4-Hour Workweek : Chapter 4 Q&A

Directions: Dreamlining will be fun, and it will be hard. The harder it is, the more you need it. To save time, I recommend using the automatic calculators and forms at www.fourhourblog.com. Refer to the model worksheet as you complete the following steps.

1. What would you do if there were no way you could fail? If you were 10 times smarter than the rest of the world?
Create two timelines – 6 months and 12 months – and list up to five things you dream of having (including, but not limited to, material wants: house, car, clothing, etc.), being (be a great cook, be fluent in Chinese, etc.) and doing (visiting Thailand, tracing your roots overseas, racing ostriches, etc.) in that order. If you have difficulty identifying what you want in some categories, as most will, consider what you hate or fear in each and write down the opposite. Do not limit yourself, and do not concern yourself with how these things will be accomplished. For now, it’s unimportant. This is an exercise in reversing repression.

2. Drawing a blank?
For all their bitching about what’s holding them back, most people have a lot of trouble coming up with the defined dreams the’re being held from. This is particularly true with the “doing” category. In that case, consider these questions:

1. What would you do, day to day, if you had $100 million in the bank?
2. What would make you most excited to wake up in the morning to another day?

Don’t rush – think about it for a few minutes. If still blocked, fill in the five “doing spots with the following:

1. One place to visit
2. One thing to do before you die (a memory of a lifetime)
3. One thing to do daily
4. One thing to do weekly
5. One thing you’ve always wanted to learn

3. What does “being” entail doing?
Convert each “being” into a “doing” to make it actionable. Identify an action that would characterize this state of being or a task that would mean you had achieved it. People find it easier to brainstorm “being” first, but this column is just a temporary holding spot for “doing” action. Here are a few examples:

• Great cook -> make Christmas dinner without help
• Fluent in Chinese -> have a five-minute conversation with a Chinese co-worker

4. What are the four dreams that would change it all?
Using the 6-month timeline, star or otherwise highlight the four most exciting and/or important dreams from all columns. Repeat the process with the 12-month timeline if desired.

5. Determine the cost of these dreams and calculate your Target Monthly Income (TMI) for both timelines.
If financeable, what is the cost per month for each of the four dreams (rent, mortgage, payment plan installments, etc.)? Start thinking of income and expense in terms of monthly cash flow – dollars in and dollars out – instead of grand totals. Things often cost much, much less than expected.

Last, calculate your Target Monthly Income (TMI) for realizing these dreamlines. This is how to do it: First, total each of the columns A, B, and C, counting only the four selected dreams. Some of these column totals could be zero, which is fine. Next add your total monthly expenses x 1.3 (the 1.3 represents your expenses plus a 3-% buffer for safety or savings). This grand total is your TMI and the target to keep in mind for the rest of the book. I like to further divide this TMI by 30 to get my TDI – Target Daily Income. I find it easier to work with a daily goal. Online calculators on our companion site do all the work for you and make this step a cinch.

Chances are that the figure is lower than expected, and it often decreases over time as you trade more and more “having” for once-in-a-lifetime “doing”. Mobility encourages this trend. Even if the total is intimidating, don’t fret in the least. I have helped students get to more than $10,000 per month in extra income within three months.

6. Determine three steps for each of the four dreams in just the 6-month timeline and take the first step now.

I’m not a big believer in long-term planning and far-off goals. In fact, I generally set 3-month and 6-month dreamlines. The variables change too much and in-the-future distance becomes and excuse for postponing action. The objective of this exercise isn’t, therefore, to outline every step from start to finish, but to define the end goal, the required vehicle to achieve them (TMI, TDI), and build momentum with critical first steps. From that point, it’s a matter of freeing time and generating the TMI, which the following chapters cover.

First, let’s focus on those critical first steps. Define three steps for each dream that will get you closer to its actualization. Set actions – simple, well-defined actions – for now, tomorrow (complete before 11 A.M.) and the day after (again completed before 11 A.M.).

Once you have three steps for each of the four goals, complete the three actions in the “now” column. Do it now. Each should be simple enough to do in five minutes or less. If not, rachet it down. If it’s the middle of the night and you can’t call someone, do something else now, such as send an e-mail, and set the call for first thing tomorrow.

If the next stage is some form of research, get in touch with someone who knows the answer instead of spending too much time in books or online, which can turn into paralysis by analysis. The best first step, the one I recommend, is finding someone who’s done it and ask for advice on how to do the same. It’s not hard.

Other options include setting a meeting or phone call with a trainer, mentor, or salesperson to build momentum. Can you schedule a private class or a commitment that you’ll feel bad about canceling? Use guilt to your advantage.

Tomorrow becomes never. No matter how small the task, take the first step now!

Comfort challenge: Learn to eye gaze.