For today’s blog, we’re going to look at how two books at opposite ends of the spectrum can help you achieve your goals.

Today, I want to discuss two of the most influential books I’ve read recently – Gary Vaynerchuk’s Crush It and Tim Ferriss’ 4-Hour Workweek.

If you’ve read both of these books, you can see the irony in reading them back-to-back.  Gary Vee’s entire approach is to bust your ass to get ahead; using hustle to outwork the competition and leave them in the dust.

Tim Ferriss, on the other hand, writes about an end goal of literally only working 4-Hours per week. If it seems unfathoable right now, read the book to see just how Tim pulled this off.

But before I discuss this any further, let me give you some brief insight about all this.

I actually read the 4-Hour Workweek several years ago.  I remember Alwyn Cosgrove quoting things out of it like it was the Bible, so I figured if it’s good enough for AC, it’s good enough for me.

I read it, and at the time, I was like “Meh. Some good stuff, but nothing earth-shattering here.”

As I’ve come to realize, I wasn’t ready for the lessons in this book. But as the saying goes, I can now see the light.

If you’re interested in social media, Crush It is a must-have.  Gary Vee has built an entire business around social media and the Internet.  I can see how important this is going to be going forward, and it’s why I’ve made a concerted effort to improve my web presence.

After all, there are enough clowns out there who don’t even train people who are talking about training all day on the Internet.  The least we can do is get more actual coaches who train people for a living on the Internet to balance the power a bit!

On the other side of the spectrum is Tim Ferriss’ book.  As I stated up front, I wasn’t ready for it the first time around.  I wouldn’t have thought twice about picking the book up again, but one of my clients at IFAST gave me an updated copy as a gift, so I figured the least I could do was flip through it again.  (BTW – thanks Allen!)

Before I finish, you’ll be happy to know, my goal is not to work 4 hours per week.

However, my goal is this – to become brutally efficient at everything I do. Here are some of the things I’ve realized I need to do to get this accomplished:

• Only check e-mail once or twice per day, versus constantly leaving it open and responding to e-mails whenever they come in.
• Batching all work – in fact, I was already doing this to an extent, but my goal now is to write all blogs in one sitting, all training programs in one sitting, etc.
• Never check e-mail first thing in the morning.  In fact, you should shame me twice for this one – I’d read it from Tim Ferriss, but I even have another book titled “Never Check E-mail in the Morning” and I was still doing it.

Most importantly, I’ve realized I can no longer confuse “being busy” with productivity.  This is a crucial lesson that I will never forget.

I feel that these are two amazing books.  I love the idea of hustle and busting your ass from Gary Vee.  Just don’t confuse hustle and busting your ass with efficiency and productivity.  This it the trap that I was falling into.

You may not strive to work 4 hours per week, but don’t fall into the trap that that’s all the book is about.  I read it too literally the first time around.  Now I’m utilizing all the tips and tricks available to become more efficient, and to really see how much I can accomplish.

What books are you guys reading?  I have a short list of what I’d like to read next, but any thing that you all would suggest for me to check out?  Leave your responses below!

All the best

Mike

PS – Both books can be found at Amazon.com.