Daniel Mangena has a very abundant mindset and knowledgeable perspective when it comes to money, finances, being rich, financial freedom etc. You will highly likely find your current view challenged, turned on its head and perhaps even enlightened by the end of this article. This could very well be the start of a new journey.
Have you ever considered what the difference is between being “rich” and being financially free, and which of those would be best for your business? It’s high time we got your thinking more in line with the financial lifestyle that you actually want. Trust me: it’s more obtainable than you think.
For a lot of us, our financial goals are a moving target. We’ll throw out the claim that we wish we were rich, without really thinking through what that means.
We want a thriving business…but what does that actually look like?
I would argue that it is this imprecision in our collective thinking, that accounts for the huge decline in happiness in the US and throughout the West. We’re all getting richer in real terms, thanks to rapid advances in technology and the cheapening of production (stalled somewhat though that might be at the moment). Yet our happiness is in sharp decline.
We often talk of “the rich” as though they are an entirely different breed of human being, on the other side of the glass ceiling, sipping champagne aboard their mega yachts. With that attitude, it’s very easy to see why we feel hopeless in terms of living out our dreams.
But what are our dreams?!
We are all guilty of it, but how many times have you said to yourself or others this week: “I wish I was rich”? Or some derivation thereof.
If you actually analyze what it is you find so appealing about being “rich”, I bet you’ll realize that you really don’t!
Most of what appeals about the lifestyles of the rich, isn’t so much the “cash they splash” as the freedom they (apparently) have to do what they want with their time.
That’s not what being rich is though.
Being rich (at least as I see it) – is about having the resources to be able to execute on a choice at will. Be that: buy a private jet, live on your own private island or give generously to charity. The key thing is that you need to spend your money in order to be rich, and you aren’t necessarily free.
You can be rich in monetary terms, but still have to go to the office or the boardroom in order to support your lifestyle.
Being rich, therefore, is not a solution to anything in and of itself. It doesn’t necessarily give you more spare time, or even greater resources. If you’re spending at a level commensurate with your income, you might live in a bigger house, drive a nicer car etc… but your stress levels around money will be the same.
Financial Freedom – on the other hand, doesn’t require you to do anything. Your needs and wants are met without taking your time or energy.
The beauty of financial freedom (over being rich) is that the threshold for attaining it is entirely up to you. Your ideal lifestyle is a completely bespoke set of criteria, and so the level of passive income required to support it need not be millions of dollars.
Andrea’s story
Here’s an example of exactly what I’m talking about. Andrea is a client of mine. She first came to one of my weekend retreats, claiming that she wanted financial freedom, but that it was never going to happen for her.
“Why?” I asked.
“Because Daniel” she said “I need $100,000 a month, in order to live my life of financial freedom.”
“What? $100,000 a month??! What could you possibly need that much for?!”
She then proceeded to list all of the things she wanted:
- A car with a driver
- Her meals cooked for her
- A maid
- Big house etc…
But when we broke everything down and really unpacked what she wanted, she actually only needed $3,500 a month to live her dream life.
It turned out that all of the things she wanted, weren’t about having the highest level of luxury. They were about labor and time saving.
So the car and driver were replaced with Uber. Her meals could be provided by a catering delivery or meal prep company. She could hire a cleaner once a week, and so on…
She could have all of the freedom and time returned to her, for just a fraction of what she thought. Once we had that clear target to aim at for her, it was easy to start putting strategies in place that would give that income passively.
You can absolutely do this too! Not only will it benefit you greatly, but your business as well.
Here’s why:
I bet, if you’re a business owner, you’ll probably have found that at one point or another, you struggle to grow your business because your time is taken up doing the work.
It’s a very common problem.
You can’t work on your business, because you’re too busy working in your business. I get it! If you provide a service and do it well enough to attract clients through word-of-mouth, it’s very hard to then convince them that Fred will be just as good at handling their account.
They came to you after all. They want YOU!
Achieving financial freedom is incredibly good for your business for this very reason. With your personal finances taken care of, you can apply your time to growth and non direct ROI endeavors, without the fear of losing your income. Enabling you to grow your business your way.
It’s a much more expansive energy to bring to a business: not making decisions based purely on self-preservation.
Do you want to be financially free?
Then it’s homework time (don’t worry, it’s really fun).
If you want to get serious about living a life of financial freedom, the first step is calculating how much it will cost. So – get a pen and piece of paper, write down precisely everything that you would want to experience in a typical month.
- Where do you live?
- What car do you drive (exactly the make, model, trim etc…)?
- How often do you eat out and where?
- What kind of clothes are in your wardrobe?
- What items of jewelry do you own?
Really get specific with all this and come up with a cost. Some of this will be one-off upfront costs, but we can still break that down into a monthly figure. Whether you’re servicing debt to buy them (not usually recommended unless it’s property) or putting money aside each month to save up.
Once you have that, you can start the process of finding the right ventures for you that will give you that income, without needing to work.
Be in no doubt: it is possible.
I’ve done it and helped countless other do it too. The commonality in all cases though, was first building an accurate picture of the cost. Once you know exactly what you’re aiming at, the path becomes clear.
Daniel Mangena is a international thought leading expert in all things abundance, money mindset and financial freedom.
