The Origin Story

I was like everybody else - working hard at school, getting a degree, so that I can get a better job in the future.

Perhaps, you have the same story as me as well.

And in the past, achieving financial freedom before 40 seemed like an impossible task.

But today, I know with much certainty that I can achieve financial freedom by the age of 30.

(I know because I knew my magical number which I will discuss in Chapter 3.)

The Struggles

The journey to financial freedom is not an easy one.

If we want to become financially free - we need to understand one simple concept.

And that's true - there are courses out there that are downright crappy.

So I completely understand why people are skeptical and wouldn't cut a cheque to attend workshops or courses.

But there were also courses that completely shifted the course of my financial journey.

To me, money is speed.

Had I not spent the money to invest in myself, I probably be stuck thinking that I could only achieve financial freedom by 50.

Why This Guide Was Written

And this is precisely why this guide was written.

After spending all this money investing in myself - I wanted to document my journey and hopefully inspire others along this journey as well.

Over the years, I have met many of my colleagues who were contemplating of leaving the workforce because they just downright hated the job.

But they couldn't.

They had to pay for their cars, their mortgage, the kids' educations.

As one would say it - they were stuck in the rat race.

That's why I am writing this guide because I strongly believe that, had we done something differently - we could be working because we want to, and not working because we need to.

My biggest goal is to help others to work for their passion and to stop working for money.

The Rat Race Trap

Most people are trapped in the rat race because they are always chasing after promotions and higher status.

They want to meet societal expectations.

So every time they have a promotion - they get a bigger car or a bigger house.

Now, I want to stress that there's nothing wrong with that.

Why? Because these are your rewards for the hard work that you put in.

However, if you are getting a bigger car or a bigger house to meet other people's expectations of you, that's the dumbest thing to do...

To me, that's like getting a bigger rat wheel to impress others.

Compete Using Time, Not Money

The True Definition Of Wealth

So you can see that the definition of wealth is not money, but time.

Time is most valuable resource to you.

The worst thing you can do is to be exchanging time for money in a job you hate, but cannot leave because of all your financial commitment.

You need to get money out of the way as early as possible.

So that you never have to exchange time for money again.

But instead, you are exchanging time for passion, energy and purpose.

Let's head to chapter 3 - Finding the magical number.

Begin With An End In Mind

The first step to becoming wealthy and financially free is to have clarity on the exact numbers you need.

And these numbers are different for everyone, depending on our personal lifestyle and commitment.

And once you know these numbers - you can reverse engineer the process to figure out how much you need to be financially free.

If you want to get the most out of this training - you probably want to work out these numbers as you read through this article.

The Magic Numbers

The good news is that these numbers are not hard to figure out.

There are in fact, only three numbers you need know.

And if you can figure out at least two of the numbers - you would have all three.

These numbers are none other than:

Now let's tackle the first - Your Required Passive Income.

This is the first exercise I do with most of my students - and they are often ambitious and want around $10,000 in monthly passive income.

Having an ambitious goal is important, since it is important to think big.

But what we want is to start small, and think big.

So I designed three phases of required passive income, which I call it the N-I-10 Framework for passive income goals.

Your first milestone should always be to achieve a necessity-based passive income.

And that is a  significant milestone.

Why?

Because when you achieved a neccessity based passive income, working for money becomes a choice and not a must.

You know you will still able to fulfill your needs even if you don't work for money.

The next milestone is an income-based passive income.

This means that if you are earning $3000 from your job's income - that's the amount of passive income you need to be aiming for.

The final milestone is 10x. 

This means you are making 10x more in your job's income passively. So if you are making $3000 per month, you would have $30,000 in monthly passive income.

Starting Small, Thinking Big

Drink The Milk, Not Eat The Cow

That's a strange title!

What does it even mean?

Well, its just a fanciful way of saying:

Let's put it in simpler terms.

Banks gives around a 0.05% annual interest rate.

This means that if I have $2,000 monthly expenses, that would be $24,000 in annual expenses.

And I want to pay for these expenses using the interest.

So if I needed $24,000 in interest every year, what amount should I leave in the bank?

If you put in the numbers - you will realise that to get $24,000 in annual interest with a 0.05% annual interest rates - you will need $48,000,000.

Shocking.

Is it even possible to accumulate that amount of principal?

Well, what if we could get a higher interest rate?

Let's say 5%.

Then we would only need $480,000 to be financially free.

That seems like a much feasible goal to achieve now.

Getting A Higher Interest Rate

Another good news - getting a 5% return isn't hard.

You can achieve a 5% return fairly easily in the stock market.

And I am kinda jumping ahead here.

Investing is one of the two pillars of wealth, which we will discuss in Chapter 4.

I won't go too much in depth here - because there is going to be entire resource dedicated to helping beginners in the stock market, in Chapter 6.

So once you are able to make a 5% return from the stock market, all you need is $480,000 to become financially free with $24,000 of annual passive income!

Which brings us to the next question.

How do we get to $480,000?

The answer lies in the second pillar.

Let's dive into Chapter 4 to find out how we can get $480,000.

Upgrade Your Side Hustles.

Most people in a job are exchanging their time for money.

And everyone, including Mark Zuckerberg and Bill Gates only have 24 hours a day.

So if you are spending 8 hours at work, it is not sustainable for you to spend the remaining hours of your day, continue exchanging your time for money.

Most people start a side hustle of driving a private hire vehicle, giving tuition, working part time at a restaurant, photograph services - you name it.

What do all these side hustle have in common?

That's right - they are still exchanging time for money.

