Your money or your life – 2

My sincere apologies to my readers for dropping off the radar without a word of warning. I took time off to go back to where I started and take a second look at the compass to make sure I am heading in the direction I originally intended rather than going with the flow. That effort will definitely bring about a change of direction, the magnitude of which I am still pondering.

When I started my journey to financial freedom a decade or so ago, what was paramount on my mind was gaining back my freedom by quitting my job and then doing what I really liked. My journey to financial freedom made me embrace financial education and give back through a website that eventually became this blog.

Writing that book changed the way I look at money. I discovered that financial freedom is not about money but about the freedom to truly be yourself and to find your voice. Attaining financial independence gives you the freedom to choose – to be you and not what others want you to be. Your money or your life.

Growing up in an industrial age culture of – going to good schools, getting a good job, and living a ‘good’ life, I soon lost sight of the fact that we were placed here for a purpose. We are not tourists on the planet. We are here to make a difference – to solve a problem with our name on it. When you earn to spend, you lose sight of the big picture. That is why it is so easy to misappropriate funds. Without goals and vision, it is natural to do what everyone around you is doing.

Our life is measured in time. When your time on earth is over, your tombstone will read when you were born and when you died. If you do the math, you can break it down to years, months, weeks, and hours. Whatever it is you might have achieved, you literally exchanged your life for it. Every month, you exchange 160 hours of your life for your paycheck. If you don’t know where you are going, you will trade your whole life for money.

Gaining control of your finances is much easier when you have a goal and a vision of the future. When you know what you are working towards, it is much easier to delay gratification, save and spend on purpose. Having a big-picture view helps the small picture line up. When you have big dreams and a plan to start from where you are, it is easy to do without for a season, so that today will not hold your tomorrow hostage.