Living life gets a new meaning only when you can exist by being who you are. To be free is and certainly will forever be one of the most desired needs of mankind. History has taught us a lot of what we know today about the word freedom. The word freedom has nearly become an obscenity and is slowly disappearing like the morning fog. The question is the following: What price are you willing to pay to be able to have freedom? And what will you do with the privilege of freedom when you acquire it?
Chances are, you’re reading this article because you crave a life without financial constraints. To many though, the ability to make progress towards their passions has been limited by the “rat race.” In the rat race, you work for employers, the government by paying taxes, and the lenders (ie, of your mortgages, credit cards, car loans, and student loans).
Usually, your own passions are dead last, relegated to when you can find free time — if they get focused on at all. Given this, is it any wonder that the United States doesn’t even rank in the top 10 happiest countries? (Source: World Happiness Report) The land of the free is also the land of the unhappy.
The big dilemma of growing up is that you lose our dreams, and with that you lose your freedom. The solution to the dilemma is very simple: Regain your dreams. Regain the freedom you had when you were a child. To do that, you must become financially free.
What will being financially free provide you? Primarily, the privilege of choice. This includes:
The freedom from having to sacrifice most of your time to a job you may not like, and watch the years of your life pass by, simply because of the need for the money to survive;
The ability to live your life and spend your time doing the activities of your choice with those dear to you;
It’s a great shame that most Americans retire on an income of less than $20K – with many largely dependent on a government programs which are unlikely to exist in one or two decades time. This situation is so easy to remedy if only more people knew and applied a few basic principles of money management and personal success.
Personal success is a parallel quest to financial freedom, and is a step beyond it. One can have personal success and yet be of humble means, although there is nothing wrong with pursuing wealth.
My belief is that the two go hand in hand. There are plenty of unhappy rich people. Achieving personal success in conjunction with financial freedom will provide you with:
1. The privilege of being able to live a fulfilled life, living out your own dreams whilst giving back and helping others who are less fortunate.
2. The capacity to use your gifts and impact the world in an area of importance to you.
Zig Ziglar puts it this way – Your aim should be to go from:
– Survival to Stability
– Stability to Success
– Success to Significance
Sound too lofty? It shouldn’t. Individuals’ dreams and visions have made the world what it is today, and these are the common ingredients amongst all great leaders, irrespective of their field of endeavour. Believe in and nurture your dreams – they’re the fuel you’ll need to take you where you want to go.
And were most people want to go is not to a job. In fact, there seems is an outright disdain for work nowadays, even by people who like their job. People marvel at those who retire early. However, I have come to the conclusion that the idea of leaving the “rat race” excites people infinitely more than the idea of retirement. For example, there’s an internal yearning to make a difference that would be very hard to achieve if your idea of retirement is sitting on the couch everyday watching reality TV. Stephen Covey said that we all want to “live, to love, to learn, and to leave a legacy.” The right work can help fulfill such aspirations.
Rather than eliminating work, I suspect that many people crave eliminating their need of provision clouding every decision that they make, stopping them from chasing their dreams, and robbing them from spending time with the people who matter most. A financially free person possesses insights and goals untainted by concern for sustenance, can pursue opportunities that are generally perceived as risky but high reward, and can control his or her time in ways those stuck working nine-to-five jobs can only dream of.
Know this: The world needs more financially free people. The world is in need of leaders. It’s in need of your vision and what you can contribute to it. If you are too busy fighting to pay bills you are only living in the smallest of worlds, and that is in your own finance.
There is an entire world economy that can benefit from what you have to offer. However it needs you to show up. It needs you to get in and make the difference that only you can make and you need financial freedom to free you up to do that.
Money is inextricably linked to our present well-being and indisputably connected to our future. Whether you are a rising corporate executive, a veteran blue-collar worker or a recent college graduate, odds are that money, its presence or lack, is of paramount concern. Money is, as has been said, “a resource of epic use in a society destined to misuse it.”
And that’s the question for today. Will you misuse your money or will you use it properly, to obtain the privilege of being free?
Be free. Nothing else is worth it.
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P.S.S. What’s this got to do with you? If you don’t take action, absolutely nothing. But remember this – most people fail to achieve what they want in life simply because they never start. If you’re ready to escape the rat race and live life on your terms, don’t wait. There’s nothing for sale on this blog. I just provide actionable advice for free. What do you have to lose? Start today.
Ready for more tips on how to achieve the free life? Check-out more articles from the blog archives below:
New Video! Why Most People Don’t Achieve The Important Things They Want For Themselves
Do You Ask Yourself “Million Dollar” Questions Or Just “Hundred Dollar” Questions? Find Out Today!
Can The Experts Really Predict The Stock Market? The Answer May Surprise Some.