Are You Building Wealth or Building a Life? Financial Freedom & Success

[00:00:01] Welcome to Business Finance and Soul. My name is Shaun Enders and I'm a Curious Entrepreneur. I love exploring business, personal finance and consciousness. I'll jump around topics, offer my opinions and occasionally interview interesting people. Looking forward to going on this journey. Let's be curious together.

[00:00:21] Let me ask you something. What if you were doing everything right financially, but you were building the wrong life? Think about that for a second. What if you were making more money than you've ever made, you live in a beautiful home, you're driving the car you once dreamt of, and you're achieving all these milestones that at one point you believed would make you happy, but somewhere along the way you started feeling a little trapped.

[00:00:56] Not because you're unsuccessful, but because maintaining that success has become a full-time responsibility. You need the income to support the lifestyle, you need the business to generate the income, and you need to keep working at a certain level to maintain everything that you've built. So here's the question. Are you actually building wealth or are you building a life that requires you to keep making more and more money? Because those aren't necessarily the same thing.

[00:01:23] And I'm not bringing this up because I've got it all figured out. It's quite the opposite. I'm bringing it up because it's something that I think about a lot in my own life. I've spent a good portion of my adult life building a business, raising a family, investing, trying to make smart financial decisions, and pursuing this idea of success. And I'm grateful. I'm incredibly grateful. But recently I found myself asking a different question.

[00:01:52] Not how much more can I build, but what am I actually building it for? And maybe that's a question worth exploring together. Welcome to Business Finance and Soul. Today we're talking about the difference between building wealth and building a life. Because sometimes those two things are perfectly aligned, and sometimes they're pulling us in completely different directions.

[00:02:20] So I want to talk about the success trap. I've been an entrepreneur for a long time, and when you're building a business, there's a natural progression that happens. In the beginning, you're trying to survive. I know that when we started, just being able to make payroll and find customers, keep the lights on, and hopefully make enough money to pay ourselves, was the goal. It was a win.

[00:02:48] And if you're thinking, man, if I could just get this business to a certain level, life would be so much easier. Then eventually, maybe you get there. The business grows. You start making money. You become more financially secure, and naturally your lifestyle grows alongside with it. Maybe you do upgrade your home. You take nicer vacations. You invest in experiences for your family. These are all things that I did, and I've done. And none of those are inherently bad.

[00:03:18] In fact, a lot of those decisions come from a really good place. And they provide really good experiences. You want to create an incredible life for the people that you love. But here's what I've noticed. Every time we improve our lifestyle, we often create a new financial obligation. And that's something to think about. Short-term obligations versus long-term obligations. And how you feel about those obligations.

[00:03:45] Because each one quietly raises the amount of money that you need to maintain your life. What used to feel like an extraordinary amount of income eventually starts to feel like the minimum. And that's such a strange thing because your connection to all of this, your connection to the experience of it all, is all in your mind in terms of what you're rooted in.

[00:04:13] Where the value is. You know, there was probably a time in your life when you imagined making the money that you make today. You might have thought, if I ever make that much, I'll have nothing to worry about. I know I felt that way when I was making less than $8 an hour as a bank teller in my teenage years. And thinking, oh my gosh.

[00:04:40] If I made $20 an hour, I would be absolutely set. And yet, here I am. I make a lot more than that. And do I feel considerably less stressed? There's different types of stress that come with levels of success. Right? There's trade-offs that happen.

[00:05:06] The key is, for some people, it's do you have more free time? Do you feel more secure? I think we might feel everybody needs to feel the same thing. That security and free time or the ultimate levels of achievement, that might not be the same for everyone. And that's why you have to ask yourself. You have to look at yourself and go, okay, what's this journey going to produce?

[00:05:35] And along the way, how do I feel about that? And this is a thought I've been sitting with. If my expenses rise every time my income does, I'm not necessarily buying freedom, am I? I might just be upgrading my obligations. And I think a lot about those milestones along the way. For instance, now I have kids in expensive schools. One in high school, one in middle. I know it's a finite period of time.

[00:06:05] And I can see the experience that they're gaining from it. So I ground in that expense a little bit differently than, let's say, a big, expensive lease on a car. Something that gives me momentary excitement, but doesn't give me the deep fulfillment of watching my children grow at a level that I never experienced as a kid.

[00:06:35] And so freedom comes in different forms. Sometimes it's freedom to just do nothing. And I have that ability. Do I take advantage of that? No, because I'd like the trade-off to be opportunistic for what my goals are in this short season. But I think the key is when the definition of success changes. And that's the crux of it.

[00:07:05] As you get older, absolutely the definition of success is going to change. I don't know about you, but what motivated me in my 20s and 30s isn't what motivates me today in my 40s. Because when you're young, there's this drive to prove yourself. Forever I had a chip on my shoulder. It really helped me in business. I had to prove not only to myself, but what I felt like was to others that I could build something. I could make money.

[00:07:34] I could become successful. And there's something wonderful about that ambition. I think you need that ambition. Again, we talked about seasons. There's a season for that. Maybe it never goes away. It can change. It's an incredible force for good. It can help you build a business and support your family or employ people. But what happens when things that you're chasing start to change?

[00:08:01] What happens when another dollar doesn't excite you quite as much as an afternoon of freedom? That's a big deal for me. When I look at my son, and I'm incredibly grateful of the time that he spends with me, that he actually wants to hang out with his dad. He knows the sacrifices that I'm willing to make, both from a commute for his school and the financial commitments to get him there.

[00:08:29] And I know in my heart that won't last forever. And so not in the same way. So it's worth it. I'm willing to invest. As he gets older, he'll develop his own interests, his own friendships, and eventually his own life. And that's what he's supposed to do. But right now, I have this window of time. The same is true for my daughter. I have this window of time to invest into them in this particular way.

[00:08:59] So for me, I'm sharing kind of where I'm at in my own personal life and my journey. You know, when things get a little bit more expensive, am I trading a certain freedom for other types of investments? I was thinking about that when Steve Ballmer bought the Clippers, the Los Angeles Clippers basketball team.

[00:09:28] And if you don't know Steve Ballmer, he was the CEO of Microsoft, has a lot of money. But he wrote a check for them, and I believe $3 billion came out of his account. And he had talked about the fact that, you know, he didn't feel what he thought he would feel. But at the same time, he kind of felt a little bit of that scarcity of like, whoa, that's a big check to just clear my account.

[00:09:53] Now, he was buying an asset for it, but it didn't make it any easier, right? And you've got to think about that in your life. What are you buying? What are you investing into? What does freedom represent? And what does the, what about the fulfillment that comes from that pursuit and the acquisition?

[00:10:17] And so each one of us is going through this journey and we are understanding what the trade-offs are. And all of that leads to me, leads me to this realization that changes math sometimes. It changes how I think about opportunities. It changes about things like, how do I look at my calendar? And how do I define wealth?

[00:10:44] At one point, it was to get the most free time possible. And that was my freedom fund. And I achieved it. I actually worked very little for maybe 18 months. I was putting in way less hours than I had in the past. And that felt good.

[00:11:11] I knew inside that it wasn't something that I wanted to sustain forever. And I need that drive. I need that thing that's pushing me. As long as that thing is fulfilling me, that I'm getting a real sense of fulfillment out of where I put my money and my resources. Because I used to think financial freedom was just about having enough money to do whatever I wanted.

[00:11:39] But now I'm starting to think it's about having enough control over my time and over my investments. Right? What do I consider to be assets in my life? Investing into education? Asset. If it's for my children or if it's for myself. And for yourself. You should think about that. Yeah. That might be expensive to do that thing. What is it?

[00:12:08] Do I want to spend money on that? Because it's going to give me a long-term financial obligation and I don't get a lot out of it other than temporary excitement? Or does it give me something that I can look at for the rest of my life and be fulfilled from that decision?

[00:12:30] Because the point of building an incredible life is to feel fulfilled from the time that it takes away from your leisure time. Right? Because if you're building something that you say, this is incredible, but I'm also working a little bit harder than I've worked in the past.

[00:12:57] Are you fulfilled from that journey? There's a danger of turning everything into a business. A few years ago, I started this podcast, Business, Finance, and Soul. And honestly, I started it because I love conversations. I love learning from interesting people.

[00:13:22] I love exploring the ideas about business, financial dependence, human behavior, spirituality, and what it means to live a meaningful life. And I love the creative process. I find it super energizing. I'm coming up with a topic and having a conversation or just doing what I'm doing right now, which is riffing a little bit, putting it out there. And hopefully when it hits your ears, you grab something from it and it pushes you forward just a little bit.

[00:13:51] And I feel like this is one of the areas that I contribute into the world. Where people do get pushed forward a little bit. Something resonates. It's something really fulfilling about that. And recently, I've been exploring a little bit about how to grow the podcast. As an entrepreneur, my brain started going to the business model. Do I want to coach people? I have Transition Staffing Group. It's a phenomenal business.

[00:14:20] It's continued to support our family. And aside, is there something else that I'd like to do that adds to my fulfillment? Should I start advising other entrepreneurs? Should I build a program? What would I charge for that? How many clients do I need? And suddenly, something that began as a passion project started looking a lot more like a business. And I started thinking, geez, okay, that's another calendar to manage. It's another group of people, depending on me.

