Well, you have heard about the 4% rule of accumulating the enough money, so that the you can use the annual interest to cover your expenses without reducing the money or building assets like real estate or build businesses that pay you regularly. The journey of the financial freedom can be taken from the two direction. One is frugal living and to save enough money with whatever you earn and little side hustles you do for it. The other is just going hard and crazy to take risk from your existing life and to get into something that is dynamically shifting market and to create disruptive (more approachable and affordable) innovative products or services to people around you. Below are the things that matter the most from my perspective in attaining financial freedom, not your current background or the money in your bank account.
Find your Passion
The balance between the both extremes is important when you decide to make transitions, it all depends on what you choose to do with this life. The finance aspect of it is just a part of it. You need to love and be happy with what you do when you are making the money. As Steve Jobs says, "The only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle". Find something that immediately makes you to jump with excitement and can keep you high. Find something that you can passionately do continuously for couple of weeks and that which brings value in other lives. Paramahansa Yogananda has also said that never have an ordinary life, constantly have a creative effort that has been gifted to us by the Divine. Be creative and don't be living copy of others.
Change to growth mindset
Many people feel insecure to do new things and to continue with the existing job or workplace. In my life, i have met people who have had no money to buy a cup of coffee and after 10-20 years making millions in business turnover, and another person who didn't have money to buy a ticket in public transport bus and after few decades he is driving an Audi car. The reason for their success is just that they felt within themselves, that they can pull it off and to make things happen and persevere till it is done. They must have been with below average skill and knowledge when they started out. But over the period of time, they have gained tremendous amounts of knowledge, skill and practical experiences which took them to new heights in their life.
Have Social exposure
You have to go places, make yourself present in new places and meet new people. Spend at-least 5 hours per week to create your network. Network means a lot to make this goal of yours to happen for you quicker. Its like as you meet many diverse people, you have a quicker convergence to your goal of financial freedom. Connect with people personally, and follow up on them and if possible refer some contacts, many appreciate it. You can go to many exhibitions, conventions and various meeting platforms. There is lot going on around than you are aware off.
Live a rich life
You can live a rich life. The word rich-life doesn't mean just you have abundance of money. It means you have a richer life. Like for me, i feel rich if i build something new, few months i have built Dobsonian telescope in my home from scratch with just some laying around hardware and few purchases (Currently, i am modifying my bicycle to an electric one using a ready-made e-bike conversion kit. Its going so great). I felt richer with so much love and passion while building it. If i would like to spend 2-4 times more money to build new stuffs, it makes a huge transformation in my life and it will keep me happy, excited and satisfied with the creative pursuit that i am chasing. Find your passion that made you recently happy. What if you could double, quadruple your spending on that ? How it will transform your life ? It can range from anything like fitness, travel, food etc.
Frugal Living
There is a saying that, what you own, owns a part of you. Its like you are stuck with it. Like if you brought a new car, you are stuck with it. You have to pay for maintenance, fuel and other expenses. You would feel happy in the beginning and immediately it comes back to the baseline. It is the hedonic adaptation of our mind. It is the same with your salary hike. It gives a temporary spike of happiness. The same goes with the dream job, tons of cash, marriage, house, beautiful body/face etc. Our minds just work contrary in predicting and doing what we really need for a happy life. lots of money doesn't make you happy. You would feel like it would, but it doesn't. Once you have tons of cash, your mind adapts to it. It no longer excites you. So, cut down your expense on what doesn't makes you happy that you are spending other then the basic necessities, simplify your life.
Maximize happiness
There are simple things that you can do with least expense that can maximize your happiness. The list goes as follows: doing exercise, meditation, practicing gratefulness, finding your core strengths and putting it to daily use, spend money on others, give emotional support or serve others. I learned about this in the positive psychology courses taken in coursera called the "Science of well-being" by a yale professor Lauri Santos. These things can be done with least expense and you cant imagine how much meaning, purpose and joy it brings in your lives.
Devotion to God
This brings us to now, we are already financially free. It is all in our minds that we think of otherwise. We all have plenty to eat and live a normal life. Nature has provided with abundance of resources outside and enough skills and creativity within us to serve value to others and make a difference in this life. Many think that all the effort is self-effort. There is something bigger than us that is working through us, inspiring us and guiding us all along, and if you can let that power manifest itself more in your life. It would transform your life and the lives around you in a extraordinary way.
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