Passive income the Tim Ferriss way.
Have you heard of the term “Passive Income” yet? If you follow Tim Ferriss, author of “The Four Hour Work Week” you not only know what this phrase means, you possibly look for ways to bring this type of income into your life- daily, sometimes it’s all you think about and thankfully you aren’t alone in this near-obsession as he brought the idea to the forefront of many business owners minds, not only yours or mine. In fact, his New York times Best-seller  caused many entrepreneurs to shift their businesses away from the traditional methods of earning a living despite the slack jawed responses of many other such traditional business owners.
For those of you who have not heard of Tim Ferriss I imagine you have the following question for me: “What is passive income?” Passive income is income that continues to roll in long after you make the initial investment of time and effort it takes to create such a business. Examples of this type of income are: royalties from books, CDs or DVDs that you create, income generated from product sales or affiliate links that you place in your website or on your blog (find out about Amazon’s affiliate program here), or businesses that operate in an automated manner after your initial set up (vending machines are a commonly used example of this type of business).
The thing about passive income that is often overlooked is that any one of us can bring it into our lives -whether it’s a few dollars each month, or a few thousand. And that additional money brings more freedom, and more opportunities, without taking more time that we truly don’t have, from our precious lives. While you may or may not like Tim Ferriss (he does have a strong personality, as do many people who are creators in this world) you will agree that he is transparent in his teachings. He does not pretend to be anything he is not, and he does not reserve his mistakes or gold strikes, rather he gives it all away, for others to benefit if they so choose.
I had a seemingly impossible dream a few years back. My dream was to unhook from my demanding celebrity clients once in awhile and possibly live abroad for a few months of each year. Through Tim Ferris’s book, I was able to build that life. Now, here I sit, in Mexico for three months- living the life of the “New Rich” as he coins it- not someone who is rich, necessarily, but someone who realizes how little money it actually takes to live a life that is extraordinary, and works harder than they thought possible for a short time in order to turn the dream into reality.
I encourage you to pick up a copy of the Four Hour Work Week or access Tim’s Blog at www.fourhourworkweek.com, and report back with your thoughts. After all, if I can create passive income streams, you certainly can too.
Cheers!
Meagan
Ruth- Agreed! Let it never be said that I represent self publishing as an easy venture. In fact, I often joke that if one wants to dedicate 13 hours per day to something with little to no guaranteed return… writing, then self publishing a book is the way to go. I often respond to people who say “Writing a book must be so hard” with “The writings easy compared to what comes afterward”. However, I do think that everyone can benefit from Tim Ferriss’s advice in some small way. Each of us has a source of accessible passive income in our business which has not been uncovered and benefited from and Tim Ferriss provides all the tools to get started uncovering these sources and the inspiration to remain motivated as road blocks inevitably arise.
Great book…that passive income can add up. I pick up the book every once in while and reread and get inspired all over again…you have reminded me to pick it up on my next block of time off in March. Thanks Megan!
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Megan I appreciate the idea of unhooking from a time card source of income. But I urge all prospective authors out there to be aware that having a successful book is ANYTHING but passive. Getting into print is just the first step. Building relationships, nurturing your audience’s connection to your project, gently but constantly reminding people of its existance– all these go into making a book successful. If you create a project and then sit back to let the hordes have at it, you may be in for a rude shock (and a garage full of unsold product). People think I sit back and let the royalty checks roll in. The first edition of my first book came out 13 years ago, and I will tell you truly that I have NEVER worked so hard in my life as I do now. It’s work that I love, but it sure ain’t passive. Just sayin’!~~Ruth