Last weekend, I shared with you Part 1 of my interview with Dr. David Phelps from Freedom Founders. We talked about the framework of a “freedom” lifestyle, and how you can learn to view the world differently in order to achieve this. I’m happy to share Part 2 with you now, which will dig a bit more into the mindset, and money handling habits, that get you caught up in traditional ways of living (that are usually no longer the best choice in today’s world). We’ll cover more of how to escape that mindset by using many of the points in David’s book, What’s Your Next?, along with both of our life experiences and lessons.
As David says in our interview, his book was “written for all generations … from principles that I’ve learned in my life, and that we certainly teach in Freedom Founders.” The book is a great read, featuring lots of personal stories that help show that courage, community, and a bit of risk-taking do lead to opportunity and success.
What does this all have to do with wealth-building? Everything! There’s a reason David calls it a “freedom lifestyle,” because building wealth to achieve independence truly requires a mental shift in thinking.
Watch the Video
Additionally, in Part 2, we discuss:
• Your “freedom number” to achieve sustainable financial independence and the “burn rate” at which we use our wealth to fund our lifestyle. David uses the phrase “burn rate” as the amount of money it takes to manage your household and your lifestyle. This may fluctuate throughout your life (for example, it will probably go up a lot when you have kids), but calculating and understanding this number is key in achieving this lifestyle.
• The ups-and-downs of Wall Street and how we both prefer alternative investments. Why? Because we don’t want our hard-earned money affected by the volatility of the stock market. David notes that although alternative investments require a bit more hands-on work, they give investors more control in the long run. And, like David and I discuss in Part 1, capital freedom assets should be investing opportunities that actually earn for you, therefore giving you freedom to do the things you enjoy. Your capital freedom assets should help you reach the target number where you feel completely “free for life.” This means that you can comfortably retire and actually start living your life knowing you’re taken care of.
• The investing “indoctrination” we’ve received from well-meaning grandparents. A few generations ago, it was prudent to invest in Wall Street and pay off your major assets (like your house) as quickly as possible. Today, a broader range of investment options can make leveraging “debt” a smart move. David calls this “traditional” view on money a “hamster wheel,” where you are always stuck trading money for time. He points out that many people have been “misinformed about accumulation versus a freedom number, when you actually learn to invest your capital into assets that produce recurring predictable, sustainable capital, and is also indexed to inflation.”
• What does it mean to reach your freedom number and to understand the freedom lifestyle? David summed it up perfectly: “it means you’ve got more choices than you ever thought before, and that’s when people really start living their lives. That’s what’s really cool.”
• And, in one of the most powerful moments of this episode, David notes that his book is for people who want to test the boundaries and live for themselves rather than just go through the motions. David asks us to think about how we challenge ourselves and our beliefs, and to be honest about how we’re living our lives. He says, “You have to be willing to get a little bit uncomfortable” to take some steps that may seem a little bit risky to you now, but will pay off later.
You can hear the entire conversation by listening to the podcast, watching the video, or downloading the transcript of Part 2 below (and if you missed Part 1, you can get caught up here).
New to podcasts? We’ve included two tutorials below — one for Android devices and one for Apple devices.
Apple Podcast Instructions
Step 1: Open the Podcasts app. It is a purple icon and is the default podcast player for Apple devices.
Step 2: In the search bar at the top, type in The Edge with Greg Hughes. This will pull up that podcast.
Step 3: Click the + sign to the right of the episode. This will download the episode to your device. Depending on your settings, you can also stream the episode, which means you can listen to it without having to download it.
Android Podcast Instructions
Step 1: In the Google Play app store, download Google Podcasts.
Step 2: Once the app installs, you’ll be taken directly to the Google Podcasts homepage. Use the top search bar to search for The Edge with Greg Hughes podcast.
Step 3: To listen to the episode, click the play button.