[00:14:50] Another set of financial targets. And I have to ask myself a pretty uncomfortable question. Am I about to turn something I love into another obligation? And there's nothing wrong with that. But you have to think about, you know, what is it that you're committing your time and resources to? Whether it is your money, resources, that distraction. Where are you putting these resources?

[00:15:22] And to me, I think I look at where I'm at. And I would ask you to do the same. I realized, you know, I was starting to design a business around what might make money rather than around what actually gives me energy. I started thinking a little bit more about taking the podcast in another direction. I wonder if you've ever done that.

[00:15:52] You know, you have something that you love. You know, it could be photography, writing, fitness, cooking, any of these things. And then immediately the entrepreneurial side of your brain says, how can I monetize that? Right. Right. And you don't want to necessarily be in that space because you have to monetize it. That's why we're talking about this. You don't want to put yourself into positions of where you've built these long-term commitments financially that just forces everything to be monetized.

[00:16:20] That's the key to life. What are your commitments? And do you have to monetize everything that you enjoy? You know, what if some things were valuable simply because they made your life richer? Not everything you love needs to become a business and not every hour of your life needs to produce some sort of income.

[00:16:46] And that's something that I think a lot of entrepreneurs struggle with because we've trained ourselves to see opportunities everywhere. But sometimes the opportunity isn't to make more money. Sometimes the opportunity is just to simply enjoy being alive. And that doesn't mean our passions can't eventually become profitable. Maybe business, finance, and soul becomes something much bigger one day.

[00:17:11] Maybe it turns into a meeting, you know, some type of meaningful brand that creates partnerships or open doors that I haven't even imagined yet. But I'd love that. But I don't want to lose the joy of creating because I'm too focused on another revenue stream.

[00:17:29] And I think that's an interesting point for me as I take a step back and I go, the seasons of expenses will come and go.

[00:17:44] And if you are intentional with what is important to you, what you're investing in, and you don't put yourself in a position of where things become harder or you're worried about paying your bills, you can flow so much easier into creativity and other business ideas.

[00:18:12] And you can realize that money does matter. It provides security and it gives you options and allows us to support our families and experience the things that we might not otherwise experience. And building wealth is a worthwhile goal. But I wonder if we've confused wealth with consumption. And what are you consuming?

[00:18:34] Because when I think about true financial independence, I don't think necessarily about the biggest house or the nicest car, although I really love those things in my life. Those are great areas to go after. But that's not how I measure financial independence. I think about it in terms of optionality. Can you take time off? Are you investing to things that truly fulfill you? Right? Do you have that option?

[00:19:03] Do you have to just say, no, I can't. I can't spend the time with my family or I can't invest into education or I can't take that moonshot on something that could be big. I can't pursue a creative project without worrying whether or not it's going to generate income. For me, that has become kind of where financial independence starts going.

[00:19:31] It's not just about taking the time off. Now, if we're retiring early, it's about optionality for all of those things. Because as I watch other really successful, and I'm talking the uber successful multi-billionaires, it isn't the goal to just do nothing.

[00:19:54] It's the goal to have the options to invest into the things that they want to invest into and that excite them to go to that next level. That's the practical side of things. So, of course, if you're earning $300,000 a year and you're spending $290,000 of it, impressive lifestyle. Does it give you the flexibility?

[00:20:23] Do you have the optionality? That's the key. You may not want to be dialing back your spending just so you can get to a point where you don't have to do anything. Maybe you're spending in the areas that are bringing you potential returns down the road or just real fulfillment in terms of the next level of discovery in your own life.

[00:20:54] So that gap between what you earn and what you need can be just as important. I think we should all pay attention to that gap and every recurring expense that creates a certain amount of dependence on future income. Not all that dependence is bad. Sometimes the expense is absolutely worth it, right? That's what we're talking about. But it's just minding that gap.

[00:21:22] Minding what that means. And so I want to leave you with this thought of the goal of the journey, the fulfillment of the season, where you're at, knowing that it's not in perpetuity, knowing that your decision today might create some stress. But is it adding fulfillment?

[00:21:50] Are you earning income in a way that feels meaningful? Do you have the time to be able to be creative and create flexibility for yourself? Ask yourself those questions as you're going through this. Because if your head is down, you're grinding, you can't think, and you're just checking another box to pay another bill. That's the trap. That's where you want to get away from.

[00:22:19] You're not thinking about how to take care of your spouse. You're saying no to your kids on things that are true investments, that things that better them, things that create momentum in their life. You know, that's the space you want to stay away from. So again, it goes with our theme always here, which is to stay curious.

[00:22:42] And that means staying curious in your own life, in your own expenses, in your own pursuit of what success really means to you. As always, I appreciate you. I appreciate you listening, subscribing, and providing feedback and messages to me. It means a lot. Thank you so much, and stay curious.