– How to become an expert in four weeks –
In his book The 4-Hour Work Week, Timothy Ferris explains how to become an expert in 4 weeks.
This are his bullet points for how to do it:
- Join two or three related trade organizations
- Read the three top selling books on your topic
- Give one free one-to-three-hour seminar at the closest well-known university
- Give two free seminars at branches of well-known big companies such as IBM
- Offer to write one or two articles for trade magazines
- Join ProfNet which is a service that journalists use to find experts to quote for articles
I have been thinking about those six steps and the achievement of becoming an expert. It looks like a very difficult task especially when you really want to achieve it in only four weeks. Then I realized that one of the important learning’s of Ferris his books is to actually take big steps and realize those unreasonable goals. After all if you don’t start somewhere then how do you achieve something. So why not start of big with your becoming of an expert.
However you have to be critical as wel. The problem that I have with this six steps and with other parts of Ferris his book is that these steps take a budget to achieve them. You have to join trade organizations, buy books and advertise on university’s with posters.All of those steps combined will cost at least more then $100.
Of course money should not be holding your back when you want to realize your big goals and dreams but it is something you have to take in consideration. After all you don’t want to have to cancel a project because you cant finance it any more. No matter how opportunistic or unreasonable people want you to be to achieve high goals, you have to feel comfortable about your budget. If you spend more then you actualy can effort then you are busy with a bad challenge which can get you in trouble. If you have to choose between getting dinner on the table this week or by paying $100 for joining a trade organization, then of course you choose the food.
Don’t get me wrong, if the money is not a problem then Ferris his expert building plan is a great challenge. Achieving a big challenge is good to become more confident in life but don’t just blindly follow people’s ideas. It is good to feel a bit uncomfortable and to challenge yourself on certain times but don’t get in trouble because of being to pumped up about something. Life offers great opportunities but if you want a achieve them then you need to use your mind and often work hard and disciplined. Keep those facts in mind when you start with a project or set a goal.
You dont feel comfortable enough for this challenge but still want to become an expert? Dont worry and keep working on your expertise level. Keep gathering credibility indicators. Do courses get diploma’s. Make sure your subject of choice is something you really like and also that you enjoy your learning experience. If you would like to have a Ph. D. in Economics but your find it terrible to be at school for 4 years then try a different approach. For example by regularly following short economic courses to build up your knowledge about the subject. Always keep learning. Not only to be an expert for others but also for your personal growth.
Do you feel comfortable enough to do this challenge and have the budget to actually do it? Then I challenge you to try the expert builder approach and write about your experiences on my website. I am especially interested in people that actually manage to do it in 4 weeks.
Links
- Previous article: A real life approach to a fantasy world
- The 4-hour work week website of Timothy Ferris
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