Start With Freedom — Move Towards Money
Too many people start with money, hoping to move towards freedom.
The myth is that if you work yourself to the bone and grind it out for decades, eventually you’ll have the freedom you want. It lies just on the other side of the hill, and you have to keep climbing.
I am truly baffled by the idea that working 50+ hours per week, feeling stressed out as fuck, extending yourself beyond your means on all levels, would somehow lead to happiness and peacefulness. The concepts of retirement, entrepreneurship, and luxury all serve to reinforce this nonsensical ideal.
In the words of Seneca: “After you have come to possess all other things, shall you then wish to possess wisdom also?”
The truth is that the only path towards peace of mind and happiness is to pursue it now. Some people can find this within a steady job. Others can’t.
I Couldn’t
So I had to start with freedom.
I am infinitely happier now, earning between $150 and $500 per week, working my way up, and btw only working 30 hours per week total including all of my non-monetized music work.
I had to learn these techniques at the start. I had to start from the right first principles, which meant not trying to go on tour or get tons of listens on my songs yet. The worst case would be to unexpectedly succeed via some kind of “hit” at the early stage. That would not be ideal. It is so hard to maintain any personal joy and strength when you don’t get to see your hard work through.
I hope I’m still climbing when I’m 40, 50, and even beyond. I want to put out my best record when I’m 71, just like how David Lynch recently dropped his magnum opus of an 18 hour film with “Twin Peaks the Return.”
And to be as free as possible, one must be free now. It is uncommon to hear of people who become both free and happy simultaneously when they start by earning money or building a fanbase.
What do you think? Do you prioritize freedom in your own life?
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Preach brother! I am an entreprenuer, and while I do work hard, I try to find ways to reduce the amount of time I need to invest in my businesses so i have more free time with my family.
I will say, the older you get, the more responsibilities you tend to take on which ultimately may require more of your time per week. I have a family that I support so I have less options when it comes to downsizing or throwing caution to the wind, but I still fully agree with you and I think my hustle comes from a place of freedom versus working for someone else in an office...
Isn't it ironic that as our time becomes our precious, we fill it up with more business? So is life. Hopefully this technology will enable people like us to take more control of our time, without sacrificing any of the security or prosperity that our families deserve.
Amen to that! I need a vacation dude!
I totally agree. While I ultimately ended up in another 9-5 job, it's one that I love, and really, the only one that I would have ever chosen.
To get there, I had to give up the secure job with the health insurance and the 401K. The job that had me fantasizing, every morning, of dying in a fiery car crash.
I knew I only had enough money saved to take eight months off, but I also knew that if I didn't give myself the mental space to unwind, explore other options, and tend to some personal family matters that would have otherwise unravelled themselves to our detriment, I wasn't going to have much to look forward to in life.
Once I quit, we were able to take care of the family stuff, we discovered Steemit, and other opportunities seemed to appear out of nowhere.
With eight months of savings (and a mindset of being able to organize + control spending for that long), you were way WAY ahead of the curve. Sounds like the exact example of a success story, since you spent all that time saving and practicing the self-control it would take to find a job you could be happy with.
My approach is more "slash and burn" in comparison lol
Freedom, for sure. I've worked at home for the last 10 years. Even when I worked in an office, it was a friend's business. I refuse to be just an "employee". It's just not in my nature. I would rather be broke and live in a tent!
We're cut from the same cloth in that way :-)
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This is exactly what I needed to hear. I was offered a programming job in something I didn't want to spend my time doing but it came with a great pay. They told me that I should just be willing to grind the next couple of years to make a lot of money and then ball out.
I chose instead to start enjoying life now.