We think it will lead us to financial freedom. But the truth is… we are often using the wrong vehicle to achieve this goal.
The ultimate destination most are after is the FREEDOM to do what they want in any given moment… that includes having more fun.
Financial freedom just so happens to be the thing that offers anyone the ability to do this. For any journey we must have a vehicle. Fundamentally there are ONLY three vehicles you can have when it comes to your financial freedom journey. Each one corresponds to a particular relationship with wealth. There are only three that are possible… And even if we don’t actively pick our relationship with wealth, we will have one by default. The key is to choose the vehicle that suits your wants/needs.
The 3 vehicles are as follows:
- The Bicycle A bicycle is pretty simple to ride however it doesn’t go anywhere especially fast. A long journey on a bicycle is slow and arduous… we may also become tired and never reach our goal. How does this relate to your finances? Well, the simple fact is that the journey is often pretty long therefore if we take a bicycle then we are unlikely to reach our destination in a timely manner… if at all. The Bicycle corresponds to not having a plan when it comes to our money – we meander around without really getting closer to our overall objective. The key thing to understand is that we are on the bicycle by default… Therefore, we must do something to get off. We must TAKE ACTION.
- The Bus The bus is consistent and reliable (relatively). It gives us a high likelihood that we will reach our destination. The primary issue is that whilst it is faster than the bike – it’s not that quick overall. Because it is public transport it means we are sharing this method with everyone else. No issues with this in principle, it’s just that we may prefer a more individual approach. How does this correspond to our finances? Well, the “get rich slowly” and “buy and hold” strategies are effectively the bus method. There's a very high likelihood we’ll get to financial freedom however usually this process takes 20-30 years. This is mainly why most people retire at 60-65 or so. If we are using the same methods as everybody else, we’ll get the same results. It’s important to state that this is TOTALLY FINE. However if dentistry is not something you enjoy that much, then 20-30 years is a long time to spend doing something you don’t like. In a way this is the risk with this method. Don’t get me wrong we should all be using the bus method – we just have to understand when it applies and when it doesn’t. The good news is that there’s another method.
- The Sports Car The sports car is FAST. It has the potential to get us to our goal of freedom VERY quickly. However, it is also not super reliable and may break down. This may even mean we have to start our journey all over again. The sports car can be scary BUT it is the only vehicle that has real potential to allow us to be financially free AND in our (relative) youth. The sports car corresponds to anything that will generate great wealth in a fast manner. This effectively means we can pull wealth forward from the future to today.
Two examples of these methods are:
- a high leverage skill (e.g. public speaking)
- a successful business
It’s definitely not for everyone HOWEVER it is the only viable alternative to the other two vehicles should they not suit your needs. It usually requires huge leaps outside your comfort zone.The risk would be that that we never really get to enjoy life in the moment.
IMPORTANT PART: There is no right or wrong path – just make sure you’ve picked the vehicle that is best for you.
Whichever vehicle you CHOOSE (can be one exclusively OR a combination) just make sure you are HAPPY.
Most people sacrifice the journey (working too hard, not having enough free time) to reach the destination (financial freedom). It’s really cool to realise actually this isn’t always necessary. (The only vehicle I would suggest avoiding is the bicycle. Remember we are on it by default unless we do something).
My personal opinion is that we should do some combination of BUS activities and SPORTS CAR activities. Then we have skin in the game for the best of both worlds.
This group isn’t about making you pick a specific path – its more about letting you know what your options are so that you can decide for yourself.
Peace
This is adapted from a book called “The Millionaire Fastlane” by Jay DeMarco if anyone wants to do some further reading
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