Stephan Aarstol’s “5 Hour Work Day” : Just Read It!
When I read a book, I do it for both the information it contains as well as inspiration. And normally, I can come up with a couple of good topics for articles when I read any particular book. But I have to confess. Reading Stephan Aarstol’s “5 Hour Work Day” was extremely frustrating. There weren’t two good ideas in the book.
This book is one of those rare insightful books that takes you on a journey into the near future. And it’s packed full of inspiration and ideas. So, to focus on any one of them would do grave injustice to the value of what’s there. But let me set you up with just one of the premises of the book that I found most valuable. It’s also the premise upon which the rest of the book rests.
The Time Value of You: How Much Is Your Life Worth?
Time. It doesn’t matter if you’re a pauper or a King, time is the one thing that is in limited supply. Nobody can buy more of it than the normal human life span. Think about these thought bites that reflect how we normally do life:
- When you’re young, you trade your time for money, usually to buy stuff. When you get old, you’ll willing give up your money and stuff to buy more time.
- The fabled wealth gap, usually pitting the 99% against the 1%, is actually a time gap. The 99% have little free time. The 1% has an abundance of free time.
Steve Jobs summed it up eloquently:
“Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make big choices in life . . . remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.”
There’s obviously something going on here. And it isn’t just the wisdom of age or the threat of death or the possession of wealth. It’s all about gaining a consciousness of the value of our time. The one thing that neither you nor anyone else can buy more of.
The 5 Hour Work Week Is About Time
Stephan may have, in fact, titled the book poorly. Or his publicist, but no matter. Yes, it speaks at length about how he successfully instituted a 5 hour work day at his business, Tower Paddle Boards. But there’s a brilliant case laid out about why that is so important. About why your time, your life’s pieces, are what matters far more than what we’ve traditionally chased.
The subtitle on the book is “Live Differently, Unlock Productivity, and Find Happiness.” See. As I said, one sentence contains the topic of three good articles.
And guess what? He tells you how it’s possible to live differently. He explains how he achieved productivity levels that meant everyone was producing the same in 5 hours they had been in 8 hours. And he reminds you of where to look for that elusive bluebird of happiness you’ve been chasing so long. Yes, it’s about time. It’s about time that you, and I, take back our time.
Just get the book. Read it. And you’ll be on the front end of the curve on what I am sure is the coming world.
About Stephan Aarstol
Stephan Aarstol is the CEO and founder of Tower Paddle Boards. After appearing on ABC’s Shark Tank and securing an investment from Mark Cuban, Stephan was featured by People Magazine as one of “Shark Tank’s Biggest Winners.”
Stephan’s company quickly became one of Mark Cuban’s best-performing investments from the popular show, and in early 2016, ABC returned to feature Tower Paddle Boards in a nationally-televised episode of Beyond the Tank.
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