A Definition of "Financial Freedom" Changed My Life

[Mitch Stephen]

I once heard a defintion of "Financial Freedom" that changed my life. The definition went like this;

"FINANCIAL FREEDOM happens when your wants and your needs are exceeded by your passive income."

Once I heard that definition everything changed... everything became crystal clear to me. I had been chasing money but I didn't know exactly why or how much I needed. How much was enough? I had nothing to measure by.

Until I heard that definition, I always assumed that people who were "financially free" were rich. After hearing that definition my life changed completely because I finally understood that being financial free and being wealthy were to completely different things.

That definition said to me that I controlled the bar. Where the bar was set was up to me. At the time I needed $3,500 per month to be free... free from having to have a job or to answer to anyone else on a daily basis. Thinking of becoming rich was daunting but financial freedom was doable. Freedom was well within reach. $3,500 per month was doable!

That definition also said to me; when I become financially free at a modest level, I'd then have the luxury of persueing my hopes and my dreams 24/7/365 days a year. I instinctively realized (finally) that the sooner I became financially free, the sooner I'd have my run at being wealthy.

From that day forward I became singlular in focus and knew exactly where I was at and how fast or slow I was approaching the inevitable first step to my freedom. I had to create $3,500/mo worth of passive income. Suddenly, the mountain of entrepreneurism was not so tall. I could see - smell- the first platue along my own personal hike towards success.

I achieved that goal in a relatively short period of time...1 year. I quit my job and began chasing my dreams every day - all day. My first year I did 45 houses. My 2nd year I did 65 houses. My 3 year I purchased 150 houses and sold 97.

It all started one day when my desire for "chunks of money" was replaced with a desire for "slices of cash flow" that added up to $3,500 per month. After all, money isn't what we are really after is it? I contend we are after our freedom. If freedom could be bought with jelly-beans, we'd all be reading books about how to find jelly-beans...right? All money does is buy you freedom.

I didn't have to be rich to keep my overhead low. In fact, being poor had already tempered me towards doing just that; living modestly. The secret was to keep my overhead low even as I began to make more and more money. Personally, I wanted my freedom more than I wanted a boat or a new car. I put a premium on "Freedom." I wanted my freedom so I could see just who I'd become if I didn't have the pressures of making a living haning over my head. It ended up just as I suspected. I became wealthy after I became financially free.