The Progression from a JOB to Financial Freedom and Flexibility in Life

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Since I started blogging in July, there are two questions that I continue to get from my newsletter readership, colleagues and devil’s advocates.

First, “what do you mean by getting more out of life” and second, “a lot of it sounds good, but where does one even start?”

To address the first question, getting more out of life to me means living the life you want now, or expediting it rather than toiling away 40 years working for a paycheck and hoping you end up anywhere near your ideal retirement.

There comes a certain point in a successful professional’s career when money is no longer a factor, or not as big of a factor at least as some other variables such as time away from the office, freedom to stay up and wake up late, flexibility to travel and attend family functions at-will.

That is what I precisely mean when I say “get more out of life”.  Through this blog, I convey methods that have worked for me, and others who I personally know who have created a balance in life between all that they enjoy.  Through these methods, you choose how you want to live your life, and not simply compromise with the best available option to you.

The overarching theme often leads to the concept of developing multiple streams of passive and residual income, whether on the side or as a full time endeavor.  Again, the choice is yours.  The world too beautiful and life is too good to be spending it living on terms someone else has determined for you.

I am a big advocate of leveraging effective systems to work as efficiently as possible, and create the flexibility most people don’t have but crave for in life.  Through this blog, I share my experiences, recent trends, developments and success stories from all around us.

Where Do You Start?

The second question often comes from those that have the desire to break free, but lack the financial savvy or discipline to establish the foundation needed to get to the next level.  What do I mean? I mean that many would agree with what I advocate conceptually or theoretically, but cannot necessarily relate to it personally or visualize how what I say can be incorporated into their own lives.

The effect is often times an overwhelming feeling, confusion and even frustration.  The root cause is often a weak foundation.  One must crawl, then learn to walk before they can run.  What does this mean?

In simple English, before attempting to understand the mechanics of the concepts that I talk about, one must have the financial savvy to understand the underlying objectives which are often times tied to personal finance.  A sound understanding of personal finance is therefore a prerequisite.

For example, you cannot expect to grow your net worth if you have holes left and right in the bath tub of life through which money is seeping out.  You must first plug the gaps before turning on more faucets of wealth.  You won’t be able to fully appreciate the power of compounding interest on money you put away for savings or retirements.

What about other simple concepts such as budgets, debt and equity?  These are just some examples that reinforce the need for a strong financial foundation or baseline before embarking on the next step.  You must develop financial discipline.

There is a reason there are a million personal finance blogs out there with their fair share of readership.  There is a need for this education and awareness, and if you are not up to speed, I highly recommend starting now.  Pick up some Dave Ramsey or Suze Orman books and read away for a few months.

Once you have built the basic personal finance foundation, you will appreciate my blog more as you will begin to understand passive income, its potential and impact on your finances and life.  Once you begin to grasp that, you will be able to see how you can “get more out of life”.  And just like that, you will begin to see how one can transform life completely, hence the term “lifestyle design”.

Lifestyle design, life transformation, semi retirements, early retirements, financial freedom, mobility and lifestyle reengineering are all buzz words that up till some point may have seemed hype.  As you develop your knowledge and transition from walking to running, these become well within reach.

Though I’ve attempted to make this post is short, the process to get from crawling to running (hopefully flying) takes time.  All is possible however if you are willing to open up your mind, taking initiative to educate yourself and then applying the principles learned in your day to day life.

A very big assumption in each of my posts is the readership of this blog.  This blog is meant for the successful professional who has some level of financial savvy.  That is not to say there is no scope for newbies.  There is, and it will take time to drill the point home.  But for those who have already walked however and are ready to run, you have found just the right place to be at.

Sunil
Progressing

2 Responses to “The Progression from a JOB to Financial Freedom and Flexibility in Life”

1. refrigerator repair says:

   June 5, 2011 at 4:54 am

   I’ve to admit that i generally get bored to read the entire thing but i feel you can add some value. Bravo !

   Reply
2. Alverta Seed says:

   June 5, 2011 at 8:19 pm

   Whoa! This blog looks exactly like my old one! It’s on a entirely different topic but it has pretty much the same page layout and design. Excellent choice of colors!

   Reply