How to Make Money and Travel the World After Graduation – 8 Lessons from The 4-Hour Workweek

So, you’re about to graduate. Congratulations! 

You survived all-nighters, caffeine overdoses, and questionable group projects. Now what? If your answer is “Find a soul-sucking 9-to-5 and cry in my cubicle,” that’s fine, trust me. No judgment here. But let’s put a pin in that for a second. 

What if there’s another option to consider? 

Honestly, some people are made for the 9-to-5 life and won’t end up crying in their cubicles. And again that’s fine, if it works for you, then you go Glen Coco!

But if you’ve been having slight doubts or MAJOR panic attacks thinking about life after uni and dreading (having night terrors about) a hopeless 9-to-5 life, you’re not alone. And there’s a different path…

Enter Tim Ferriss’ The 4-Hour Workweek, the book that turned corporate drones into globe-trotting entrepreneurs. If your dream life involves sipping coconuts in Bali (never got the hype around that, by the way. Hate coconuts) while your bank account grows, keep reading. 

Let’s break down the key lessons from this book and how they can help you make money while living your best life post-graduation.

1. Figure Out How to Sell Your Skills…Not Your Time

Most people trade their time for money. That’s the standard “work until you die” model. The book argues that time is the real currency, and the goal should be to maximize income while minimizing time spent working. Translation: Get paid without being chained to a desk.

Lesson: Instead of applying to traditional 9-to-5 physical roles, look for companies that have fully remote or at least hybrid work settings. That way you’re getting paid for your skills, but you keep your time for yourself. 

If you can automate, outsource, or optimize your work, do it. Work smarter, not harder. 

Ideas for remote income:

• Freelancing: Writing, graphic design, coding, marketing, virtual assistance – whatever skill you have, someone will pay for it.
• Dropshipping & E-commerce: Sell products online without dealing with inventory.
• Affiliate Marketing: Get paid for promoting other people’s products.
• Course Creation: Teach something valuable and sell it as an online course.
• Remote Jobs: Many companies offer fully remote positions – find one that aligns with your skills.

2. Live The Old Money Life on New Money Terms

Tim Ferris introduces the concept of “The New Rich” (NR) – people who value freedom over financial accumulation. Why wait until you’re old to enjoy life? 

Instead, take planned breaks throughout your career – travel, learn a new skill, or just relax. It’s about balancing work and life now, not later.

While the Old Rich work for decades and retire at 65, the NR take mini-retirements throughout life. Sounds better, right?

How to apply it: Instead of saving for a dream retirement, build a career or business that lets you work remotely and travel now. Also don’t wait till you’re 40 to start investing in retirement. Set up passive income systems that make money while you sleep, so you have a guaranteed safety net and quit your job whenever you want. 

3. Go Off-Grid And Live Your Best Life on A Cheap Dollar

If you can earn money from anywhere, you can live anywhere. Tim Ferriss calls this “geo-arbitrage” – making money in strong economies and spending it where the cost of living is lower. Think earning dollars and spending pesos. 

Instead of begging your parents to sell their kidneys to let you take a year off after graduation to travel the world, you could try to get a job that pays you in a stronger currency (euros, dollars, pounds) and then move to a country where a $1,000 can pay your rent at a comfortable apartment for a whole year (Think Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, Ghana, Nigeria, and more) Eat good food, embrace new cultures, and learn the importance of sunscreen. 

If you already live in one of these countries, earning in a stronger currency than your own doesn’t mean you have to live there forever. You could move to a different city in your home country or a neighbouring country, look up the options available, and plan your life somewhere outside your motherland.

4. The 80/20 Rule – Don’t Put Effort Into Anything That Doesn’t NEED Effort

Ferriss swears by the Pareto Principle: 80% of your results come from 20% of your efforts. Identify what brings the most income and double down on that. Everything else? Delegate or ditch it.

How to apply it: If you’re freelancing, focus on the best-paying clients. Outsource smaller projects to other cheaper freelancers and keep a percentage of the pay for yourself. Just like as a university student you spend time on the most important, complex projects and use AI’s help for simpler assignments… or the other way round. 

5. Automation is Your Best Friend: Have A System in Place for Everything

The goal isn’t just to work remotely, but to work less and live more. Ferriss suggests automating as much as possible using software, virtual assistants, and outsourcing. How does this help fresh uni graduates? 

Whether you choose the freelance, remote work, or digital nomad lifestyle, your first task as a university graduate is to tie down a job. This means hundreds of job applications, A LOT of cover letter writing, emails, resume writing, and all that jazz.  

• Use Google Docs or Canva to create ready-to-use resume templates.
• Use ChatGPT to rewrite your original resume and cover letters to make it more specific to each job you apply for. (Trust me, after writing 50 cover letters in under two weeks, you’ll be glad to have AI helping you)
• Sign up to platforms like Glassdoor, SimplyHired, Flexjobs, and more to get jobs delivered straight to your email every day instead of going about searching the internet for jobs.
• If you can afford to, pay resume writers and recruiters to handle your whole job search process for you. 
• Set up automatic billing and payments for all your paid platforms (Canva, Flexjobs, etc).

6. The Fear-Setting Exercise: Face Your Fear and Punch it In The Face

Most people stay stuck in jobs they hate because they’re scared of failing. The 4-Hour Workweek discusses “fear-setting” – a simple exercise where you list your worst fears, analyze their likelihood, and plan a recovery strategy. Nine times out of ten, the fear isn’t as scary as it seems.

Try it: Write down your biggest fears about joining the workforce, living alone, going for a different career than what you studied in uni, or starting a business. Now, write how you’d recover if it actually happened. You’ll realize most fears are fixable.

7. Cut Out the Noise & Prioritize What Matters

Tim Ferriss is a huge fan of the “low-information diet.” Most of what we consume (news, social media, endless emails) is useless. He suggests only focusing on information that helps you achieve your goals.

How to apply it:

• Unsubscribe from unnecessary newsletters or uni group chats that never offered much useful info besides funny memes (Keep the good chats and save everyone’s contacts though. You never know what class clown might help you in the future.)
• Limit social media scrolling. If the TikToks aren’t showing you how to get a remote job or how to build an e-commerce business, maybe you don’t need to spend hours on them.
• Only check emails at set times instead of constantly. Mental masturbation. You’ve heard of it. Instead of checking your mails and doing things that are technically useful but not needed at the time, go get started on what you should actually be doing. Save the small stuff like email checking and designing vision boards for the first and last thirty minutes of your day.

8. The Importance of Taking the Leap

The biggest takeaway from The 4-Hour Workweek? Just start. Stop overthinking, stop waiting for the “right moment,” and take action. Whether it’s starting a side hustle, applying for remote jobs, or launching a business – the sooner you start, the sooner you succeed.

Get The 4-Hour Workweek on Amazon or listen to the audiobook on Audible.

Off You Go — Onwards to Success!

If post-graduation life has you stressed, remember: You don’t have to follow the traditional path. The world is bigger than your hometown or a gray cubicle. With the right strategy, you can build a career that lets you travel, make money, and live on your own terms. So, what’s stopping you? Pack your bags, open your laptop, and let the adventure begin!

Of course, as with all things in life, terms and conditions apply, but don’t let that stop you. If you aren’t sure you’ll find fulfillment in the traditional path, think of alternatives… Unless you’re a medical professional, then please stay grounded. We need you in person, Doc! But you could practice in a different country though.

Wishing you peace and funds,

Dee