Review written by Silas Grant
I’ve committed to reading a book a week for the second half of 2020. I have so many books that I’ve purchased and they’ve been laying around for far too long. I love going in book stores and looking at books. They say you can’t judge a book by its cover. However, nicely designed covers attract my attention. If the title and the concept seem good, I will be interested.
Like many of the other books I’ve purchased, the “5 Day Weekend” had a catchy title and a nice designed covered. I purchased it in the fall of 2018. I toyed around with reading it periodically. This past week, I carved out time and finally finished the book. It was an excellent read.
The concept: people looking to have an impact on the world don’t have to be rich, but they have to be financially free to have the impact they desire to have. The book shows readers the way to go from relying on active income to having a large amount of passive income. This transition allows readers to move away from being preoccupied with working long hours in a capacity that is not in line with one’s purpose.
Key takeways:
“Lifestyle is last” – The authors of this book describe subscribers of the theory as “5 Day Weekenders”. These people are not looking to be seen in Ferraris. Nor are they looking to lay around on beaches with the money they’ve earned with passive income. “Lifestyle is last” is about putting material items to the back and putting your purpose and discipline to reinvesting in your streams of income up front.
“Security doesn’t exist” – The authors believe that investing blindly in conventional investment opportunities for someday down the line is an excuse to a) not take charge of your financial life today and b) not believe you can be free today. Developing passive income streams is essential to living out the “5 Day Weekend”. The book details “growth investing” and “momentum investing”. Diagrams within the book showcase a sliding scale of multiple investment levels and styles that vary based on risk levels.
“Call to Action” – I love books that have sections at the end of the chapters where you can write and make commitments. The call to action segments throughout the book require readers to commit to setting deadlines for the ratios between passive income to active income as well as other commitments.
Mindset – This book is not a “get rich” book. It’s about setting a mindset in place that is centered around legacy and impact. The book does a great job of periodically reminding readers not to get too focused on dollar signs without remembering that life without purpose is not living at all.
Tools and tips – You will find many tools, tips, and strategies that will be useful in deciding what path to take to develop passive income that will lead to your financial freedom.
In conclusion, this was a great read. I highly recommend the book to those who battle with the concept of connecting money and purpose. Those who are mislead to believe one must take an oath of poverty to have a pure heart to give will be in for a pleasant surprise. The book also gives great examples of people who either stumbled upon or purposely set a path to financial freedom and were highly impactful in the lives of others as a result.