4 Proven Keys That Gave Me 35 Years of Freedom

Key #1: Cultivate a Freedom Mindset

Everything changed for me when I was on a company development course. On the final day we were told to do something to improve our life. I decided to spend two hours alone in a cellar to reflect on my life choices and future. By thinking through everything I had done and could do, I emerged with a powerful realization. I was actually in control of my own life.

Until then I was doing what other people said, especially my father, my boss and friends. but I realized I could plan my future and then take steps towards changing it. In other words, I would live the life that I wanted rather than following what other people expected. This mindset shift is where my true freedom began.

I realized that:

The normal path – school, work, retire – isn’t the only option
The choices you make now can shape your future life
And that most limitations are imposed on ourselves by ourselves – we think we can’t change things so we don’t try

At that time I was doing monotonous wiring in a telephone exchange. As soon as I got back, I applied for other jobs and got a position in customer service. It was a promotion but more importantly, I was using my brain again to solve problems. I was learning new things and building confidence talking to customers and businesses. It was a big step towards breaking free and confirming that I really could change my future.

When I was around 22, I read a book called “Jupiter’s Travels.” It was about a man who spent four years motorcycling around the world. Something clicked and I just wanted to do it.

Fast forward 5 years, and that led to another big decision, to leave the UK. I always thought there was more to life than working for a company for 40 years and retiring. By then I’d been a manager for three years and was working in a computer center. It was boring as it was a helpdesk with very few callers. So my choice was either to get a different job and continue up the corporate ladder or go abroad. I decided to travel for 6 months and study computing abroad for 6 months. That year away has now turned into 35.

Ok, now it’s your turn. Here are some freedom mindset exercises:

You don’t need to find a cellar, but set aside one or two hours of complete solitude (no phone or other distractions). Ask yourself some questions like “What do you really want from life?” and “What’s stopping me from pursuing it?” Or “If I could have any job in the world, what would it be?” Write down your thoughts on a piece of paper so you can think about them over the next few weeks.
Draw a timeline of your life so far, then create three alternative timelines showing how your life could have been different. This will help you to see that there are different paths that you could have taken. Do this for your future paths as well so you can see that the future isn’t set in stone.

Key #2: Build Financial Freedom

Freedom requires a financial foundation. When I first left England, I was fine as I sold an apartment and made a profit. But after 18 months, my journey stopped when my bank account went down to a big zero.

I went back to England, got a job with the old company and drove a taxi in the evenings and weekends. Everything I earned went towards my escape fund. Hard work but necessary.

Financial freedom isn’t just about how much money you make but how you manage it.

Here’s what worked for me:

An emergency and future fund that removed the pressure when starting something new.
Living below my means even when the money was pouring in. My expenses are pretty low.
Developing multiple income streams so I wasn’t reliant on just one.

It took a while to get there, but once I did, I had several years of funds and complete freedom. I could take calculated risks like going all in on the export business, or when I wanted to leave the Philippines, I had resources to leave that business. For the last 20 years or so I have had savings and income streams to last 10 or 20 years without having to work.

Here are a couple of financial freedom exercises for you:

Open a separate savings account specifically for your Freedom Fund. Set up an automatic transfer of maybe $25 a week. This is capital for your future freedom.
Check every penny you spend for 30 days. Identify three expenses that aren’t necessary and redirect that money into your Freedom Fund.

Key #3: Turn Passions into Paychecks

Following my passion of travel without getting income at the same time was an expensive hobby. But the real breakthrough came when I worked out how to make my interests become income streams.

I’d been a teacher for a year in the UK and really enjoyed it. So I went to Japan and Taiwan and became an English teacher. I was able to travel around the two countries as well as other Asian countries and be earning money at the same time.

I had been reading lots of business books and was keen to start a business. So, together with my girlfriend in the Philippines, I started an export business. We built two workshops that grew to 40 employees and exported handicrafts worth millions of dollars.

When I learned about the Internet, it became a passion and I eventually made a network of hundreds of websites and went up to $2400 a day at one time.

None of this came easy. My first attempts at business selling watches and clothes from Hong Kong in England flopped completely. My multiple websites thrived until Google changed the algorithm and wiped me out.

But here’s what I learned: When you do work that aligns with your passion, you just want to make it work and you fight through all the roadblocks. When the websites declined, I started selling stock photography online and making graphic design images. One door closed, so my passion for computers helped me find another way.

Your turn again with some passion-to-paycheck exercises:

List everything you’ve enjoyed doing since childhood. Circle three that energize you the most. Research five different ways that people make money from each of those.
Write down all of your skills, experiences, and interests. See what combination of them might go together to create unique business opportunities that others haven’t done. Go on to ChatGPT and ask it to make a business plan for that business.

Key #4: Overcome Fear & Take Action

My life hasn’t been without scary moments. I was mugged in Spain, was caught in the middle of a revolution in Nepal, and got arrested in Vietnam. I’ve experienced earthquakes in the Philippines and was in Phuket, Thailand when the tsunami happened. This is only a few of those many nerve-wracking moments.

But give me adventure over security any day of the week. If I get to 80, I want to look back and say I made the most of it, not look back at a boring corporate career.

At 27, I stood at a crossroad, with management, a bigger apartment or house and a secure future in one direction, and an unknown life of adventure in the other. I took that road to a life of adventure and never once have I regretted it. It has been exciting, unusual, and eventful.

Here’s what I’ve learned about fear: each time you confront it, things get easier. My first solo trip to Spain was nerve-wracking, even just two hours on a flight by myself. Nowadays I think nothing of going to new countries on my own. I even went to Taiwan and Japan by myself looking for work. Once you’ve done it once, you realize it’s not that difficult.

Even at 62, I am still looking for new adventures. I’m thinking maybe I’ll do a walk around the southwest of England with a rucksack and tent on my back. Or maybe I’ll go to New Zealand, buy a camper van and spend six months there. This year I’m considering getting a bigger camper van in England and travelling up to Norway on my own. Who knows which one is first, but I’m sure I’ll be doing them all in time.

As the years go by, I realize I’ve got less and less time to fit them all in. I would regret missing these chances.

Ok, your turn for some exercises to bust that fear:

Write down your biggest fear about making a life change. Break it down into smaller fears and take some action to conquer one of them.
Write two letters from your 80-year-old self to your current self. One where you made the most of your life and took some risks to do what you’re passionate about, and the other where you didn’t. How do they make you feel? Which would give you the most regrets?

And That’s The Freedom Formula

These 4 keys work together. The Freedom Mindset helps you to dream what’s possible. Following your passion gives you the energy for the journey and helps you keep going. Financial freedom gives you the security to be able to make changes with less risk, and overcoming fear means you can take action to make your dreams into a reality.

Together these four keys have given me 35 years of freedom. I’ve traveled and lived in many Asian countries and spent a few years in Europe. I spent several months in the US and Australia. My life has been filled with fascinating chapters instead of one slow and steady predictable outcome.

The chance to return to the corporate rat race was always there but never appealing to me. When I see other people working several months for a week or two’s holiday, I can’t relate anymore. I get that it feels secure, but we only have one life and there are a lot of things we can do with it. Why not have a deep think about what you will do with yours?

When I left England, there was no Internet, so I had to find jobs in other countries. We are really fortunate nowadays because there is online business.