And if you are doing all of these things after your day job, you are going to get burnt out really quick.

Don't get me wrong - I respect the hustle.

But we need to do it strategically.

How can we do something once and get results over and over again in the future?

Scaling Your Income Higher

Notice the above side hustle, they were all services - where you exchange time for money.

And because time is a finite resource, you have an income ceiling cap.

Let's be honest - how many passengers could you take in your private vehicle hire every month?

Or how many tuition lessons can you teach every single month?

Because you are exchanging time for money - there is always a ceiling.

So how can you break this ceiling?

The answer is by having a product.

What's the maximum number of products can you sell every day?

100?

or it 200?

or 1000?

That's right - the sky is the limit.

Selling A Product On Automation

Remember I mentioned, "How can we do something once and get results over and over again in the future?"

The simplest way to do it is through an online business.

Because it requires very little capital to start.

And very little capital = very little risk.

The best part is that an online business is much easier to automate, so that even as you are sleeping, the business is running on its own.

Imagine having an employee that works round the clock for you.

However, here's the problem.

Starting an online business is a HUGE learning curve.

And that is why I created this blog as well - so that you can have the resources to get started, which I detailed down in Chapter 6.

If you haven't guessed it by now - the second pillar to wealth is business.

The Two Pillars

So these are the two pillars - investing and business.

Now, back to the question earlier - how can we get $480,000?

Well, let's say you want to be financially free in 10 years.

This means you need you will need to get a capital of $48,000 every year.

Or that would mean $4000 every month.

Remember, what I said about selling product?

Let's say if you have a $100 product.

(Assuming it is a digital product with 100% profit margin)

How many product do you need to sell every month to get $4000 per month?

That's right - you only need to sell 40 products.

So you can see that business is the fastest way to raise capital, and investing is the simplest way to create passive income.

When you have these two pillars come together, you accelerate your journey to wealth.

The next question is this - how do you actually do all of these without being overwhelmed?

The Wise Words

One of my mentors said this.

And it left such a deep impression on me, because it is so true.

This is so true.

Most people who are in a 9-to-5 jobs are usually drained after a long day at work.

Who could blame them for wanting to chill and go for a happy hour.

In fact, take this chance to reflect upon your daily routine.

What do you usually do after your 5pm?

Are you building on your two pillars or are you chilling and watching NetFlix.

Now, there's nothing wrong if you want to be watching NetFlix.

But never ever expect your life to change if you choose to stick to the same routine.

If you want to get out of the rat race - then it really all depends on what you want to do after your 5pm.

It could even just be an hour a day - just dedicated to building your two pillars.

The best I can do is to give you the action steps - and it is up to you whether you want to implement.

Step 1 - Pay Yourself First

The moment your paycheck comes in, set aside a portion of the money for investments.

You don't have to invest this money yet, if you have not learned how to invest.

Just side it aside and only use it for investments.

Most people try to save what is left after spending.

What happens is that they ended saving very little money...

But if you forced yourself to save first before you even spend - in the long run, you will be surprised how much you can save.

Personally, I put aside 40% of my income into my investment brokerage account every single month, and slowly I built it up to managing a six-figure portfolio today.

Step 2 - Open A Brokerage Account

The reason why most people fail is because they fail to start.

If you want to invest in the stock market - you need a brokerage account.

I can tell you that there are many people who said they wanted to learn how to invest in the stock market - but they took months to even open a brokerage account.

The brokerage account that I use is TDAmeritrade and I primarily only invest in US stocks and options.

If you already have a brokerage account, that's great!

(I would start adding money consistently into my brokerage account every month once I get my paycheck.)

Step 3 - Invest In Yourself 

If you don't have knowledge about investing yet, invest in yourself by getting quality education on investing.

It is going to save you much more money than trying to figure things out on your own.

How do you invest in yourself?

Well, you could do it by reading books or going to YouTube and Google.

But there's a better way.

After 8 hours of work, honestly, it can be quite draining to watch through series of videos - and try to figure out everything on your own.

Quite frankly - it is going to take a lot of time to try to figure this out yourself as well.

For myself, I am also writing blog posts to help you out, which I will send in my weekly emails - but it is really up to you if you want to read them.

If you want to get results faster, invest in an online course or a mentor - block out your time and learn.

I will be sharing with you the resource section in Chapter 6 - so you could use that as a reference.

Step 4 - Building An Online Business

As you are learning how to invest profitably, spend some time during the weekend and after work to build your online business.

Building an online business is extremely hard, and it is easy to fall trap to the many shiny objects out there.

My advice is to focus on one thing at a time, don't jump from opportunities to opportunities - you will end up getting nothing done.

Personally, I think that the easiest way to build up momentum in your online business is to monetise your knowledge and expertise.

I will talk more about this in the resource section so don't worry if you don't know where to start.

Step 5 - Invest In Yourself Again

I can't stress this enough - you are your greatest investment.

Always invest in yourself, keep learning and implementing.

Whatever initial profits you get from investing and business - reinvest those profits in your knowledge.

This will become the unfair boost to shorten your financial freedom journey.

One of the reasons why I know I will be financially free by the age of 30 is because I am always investing in myself.

Step 6 - Identify Your Purpose

As you are on your way to financial freedom, you want to identify what is your purpose.

This is to help you transit to working on your purpose full-time once you are financially free.

The time will come where you are no longer working for money, but instead for a purposeful cause.

The last thing I want you to be doing is to lie on a beach and do nothing when you are financially free.

Life's short - don't waste it. 

For example, I chose my path as an educator and to serve others by setting up this blog to share my knowledge on investing and business.