Posted by Most of us say we want freedom: financial freedom, time freedom, the freedom to live life on our own terms.
But have you ever stopped to ask yourself what that actually means?
When you dig into it, ‘freedom’ isn’t just one thing. It’s not only about having money in the bank or being able to take a few weeks off when you want. In fact, some of the wealthiest people are the least free of all: they’re trapped by stress, debt, or the constant pressure to keep up appearances.
The conversation I had with Jason Graystone on Episode 261 of the podcast really drove this home. We talked about the three essential types of freedom: financial, mobility and mental – it’s a simple but powerful framework, and it got me thinking about how these ideas show up in my own life and in the lives of so many entrepreneurs I meet.
Let’s break it down.
The freedom that money can (and can’t) buy
When most people think about financial freedom, they tend to think it means having enough money so they’re not tied to the 9-5 or living pay-day to pay-day.
However, true financial freedom doesn’t come down to how much money you make, but instead how much time that money can buy you.
Think about it as being in a position where you could stop if you wanted to (not necessarily that you actually would!), but having the option to pause, rest or pivot without everything collapsing around you.
That’s what real wealth looks like: options and breathing space.
Of course, getting to that point doesn’t happen overnight. It takes smart investing, discipline and a really clear understanding of what ‘enough’ actually means for you. Too many people move the goalposts endlessly: once they hit one number, they chase a bigger one, then a bigger one… and before long they’ve traded one kind of stress for another.
Look at it this way: financial freedom should give you peace of mind, not a new set of anxieties!
Living life on your own terms
Mobility freedom has taken on a whole new meaning in recent years. With remote work and digital businesses, many of us now have the chance to work from anywhere. But mobility freedom doesn’t just mean you’re able to travel more.
It means you can decide where and how you spend your days. Maybe that’s working from home so you can pick up the kids from school, or maybe it means living abroad for a few months each year. It might even just be having the space to design your week around what matters most to you – living life to your schedule, not someone else’s.
That kind of freedom, where you aren’t defined by a location, your commute, or a fixed routine, can make your life feel lighter. Imagine having the flexibility to build work around your life, not the other way round – sounds good, doesn’t it?
Free your mind… and the rest will follow
The idea of mental freedom is where it gets interesting. You can have all the money and flexibility in the world, but if your head isn’t free, none of it matters.
Mental freedom is about knowing who you are and what really makes you happy, rather than society, your peers, or social media dictating your choices.
I often talk about how people might chase someone else’s version of success (the car, the house, the job title), but then, when they get those things themselves, they find they’re knackered and completely unfulfilled, because the goals weren’t genuinely personal.
What does freedom look like for you?
If you’re struggling to define what freedom means for you, there are a few questions you can ask yourself to get started:
- What would I do on Monday morning if money were no object?
- What do I take photos of most often, what genuinely inspires me?
- What do people naturally come to me for advice about?
Your answers will tell you a lot about where your energy really lies.
The discipline of freedom
These questions are a good starting point. So what stops people from actually building that freedom once they know what they want? It sounds like a contradiction, but freedom and discipline go hand in hand.
You might imagine freedom as doing whatever you want, whenever you want. But in reality, lasting freedom comes from structure and consistency.
If your finances are chaotic, you’ll never have financial freedom. If your calendar’s out of control, you’ll never have time freedom. And if your thoughts are scattered, you’ll never have mental freedom.
Discipline creates the framework that makes freedom possible and allows you to step away from work, knowing things won’t fall apart. It’s what helps you stay calm when the market wobbles or when plans change suddenly.
The more disciplined you are with your time, habits and decisions, the more space you create for yourself. That’s where real freedom lives: not in the absence of responsibility, but being able to carry it lightly.
Building your own version of freedom
It’s worth remembering that there’s no magic moment in life when you suddenly feel ‘free.’ The whole thing is a process of making small financial, mental and practical adjustments, until your life starts to reflect your priorities.
Over time, those changes compound and you’ll start to feel lighter, more in control, more aligned with what actually matters to you. It’s something you can build gradually, piece by piece, in every area of your life.
Start by figuring out which kind of freedom you’re missing most right now: financial, mobility or mental. Then look for small, practical ways to get closer to it.
Maybe that means tightening your finances so you can buy back more time, or setting clearer boundaries around your schedule. Maybe it means making time to do some deeper work to reconnect with who you really are and what you actually want.
Freedom is personal and won’t look the same for everyone. But when your money supports your time, your time supports your values, and your values support your peace of mind, that’s when you know you’ve found it.
What it all comes down to
Like anything else in life, there’s no ‘perfect time’ to start working towards freedom, but with the right mindset, choices and daily habits you can start shaping your life towards it today.
People often overcomplicate the idea of freedom. But maybe the goal is simple: to build a life where you could stop at any time… but you don’t want to, because you love the life you’re already living.
If you’ve found this blog interesting, my conversation with Jason takes a much deeper dive on the topic, so do take a listen!