Over the many years that I've been working with clients who
want to better their lives. I've come across the goal of
"financial freedom" - people looking for an end to
financial worry (over 905 of males claim that it is their
greatest source of worry), people looking for "passive
income" or people wanting to have "more than enough". But,
what is "more than enough"? In a comment once attributed to
Rockefeller (I've really no idea whether he said it or not)
he is reputed to have said that "Enough is just one more!"
Enough, perhaps, is never enough.

It strikes me as, at the very least, odd that, as
supposedly the most advanced species on the planet, the
vast majority of humans in the so-called developed world
are obsessed with money (people in less "developed" regions
often have more pressing matters on their mind). How is it
that, even when we have more than what we need to lead the
lives that we are currently living, we always want that
"extra security" or "safety net" (both quotes from clients)?

In the greater scheme of things, is money the be all and
end all? Were the last cell 'phone messages from passengers
on the hijacked 'planes on 9/11 about money? I wonder if
those who lost their lives on the Air France flight from
Brazil to Paris wondering if they'd enough passive income
in the moments that it dawned on them that their time was
up? And, in just the same way that no one on their deathbed
ever wishes that they'd spent more time in the office, I
suspect no one in that position grieves for a bigger bank
balance or greater investment returns when it's time to
"check out" (as my father called it).

"Financial freedom" a lot like beauty (or fear for that
matter) - it is in the eye of the beholder. It is a state
of mind that plagues modern society, a concept of the
modern rush for more. In the process, we lose track of what
is really important, we lose track of the simple things in
life, we lose all perspective on what it is to be fully
alive in the here and now.

If you have been or are, at any stage, caught in the trap
of worrying about your finances, you have lost sight of
reality - you are being tricked by your "personality"
which, generally speaking, conceives success in comparative
and competitive terms. People who have said to me "I've
lost all my money" or "We're running out of money" simply
do not realise that, in the here and now, generally
speaking, not only do that want for nothing but, in fact,
they have more than enough to live a wonderful life - right
here, right now.

More importantly, they've missed the point in terms of
achieving greater financial wellbeing. If you're worried
about money, money worries is what you'll get. Remember how
the universe works? Energy in : energy out. If you're
obsessed with achieving financial freedom, it's a bit like
trying to give up cigarettes - you'll be so focused on your
finances you'll forget to do the important things that need
to be whole-heartedly done to achieve that freedom.

See the point I'm making? You need to stop focusing on
money and start focusing exclusively on what you're
supposed to be doing - on what really needs doing - in the
present moment - whatever that task is. If you make more
than 1% sure (remember, normal people only put 1% energy
into what they're doing) that the really important things
get done to the very best of your ability, then money
actually flows. It's that simple. I've seen it happen - my
clients have seen it happen - there are loads of examples
that graphically illustrate how easy it is on my website.

But, unfortunately, almost everybody has put the "financial
cart" before the "quality of life horse". As a result, they
end up wondering why it is so difficult to push that cart
up the hill! Stop worrying about money and it will flow.
Start doing all the important things that you have to do
without looking through the lens of "I need more money" or
"I want more money" or "I want my financial freedom". Put
all of your energy into what you're doing - the important
things that you need to do each day - and you will get your
reward.

How do you put more than 1% of your energy into what you
have to do? Well, imagine that you're going on two weeks'
vacation tomorrow and you have to get all the important -
only important - things done today. A flight at 06h30
tomorrow morning concentrates the mind! And concentration
is the key to being more all here in the present moment
than the pathetic 1% that normal people are. Your clear and
present focus will get all the important things done and
you will have your financial freedom - whatever that means
to you.