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The Art of Failing Forward to Financial Freedom
For the longest time I thought financial freedom was only for the wealthy. And then I read this sentence somewhere and everything changed for me:
are exceeded by your passive income.”
It also said; if I kept my wants and my needs reasonable, then the amount of passive income I’d need to achieve financial freedom would also be reasonable. I would never settle for keeping my dreams and aspirations low but I recognized that the sooner I got to even the most meager level of financial freedom, the sooner I would be working on my dreams and aspirations full time!
Imagine this little kingdom with everything you needed to survive in it: your home, utilities, cars, food, insurance, living expenses, entertainment and everything necessary for a reasonable life. Now imagine it to be in medieval times: your castle, your horse, your chickens, your goats, your armor. Next, imagine building a moat all the way around that little kingdom and those necessities. Then, fill the moat up with water first and with alligators and crocodiles and piranhas and such to guard what was inside the moat.
Everything you need to be comfortable in life is to be protected, safe inside the confines of that moat.
Then, calculate exactly how much it would cost each month to maintain everything inside your moat. Come up with your “Number.” The day your monthly, passive income equals that “Number” you are financially free. You can leave your job the day your passive income equals that “Number.”
When that “Number” is coming in, rain or shine, whether you get out of bed or not, you are free. Your lifestyle would be paid for in full. The minute your lifestyle is paid for in full, is the minute you start chasing all the dreams of your life full time!
- First Step: Cut everything (expenses) that is less important to you than your Financial Freedom
- Second Step: Determine how much passive income you need to pay for what’s left inside your moat.
- Third Step: Create the passive income to pay for what is inside your moat.
If you could try and fail without going broke, how long would it take you to meet or even exceed your dreams?
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Imagine being able to sit inside the safety of your own moat, in your castle, with your expenses paid and the drawbridges up and locked. Imagine being able to live comfortably, never having to worry about making a living or having a job.
Do you think you would be rested? Do you think you might even get restless? Do you think you would come up with a good idea? Do you think you might be ready to engage in an endeavor or an adventure, with energy and vision and vigor, outside the castle walls and the moat?
Now, imagine that one day you have this great idea you are dying to try out. You’ve calculated everything and you’re ready for your inquisition. You sound the trumpets, drop the drawbridge, and go forth, beyond the safety of the castle walls and over the moat.
Without risking the assets that provide for your life inside the moat, you charge out into the world to prove the value of your new idea. Now, let’s say things don’t go well.
The enemy wasn’t where you thought they’d be. There were too many of them. They had weapons you’d never seen before. You flee back towards your castle and along the way you gather many arrows in and about your backside. As you race back across the moat and into your castle, the draw bridge is abruptly lifted, closed, and locked. You are wounded and out of breath but safe again in your sacred place of refuge.
Because you did not risk the assets that pay for the expenses inside the moat, your kingdom is still there for you. You spend time inside your kingdom removing the arrows from your backside. You spend time healing. You spend time thinking, pondering: What went wrong? You think even more:
What did I do and what should I have done? What will I do different next time? You rest. You replenish
your energy and your stocks. You adjust your ideas and your plans. You create a new, improved plan.
The next time you charge outside the gates you are successful. Instead of returning in a sprint with arrows in your backside you arrive at the drawbridge on a horse that is gingerly walking. You are smiling proudly. You are traveling with the spoils of success slung over your shoulder. Your family cheers as you cross the moat. The village celebrates your victory with a fine feast.
Now ask yourself this question: If you had a castle and a kingdom like that one, how long would it be before you were wealthy beyond your dreams?
If you could fail forward, what might your future look like?
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