Your Political Guru

One of my Yahoo Groups had an intense discussion on Tim Ferriss’ book The Four Hour Work Week (a book I highly recommend).  A few people were dismissive of the work because of the author’s apparent lack of ethics.  The particular example sited was Ferriss winning a kickboxing tournament by exploiting a couple of obscure loopholes –

From “the Four Hour Work Week”, page 29, hardcover edition:

“I won by reading the rules and looking for loopholes, of which there were
two:”

“1. Weigh ins were the day prior to the competition. Using dehydration
techniques….I lost 28 pounds in 18 hours, weighed in at 165, and then
hyperhydrated back to 193 pounds. It’s hard to fight someone from three
weight classes above you. Poor little guys.”

“2. There was a technicality in the fine print: …I decided to use this
technicality as my single technique and just push people off.”

One of the comments was: “By the rules? Yes. Ethical? Not in my book.  He didn’t present it as using analysis to figure out the best way to win. He presented it in a completely different light.”

First I think dismissing “The Four Hour Workweek” on the basis of the kickboxing story is very short sighted.  The story works because it points out that – ‘just because the rest of the world says you have to do things one way, doesn’t mean you have to.’  You really do have the right to define your life in your terms.  But overcoming social convention is not easy and you can’t allow yourself to be defined by society’s rules.

My family really was into the first season of Survivor.  Initially I was a little put off by Hatch’s tactics of using alliances to win the survival game and not actually having survival skills.  But when he explained how he came to his stratagem I really came to respect him.  As soon as he found out he was going to be a contestant he started a study of game theory and decided that he needed to use the “life raft scenario” to win.  From there he figured the odds and ended up winning a million.

There are some excellent tricks in Ferriss’ book to help create the life you want.  (Don’t read the title and take it literally).  Ultimately it is a very good book about giving yourself permission to think about what’s important to you and how you really do have the power to alter your state of affairs to conform to what you want.

I find that many people get really hung up other people’s desire to create the life they want.  As someone who pays too much attention to other people’s needs, I have to analyze their criticisms in my own head to get rid of my own GSA (gnawing sense of anxiety) that I’m doing something wrong.  Most of the time I find that there isn’t any basis for their criticism, it’s just their preference – which they are welcome to have, but it need not concern me.

So if you don’t like people using the rules in unconventional ways to achieve their own ends, get over it.  You will live longer and you’ll make other people happier.  Heck you can even learn from it and have a little fun in your own life.

But what ever your take on the ethics of using loopholes, remember, not everyone shares your ethics.  Beware of the Mike Ferriss’ of the world.

Have a Merry Christmas.