When is YOUR Independence Day? Are You Free to do What You Want?

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I won’t be too verbose today. But in the spirit of Independence Day, I wanted  to revisit the premise of this blog, which is to strive to get more out of life.

For many successful professionals, once they hit a certain salary point in their careers, it is no longer just about money. In other words, incremental financial reward doesn’t add incrementally as much to their happiness and state of well being. Rather, such professionals start to crave the freedom, flexibility and ability to spend more time with their loved ones and live life on their own terms.

This is also the biggest reason why many entrepreneurs choose to go the internet route. They do this to create a lifestyle that fits their own goals and objectives, not those of someone else such as an employer. This is what is popularly referred to as lifestyle design – to be able to work and live life according to one’s own terms.

There are many rich people in this world, but how many of them have the time to do what they want to do? Many are tied down by shiny golden hand cuffs, while others simply can’t let go because ridiculously large bills have to be paid.

Although I am not advocating quitting your job, establishing a foundation to become job optional at some point, or at least not rely so much on just your job has several benefits which directly impact your physical and emotional well being.  This is particularly more critical if you hate what you currently do.

What are YOU doing to work toward your freedom?  Have you started contemplating a side business yet that can take you to where you want to be in life? Remember that as you do so to design your business around the lifestyle that you imagine for yourself and your family.

We don’t live to work, we work to live. So doing the right things that support that idealogy feels right to me.

Remember, you don’t have to quit your job to accomplish this. Many have been able to achieve their ideal work and lifestyle combination, including myself, by establishing side gigs while working full time.  The important thing is that you get started and continue make gradual progress over time.

What are you doing today to position yourself for the future? If you are one of the few fortunate ones that is perfectly happy and content already and love what you do, congratulations to you and I hope that you continue to feel that way, and may your job always be as secure as it can be, and that you may always be able to do the things you want to do inside and outside the office.

If you are in the United States, belated Happy 4^th of July to you and yours! If you are not, enjoy the rest of your week and have a wonderful weekend ahead.

14 Responses to “When is YOUR Independence Day? Are You Free to do What You Want?”

1. Thomas @ Mobile App Tycoon says:

   July 5, 2012 at 3:10 pm

   Great comparison here – Independence day is a great reminder to everyone that with enough perseverance and hard work you can overcome the odds and live the life you want to live!

   Thomas

   Reply
   • Sunil says:

     July 6, 2012 at 7:33 am

     this is true Thomas. I really believe that one can design the type of life they want given the resources we have today. first, decide where you want to be and what you want to have, and then work backwards. but one doesn’t have to stick to that path. many “just do it”, which is also fine, and then find themselves where they thought they wanted to be.

     Reply
2. Cristina Ansbjerg says:

   July 6, 2012 at 3:16 am

   Interesting post, Sunil. I just published a book titled Starting a Business While Keeping your Job, and one of the critics I’ve got in private is that the book advocates to keep your job and building a side business.

   I know the ideal situation for most of the people would be to quit the paycheck and focus 100% on their own business, but that’s not possible in many cases. Simple as that. People need to pay their bills and support their families first.

   Reply
   • Sunil says:

     July 6, 2012 at 7:32 am

     not only that Cristina, but there are a lot of good things to be said for a solid corporate career as well. for us who play online, things can get blurry sometimes given the type of discussions people tend to focus on when it comes to online ventures. it blurs perspectives. it’s important to maintain balance and give a fair assessment to both sides of the coin. your book title sounds very intriguing, totally up my alley 🙂

     I am interested in how it performs and your promotion methods. I hope to hear more about it as it matures

     Reply
3. LCF Personal Finance says:

   July 6, 2012 at 9:02 am

   Hey Sunil, another bull’s eye piece! I believe we are all aware that in the corporate world, many go into a self destructive cycle of going for expensive vacation or getting lavish material things to justify for the 60 hours work week. Which ironically puts them in a even shinier and heavier golden handcuffs :). And in many multinational companies that adopt the trend of outsourcing jobs in corporate America to their Asia counterparts, people are really clinging desperately to their jobs, hoping they can make it to 60 years or so without being retrenched. The other day, an engineering director in one of my company site at Illinois was having a conference all with my dept senior manager – at 2 am Illinois time.

   Lieu

   Reply
   • Sunil says:

     July 7, 2012 at 10:44 am

     it’s interesting isn’t it? one can have a very good life with a successful corporate career, but people get carried away like you said. that’s why I believe fundamental personal finance (maybe more so discipline) is critical to a sound financial future. making extra money is just a mechanism to expedite the wealth building process. many however do it the traditional way of the tortoise crawling nicely and safely to the bank 🙂 which is also perfectly fine.

     Reply
4. Theodore says:

   July 7, 2012 at 7:54 am

   Sunil You’ve certainly made some great point here especially “We don’t live to work, we work to live”. I love the article though not in America. Looking forward to read your next post. Thanks for sharing.
   Lets succeed together.

   Reply
   • Sunil says:

     July 7, 2012 at 10:48 am

     true, this article applies to any of us anywhere. cheers to success Theodore!

     Reply
5. Manette @ Barbara Friedberg Personal Finance says:

   July 7, 2012 at 10:36 pm

   If you are referring to financial freedom as zero debt, we have not attained that stage yet. We are still paying off my husband’s student loan, though we are positive that we will be able to pay it off before the year ends. When that happens, then we can say that we have already attained financial freedom. Let’s keep our fingers crossed.

   Reply
   • Sunil says:

     July 9, 2012 at 10:02 pm

     I’d take it a step further and say it is the point where you are not only debt free, but also have a sufficient cash flow to sustain the lifestyle you want for you

     Reply
6. Shalu Sharma says:

   July 8, 2012 at 6:39 am

   Most of the time we are concentrated around jobs. Either we are at work or sleeping, more than half our lives. We need to get out of this circle and start something and break the cycle. Some have! Financial freedom is something that troubles us all. Blogging is going to be that way.

   Reply
   • Sunil says:

     July 9, 2012 at 10:03 pm

     blogging can certainly be one of those ways Shalu. looks like you are on your way 🙂

     Reply
7. Ben says:

   July 11, 2012 at 5:16 am

   Great reminder post Sunil for what many of us are trying to achieve with IM. A life of freedom, to choose the paths we want to live and not be trapped in the rat-race that is modern day society.

   Reply
   • Sunil says:

     July 11, 2012 at 11:19 am

     that is certainly one option available for those who put in the time and work to get there

     Reply