Why Do People Hate on the Four Hour Workweek?

Lately I’ve been seeing an increasing amount of cynicism and negativity towards the concept of the Four Hour Work Week.

I think it’s been made clear that the message in that book was obviously not, quit your job and only work four hours a week, but rather, that there is a more fulfilling way to live your life.

Yet, for whatever reason over the last few months, more and more people have been speaking up with their disillusionment with the whole lifestyle design thing (or whatever you want to call it), and it’s got me wondering what has changed, and what the reasons are for the negativity.

There could be a variety of reasons some are feeling this way.  If I had to guess it’s probably for a combination of the following reasons:

They Tried, They Failed

For every blog that sees success in this niche, there are dozens of others that never find their feet.

This can be frustrating.

When you’ve got bloggers with large audiences preaching a lifestyle that is so great, and so attainable, it can be tough once you realize, that while simple, it’s anything but easy.

The Blog was Their Business Model

I’ve talked to SO many people who started a blog, wrote a few posts, put a few affiliate ads up, and expected to be able to quit their job within a few months.

Seriously.

It’s been said over and over again, but this is not a business model.  What value are you offering to your readers? Not much in that case.  People are savvy these days, they know a pitch when they see one, and if you try and sell them stuff before you’ve earned their trust, you can bet they won’t be sticking around long.

They Failed to Learn any Real Skills

This one is the most important for me.  While going through the process of blogging will teach you a lot about the internet and WordPress, if you don’t learn skills that you can in turn market and sell, you’re going to have a tough time.

Save for the rare exception, most successful bloggers I know “made it” by doing something other than their blog. They did design, consulting, freelance writing etc. This in turn allowed them to build credibility, an audience, an in turn make their site profitable.

Why People Hate the 4 Hour Work Week

Sure, there are a lot of other potential things that could have gone wrong, but most are just details, and fundamentally I think it will boil back down to one or all of these three points.

Personally, I don’t care when people voice their opinions, they’re entitled to them.  What I have a tough time with is shooting people down when all they want is to be happy.

After all, that’s what all of these sites are about right? The pursuit of a better life? People trying to do something they care about?

You’ll never find me criticizing someone for doing that, even if they do put out a crappy ebook about building a blog.  They’re just searching for something better.  Chances are their ebook won’t sell, and then they will try something else, but at least they haven’t given up on the idea of happiness.

I’ll admit, it does get more difficult to decipher those worth trusting and those who are faking it.  As more people build blogs and websites, automatically everyone is an expert.  Everyone can share their opinion, and all you need is a decent blog design to convince people you’ve got some credibility.

That’s enough to piss some people off.

However, you’re smart.  Your BS meter is good.  Don’t get mad for what someone else is doing, just quietly close their site, and move on to the next – or better yet, work on yourself.

What I love most about this blog and our Location Rebel Academy community is that everyone is so supportive of each other.  Everyone wants to see their peers succeed. That’s rare.  You don’t find many places where there is so much support.

I hope that never changes, because when it does, there will be a lot of people who settle for unhappiness, and in my mind, that’s unacceptable.

Ready to start building a real lifestyle business that will give you the freedom to quit your job, work from anywhere, and spend more time doing the stuff you love? Awesome, I’m ready to help. Click here to get started for free.

Sean Ogle

Sean Ogle is the Founder of Location Rebel where he has spent the last 12+ years teaching people how to build online businesses that give them the freedom to do more of the things they like to do in life. When he's not in the coffee shops of Portland, or the beaches of Bali, he's probably sneaking into some other high-class establishment where he most certainly doesn't belong.