Recently, Rosie said something that hit me: “Life is annoying. I didn’t sign up for this shit... I didn’t agree to this system where I have to spend years in school and then spend the rest of my life working to make money just to be able to live.”
Fair point.
This system was established long before any of us were born. We didn’t vote for it... but somehow we all got enrolled into it anyway.
The Reality (Whether We Like It or Not)
Let’s unpack a few things.
We live in a world where we need to pay for things. Being 100% self-sustainable is incredibly hard in our current world. It’s totally impossible and unrealistic for the majority of us. Yes, we can still trade and exchange things... but the opportunities are limited and can’t offer everything we want.
So we have expenses. And to pay them, we need money.
How do we earn money? We could steal it, I guess, but the ethical and accepted way to earn money is to work.
We work to earn enough to pay for our expenses and meet our needs.
Now that we agree on this basic principle, let’s talk about being financially free.
What Financial Freedom Actually Means
I was watching a podcast with Ali Abdaal the other day, and he gave a definition of financial freedom that finally made it click for me.
I’ve used the term “financial freedom” for years. But if you had asked me to define it before this podcast, I would’ve said something vague like “making and having enough money to pay for the lifestyle I want without having to worry or count dollars.”
Ali’s answer was much more accurate:
Reaching real financial freedom is when your passive income covers your expenses.
Simple. Clear. And the key word here is passive income. Otherwise, you’re not really free.
So how do you generate passive income? You need assets.
Assets can be:
Financial assets - stocks, bonds, investments earning you monthly interest or dividends
Physical assets - real estate you’re renting out, art, other tangible investments
Business assets - a business earning you money without requiring your active presence (you created something once and automated or delegated it), royalties from a book you wrote, AdSense money from a YouTube channel
If those earnings cover your expenses... you’re good. No need to work and trade your time or knowledge for money anymore. Congrats.
From there, your lifestyle depends on the extra you have. If your passive income just covers your expenses with nothing left over, you might choose to live a simple life. If you make more than you spend, you can treat yourself however you please.
The Catch-22
Okay, so now we know how to reach financial freedom! We need passive income, and therefore we need assets.
But wait. How do I get those assets?
Good question... seems like a catch-22, right?
There are only three ways:
Inherit them - If you’re lucky, you might inherit your assets. No effort required.
Buy them - Purchase an asset like a house and rent it out
Build them - Build an app, write a book, create a company
For the majority of us, buying is the most accessible option. But how do you buy an asset? With money. How do you get that money? With a job.
Back to square one 😅
This is why reaching financial freedom is hard as fuck, and only a few achieve it.
The wealthy already have the assets and just pass them down. Easy for them.
If you don’t have generational wealth or starting capital, you can rely on luck (play the lottery) or bet on yourself and build something. We’ve seen people build an audience and monetize it, publish a successful book, build an empire one video at a time (look at MrBeast), or create successful companies.
But that’s still only a minority of people. The majority don’t have the skills, knowledge, ambition, courage, or energy to build something like this.
That’s why most people just work.
The Actual Path Forward
The key is to work and be clever about your finances.
To get the asset, you need extra cash. Money left over after your expenses each month that you can invest in stocks or save for a property down payment.
To have more extra cash, there are two solutions:
1. Reduce Your Expenses
You can only reduce your expenses so much... but don’t underestimate this. Most people in our society buy dumb shit every day even if they can’t afford it. Be humble. Don’t try to keep up with the Joneses.
Ask yourself before buying something if you really need it. Like, really need it.
Moving cities or countries can have a big impact too. In Miami, my rent alone was $1,800 a month. Once we added everything else, we were spending about $3,000 a month on basics. When I decided to quit my job and build my business, we didn’t pick traveling around the world just for travel’s sake. It was also because traveling to certain parts of the world would massively reduce our expenses - making our savings last longer than if we were just living a regular life in our home countries.
By traveling, we actually reduced our expenses. On average, we spent $1,800 a month while traveling - less than just my Miami rent. That’s one of the reasons we didn’t have to tap into our savings. Even though our new business made little money at first, it was enough to cover our needs.
Living in Bangkok now? Still costs me less (everything included) than just my rent in Miami.
2. Increase Your Income
Reducing expenses is capped. The best way to have extra cash to get an asset is to increase your income.
There’s virtually no cap to how much money you can earn. And there are many ways to do it... ask for a raise, get a better job or switch companies. However, there’s only so much you can do here. Your employer probably won’t give you the 20% increase you ask for 😆
The less capped way to make money is by starting a business. Here, with the right product, the right market, and a real solution to a real problem, you can potentially make unlimited amounts of money.
It won’t be easy... but it’s a wide range. Building a six-figure business can already provide a nice cushion of extra cash which will get you assets quickly.
