A couple of weeks ago, I was talking with a colleague about the raise I had requested nearly 7 months ago from my W2.

And we got to talking about how he was planning on retiring in 2 years.

I shared that my plan was to retire early, that my goal was that my current W2 position would be my last W2 position.

He provided me with his thoughts on my plan.

Now, I’ve been very clear about this with my employer. My direct supervisor knows I want to retire early. So does the vice president I report up through.

And at different times, when I’ve had this conversation with each of them, all three have said the same thing in slightly different ways.

“Don’t quit work too early; what will you do?”

My biggest milestone right now is to achieve financial freedom.

I have a lot of paths to hike before I reach that peak, but that is the summit I’m striving for.

And I’ve been thinking a lot about the question posed by those three colleagues.

I have immense respect for them, but their question is worth considering.

“What will you do?”

Although, I want to extrapolate it further:

“What does your true life look like?”

If you’re in any situation similar to mine, your present life is likely a duality between work and leisure (which you use to recover from work).

I followed the path that had been laid at my feet since I was young:

• Graduate high school and go to college

• Graduate college and get a job

• Leave that job and find a new one

• Repeat for 45-50 years

• Retire and enjoy my time mostly at home

It’s the same path that’s been laid out for so many people.

I followed it because it was the only path I knew.

Then, one day in the summer of 2021, I went on a walk and listened to a podcast.

I don’t recall the first one I listened to, but I know the first podcaster that had an impact on me was Rob Dial.

His podcast was the first time I started to think about my life beyond working my job.

He started to drive home the simple idea that I am in control of my life and I am responsible for what happens in it.

As I’ve explored more of my life, I’ve started to catch glimpses of what will let me live my true life once I reach financial freedom.

Tonight, I want to share 4 ways you can explore what living after you’ve achieved financial freedom will look like.

Number 1: Journaling

Easily one of the best practices that I’ve picked up in the past two years.

Journaling allows you to hold space for yourself as you reflect on who you are now and who you will be then.

My biggest recommendation, if you can, is to journal by hand.

For me, writing by hand forces me to slow down and let my thoughts marinate as I write them out.

There are apps out there you can use, and a Word or Google doc works just fine too.

Just start journaling.

Also, when I journal now, I have a routine that I go through before I touch pen to paper and I’ll talk more about it in way number 3!

Some people journal freely, in other words, they write about whatever comes into their mind. Others lead with prompts that have them consider certain questions or areas in their life. Use whatever you need to get started.

Take time, put on some non-lyric music or white noise, and just write.

Need some prompts to get started? Here are 5 you can use to start thinking of your future:

1. Why are you so content with your life?

2. How are you honoring your past?

3. How do you treat your body?

4. Why is your life going well?

5. How far have you come?

Looking for a framework to start from? I recently started using the 1-1-1 Method from Sahil Bloom (follow him on Twitter) as a way to end each of my daily entries.

• Write about 1 win from your day to appreciate the progress you have made

• Write about 1 point of tension, anxiety, or stress to get the topic out of your head

• Write about 1 point of gratitude to reflect on the important things in your life

Number 2: Visualizing

I’m a huge fan of the Elder Scrolls Online. As in, have put in well over 1,500 hours playing the game.

And every time I play, any time I’m moving in the game near a cliff or walking across a bridge over a huge canyon, well, I get the panicked feeling of falling in my body.

Everything tightens up. My focus narrows until I’m just making sure I don’t fall. I almost stop breathing.

Once I’m away from those dangers, everything is fine.

I don’t even want to imagine me and VR videogames…

That fear, even from a video game where your actual, physical body is perfectly safe, is a product of your mind.

Your mind is more powerful than you know.

Your mind can pull energy from the future and the past.

When you remember a moment in your past that was hard for you, maybe a death in your family, your mind brings the energy of that moment into your present.

When you are anxious about a decision you have to make, your mind brings the energy of the unknown future into your present.

Visualization is harnessing the power of your mind to use the energy of your future.

