I really like the story of Socrates: When Socrates entered the market, people showed off all kinds of luxurious and exquisite items to him. He sighed, "There are so many things in this world that I don't want!"
This is a state of freedom - not desiring something is just as valuable as desiring to possess it.
Navar believes that the so-called freedom has only two paths:
- to accumulate enough wealth to satisfy all one's desires;
- or to reduce one's desires to a level lower than the amount of wealth one possesses.
1、Basic material: Contentment is natural wealth
"Life is just three meals and four seasons. Contentment is natural wealth, while desires are artificial poverty."
Retirement, and viewing it as a turning point in one's material outlook.
Letting go of the accumulated inertia from the past half of our lives, we will realize that true security actually lies not in how much we possess, but in how much we need.
For those of us who have already accumulated some savings, financial freedom begins with taking the initiative to declutter: If we can find happiness in a simple life, we have already acquired the mindset of financial freedom.
The first level of training for achieving financial freedom is to actively practice letting go - cutting off the obsession with unnecessary material possessions, discarding the redundant items hidden in the closet, escaping the black hole of comparison and lack, and finding contentment between "adequacy" and "quality".
2、High-End Soul: Seeking Fulfillment Through Subtraction
The greatest wealth after retirement is not money, but time. Navar suggests: "As the mind becomes calmer and more composed, one can better stay in the present moment and feel more content with what one already has."
understanding of life - as Navar says: "Pain is inevitable, but suffering is the result of choice."
By cultivating a calmness towards things beyond one's control, one can achieve mental freedom.
Stay away from those unsolvable problems that drain our emotional energy, let go of those things that are neither important nor worth the effort, and focus your energy on the truly important matters. Pursue what is truly meaningful to us freely.
3、Transforming Yourself into a Product: Continuously create wealth through passion.
Navar proposed the concept of "productizing yourself" in an interview:
"Identify the things that you naturally do, that the world might need, and that you can scale up and turn into a product."
This can be anything that utilizes the experience and wisdom you have accumulated over your lifetime.
I believe this is an advantage for the older generation of us who are about to retire.
What most people consider as being poor is actually that your desires are always a little bit more than your money.
Financial freedom after retirement is essentially a cognitive revolution:
