I’ve read about becoming a “lifestyle entrepreneur” over the past few months. I’ve become fascinated with this particular niche of entrepreneurship and decided to delve more into finding out what is a lifestyle entrepreneur and how do I become one.
If you haven’t read Tim Ferriss’ book, I highly recommend you check it out. It was my very first audiobook purchase (since I don’t have the attention span to read books) and I must admit I am not only hooked to audiobooks but to this concept of becoming a lifestyle entrepreneur. While there’s criticism about whether his tips and suggestions can be relatable to people who struggle to get their business ventures to a successful level, I must advocate for the underlying messages and simple tips that give this book its’ value. Not everyone will be able to afford the lifestyle he leads, however he provides a foundation upon which we can take away pieces of his wisdom and make our ideal lifestyle a reality.
I then came across the title of another book “Soul Proprietor: 101 Lessons from a Lifestyle Entrepreneur” and that’s when it hit me. In order to become a lifestyle entrepreneur I must embrace my business as a career and not as a side hustle. It was rather an enlightening and empowering AHA moment. Yet while it seemed like common sense, I found myself liberated from this mental trap I put myself in, though only for a limited time. I began to think about all the trials and tribulations I endured to get to where I am at and even though I am not where I would like to be I am content with where I am at because it’s where I need to be.
So in reflecting on this, I’ve come to a point where I want to make the ideological transition into a lifestyle entrepreneur. Not freelancer, not small business owner, not strategist or any of the other cliche titles I’ve taken on over the years. A “lifestyle entrepreneur” sounds happier. It gives a feeling that not only have I chosen my career path but I’ve paved my own road and make it a part of my life where I can still be happy and not worry about having to live double or triple lives. A lifestyle entrepreneurs creates their own reality and balances the nuisances of them rather well because it’s not the destination that matters, but rather it’s the journey.
July 11th, 2008 at 2:18 pm
I applaude your new addiction (yes- that’s what it will become) to audiobooks! Tim’s audiobook is one of my favorite Business & Investing audiobooks. I agree not all of his suggestions should, or can, be done by all…but he brings up other great points about our perception of what ‘has’ to be done.
But it looks like you already found at least one Muse!
One of the books Tim recommends, as I do, in 4HWW is Michael Gerber’s E-Myth Revisited…if you haven’t listened to it yet- I would highly recommend that audiobook. It expands on a few of the ideas Tim mentions.