The 4-Hour Work Day - Shadowing Fortune 500 CEOs and Self-Made Millionaires

Have you wondered why America's richest business people, from Fortune 500 executives to successful entrepreneurs, are making millions yet they spend much less time working than their overworked cohorts? This article unveils the secrets that today's ultra-wealthy use to generate million-dollar incomes by spending less time working and more time enjoying life.

Wouldn't you love to work 4 hours a day and still manage to create an empire of wealth that far exceeds your wildest dreams? Heck, why not work toward a 4-hour per week schedule? If you don't believe that it's possible, then it definitely isn't! Just keep in mind that the self made millionaires have unrelenting belief in themselves and that they will achieve whatever goals they set for themselves.

While it might seem unfair, the reality is simple. Fortunes are being made by a very small percentage of people. These fortunes are collected by the industry leaders as they continue to spend less and less time in the office, on business calls, on business travel, and worrying about office politics. In fact, there is an elite class of today's wealthy that shares some common characteristics: they don't come from old money, they've achieved millionaire status on their own, and they are trading the traditional concept of retirement (work to age 65 then live off savings) for multiple mini-retirements all throughout their lives!

So why is it that most people are putting in 80, 90, and 100+ hours per week to pull in a $70,000 annual salary (give or take a few grand) while others, who are no more talented than you and I, are pulling off high 6-figure and 7-figure incomes and they hardly work a 20-hour week?

The answer is simple. But I have to add this caveat: to understand the answer is one thing. To put it to practice is another. Not that it's difficult to do; it is simply that most people don't believe that they can.

Unfortunately, most people dream of what they want and then they stop there. You've done it. I definitely was a victim of this phenomenon as well. You're probably doing it in some way, shape or form this very moment. You have a clear idea of that gorgeous house, luxury cars, private school for the kids, all the free time in the world to spend golfing, vacationing, hiking the Appalachians for 3 months - whatever your particular dream plays out like. And then Poof! It vanishes into thin air. Monday morning alarm clock rings and you're off the rat race, the daily grind, the worm hole.

So what can you do to change things around so you are taking advantage of 4-hour work days and living it up the rest of the week?

Action Plan & Leverage

The problem stems primarily from the fact that most people don't follow through with an action plan. A good action plan focuses on leveraging the resources that are within arm's reach in order to transform your dreams into reality. It is this action plan, simply stated, that you will need in order to design your lifestyle and have complete control over what you do, when you do it, how you do it, and with whom you do it. It is then the practical application of leverage that will ultimately give you the time and financial freedom that you seek.

Successful entrepreneurs have already figured this out and are in continuous and evolving implementation mode. They have the same dreams as you. The only difference is that they have an action plan to acquire and recruit the appropriate resources, and the wheels are put in motion.

Daily Affirmations

Do you regularly and systematically remind yourself what it is you are working toward? If not, you must consider that this is one of the most important and most overlooked requirements for success. Countless CEOs and entrepreneurs have for years repeatedly and publicly confirmed that if there was one thing that they could trace back to being the main reason for their success, it was the daily routine of affirmation.

My vision (my dream) is posted in clear view in my home office as a daily reminder of where I’m heading. At the beginning of every day, I have a brief yet focused moment of orientation. It is the friendly tap on my shoulder that defines what I am working towards. There is no mistaking where my ship is sailing, even if I do experience the occasional rough seas that tosses my ship slightly off course. This sets the positive, motivational tone for my day.

Achieving More with Less Time

When was the last time you took all day to finish a project that could've taken just an hour to complete? We've all been there. Thanks to deadlines, most of us who have a naturally tendency to procrastinate will perform with the highest degree of efficiency in the 11th hour. Let's be honest - we all have other things we'd rather be doing, right? We might have a month before a particular project is due, but the majority of the work is done in the final 3-5 days.

Have you considered how vastly different your daily routine might be if you planned better and focused all your energy on being as highly efficient as possible? It's not as difficult as you might think. And it's actually very motivating when you align your goals with your dreams.

A case in point: I used to work 14-hour days when I started my first company selling insurance (I have since moved on to a much more satisfying and flexible business model). At that time, my primary means of income was commission from the sale of health and life insurance policies. Every appointment I had was a face-to-face appointment and so it goes without saying that I never made a sale unless I drove to somebody's home or office. Now think about all the time I wasted on the road, driving to and from appointments. And to further compound the wasted time, I did not generate sales from every appointment (I've never met anyone who has 100% closing ratio). So aside from the drive time for appointments I did sell, I had 4-6 times more time wasted on appointments with no sales. This was a huge cause of my frustration with that business.

So I reinvented my business by cutting out 100% of my drive time!

The result: I generated the same income in 4 hours work per day that I did in 14 hours when I was driving to every appointment. In fact, I later went on apply this same technique to my network marketing business and it has dramatically improved my quality of life! Now I have the extra time to devote to anything I want: I can focus more on quality family time, getting involved in other investment projects, golfing, exercising, etc.

Final Thought

Articulate your dreams. Write them down. Read them over and over again every day until you have them imprinted so clearly in your mind that you can begin to imagine yourself already achieving your dreams. It is then, and only then that you can begin to seek out ways to dramatically improve your life and your business. You can work less and achieve more - but you have to want it.

See you at the top!

Top 10 Strategies to Work Less and Golf More!

Have you ever imagined designing your lifestyle in such a way that enables you to play golf any time you want while generating more income than you are currently? This article reveals the top 10 rock-solid strategies used by ultra-successful entrepreneurs to work less so you can hit the links as often as the pros do!

