Every once in a while, make sure to pause and ask yourself: “Is the life I’m living now getting me closer to making my dreams a reality?” If the answer is “no,” it’s time to make a change.  

Here’s a scenario I see over and over again, especially with people who are naturally high achievers. You work hard to climb the corporate ladder and check off milestone after milestone at work. That job pays you a large salary, which you use to support your family, live in a beautiful home, and save for retirement. 

You may find yourself wishing that you had more time to travel or to spend with your kids, but asking for more would just be unrealistic, right? Everyone has to make sacrifices, and if your financial stability costs you some of your free time, then so be it.

I know this narrative well, because I lived it. For many years, I believed that having a high income was the key to freedom. I didn’t realize that financial stability and true wealth are not the same thing, because I hadn’t seen a wealthy lifestyle modeled by anyone I knew in my middle-class upbringing. 

True Wealth is Freedom

Wealth is not only about the number of dollars in your bank account, it’s also about having the ability to create the life you dream of. To experience true wealth, you need to have control over your time.

I started to realize this in 2008, when I first read Robert Kiyosaki’s Rich Dad, Poor Dad. But knowing what I should be doing wasn’t enough to get me to take action. Even as I was learning everything I could about finance and investing, I was working long, inflexible hours at my corporate job, because I was too afraid of trying something new and making a mistake. 

Something shifted for me four years later, when work obligations kept me from being with my son on his third birthday. This experience caused me to pause and realize that the work I was doing at my job was actually detracting from the life I wanted. No raise or bonus would be worth as much to me as the experience of being with my family, and the freedom to arrange my schedule so I didn’t miss out on the most important moments.

I knew from all the reading I’d been doing that investing could be the key to true freedom if I stayed laser-focused on my goals and finding opportunities that aligned with them. I started by creating a five-year plan for myself, writing down a list of assets I wanted to acquire and the revenue I could expect to earn. Within just 18 months, I accomplished all of my five-year goals.

The change in my life didn’t happen overnight; it took about a decade of strategic investing before I was able to generate a monthly passive income that covered all of my expenses. But this process felt fundamentally different from the work I was doing at my corporate job. As an investor, all of my efforts were focused on achieving my goals, not the goals of my boss or my company. 

And once I’d reached that key milestone, I experienced a level of freedom that I’d never felt before. I no longer had to work unless I wanted to, and my time was fully my own. 

Seek Out Truly Passive Investment Opportunities 

One of the first things I always remind people is to make sure that your investments are actually moving you closer to your goals. Think of each opportunity as a vehicle. Depending on where you’re traveling to and how quickly you hope to get there, one vehicle might work better than another. And you might need to start with one vehicle and then switch to another one part way through your journey. Choosing the right vehicle at the right time is the key to strategic investing. 

And if your ultimate goal is to take back control of your schedule, then it’s important to consider how much of a time commitment will be required for managing your investments. Remember: just because income is classified as “passive” for tax purposes does not always mean that it won’t require your time and effort. 

This doesn’t mean that investment vehicles like real estate are not worthwhile, but it does mean that you should think carefully about how much you’re willing to devote to managing your investments. Investing can quickly become a full-time job if you allow it to, and the last thing you want is to end up with less free time than you had before. 

Partner with People Who Understand Your Goals

If your goal is to earn more while working less, it’s especially important to find great investment partners. When you team up with an expert who takes the time to understand your goals and presents you with investment opportunities that help you reach them, you can access opportunities you wouldn’t learn about otherwise and build your wealth more efficiently.  

In my own experience, I’ve seen how investing in 100% passive opportunities has allowed me to spend less hours working and have greater flexibility in my schedule. These opportunities have income tax advantages that things like stocks and bonds do not, but without the added time requirements of activities like managing a rental property.

These investments transformed my life, allowing me to leave my corporate job and experience true freedom. And now, I’m focused on helping other people achieve their own goals — whether that’s retiring early or just cutting back on the time you spend working overtime. If you’re an Accredited Investor who’s interested in learning more about how to take back control of your time, I’d love to speak with you. Please fill out this form to get in touch.