This is the fourth and final essay I’ve published every Thursday, leading up to the launch of my book, The Stoic Path to Wealth.
Through these four essays, we will uncover why Stoic wisdom can make you wealthy. If you missed the previous edition, read it here.
You don’t need to be rich to feel financially free
Many of us have an unhealthy obsession with early retirement and financial freedom. We work hard, save diligently, invest consistently, and we wait…
We live our lives in a waiting room. “I will enjoy my life when I retire early.”
What’s a goal or outcome you’re waiting for to happen?
- A promotion
- Getting a degree
- Starting your own business
- Having a certain amount of money
The Stoic philosopher Seneca often talked about how we tend to neglect the present. When Seneca retired from active life in Ancient Rome, he started to write letters to his friend, Lucilius, who was still in the midst of his career.
In one of those letters, he reminded his friend that, “While we are postponing, life speeds by.”
We postpone our happiness and contentment until a future moment. But all the while, time passes. We continue to age.
And if we live our lives like that, we will inevitably come to the following conclusion at some point: Nothing in life is worth waiting for.
As Seneca also said: “Begin at once to live, and count each separate day as a separate life.”
If you want to have more financial freedom, you really don’t need to be rich to feel that way. You can start taking action now and you can accomplish that feeling much faster.
Here are a few ways you can feel financially free:
- Form the habit of spending less than you earn
- Be content with what you have
- Stop complaining
- Think in opportunities
- Do the right thing, day in and day out
This might sound very simplistic, but I guarantee you it works.
Just like millions of other people, I was obsessed with financial freedom when I was growing up. I fantasized about retiring early from the moment I had my first summer job when I was in high school.
“Oh man, I can’t wait to get rich so I don’t have to ever work again.”
I went through life like that until I was about 30. I was waiting until I would have enough money so I could just stop working.
But through reading philosophy and writing about financial freedom, I realized I was after the wrong thing. I was obsessed with the “financial” aspect of freedom.
I learned that you can have a sense of financial independence without being very wealthy. What matters more is that you go through life with “mental freedom.”
When your mind and spirit are free from fear and greed, you can live in the present moment.
Especially when you can become consistent with your habits, you can become truly free.
To me, this type of freedom is much more important than just having a lot of money.
This is a cliche, and I bet you’ve heard it many times, but we’ve all heard about the extremely wealthy people who are unhappy or depressed. If money was the answer to anything, every rich person would be happy without exception.
We know that life isn’t that simple. I would take mental freedom over pure financial freedom any day of the week.
Here’s when you know you’ve accomplished mental freedom:
- No fear of going broke
- No desire to acquire material objects
- Content with your existing lifestyle
- A healthy drive to improve yourself
- Driven to make an impact in the world
One of the main topics of The Stoic Path to Wealth book is that you will feel mentally free once you start taking the steps towards financial freedom.
If you’re doing all the right things, it’s only a matter of time before you build substantial wealth.
So you can just relax and enjoy the present moment.
All the best.
-Darius
P.S. I hope you enjoyed these four essays. If you want to dive deeper into Stoicism, wealth, and freedom, read my book, The Stoic Path to Wealth.
Meditate on this…
“Very little is needed to make a happy life; it is all within yourself, in your way of thinking.” — Marcus Aurelius
As you go through life, your natural tendency is to acquire more of everything. More money, clothes, jewelry, shoes, cars, you name it.
Keep reminding yourself that you don’t need all those things to be happy. True happiness comes from within. It’s all in your mind.
Order The Stoic Path to Wealth
My new book, The Stoic Path to Wealth (Portfolio / Penguin), is out now.
If you order now, you will instantly get free access to 4 products, worth over $500.
Learn more here: stoicpathtowealth.com
