The 4-Hour Work Week

But you are the average of the five people you associate with most, so do not underestimate the effects of your pessimistic, unambitious, or disorganized friends. If someone isn’t making you stronger, they’re making you weaker.

“If this is the only thing I accomplish today, will I be satisfied with my day?”

Reading, after a certain age, diverts the mind too much from its creative pursuits. Any man who reads too much and uses his own brain too little falls into lazy habits of thinking. —ALBERT EINSTEIN

Begin each line focusing on the third word in from the first word, and end each line focusing on the third word in from the last word. This makes use of peripheral vision that is otherwise wasted on margins.

Once comfortable indenting three or four words from both sides, attempt to take only two snapshots—also known as fixations—per line on the

Practice reading too fast for comprehension but with good technique (the above three techniques) for five pages prior to reading at a comfortable speed.

Starting something doesn’t automatically justify finishing it.

Learn to be difficult when it counts. In school as in life, having a reputation for being assertive will help you receive preferential treatment without having to beg or fight for it every time.

It is your job to train those around you to be effective and efficient. No one else will do it for you.

Get into the habit of considering what “if … then” actions can be proposed in any e-mail where you ask a question.

Meetings should only be held to make decisions about a predefined situation, not to define the problem.

The e-mail medium forces people to define the desired outcome of a meeting or call. Nine times out of ten, a meeting is unnecessary and you can answer the questions, once defined, via e-mail.

There is an inescapable setup time for all tasks, large or minuscule in scale. It is often the same for one as it is for a hundred. There is a psychological switching of gears that can require up to 45 minutes to resume a major task that has been interrupted.

It’s amazing how someone’s IQ seems to double as soon as you give them responsibility and indicate that you trust them.

People are smarter than you think. Give them a chance to prove themselves.

If you are a micromanaging entrepreneur, realize that even if you can do something better than the rest of the world, it doesn’t mean that’s what you should be doing if it’s part of the minutiae. Empower others to act without interrupting you.

SET THE RULES in your favor: Limit access to your time, force people to define their requests before spending time with them, and batch routine menial tasks to prevent postponement of more important projects. Do not let people interrupt you. Find your focus and you’ll find your lifestyle.

People think it must be fun to be a super genius, but they don’t realize how hard it is to put up with all the idiots in the world.

Learn to recognize and fight the interruption impulse.

If I can do it better than an assistant, why should I pay them at all? Because the goal is to free your time to focus on bigger and better things.