I have been a fan of Rasmus Lindgren’s blog for awhile, so I was particularly excited to get my hands on a copy of his recently released book, The Lifestyle Business Rockstar: Quit your 9-5, kick ass, work less, and live more!
Like myself, Lindgren was inspired to change his workstyle to accommodate his desired lifestyle after reading The 4-Hour Workweek. That was back in 2008. Since then, Lindgren has developed multiple “lifestyle businesses” that resulted in fulfilling their dream of purchasing of a second home in Thailand (their first home is in Denmark).
When living your life becomes a priority over making a living, you’ll realize what you don’t need.”
I love Lindgren’s story because he has a family. While there are hundreds of cases of single folks ditching their salaried jobs and globetrotting to exotic locations while making enough online to cover their expenses, doing so with a family is clearly more difficult. The overall cost, in terms of both money and time, is substantially higher.
So, what’s a lifestyle business? It’s a simple concept, in Lindgren’s view: A lifestyle business is a business that supports your desired lifestyle. This departs from the need to create your business around your passion, although that is certainly ideal.
The ultimate objective of the book is to help you create online income in order to attain freedom. Lindgren describes this as “the rockstar trifecta”, the balance of cash, time and mobility that create the lifestyle you would otherwise put off until after your tooling around the house in a Jazzy.
My favorite aspect of The Lifestyle Business Rockstar is the direct acknowledgment of the insecurity that exists in the traditional 9-to-5. The rationalization that stops most of us from taking a shot at self-reliance is the idea that we are more secure in our salaried, benefited careers.
The unfortunate truth is that, especially now in the midst of multiple recessions, your secure job can disappear overnight. Your company can go under, get restructured, merge with another, or downsize. Your boss could become a nightmare, you could become disabled, or you could get fired.
Regardless of whether you see online income as a potential replacement of your 9-to-5 or if the very idea gives you the willies, you should open your mind to the possibilities. The Lifestyle Business Rockstar is the online business overview that will embolden even the most technologically incapable.
Giveaway! Enter to win The Lifestyle Business Rockstar in two easy steps:
1) Become an email subscriber if you aren’t already. You can subscribe here.
2) Share your thoughts on this post.
The subscriber with the most compelling comment by the end of the day on August 10th will receive a brand new copy of The Lifestyle Business Rockstar!
MST. A special thanks to the author for providing a review copy and giveaway copy. Contest is limited to addresses in the United States, including APO/FPO addresses with US Zip Codes. [post_ender]
Just saw this on Twitter (and checked out Retire My Ass, which is awesome!) and hope to get my hands on the book and strategy session!
I have started about three different online “businesses” but my motivation always ran out before I dotted all my Is and crossed all my Ts so that they would actually generate income. Looking forward to the tips and strategies in the book.
Thanks for popping in from Twitter, Diana! I have experienced the same business ADD and highly recommend Rasmus’ book for staying focused to the end! Good luck!
I NEED this book! I keep telling myself to grow a pair and get started with an online business, but then I put it off and put it off and put it off. No more lame excuses, it’s time to be a lifestyle business rockstar (or at least a backup singer!)
Thanks, Emily & Rasmus, for the awesome giveaway opportunity!
Thank you, Steven! Best of luck with starting your future rockstar business, it’s well worth the mobility that Rasmus and many others enjoy.
Awesome giveaway :). As a little extra bonus I would love to give whoever wins this a Lifestyle Business strategy session as well.
What an incredible additional bonus! Thanks, Rasmus!
Hi Emily,
We’ve shared in the comments before that our plan for financial independence includes staying with our corporate jobs in order to retain the regular salary, benefits, & 401k. However, I’m definitely interested in learning about alternatives to that approach, and I think our early retirement is going to include this sort of lifestyle business in one form or another. I like the idea of providing basic financial counseling to people in my neighborhood or online. And at some point I may monetize my blog to see if any income can be earned by the work I put into the site.
I especially like the quote you included: “When living your life becomes a priority over making a living, you’ll realize what you don’t need.” It’s a simple idea that not only validates the approaches of frugality, but also flips some of the FIRE strategies on their head. If we’re pushing for a specific kind of life that can be enjoyed during financial independence/early retirement, how wise is it to put that life on hold? Better yet, can we live that life now?
I love how thoughtful you guys are about your career, life, and finances. I’m always amazed at how open the possibilities really are. On monetizing your blog, Rasmus details both info product and affiliate commission strategies that would probably do the trick!
That’s great. I’ll keep my fingers crossed that we might win, while still hoping that you get good comments, too. 🙂
And thanks for stopping by the blog. I agree: sometimes when I’m out there doing yard work, I wonder if we’d be better off somewhere else (like in the country, or maybe just renting and letting someone else do the work).
Congratulations! Check your email for my address request so that I can send along your new copy of The Lifestyle Business Rockstar. Then, get in touch with Rasmus through his awesome site to set up your strategy session when you’re ready!
Thank you, Emily, and to Rasmus as well! I’m really looking forward to reading the book and then the strategy session. You two are truly generous…thanks a million!