Are you betraying yourself?
There are many reasons why more and more people today are thinking about, dreaming about, or planning for financial freedom:
1. There are more opportunities than ever to launch micro-businesses which can, via the Internet, access foreign markets. In fact, with globalization, one could even talk about there being only ONE giant Internet-based market. James Davidson talks extensively about this "cybereconomy" in his amazing book, The Sovereign Individual, published in 1997. I highly, highly recommend that book to those who want to acquire a deep understanding of the Internet-based economy.
2. There are more books offering advice, some sound, some not, on business, entrepreneurship, investment, etc.
3. There are more ideas being generated as a result of more people interacting online through sites like Linkedin, which has a questions and answer forum where people exchange views, ideas, resources and opinions
What is most important, in my opinion, is to understand what CREATES financial freedom.
To do that, I've created this strange story which I hope can entertain you as well.
Imagine that you went on a sea trip and somehow, your ship was wrecked to pieces by a storm. However, you are fortunate there was an island nearby, and you were able to swim to shore. One other survivor was also able to reach that island.
Let's say his name is John.
There's nobody else on the island. So you decide to work together to start over your life, on that isolated island. Indeed, together, both of you constitute a new "society."
You're a good hunter and a good cook, and you discover that John is great at creating temporary shelters to protect you both from the harsh weather on the island (rain, storm, etc.).
So naturally, you agree with John that he should build temporary shelters for both of you, while you go hunting and cook meals every day.
And so, you both go to "work" for one another.
Every day, you spend a total of 8 hours to hunt or gather fruits, vegetables, herbs, etc. in order to make three meals per day.
John, for his part, spends about 8 hours to build and maintain the shelters that keep you both protected from the weather. These shelters are not very solid, so they have to be maintained actively almost every day.
Both of you work 9 to 5 every day, and have time off in the evening.
Over time, you become better and more efficient at making meals -- it now takes you only 5 hours. John is even better: it takes him only 3 hours every day to make or maintain or repair the shelters, made from tree branches and various leafy materials from the island's jungle.
So it could be said that you have "achieved" 3 hours of freedom per day (8 minus 5), while John has achieved or created, through efficient work methods, 5 hours of freedom (8 minus 3).
This "freedom from work" is truly what financial freedom is all about.
Financial freedom is not an amount of money in the bank, nor is it your wealth relative to the Joneses or other people to whom you socially compare yourself.
In other words, financial freedom is the time freedom that you have. It is the number of hours, per day, where you are FREE to decide what to do, whom to do it with, where to go, etc.
So an employee who has to work 8 hours per day at the office, could be said to have 16 hours of freedom every day (24 minus 8). Of course, he has to sleep about 8 hours, so he really only has 8 hours of freedom every day.
If he's married and has kids, well then he has zero hours of freedom. I'm just kidding.
The question which few people ask themselves is, "During the hours where I have freedom, what am I doing to liberate myself from the hours where I do NOT have freedom?"
Instead, people watch TV, read fiction, waste time on gossiping, etc. This misuse of their freedom time, forces them to go back to work the following day!
To really illustrate my point, think about it this way: suppose you are not ONE person, but TWO.
There's a version of you that is NOT FREE. This is the you who has to show up at work every day, from 9 to 5.
Then, there's a version of you that is FREE every weekday, from 5 PM to 11 PM, and during week-ends.
The you that is FREE, must work hard, read books, attend seminars, etc. in order to LIBERATE the you that is NOT FREE!
That is the only way for both of you to be free -- only then would you achieve total freedom and total mastery of your life.
Brian Tracy put it this way: Every day in North America, we work 8 hours a day to survive. Every extra hour that we work, is an investment in our future and in our prosperity.
I read that line in 1993, and memorized it for life.
In other words, if the you that is free, is not working hard to liberate that you that is NOT free, then a part of you is BETRAYING the other part of you.
(to be continued)
1. There are more opportunities than ever to launch micro-businesses which can, via the Internet, access foreign markets. In fact, with globalization, one could even talk about there being only ONE giant Internet-based market. James Davidson talks extensively about this "cybereconomy" in his amazing book, The Sovereign Individual, published in 1997. I highly, highly recommend that book to those who want to acquire a deep understanding of the Internet-based economy.
2. There are more books offering advice, some sound, some not, on business, entrepreneurship, investment, etc.
3. There are more ideas being generated as a result of more people interacting online through sites like Linkedin, which has a questions and answer forum where people exchange views, ideas, resources and opinions
What is most important, in my opinion, is to understand what CREATES financial freedom.
To do that, I've created this strange story which I hope can entertain you as well.
Imagine that you went on a sea trip and somehow, your ship was wrecked to pieces by a storm. However, you are fortunate there was an island nearby, and you were able to swim to shore. One other survivor was also able to reach that island.
Let's say his name is John.
There's nobody else on the island. So you decide to work together to start over your life, on that isolated island. Indeed, together, both of you constitute a new "society."
You're a good hunter and a good cook, and you discover that John is great at creating temporary shelters to protect you both from the harsh weather on the island (rain, storm, etc.).
So naturally, you agree with John that he should build temporary shelters for both of you, while you go hunting and cook meals every day.
And so, you both go to "work" for one another.
Every day, you spend a total of 8 hours to hunt or gather fruits, vegetables, herbs, etc. in order to make three meals per day.
John, for his part, spends about 8 hours to build and maintain the shelters that keep you both protected from the weather. These shelters are not very solid, so they have to be maintained actively almost every day.
Both of you work 9 to 5 every day, and have time off in the evening.
Over time, you become better and more efficient at making meals -- it now takes you only 5 hours. John is even better: it takes him only 3 hours every day to make or maintain or repair the shelters, made from tree branches and various leafy materials from the island's jungle.
So it could be said that you have "achieved" 3 hours of freedom per day (8 minus 5), while John has achieved or created, through efficient work methods, 5 hours of freedom (8 minus 3).
This "freedom from work" is truly what financial freedom is all about.
Financial freedom is not an amount of money in the bank, nor is it your wealth relative to the Joneses or other people to whom you socially compare yourself.
In other words, financial freedom is the time freedom that you have. It is the number of hours, per day, where you are FREE to decide what to do, whom to do it with, where to go, etc.
So an employee who has to work 8 hours per day at the office, could be said to have 16 hours of freedom every day (24 minus 8). Of course, he has to sleep about 8 hours, so he really only has 8 hours of freedom every day.
If he's married and has kids, well then he has zero hours of freedom. I'm just kidding.
The question which few people ask themselves is, "During the hours where I have freedom, what am I doing to liberate myself from the hours where I do NOT have freedom?"
Instead, people watch TV, read fiction, waste time on gossiping, etc. This misuse of their freedom time, forces them to go back to work the following day!
To really illustrate my point, think about it this way: suppose you are not ONE person, but TWO.
There's a version of you that is NOT FREE. This is the you who has to show up at work every day, from 9 to 5.
Then, there's a version of you that is FREE every weekday, from 5 PM to 11 PM, and during week-ends.
The you that is FREE, must work hard, read books, attend seminars, etc. in order to LIBERATE the you that is NOT FREE!
That is the only way for both of you to be free -- only then would you achieve total freedom and total mastery of your life.
Brian Tracy put it this way: Every day in North America, we work 8 hours a day to survive. Every extra hour that we work, is an investment in our future and in our prosperity.
I read that line in 1993, and memorized it for life.
In other words, if the you that is free, is not working hard to liberate that you that is NOT free, then a part of you is BETRAYING the other part of you.
(to be continued)
posted by Super Peter at 3:03 AM
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