Next Level FIRE for Entrepreneurs: Invest in Yourself
Read Time: 4 min
Switching from an employee to an entrepreneur mindset changed my FIRE journey. Uncovering limiting beliefs that still hold you back.
I'm a fan of the FIRE movement.
Let me briefly introduce you if you haven't heard about FIRE yet.
FIRE, or Financial Independence Retire Early, is a movement in which people strive to accumulate enough wealth in liquid assets to live off the dividends from these assets. Here is an article that explains it in more detail.
There are several approaches to reaching your FIRE goal, depending on your life and goals.
Do you have a family, or are you alone?
Are you employed or an entrepreneur?
How fast do you plan to get to your FIRE goal?
What should your life look like after reaching your FIRE goal?
I have been working on my FIRE goal for a few years now. Only recently, I switched from an employee mindset to an entrepreneur mindset.
Let's see what difference this makes.
Breaking free of the Employment Mindset
I do not intend to discuss the pros and cons of being an entrepreneur vs. an employee—that is another discussion. I want to explore how this mindset shift shapes my FIRE journey.
From an employee's perspective, the only two ways to reach my FIRE goal faster are to reduce my spending or find a better-paying job.
An entrepreneur also has the possibility to invest and multiply their income streams. This can speed up their FIRE growth rate in the future or make even bigger FIRE goals possible.
Even though I am an entrepreneur, I only recently started to use the possibilities it gave me for my FIRE goal.
I was still behaving like an employee. It was all due to some trauma I had around money and investing that held me back.
I have lived as a nomad and run a nomad company for several years. Yet, I still limit myself to being hyper-frugal and using my money only for the bare necessities.
I didn't notice that I could invest some money in a better life right now. And still having the same or even greater FIRE growth rate. Win-Win
There are some beliefs deeply engrained in a lot of us. Two of these I found deep inside myself:
The fear of not having enough money for "bad” times. Which resulted in me saving money wherever I could to accumulate more money.
The fear of losing money made me see every expense as negative.
Both of these beliefs can be helpful, but only when assessed realistically.
The fear-conquering exercise helped me to overcome these limiting beliefs—at least partially.
Investing Not Spending
So, how is investing different from spending money?
When an expense is used to please a want or something fixed like accommodation, I see it as spending.
But investing is when it satisfies one of my needs or future needs.
So, going out to party and get lit is a spending decision for me because it only satisfies my wants.
But going to an extended dinner with friends and eating excellent food is an investment in my needs.
I can detail the differences between wants and needs in a future article.
The bottom line is that we don't need to be hyper-frugal and live the life of a monk to reach our FIRE goals.
Still, let's spend mindfully. Investing in our long-term goals instead of spending on short-term pleasures.
I always invested in others and made investments at the company level. I seldom applied the investment mindset to myself.
I have been investing in myself for some time now, and it pays off.
Here are five ways I invested in myself recently.
Better Flight Connections
I get better flight connections that cut travel time in half, even if they cost 100 EUR more.
As a digital nomad, this is a big one. My body thanks me for this, and I spend less unproductive time in transit.
Fancy Dinners
I go out and eat something fancy from time to time. These multi-course dinner experiences relax my mind. The deep talks with my friends during dinner inspire my work for the coming weeks.
This is 100 EUR per month invested well. How much do you spend every month on going out and getting lit?
High-Quality Tools
I replace the things I use daily with the highest-quality ones that make life effortless.
For example, Laptops. I use them between 8 and 13 hours every day.
A slow, cheap laptop that takes hours of maintenance will slow down my work and drain my energy.
I prefer to use high-quality tools that can be replaced easily, work out of the box, and keep up with my work speed. If it breaks, I'm up and running again within a few hours.
Higher Education
I invest the money to learn a new skill faster from someone who has already done it.
These new skills save me money because I can do them myself, or I can build a business around them for even greater leverage.
Even if I still outsource related tasks, I can critically review the work done for me.
Speedup Bootstrapping
I give myself some funds to build a new business faster. I could do it without money, from zero to hero, but it would take longer and be more painful.
Conclusion
As you can see, I have broadened the definition of investing beyond ETFs, crypto, and real estate.
Investing in education, regeneration, and community will compound your FIRE journey 10x. At the same time, you live a better life during that journey.
Let's recap what I found out about my FIRE journey:
As an entrepreneur, I have more possibilities to shape my FIRE journey than as an employee.
Investments in myself can speed up my FIRE journey and make it more pleasant and worthwhile.
We all carry many limiting beliefs with us every day.
Every time we put one of these beliefs down, we level up. Our lives get easier and better until we unlock our true, authentic potential.
No matter how you approach your financial journey, I invite you to take a proactive, informed role.
Align your journey with your personal goals and values.
And I encourage you to talk more about finances with your family and friends.
Our outcomes will grow the more we share our knowledge and experiences.
I would love to hear from you. Which belief do you have that is still holding you back on your financial journey?
Tell me in the comments below.
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Thanks for reading to the end!
You rock!
Cheers,
Marcel