I spend a lot of time writing about goals. But I realize I haven’t shared many of my own. Although I wouldn’t consider my dreams to be unique, I don’t know too many people that share them. Most of my friends are caught up in the mythology that you need to get a good job, settle down and chain yourself to a retirement package for the rest of your life.
I’m purposefully avoiding details such as deadlines and plans in this entry. Although I’m a big believer in writing out your goals and setting plans and deadlines, that isn’t useful here. I want to share the broader vision for my life, not the grittier implementation details.
Goal #1 – A Completely Digital Life
I don’t plan on downloading my brain into a computer. By a digital life I mean that all of my income will come without a location. This will probably mean the internet, but it might mean something completely different in ten years as technology continues to expand. This means I will be able to live anywhere I can bring a laptop.
I plan to make use of this freedom and I might easily be a wandering vagabond for most of my 20’s. I want to be in a position where I can say, “Hey, let’s live in Spain for 6 months,” without needing to worry about quitting a job or abandoning a physical business.
Progress:
This website is my primary income source right now. Although I’m not yet at a point of complete financial security, I’m fairly close. If things continue as they are now, I consider it likely that I’ll have achieved this dream before my 22nd birthday.
Goal #2 – Financial Freedom, Not Being Rich
I’m not a materialistic person. I don’t like buying things and I have very simple tastes. I like eating simple foods, living in simple houses and keeping simple items. Owning more stuff doesn’t make me happy and I place far more value on the things that can’t be bought.
As a result, the idea of being rich interests me, but I’m not driven by it. If I had a billion dollars, I’d be living almost the same way I am today. Perhaps I’d travel more and worry less about financing necessities, but my life wouldn’t change.
My true goal is financial freedom. This means never having to worry about money because my lifestyle is far below my means. With this freedom I could start a new business, without worrying about losing the money from an old venture. I want money to be removed from my life.
Progress:
This one is much further off. I think it will probably be at least 10-15 years before I completely reach this point and it may be longer. But it is all a matter of degrees. My next step is setting up an investment account and trying to build an emergency fund of at least 1 year of income.