Five Cents Ten Cents

"My Darling" Flickr! image by Gaptone

One of the key lessons I’ve learnt in the journey towards financial freedom is to make time for important things.

Financial freedom is my objective. The process in which I achieve my objective is also important. In my quest for financial freedom, I realise that health is critical to being able to enjoy the fruits of your success. If you sacrifice your health to achieve financial freedom, it is what we call a “pyrrhic victory” or as Wikipedia explains:

…the term is used by analogy in fields such as business, politics, law, literature, and sports to describe any similar struggle which is ruinous for the victor.

There is no point in winning the battle but to have lost the war.

What are important things?

The lesson to be learnt from the concept of pyrrhic victory is to balance the means by which you obtain your ends. Our objective (”ends”) in financial freedom is to generate enough passive income to be able to be financially free. In this quest, the process brings with it some valuable insights that we should not lose ourselves in the pursuit of financial freedom.

Insight #1 : Financial freedom exists in a context

Financial freedom exists in a context. We want to reach the goal of being financially free. Upon reaching that goal, are we able to truly say we are happy and fulfilled because being financially free releases us to do those things are gives us meaning, value and fulfilment?

This means that before your reach the point of financial freedom, you have to already know what are those important areas of your life that give you meaning, value and fulfilment.

I am grateful that in my life I’ve encountered three key experiences that have helped shape my context of financial freedom.

My first was [1] volunteer work. I have volunteered for a few years in a non-profit association as a board member. I have also volunteered in the kidsREAD program reading stories to children aged five to eight years-old from lower-income families. Both the experiences taught me the value and fulfilment in service but also taught me about being burnt-out and tired and the need to balance one’s own health as well.

The second has been my [2] toastmastering experience. Joining a few toastmasters clubs helped build up skills in public speaking and networking. It has been instrumental in building up my confidence in interviews for jobs and in being able to organise and articulate my ideas when needed.

The third is [3] fatherhood. Being a father to my one year-old daughter has made me become less selfish, more aware of others’ needs and at the same time also gave me a strong reason to achieve financial freedom. The closer I get to financial freedom, the more it frees up time for my daughter (and spouse) and also for myself. There is also a next generation to bequeath my assets should anything happen to me in this journey.

Insight #2 : Financial freedom requires balance

A sustainable journey has to be balanced. Rush all the way to your objective and you end up so exhausted that you don’t have the energy to enjoy achieving it. Go too slow and you find that you are too old to enjoy the fruits of being financially free.

Many of us require our careers, jobs and businesses to sustain our standard of living. To survive, we need (some) money. To thrive, we need health and meaningful relationships with family, friends  and acquaintances. I’ve realised that if balance is missing in your quest for financial freedom, you will not enjoy the journey. Instead, it becomes aburden, weighing down on your like a ball and chain, depriving you of enjoying the day to day activities that get you towards financial freedom.

Insight #3 : It is better to strive for it then to wallow in self-pity and envy

Human beings are competitive beings. We compare against each other all the time whether we are conscious of it or not. It’s not wrong to benchmark yourself. It gives you targets to strive for and makes you want to be better. Do it to the extreme, you end up constantly comparing yourself to your neighbours and making yourself unhappy all the time.

I’ve realised in setting targets and striving towards what financial freedom means to me, I’ve become less competitive in comparing myself to others. Of course, I still do but not so much of “green eyes” that I’m envious of what some people my age have achieved, but more to do a reality check. I also compare downwards in that I’m grateful and feel blessed with what I already have. I don’t kick up a big fuss about what I don’t.

By setting yourself your own target towards financial freedom, you motivate yourself to be better in all aspects of life that matter to you. You start then to make time for important things. Shopping or saving? What is more important?

Reading about investing or reading 8 days:- what is more important?

Exercising to have more energy for work and play and to be healthy or vegetating in front of the television. What is more important?

When you have set specific targets and have goals in life, individual decisions can be weighed against your targets and you’d start to understand more about what are the important things and to make time for them.

What important things do you want to make time for?

Tell Panzer in the comments section.

Be well and prosper.

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Panzer is a 30-something accountant who finally grasped the concept of financial freedom at the ripe old age of 32. Ever since, he has been travelling on his journey towards financial freedom and documenting his adventures through his blog Five Cents Ten Cents.

His first self-published book, “Panzer’s Guide to Financial Freedom: It’s Your Money and It’s Your Life“, was launched in November 2008 sharing his thoughts on his journey towards financial freedom.