Money is good if you use it to do well. And everyone can learn to get better with money. However, there are deeper, less-explored toxic money beliefs that stand in the way of achieving financial freedom and building sustainable, long-term wealth. And the first step to weeding them out is being self-aware
“I can start being happy only when I’m making more money”
You can be happy now
- Seneca talks about this in On the Shortness of Life
- “It is inevitable that life will be not just very short but very miserable for those who acquire by great toil what they must keep by greater toil. They achieve what they want laboriously; they possess what they have achieved anxiously; and meanwhile they take no account of time that will never more return.”
Building sustainable wealth isn’t about holding on tightly to the small amount of money you make
It’s a matter of creating value.
- You can generate money from nothing, as long as you have the skills to provide value that other people will pay for.
Keep challenging your beliefs
The goal of financial freedom, like many other things, is balance. We don’t want to be too cheap or too lavish.
- But at the same time, we also don’t want to overspend and live beyond our means. Live according to your income.
“You need a business to achieve financial freedom”
Financial freedom is all about having options.
- There are more ways to achieve your money goals than you think. Don’t let people on the internet tell you there’s only one way to do something.
Money is more important than my time
Everything we do has an opportunity cost
- Prioritizing money over time is tough because it’s ingrained in our behavior
- Think of money as a means, not an end
- Try to be self-aware and find the root cause of these issues
