Traveling for work for the first time in a while (by plane, anyway), I find myself at a beautiful almost-seaside resort in Naples, Florida. Unlike the many, many other beach resorts I've visited (I jest), this one isn't right on the beach. Instead, there is a .6 mile walk on an immaculately-maintained boardwalk through a mangrove... grove. This is not a problem. What could be a problem is this:
Or this:
Seriously, what the hell? That is a spider with
spikes! Is that even allowed?
I braved the dangers anyway, and here's some of what I saw.
FYI, I'm counting this as my
Photo 11 assignment for now. If I get something better with water in the next week, I'll update.
The boardwalk led to a pristine and very quiet beach. No big waves in the Gulf so it's more of a gentle lapping. Peaceful, really.
There are also lots of cool dead things at the beach.
Finally I've got one just for David. I think I may have found real live Cesars. Look and tell me that's not what these are!
That's all for now but I'm sure I'll walk that boardwalk a lot while I'm here. If anyone knows the deal with that spider with spikes, let me know. Maybe I shouldn't walk down the boardwalk barefoot.
I specifically chose to read The Four-Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferris because it is such a large part of our collective knowledge at this point, or so I thought. I've heard the book referenced countless times in financial and personal and career development blogs. I thought I knew what it was about - creating efficiencies at work and eliminating distraction. What this book actually promotes is completely leaving a normal job and quite literally spending only 4 hours a week (or less) managing a business.
Here's a quick summary: 1) start a business, 2) outsource everything, 3) live a fantastic life of luxury and travel. Seriously. Soooo I have to more or less give the book some thumbs-down. Ferriss advocates finding a "muse" - a business idea that can be fully automated and then outsourced. He offers three options for creating this "muse": resell a product, license a product, and create a product. And then he tells you lots of ways you can make this happen. If you believe.
And no, I don't. I think some people can get rich quick this way. And I think most will blow some money trying and go back to their 9-5s.
The value in this book - and I do find considerable value in this book - is in reexamining your life and lifestyle. I was inspired by this book to work toward a goal in my employment. I don't want to put this on the internet, but I'll let you know if it works. The book also gives lots of great details about how to negotiate, how to talk to employers, how to get the most out of long-term travel. I'd recommend it, but with a heaping tablespoon of salt. And if you can make his tactics work for you, I'm sure you'll be glad you did.