When you visualize the future where you are financially free and can treat a friend to lunch simply because you want to spend time with them, your mind can bring that energy into your present.

When you see yourself leaving your W2 job and the weight that gets lifted off your shoulders because you don’t have to worry about money, your mind can bring that energy into your present.

You use visualization to see the future you want to create, capture the resulting energy, and use that energy to fuel your present.

To be clear, I’m 100% still exploring visualization, but there’s power in it.

Number 3: Design your ideal morning & night (and any other part of your life)

I started off last year with a ridiculous change in my life. I started a morning routine at 4:30 am and it sucked.

I did it for about two months and hated it.

When I dropped it and started waking up at 6 am, things started to fall into place again.

You never just magically become your true self or have your ideal morning or night or life.

Who you are right now couldn’t handle the life of your true self.

You have to change and grow into your true self.

You have to change and grow into that life.

You ask: “What does my true self do in this instance?” And then you start to make small changes in your life that move towards the habits of your true self.

Let’s talk about how my morning and night routines came to be.

When I first picked up a morning routine, I would journal, meditate, create content, exercise, and eat breakfast, all before showering. It was too damn much and I grew to resent it. I wasn’t myself–it didn’t work because my true self would never have this type of routine.

I had to change it.

So, I focused in on asking, what would my true self want to accomplish before the rest of the day picks up.

It was simple: exercise, meditate, and eat breakfast.

That’s it.

As soon as I made that change, things changed.

Now, I’m up as soon as my alarm goes off and pouring into myself before I give to anyone else.

My night routine was similar.

For me, my true self journals and reads.

So, I take care of everything before I sit down. Dishes are done, teeth brushed, blinds opened to let in the sun the next morning, all of the lights turned off.

Then, I turn on the lamp on my kitchen table, turn on the little fountain I have on my kitchen table, light the candle on my table, select a quiet playlist with no lyrics, and open my journal.

I don’t force anything to come out. Some days my journaling sessions are less than 5 minutes, other days they can be over 30 minutes.

The one thing I do in my journal is end every session with “With love and a sense of urgency.” to remind me that everything I write in there is done with an attitude of love and in full awareness that I will die one day.

I don’t recall when I picked up the practice, but it serves as a constant reminder to me.

Then, I’m in bed and I read a few pages or a couple of chapters from a fiction book.

Number 4: Explore and understand the tenets of your life

You are the product of your environment.

Every. Single. Part. of you comes from somewhere in your life.

I have always been a carnivore because I grew up in a meat & potatoes family.

But as I’ve gotten older, I’ve come to realize that I don’t like meat nearly as much as I thought I did when I was younger.

As a result, I’ve been exploring vegetarian and plant-based lifestyles.

At the core of your being, there are tenets that serve as pillars of your life.

Those pillars serve as the core of who you are and guide your decisions, whether you recognize their presence or not, in everything you do.

Some people will take their tenets from religion. Some from their parents. Some from the internet.

Do not just blindly follow the tenets of your life.

It is incumbent on you to explore and understand them–to know if they are truly yours or if they are someone else’s.

These are the tenets that currently guide my life:

• Life will out.

• A sense of urgency.

• No one is coming to rescue you.

• Practice progress, not perfection.

• You’re going to die, live accordingly.

• Honor your body, it’s provided for you even when you treated it poorly.

Only you truly know yourself, and only you will have to live your entire life with yourself.

So, take time to separate yourself from other people and spend time exploring who you are and who you are not.

That’s a wrap for this week.

When you finally achieve financial freedom or time freedom or any other kind of freedom, you’re going to need a new identity to hold onto.

You likely may have never thought about what your true life is.

I hadn’t until a year and a half ago.

Use these four ways to find out who your true self is:

1. Journaling

2. Visualizing

3. Design ideal routines

4. Explore and understand your life tenets

And keep in mind, most people will share their opinions with you on what you do and who you are.

But remember this, others can only see who you currently are and what you have done in the past, they cannot see who you will be or what you will do in the future.

With love and a sense of urgency.

Jeff