“If you don’t find a way to make money while you sleep you will work until you die” - Warren Buffett
Please read the quote above again and let it sink in for a moment.
There's so much truth and depth in it that many people tend to dismiss it as a mere cliché. For many, it's just not part of their current reality to actually make money while they sleep. After all, you only earn money when you work, right? However, if financial freedom is measured in time, then working in an employment relationship, where you exchange time for money, is the ultimate opposite of it.
Stop trading time for money!
This doesn't mean you should impulsively quit your job without a plan or goal. The aim here is to make you aware that with a conventional 9 to 5 job, you will never become “rich,” and financial freedom will always be an illusion. The traditional model of working your way up the corporate ladder as an employee to get a raise, a promotion, and a higher bonus every year usually doesn't benefit you in the long run.
Why?
If you behave like most people, your expenses increase with your salary. A bigger car, more exclusive vacations, a house with a garden. Of course, the car is leased, the vacation is financed with a credit card in installments, and the house is mortgaged for 30 years. This cycle repeats year after year. It doesn't matter whether you've just been promoted from a clerk to an executive or climbed to a divisional manager. The more you earn, the more you spend. It's hard to blame you; you've worked hard for it, and you want to reward yourself.
The question is, what's the difference between a manager who earns 100,000 € a year and a hardware store salesperson who only earns 30,000 € a year? If both have adjusted their expenses according to their income, both probably have the same worries. Both might work in a job they don't enjoy. Both are afraid to quit because they might lose their home. Both wish they could spend more time with their families but are compelled to work overtime. As soon as the monthly inflow of money stops, both quickly run into financial difficulties.
Both are daily running in the rat race. The only difference is that the manager runs in a golden hamster wheel.
Many people are happy with what they do, so it's okay to be in the hamster wheel. However, it's crucial to be aware of it and to actively decide to stay there because you enjoy your job or have a higher purpose in mind.
The question you should ask yourself is, are you happy with it?
If you're looking for more in life and don't want to postpone your dreams until retirement, you should clarify three things for yourself:
Why is it more important what you spend than what you earn?
What's your"Magic Number"?
How do you make money while you sleep?
Are you ready to write your own success story? Get a copy of my book now:
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