After you read this short article, you'll feel infused with fresh, ironclad, time-tested strategies that will help you quickly scale back the amount of time you spend on "work" and spend more time on the links. But please keep in mind that what you'll learn here is not some random list of ideas to help you work less and therefore earn less. No way! You're smart enough to realize that would be totally counterproductive to your cause - to support your lifestyle and hang out on the golf course 7 days a week!

What you're about to discover are proven strategies put to work by all of the ultra-successful self-made millionaires, at least all those who value and put to practice the concept of true leverage in every aspect of their business.

Important Note: If you're an employee (i.e., you work for someone else), I'll be frank with you. This is going to be a bigger challenge than if you're an entrepreneur. But even if you don't currently own your own business, don't worry - it's never too late to become a successful entrepreneur. And if you can't see yourself ever not working for someone else, that's okay too, but you'll have to be a bit more creative with how you can implement the following strategies to work to your advantage.

The Top 10 Strategies to Work Less and Golf More:

1. Leverage the 80/20 Principle

Boost your efficiency by removing the fat from your daily activities. Have you ever noticed that sometimes it takes you what seems like an eternity to complete a particular task? That same task, when you're faced with a strict deadline, then literally take you less than an hour to polish off! There are many reasons for this phenomenon. Simply take the time to identify activities that take 20% of your time and are directly related to generating 80% of your income. This will show you exactly where you should be focusing your time.

2. Automate Your Business

I have spoken with so many business owners over the years who have told me with a straight face, "These are great ideas, but my business is unique and can't be automated." My boilerplate response: "Think outside the box." Regardless of what business you're in, if you're putting in too many hours to cater to the other important things in your life, then something has to change. Pick your business apart, identify the cash cows and other profit centers, then pinpoint ways to put those income generating gems on autopilot.

3. Get Involved in Network Marketing

The network marketing industry has been around for approximately 50 years. Companies who have embraced this model for distribution of their products and services have experienced phenomenal growth and profitability. And so have network marketers, myself included. But the multi-level marketing (MLM) model has left a sour taste with the uninitiated, so many entrepreneurs tend to shy away from this industry for fear of "scams." Donald Trump and Robert Kiyosaki said that if they had to rebuild their entire fortunes from scratch, they would do in network marketing. Do your due diligence: find a great company, with top-tier products, and favorable compensation model, and watch your income explode in 6 months.

4. Invest in Rental Properties and Other Companies

The concept of passive income that is promoted so feverishly by the likes of Robert Allen and Kiyosaki focuses on investing in rental properties and businesses. This is where you can develop multiple streams of income that continue providing cash inflow long after working on the initial transaction. In other words, if you invest in a duplex, you spend some time upfront on the acquisition, then you can sit back and enjoy the cash flow without having to invest any more time into it. Aim to find cash flow generating assets that you can take over ownership of.

5. Hire a Business Manager or Virtual Assistant

This is a technique that many business owners use for leveraged income. Simply stated, if you have certain tasks (or entire companies for that matter) that can be outsourced to a manager or virtual assistant, then you're freeing up your time to do what you want with. It might skim a bit off your profit margin, but the time freed up is more valuable since you can then use it to find other investment opportunities.

6. Host One-Time Events

The concept of active leveraged income comes into play when you actively spend time on a one-time project and the income generated from this one-time event can be exponential. For example, let's say you host a for-fee seminar. The time you spend on this seminar will be the same whether you fill the room with 20 people or 200 people. Oversell the event so you account for buyer's remorse cancellations and make the most of your time.

7. Repackage Your Products and Services

Most entrepreneurs don't realize how many additional income opportunities they can have by simply repackaging products they already have. For instance, if you're selling a hardcover book entitled, "21 Recipes Every Mom Needs" then you have an opportunity for, just off the top of my head, at least 27 other products: and ebook that you retail on your web site, an ecourse that provides you with one new recipe per week for 21 weeks, 21 other ebooks (one per recipe with a much lower price tag), a dvd product, an audio cd product, a seminar (hmm, one-time event for leveraged income), a free teleseminar (a much lower cost one-time event opportunity), and the list goes on...

8. License Your Ideas and Products

If you have your own ideas or inventions that you have patented or is patent pending, have you considered licensing them to resellers and distributors in exchange for royalty payments? You can very well do the same for any services you provide that you've successfully repackaged as an ebook, CD course, etc. This is yet another fast and effective way to build a residual income stream.

9. Resell Other People's Products

On the flip side, if you don't have any products of your own (and even if you do), you can go out and find products that your existing customers and prospective clients will benefit from. In essence, you become a reseller, buying at a wholesale price and selling for retail, thereby pocketing the difference. Think of products that would complement your existing offerings and not products that will cannibalize your business.

10. Coordinate Regular Golf Outings

This is the one I really enjoy. As you might have already figure out, I love to golf. I jump at any opportunity to play 18 holes with pleasant company. Why not coordinate regular golf outings that will attract local professionals to (a) have a great time away from the office doing something you love, (b) meet new and interesting people from all walks of life who may very well turn out to be excellent prospects, and (c) build your public image so that more people become aware of who you are and what value you offer.

Final Thought

The largest and most successful corporations in the world are constantly re-evaluating their business models, assessing the results of key activities, and then adjusting as they deem fit. So do you think this valuable and insightful exercise is worth your time to exponentially grow your income? Well, if it means that the result is increased efficiency, improved productivity, a boost in profits, and both personal and professional growth, then absolutely!

So go re-evaluate your business today, uncover ways to create multiple, passive income streams, and start working less and golfing more!

See you on the links!