communication, I have found myself saying, "I don't have time for email right now." Really?! It is often hard to fathom how businesses networked and communicated with switchboards, rotary dial telephones and (gasp!) snail mail!

The Four Hour Work Week is a fun, fast read, whether you're a CEO or an intern. Find it in the Business Section at Bookmans!