My Personal Journey
I’ll be honest with you, I’m fairly early on this journey myself.
Like most of us, I wasn’t educated about the importance of investing when I was young. This is something I started learning about in my 30s by reading books and watching podcasts.
At the moment, Rosie and I use our savings to build our long-term wealth by investing in the S&P 500. We’re not optimizing for monthly income right now (like dividend stocks would). I personally like to keep my assets as liquid as possible because you never know what can happen in life. I’d rather invest in stocks than real estate, it can take months to sell a house if you need the cash quickly.
For now, we invest for the future, and I’m focused on building a business that allows me to increase my income. More income means a bigger “extra cash” pile to invest.
Eventually, I’d like to diversify assets to balance between income now (dividends) and long-term growth.
Here’s the thing though, I’m not obsessed with full financial freedom. I’m not the type of person who would sit around doing nothing. I’d be happy with partial freedom.
Why? Because I don’t want to sacrifice my time now working 80-hour weeks to make as much money as possible but not enjoy life, postponing happiness to a later time that’s not even guaranteed. It’s a personal balance.
The Real Investment
Now that we understand what financial freedom truly is and what it takes to get it... do you still want to reach it?
If so, here’s my advice: Invest.
Yes, invest your money from the start. I think it’s a great habit and skill to develop. I wish I had understood the power of investing and compounding over the years earlier. If you’re 20 years old reading this right now, start now. You won’t regret it.
But here’s what I really want you to hear: invest in yourself.
Why? Because as you’ve seen, to get assets, you need to either build them or buy them. To build them, you need skills. To buy them, you need extra cash... and the best way to get extra cash is to increase your income. And for that, you need skills - either for a high-paying job or to start your own business.
Investing in yourself - learning, getting educated - is the single best thing you can do to become financially free.
It doesn’t require capital to get started. We’re lucky to live in a time where information is widely available for free. Just time, dedication, energy, and focus. Nothing else.
I’ve invested heavily in my own growth. Financially, by joining courses, self-development programs, and hiring coaches. Time and energy-wise, by choosing how I spend my time. I’m intentional about what I do when I’m not working. I do my best to read as many educational books as fiction books. I try to watch more educational content than entertainment.
One of the best investments I ever made? Hiring a business coach in 2019. He was a friend who was just starting his coaching program, so Rosie and I got in early at $1,500. Back then, that felt like a LOT of money. Looking back, it was a bargain - worth many times that. I learned how to build an offer, how to run a sales call, and so many other foundational skills. I’ve paid that investment back many times over by applying what I learned.
I also went through a phase where I was ruthless about my content consumption. For a while, I didn’t watch or read anything apart from business content. I’m more balanced now, but that focused learning period was crucial.
Always learning. And I use what I learn in my own business, for myself, and through the support I provide to my clients.
The Hard Truth
But let me be real with you about what this actually looks like.
It will not happen overnight. This is a process. A long one. It will be hard.
Why? If it was easy, everyone would be financially free.
If you want something that only a tiny percentage of the population has, expect it to be hard. But that’s okay. Hard is good. We learn from doing hard things.
I know what you’re thinking: “But I don’t have time.”
I don’t believe in “I don’t have time.” Time won’t magically appear. You’re going to have to find it. Make it. Make it a priority.
Ditch watching your evening movie and instead learn or build for 2 hours. Wake up 30 minutes earlier. Take a shorter lunch break and use the spare time.
If you think you don’t have time because “you’re so busy,” check your screen time on your phone. Look at how many hours you waste scrolling. Then be honest with yourself.
The best time to start was when you earned your first dollar. The second-best time is today.
Even Partial Freedom is Worth It
Even if you don’t reach full financial freedom, investing in yourself will never be a waste.
If you get 50% of the way there, good on you. You can work part-time.
And even if you don’t get there financially, you’ll have bettered yourself throughout your life. The impact of that on your life and the ones around you cannot be neglected, even if it’s invisible and not financial.
Oh, and one more thing: be careful who you listen to.
Don’t take financial advice from someone who’s broke. Don’t take business advice from someone who’s never had the courage to try.
Most people - especially family, friends, and neighbors - have bad advice. They mean well, but they’re speaking from their own fears and limitations, not from experience.
Listen to people who’ve actually done what you want to do.
Ready to start moving toward financial freedom, even if it’s just partial?
Start today. Be honest about where your time actually goes. Invest in yourself first.
The system might not be perfect, but it’s the one we’ve got. We can either complain about it or learn to win within it.
I’m choosing to win.
What about you? Where are you on this journey toward financial freedom?
If you want to take this discussion further or you’re seeking some support on your path, shoot me an email. I’m always happy to brainstorm and explore what’s possible for you.
J