Financial Freedom Manifesto
- Rekindle your Dormant Passion!
- Welcome to DanielNgari.com
- What does Success mean to you?
- What do you Focus on?
- You reap what you sow.
- What is Kaizen?
- Run your life like a Corporation.
- Financial Freedom Manifesto
- The Amazing Power of Compounding
- Travel Light to Success
- The Law of Giving
- Write your Living Obituary
- Rising above Mediocrity
- Shun Intolerance
- Are you a Prisoner or a Hostage?
Let me begin by saying that this money-festo is not for everyone. If you find the raw glorification of money offensive, please feel free to skip the rest of this post. I will have something different for you tomorrow, but I had to share this with a dear friend.
Some people say money cannot buy happiness. I believe that people who say that, and are in good health don’t know where to shop. From where I am sitting right now, I could do with more money. I happen to know a lot of my friends who would do with more money and are not ashamed to admit it. I dedicate this post to one such friend.
If you hate the thought of struggling financially in life, and are willing to do something about it, I dedicate this post to you too. The lack of money is the root of all problems (I could be wrong). Maybe next time I will be preaching a different gospel, but let me get this out of my heart.
Lack of money steals something of value from human beings. And that thing is called freedom. I want to inspire you to regain your freedom. Freedom to be who you are and become who you want to become. Freedom to be where you want to be, hang out with whoever you want or be whatever you crave to be.
What is Freedom?
Freedom is having control of your life, your time, your activities and your dreams. Freedom is having nobody stopping you from achieving your purpose and mission in life. It is owning your destiny. It is running away from entrapment and captivity. You are free when you own your life and become the captain of your ship.
According to the philosopher Isaiah Berlin, there is an important distinction between “freedom from” and “freedom to“. I will not do injustice to his great work and pretend I fully understood what he was talking about. But I will attempt to paraphrase it in a way that is meaningful to you. Being financially free will help you be free from and free to.
Freedom From
- Being free from abuse and terror. If you are being abused or terrorized by your spouse, boss, etc for lack of money, then you need to become free from that form of abuse.
- Freedom from fear and anxiety.
- Freedom from punishment for past mistakes.
- Freedom from boredom and restraint. If you are financially free, you can do whatever you want. You will have options. Seek ye money and freedom shall be yours.
- Freedom from worrying about bills, deadlines and work pressures.
Freedom To
- Freedom to achieve your goals and aspirations.
- Freedom to travel to exotic destinations.
- Freedom to live according to your true values.
- Freedom to marry or date whoever you want without financial considerations.
- Freedom to control your time, your calendar and priorities.
- Freedom to work the hours you want and be your own boss.
- Freedom to spend time with your family and loved ones.
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After watching countless episodes of MTV cribs, I noticed that none of the people in those houses have regular jobs. They did something extra and that is what gave them the financial muscle to do whatever they wanted, including owning the home worth being on MTV cribs.
Everyday you hear about the big pay that footballers earn. Then you hear about movie stars, internet entrepreneurs, mega church owners, business men etc. Have you ever stepped back and wondered what these people have in common? The results of my small research below is my treat to you. I hope it will trigger something in your head to help you be financially free.
I came up with five pillars to financial freedom. You should aim to master and utilize most of them if you aspire to get to the glory land of financial freedom.
- Deliver Value
- Passive Income
- Leverage
- The Power of Compounding
- Build on your Successes
1. Deliver Value
You cannot be an honest person and make it financially without delivering value. Even drug dealers deliver value to their customers. You must find a need and fill it. Find someone who needs accommodation, and give him a house. Find someone who needs to get from A to B and take him there. Only then shall you make an honest buck.
Movie stars are paid for the entertainment they provide to millions around the world. Find your angle and deliver value from there. Give people something of value and they will be happy to pay for it. You are always either a consumer or producer of value at any one time. If you are reading my blog, you are the consumer and I am the producer. If you are watching Oprah, she is the producer and you are the consumer. If you are working for someone, they are the consumer and you are the producer.
In most cases, the consumers of value end up paying some times directly, sometimes indirectly. You need to think carefully what it is that you can provide to other people. You may not always be paid by them, but you need to understand and be in the game for you to play.
This game is all about value proposition. What is your value proposition? A value proposition is the total benefit which a vendor promises her consumers. What can you do for the next person? Ask not, what people can do for you, but rather what you can do for them.
2. Passive Income
You need to decouple yourself from the provision of value. Rapper 50 cent does not need to sing to my ear for me to pay for his music. Roger Federer does not get paid only for the hours he plays tennis. Why you should you be paid only when you work? Who told you that that is right or even fair on you?
You need to find ways of providing value without being there. Find something that someone needs and provide it to them. If you provide that value without necessarily being there, then that will set you apart from the other people.
Examples of of passive income are:
- Rent – tenants don’t need (or want) their landlords there and yet will pay the rent. Be the landlord. Its a win win. You house a family, they pay you.
- Royalties from books, movies, DVDs, Software etc
- Earnings from businesses that does not require your direct involvement.
- Dividends and interest from your wealth portfolio.
3. Leverage
According to Wikipedia, a lever is a rigid object that is used with an appropriate fulcrum or pivot point to multiply the mechanical force that can be applied to another object. You need to find a lever for you to leverage to attain financial freedom. Do not be just satisfied with providing value, use a lever to amplify your efforts.
You can magnify and multiply your abilities and value through other peoples time and resources. It is not as evil as it may sound. Writers use bookshops like Amazon to reach out to millions of customers. Musicians leverage the experience and resources of record companies. Home owners leverage the bank’s money to buy their home. Footballers leverage television.
