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It’s been about a year since I, Sarah J. Lambert of Austin Texas, decided that I would like to be an entrepreneur. About a year ago, I read a 2007 book called “The Four Hour Work Week”, which changed my life. 

OK, maybe a slight exaggeration. I can be a bit histrionic. I read it, and imagined how it would change my life. 

Let’s rewind. I was in college when this book came out, and was therefore indisposed for extraneous reading, but I have a distinct memory of it being described to me. I was in the student apartment kitchen, slicing sweet peppers for our favorite, fajitas, when my roommate told me about this “ridiculous” book. 

I had to set the knife down on the cutting board and ask her to repeat. 

“The guy just hired people from other countries to do all his work for him, and then went on vacations or whatever.”

OK, fast forward 12 years. Try not to get whiplash. I read the book and I thought, there is so much more to this book. I tried to talk to people about it 12 years later. They vaguely recalled having read the book when it was on the NYT bestseller list.  

It seems that everyone had read this book. But when I asked, “Did you try it?” 

No, they hadn’t tried any of the radical ideas laid forth in the book. This struck me as...promising. I’ll explain. 

OK, explaining...In one chapter of his groundbreaking book, the author, Timothy Ferriss, describes how he held a contest for students. Whichever student got in touch with the most celebrities over a short period of time would get a free trip to anywhere they chose. 

The first year of the contest, not a single student got in touch with a single celebrity. They all lost because no one tried. 

So, in realizing that it seemed people had read Ferriss’ book, then set it aside as an amusing lark, I saw an edge. I saw an advantage for me. What if I were the one who did try? Who did give it her all? Could his methods work? And what could be the harm in trying?