The 4-Hour Workweek

One of my incredible Tweeps recommended a book to me a while back that I never got around to buying. Yesterday, I received a slightly pointed reminder and would like to publicly acknowledge that I accept this intellectual challenge.

A simple book recommendation turned into a challenge? Why?!

Quite honestly, since my exec job followed the economy down the tubes, I've been approached by various individuals and businesses to represent a staggering variety of things. After hearing countless pitches and attending numerous webinars, I've come to believe that much of the product out there is more hype than substance.

The underlying message always seems to be: leverage social networking to label yourself as an expert, find someone's weakness, exploit it and move on to the next opportunity when the market gets saturated.

Sadly, the most common target is hope. Hope for a better life, the ability to afford good health care, resources to send children through college ..

Where is the substance? Where is the real product? I once had someone get upset and ask me, "does it really matter? we're working with [name omitted] here!"

The answer is yes. It does matter. Regardless of whether I plunk down money for a service or a product - like a book - I want to know that it is more than fluff. I don't need or want a conglomeration of free information I can find online or pithy "you can do it!" comments meant to do nothing more than snatch money from my son's college fund.

<-- This is the book that launched a thousand+ character post.

The only reason I'm going to read it is because I honestly like my Tweeps and think highly of the one who made the recommendation [you know who you are].

Hope you don't mind but you are going to be kept a special secret for now to make things interesting: I'll send a new copy of this book to the first person who guesses your identity correctly.

If it goes well, this will become the first of many book challenges, herein after dubbed Penny's Book Club. I encourage everyone to send me their book recommendations and participate in an interactive discussion. Date, time and e-location to come. The winner of my "Guess My Identity" contest will be announced then.

Wishing you much peace, happiness and success,