Money freedom is not the finish line. This kind of freedom is.

Freedom of money is what people strive for but in actuality, that is just the start of freedom. It goes far beyond that.

Photo by Klaudia Pyc on Unsplash

Fortunately I have some time off right now from work and among other things, I’ll often use these times for reflection and realignment to what’s important across my life, and if you’re an employee I’m sure having your own freedom will rank high in importance for you.

If you work as an employee, you’ll likely follow a similar routine of working and trying to fit in your commitments to your side hustle or business, either in the early hours before work or in the hours after, as well as any time you may be able to dedicate on the weekends.

Whatever time slot you choose, (I’m more of a morning person myself) we’re all aiming towards the same first milestone.

Business Income > Living Expenses

This is where the revenue of the business minus the cost of goods/service sold, and minus the operating expenses leaves you with enough of a cushion beyond what it costs you to upkeep your living costs.

This is a massive moment and one, when it arrives, will mark a day a monumental shift occurred in our life.

• We are on our own financially, we are independent.
• We no longer have someone else dictating when we get paid.
• We can choose our working hours and conditions.

However, the truth is, in the game of freedom, this is just level one.

Freedom is just one of the games we play within the bigger infinite game of entrepreneurship.

Entrepreneurship never quite ends. Once you’re in, you tend not to just stop. It’s a bit of a life sentence. It changes how you think, and how you act. It’s a one-way door with no going back.

So now going back to freedom, one of the major checkpoints in the infinite game of entrepreneurship is when you reach “ultimate freedom.” This is when you’ve climbed all the checkpoints of the freedom mountain.

Ultimate freedom

This is for many who are starting out their entrepreneurial journey seems too far and distant, and truthfully it can be.

However, it is important to understand that this is the actual endpoint of freedom. It’s not just buckets of money.

So let’s look at what the rungs of the ladder of freedom are.

1. Freedom of money

This is where we have more money than we know what to do with. Money no longer is an issue, it comes in plentiful amounts and frequently so if there is an indulgence to splurge on it can be done with little fuss.

However, you are bound in your presence to generate the money.

You could be bound by your physical presence or if you’re remote, your time. Either way, you have little leverage. That’s until you reach the next checkpoint.

2. Freedom of time

This is where your business' income now flows through a system, the right people run the right processes and your presence and input are no longer essential. You have earned back your time by leveraging the system to earn on your behalf.

Freedom of money is great, but you still have a job. Freedom of time is truly life-changing though as you can now have flexibility with what you choose to do with your days with disposable income to boot.

But still, there is room for more freedom. Once money and time are freed up, the next one to free up is who we choose to associate with.

3. Freedom of people

This is where you choose who your customers are, who your leaders are, and who your investors are. No more douchebags.

This is also where you get to go and craft your inner circle to be one that gives you joy, love, respect, and encouragement.

So if there are some people that need to be let go of and replaced with more like-minded ones then so be it, you have that choice and capability now.

Things are starting to come together. However, the final rung is a true separator between entrepreneurs who work and those who play.

4. Freedom of pursuit

This is where you’re going after the problems that you truly care about.

Whether you’re opportunistic and jumping on trends, or you’re going after your passions and are less financially driven, you choose what you put your focus on.

At this point, you’ve reached the top of the mountain.

You spend whatever time and money you want.

For as long as you want.

With who you want.

Doing what you want.

This is ultimate freedom.

So that’s the path.

1. Money freedom
2. Time freedom
3. People freedom
4. Pursuit freedom

Now as you grow as an entrepreneur, your vision will expand and your mission will alter, perhaps even your principles may change too.

You may wish to go after things far beyond yourself and your inner circle. You may wish to affect your local community, your nation, the world. You may wish to not just play in different sized pools but with different sized competitors too.

But all in good time.

All of those things take place after you’ve gone past the first three levels and can now experiment with going after different pursuits.

So now we’ve seen the mountain top of freedom, now it’s time to get back to work and play our game.