It’s not about luxury and power, it’s about the ability to do whatever you want.
There are two types of wealth: money-based, where you have enough to buy whatever you want whenever you want, and time-based, where you can do whatever you want without limitations.
Throughout my life, I’ve experienced both in one way or another.
I’ve held positions at a company where I’ve been able to earn enough to retire my mother and buy her an apartment 20 minutes from the beach, and currently, I have enough time to do whatever I want (even though I don’t have all the money I had when I was an employee).
Many people confuse the term financial independence with being (or appearing) extremely wealthy. Their goal is to make so much money that they could do whatever they want, even if it costs them all their time and life to achieve it. They build empires, make risky financial decisions, and get up every day at 5:00 AM to work on their projects until they can’t see the sun anymore.
However, having been on both sides of the wealth lifestyle, I can firmly say that true financial independence is more about having the time to be free (even if you don’t earn much) than having all the wealth at your feet but having to work for it every day.
Here I’ll explain why.
Why most “successful” people are actually trapped.
My uncle Bob is what most people would consider incredibly successful. He owns multiple businesses, has properties in different states, drives expensive cars, and could probably buy anything he wants without checking his bank account. From the outside, he looks like he’s achieved the American dream.
But Bob hasn’t taken a real vacation in over five years. He works seven days a week, checks emails during family dinners, and gets stressed when his phone battery dies because he might miss an “important” call. His businesses require constant attention, decision-making, and problem-solving. He’s built an empire that owns him more than he owns it.
This is the reality for most people who chase traditional definitions of success. They accumulate wealth, assets, and responsibilities, but they lose control over their time and energy. They become slaves to their own success because maintaining that level of wealth requires constant work and vigilance.
And this happens to almost every businessman.
They are company owners who can’t leave town for more than a few days because their companies fall apart without them. High-earning professionals who work 80-hour weeks to maintain their lifestyles and status. Entrepreneurs who sacrifice their health, relationships, and peace of mind to build something impressive on paper.
They tell themselves they’re working toward freedom, but what they’re really working toward is a more expensive prison. They’ve created lifestyles that require massive ongoing income, which means they can never truly step away from work. They’re trapped by their own success.
The irony is that many of these people started their journey wanting financial independence, but they confused independence with accumulation. They thought that having more money would give them more options, but instead, it gave them more obligations. Every asset they acquired came with maintenance costs, management requirements, and stress.
I’m sure that if my Uncle Bob or any of the millionaire businessmen you know were to lose their jobs, they wouldn’t even be able to maintain the lifestyle they lead. They must remain slaves to the very system they created in order to survive.
True financial independence isn’t about having enough money to buy anything you want. It’s about having enough money that you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do. And most “successful” people I know are doing things they don’t want to do every single day.
I earn less but control my entire schedule.
Right now, I’m completely retired. I worked as a Software programmer for 8 years, and made good financial decisions along the way that helped me create passive income in the long run. Last year, I decided not to work on my career anymore and simply focus on my personal projects and writing.
My income is probably a fraction of what my uncle Bob makes in a month, but I have something he can’t buy: complete control over my time. I wake up without an alarm clock, work when I feel motivated, and take breaks whenever I want them.
My day might start at 7 AM or 10 AM, depending on how I feel. I might work for six hours straight when I’m inspired by a project, or I might take the afternoon off to read a book or go for a walk. I can travel for weeks without asking anyone’s permission or worrying about who’s covering for me.
This freedom is possible because I’ve intentionally kept my expenses low and structured my work to be location and schedule-independent. I don’t have employees depending on me, overhead costs that require constant revenue, or a lifestyle that demands a high income to maintain.
When I tell people about my schedule, they often assume I must not be earning much money. They’re right, but they’re missing the point. I earn enough to cover my needs and some wants, and more importantly, I earn it on my own terms.
My uncle Bob probably made more money yesterday than I make in a month, but he spent that entire day in meetings, putting out fires, and dealing with problems he didn’t create. He had to be in specific places at specific times, interact with people he didn’t particularly like, and make decisions he didn’t want to make.
Bob’s wealth controls him. My simpler lifestyle gives me control.
I can take on projects I find interesting and decline ones I don’t. I can spend my morning writing, my afternoon exercising, and my evening with friends without having to justify these choices to anyone. I can say no to opportunities that would increase my income but decrease my freedom.
This trade-off isn’t right for everyone, but it’s perfect for me. I’d rather have complete autonomy over my time than triple my income by giving up that control.
The difference between being rich and being free.
Being rich means having a lot of money. Being free means having control over your time and choices. These two things are often confused, but they’re completely different.
Rich people often have to maintain their wealth, which requires ongoing work, stress, and responsibility. They have expensive lifestyles that demand high incomes to sustain. They own assets that need management, businesses that need oversight, and investments that require attention.
Their wealth comes with strings attached.
Free people have enough money to cover their needs and some wants, but more importantly, they’ve structured their lives so they don’t need much money to be happy. They’ve optimized for time and autonomy rather than accumulation and status.
I’m not rich by most people’s standards. I don’t own a yacht, fly in a private airplane, or spend money carelessly. But I am free. I wake up when I want, work on projects I choose, travel when I feel like it, and spend my days however I want. My expenses are low enough that I don’t need to work constantly to maintain my lifestyle.
My uncle Bob, on the other hand, is rich but not free. He has more money than I’ll probably ever have, but he can’t use it to buy the thing he actually wants: time. His wealth requires constant maintenance. His businesses need him. His properties require management. His lifestyle costs so much that he can’t afford to step away from the income that supports it.
The path to being rich often leads away from freedom because it requires taking on more responsibilities, more stress, and more obligations. The path to being free requires giving up some potential wealth in exchange for time and autonomy.
Most people assume that if you get rich enough, you’ll eventually be free. But what usually happens is that your lifestyle and obligations grow along with your wealth. You get trapped in a cycle where you need to keep earning more to maintain what you’ve built.
Freedom comes from having enough, not from having everything. And “enough” is usually much less than most people think.
