Have you ever complained about what you “have” to do today?
That sentence right there will tell you almost everything about your financial life.
If you wake up thinking about obligations instead of opportunities, you are not financially free. And no, I am not talking about yachts and private jets. I am talking about ownership. Ownership of your time. Ownership of your day. Ownership of your decisions.
This week’s Book of the Week is Financial Freedom by Grant Sabatier, and while it has been a while since I read it, the core principles have stuck with me because they are rooted in discipline, purpose, and intentional living.
And discipline multiplies.
You Don’t Quit Work. You Redefine It.
One of the biggest misconceptions about financial freedom is that it means retiring early and doing nothing.
That is not freedom. That is decay.
When you stop working entirely, you lose purpose. And when you lose purpose, you start fading. We were not designed to sit still. We were designed to build, create, improve, and contribute.
Grant makes it clear that financial freedom is not about escaping work. It is about choosing your work.
There is a massive difference.
Can you do what you want to do today?
Or are you constantly complaining about what you have to do?
That question is the dividing line.
Business building is fun. It is hard, but it is purposeful. The purpose is not money alone. The purpose is freedom. Freedom from worry. Freedom from desperation. Freedom from financial pressure. Freedom to say yes or no.
That is the game.
Discipline Is the Hard Part
This book is practical for everyone.
But it is not easy for everyone.
Grant lays out tactical steps:
- Increase your income
- Automate investing
- Own assets
- Invest in low-cost index funds
- Dramatically increase your savings rate
- Design your life first, then reverse engineer the money
Clear. Direct. Optimistic.
But here is the truth.
It takes a special mind to do what he suggests.
Not a genius mind. A disciplined mind.
And discipline is where most people break.
He talks about increasing your savings rate aggressively. That is scary for many. Especially in a culture obsessed with glitz, glamour, and posting destination vacations before they have even built a financial foundation.
The 18 to 35 crowd wants the look before the leverage.
But here is what they do not see.
At 50, you are tired. You are still sharp. Still competitive. Still wanting to be in the game. But you feel time differently.
Time speeds up.
When you are one year old, getting to two feels like forever. You have only lived twelve months. Doubling your life feels infinite.
When you are fifty, you have lived 18,250 days.
In the next ten years, you will experience 3,650 more days. And they will feel like they fly by faster than the first 18,250.
Time does not actually speed up.
Your perception does.
And that is why discipline in your twenties and thirties matters so much.
Design Your Day. Own Your Life.
One of my favorite parts of the book is the idea of designing your life first.
Not asking, “How much money do I need?”
But asking, “What kind of life do I want?”
Then building the financial structure around that.
That resonated with me deeply.
Everyone who follows me knows I design my days intentionally. My calendar is not random. My mornings are not random. My focus blocks are not random.
If you do not design your day, someone else will.
Grant also talks about outsourcing tasks you hate once you reach a certain level. Stop complaining about what you have to do. Build systems. Build income. Delegate.
That is not laziness. That is leverage.
We automate investing. Melisa and I buy assets. We increase net worth intentionally. We push toward time freedom constantly. I do not think that mindset ever turns off.
Financial freedom is not a destination. It is a discipline.
Frugal Has Never Been My Vocabulary
I like nice things.
Always have.
But here is the difference.
I do not believe in settling for less. I believe in making more.
Grant does something I appreciate. He does not preach extreme frugality alone. He emphasizes increasing income.
That aligns with how I see the world.
Build business. Scale income. Own assets. Let money work for you.
Business building is offensive strategy.
Investing is defensive discipline.
You need both.
You cannot scale a company without financial discipline. You cannot invest without cash flow. You cannot buy back your life if your spending owns you.
Money is deeply connected to your psyche.
Some people sabotage themselves because they do not believe they deserve wealth. Others overspend to impress people they do not even like.
Financial freedom requires psychological maturity.
That is why this book is powerful.
Who This Book Is For
Honestly?
Everyone.
W2 employees who feel stuck.
Side hustlers who are thinking too small.
Early-stage entrepreneurs.
Millennials who talk more than they execute.
It is written in an encouraging, optimistic tone. Grant proves that it is possible. He gives you the math. He gives you the steps.
But reading about financial freedom and practicing financial freedom are two different things.
The mountain is climbable.
But you have to climb.
You Can Buy Back Your Life
Here is what most people miss.
The goal is not money.
The goal is control.
Control of your mornings.
Control of your calendar.
Control of your energy.
Money is simply the tool that makes that possible.
You can eliminate financial anxiety.
You can build leverage.
You can design your days around purpose instead of survival.
But it requires discipline most people avoid.
Discipline multiplies like money invested in a high-yield index fund over twenty years.
Ten thousand dollars compounded becomes something much larger.
Ten disciplined years compounded becomes something even more powerful.
Golden Squeegee Rating
I give Financial Freedom 4 out of 5 Golden Squeegees.
Not because it is not great.
Because it is tough.
It requires honesty. It requires change. It requires discipline. It requires facing the gap between how you live and how you could live.
But it is clear. Encouraging. Tactical. Practical.
And if you apply it, it can absolutely change your financial trajectory.
My Takeaway
Discipline buys freedom.
Not retirement.
Not escape.
Freedom.
Design your day. Increase your income. Automate investing. Buy assets. Leverage time. Remove complaints. Build something purposeful.
And never stop working on something that matters.
Own your time.
Or someone else will.
Keep Shining.