Find something you can use to multiply your efforts and help you serve people better. I am leveraging the internet and the open source community to bring this message to you. I am leveraging the vast inventory of google ads to deliver targeted advertising on this blog.
If you are interested in the concept of leverage and how you can apply it to make grow your finances, read up on the works of Robert Kiyosaki or post in the comments section if you want me to write a full blog post on that.
4. The Power of Compounding
Albert Einstein is quoted as having said that the most powerful force in the universe is the concept of compound interest. You will attain financial freedom if you reinvest your profits.
Taking advantage of the power of compounding takes discipline and is best to start early. Create a financial plan and invest in financial instruments that reinvest your profits year in year out.
I will write a full blog post on the power of compounding in the future. For now, just know that compound interest can make a big difference in your financial fortunes.
Compound interest has a negative side. If you let credit card debt creep up on you, you can end up seeing the ugly side of compounding by paying more and more interest the longer you stay in debt. Avoid bad debt, it is a thief of financial freedom. Good debt can help you leverage other people’s money to meet your financial objectives.
5. Build on your Successes
Be thankful for each success you accomplish. Use each success as building blocks for your next success.
Invest in education, keep learning both from your mistakes and from the mistakes of others. Have a generous spirit. Do good with your success. Don’t be evil.
Summary
Money is not the answer to everything, but having financial freedom can help you avoid pain and increase pleasure. To be able to attain financial freedom, you have to focus on delivering value to others, decouple yourself from the actual work of it. Deliver value 24/7 and be paid for it. Find leverage and use the power of compounding to your advantage.
All the best in your quest for financial succces.
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How did you get to where you are…i.e. you are so enlightened.. really!!
Please write a full blog post on the works of Robert Kiyosaki.
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How do you make money from your blogging? As I dont see any ads? And it must be very time consuming… I would like to start a blog, but would like it to generate income… please help. Many thanks.
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What More Can I Add, A Very Well Thought Out,Well Composed and Well Executed Piece on Psycho cybernetics Writing..,You Go Dan.Give Us Some Such Gems.By the way can I use it on my blog I will link your blog via mine.
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@ Nyomi – Thank you for your contribution and support. All the best with your blog. Can’t wait.
When the Israelites left Egypt to go to the promised land, they called it the glory land. It was still a better place for them to be than Egypt (they were slaves in Egypt). They knew there would be challenges ahead but that would pale in comparison to the pain of slavery. The glory land of financial freedom seems like a much better place for people stuck within the confines of poverty and financial struggle.
We know that John Travolta unfortunately lost his son recently. Even the rich have no executive power over their mortality. But that is not the issue here. Poor people die too, but the problem is that many are still dying everyday from preventable diseases that could be cured if they and their governments could afford the cost of treatment.
Can money buy happiness? Personally I think so. I think Britney Spears and Lyndsay Lohan can buy a lot of happiness and are free to do or be whatever they want. Peris Adhiambo and Waithera Kimani in Kibera slum in Kenya just don’t have that option.
As you say there are many marital problems with the rich. How about the marital problems of the poor? How about the impoverished women that are abused by their bread winning wayward husbands but cant do much about it because of their economic disadvantage?
I think it is a matter of looking at the glass as half full or half empty. Money is not the answer to all of life problems, but it goes along way to help reduce pain in an individual, community or country when used wisely. I wonder what other readers think of this.
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Dude, I like the article; thanks for sharing your great ideas with us. I agree with most of it. I’d like to debate some of it with you, but, like I mentioned to your earlier, it would take away ideas for my own blog(s), which are in the pipeline.
One thing I’ll mention here is you wrote: “..the glory land of financial freedom.” As you’re aware, there are happy and unhappy rich people. There are rich people on drugs and in therapy/mentally unstable/suicidal (e.g. Lindsey Lohan and Britney Spears) and stable, happy rich people. Money can buy you better food, clothes, shelter and so on, which can definitely increase happiness, but it can’t buy kind, honest friends; completely ensure your kids are healthy (John Travolta’s son who died recently. He had an ongoing health problem) and ensure you of having a wonderful long and happy marriage (note all the rich movie stars who are on their upteenth marriage!). So you can be financially free, but be tormented by inner demons, health problems etc, so you’re not “free” in other aspects of your life.
I can guarantee if I was cold, starving and living in a slum my chances of being happy would be lower than if I had enough money to feed, cloth and house myself adequately, but judging by the many rich people who are in and out of rehab, going through a divorce and so on, being financially free does not guarantee your life will be joyous. What you do with the money, your attitute to money etc will greatly determine your level of happiness.
Cheers,
Nyomi
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You have hit the nail right on the head Daniel. Wouldn’t it be great to finally be free? Free of bills and rent, free to travel, shop, free to do all those things we want to do because we can do. I used to want all those things and more but that’s just it, want.
Since then the want changed to can and has since evolved to will. I will tell you why. I traveled to Kenya two years ago thinking with all the knowledge I have gained from overseas and some savings I could definitely make in back home. But what I found when I got home is my friends and peers that I had left at home were ahead and were still striving for more. The difference between us is not that I had been abroad for longer but the fact that they had moved on from the I can to the I will and they each had found the means to do it.
The five pillars above to financial freedom can only work for you once you believe you can. I know Obama uses “Yes we can” and it by now sounds like a cliche but it is true. Once you believe you can find out how you can and start working towards it.
R.
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What comment is suitable for this blog… anyone? I am perplexed at the wisdom above Dan. I can only pray that as I apply that which you have inspired today that is may go well with me which I know it will. Freedom is an essential thing in life and believe you me when I say, when one borrows he becomes a slave to the lender… We all need deliverance from that slavery.. achieved by applying the principles above.
Thanks Dan.
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Absolute unadulterated naked truth!
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