(Subtitles Translated by AI) Many of my friends envy my life as a YouTuber where I have full control of my time and a certain degree of financial freedom. For example, I just finished a month-long trip where I visited Kyoto and Osaka and met several channel community members in Japan. I then returned home to see my family and held a community meetup in Beijing with nearly 40 people. In early May, I went to Taiwan and held a meetup in Taipei with 50 people. I do not deny that this sounds enjoyable, and it is how many people understand and imagine financial and time freedom. However, the truth is that this is not the reality of financial and time freedom. When you truly experience this kind of life, you will find that the so-called "travel whenever you want" has little meaning. Freedom itself is not happiness; at most, it is just a ticket to happiness. But once you get on the train, the road ahead is still full of obstacles, and there is a long journey to be taken. I know that many people, upon hearing this, may think that I am speaking without experiencing any real hardships and saying that money is not important, that people should pursue the kind of financial freedom that gives meaning. But making pretentious videos about being unhappy while having a lavish lifestyle is not what I want to do. Instead, what I want to do is share the four chapters of my life to tell you about the struggles, explorations, and reflections that I have experienced, as well as the subtle truths about time and financial freedom that I have come to understand. Chapter 1: Attaining Freedom In 2014, I quit my last full-time job and began my entrepreneurship journey. Although I gained control of my time, it was not true time freedom, let alone financial freedom. I went from a 9-to-5 job to working from 5 am to 11 pm every day, working more than 16 hours a day, with only half a day off each week. Compared to this, the 9-9-6 work schedule seems much happier. No one who starts a startup talks about "work-life balance". 没有创业者会去谈论什么工作和生活的平衡 The only thing in your life is to make money Although my job is not limited by locations But no matter where I go Work will follow This is more painful than going to a job That's why I haven't longed for the so-called digital nomad life so far Because it’s difficult to give you a chance to focus You can neither focus on making money Nor can you focus on living 也不能focus去生活 After more than a year of hard work I have a great partner An efficient team I can leverage other people's time My working hours suddenly dropped to Spend one day a week to make important decisions At this time, I finally obtained for the first time in my life Time and financial freedom Then a question is placed in front of me How should I use this freedom I don't know if others are like this But I don't have the ability to handle this freedom So I started to squander it First, I started the fixed script of financial freedomers: travel As if one can find meaning in life through travel 好像旅行能给人生找到意似的 I ran all over Canada And then travel abroad Visit my families in China for one to two months every year At that time, I was very proud of this freedom Look, this is a photo we took when we went to Newfoundland We are on a boat Most of them are elderly people Only the two of us young people I said to my wife 我就对我太太说 You see, I don't want to be like them Stay in the little box of the office for a lifetime Wait until your hair turns gray before exploring the world I am glad we can do it now This sounds like I figured everything out Already successful and meaningful, right? But it doesn't Later I found that travel is just like that I didn't find my own meaning from travel I have always wondered why I feel this way Am I being shallow? But a few months ago, I read a book called "The Geometry of Wealth" It explains this feeling very well Turns out, the essence of most of my travels is a kind of Experienced Happiness This book divides happiness into a spectrum There are two poles Experienced Happiness and Reflective Happiness The so-called Experienced Happiness refers to your current emotions or mood For example, one of my great pleasures when traveling is eating whether it's various Taiwanese snacks or Japanese ramen or the various foods I can't name on the streets of Mexico They all fall into the category of Experienced Happiness The author says that this kind of experienced happiness often has to do with our brain's System 1 thinking This System 1 thinking comes from that famous book "Thinking Fast and Slow" It divides our brain into two parts System 1 and System 2 thinking System 1 refers to the fast part often subconscious instinctive reactions that don't require deep thought For example, when you're hungry, you want to eat when you're thirsty, you want to drink water When you see danger, you want to run away These experienced happiness have two characteristics First, they are very brief not very long-lasting often related to current feelings To obtain this kind of happiness you need to constantly repeat it Here, I'll add one more thing Many people say that buying things cannot bring you happiness Experiences can But you need to be careful with this statement. 这里我多说一句 很多人说买东西不能给你带来幸福 体验可以 但是你要小心这种说法 Because if this experience brings you "experiened happiness" Then it is no different from consumerism in buying things The second characteristic of experienced happiness is It is not positively correlated with our income level When the income is low, with the increase of income The experienced happiness you gain is constantly increasing For example, traveling, consuming luxury goods, eating delicacies, etc. But when your income reaches a certain level Do these things again The sense of happiness cannot continue to increase In fact, many people have heard of this theory That is, when your income reaches tens of thousands of US dollars The sense of happiness will not increase with the increase of income But what many people don't know is that the happiness mentioned here Refers to experienced happiness related to system one thinking Why is this so The author said that this kind of experienced happiness Many times it has nothing to do with happiness itself It is more about reducing our sense of unhappiness Hunger is a kind of unhappiness Eating will reduce this unhappiness Endless work is a kind of unhappiness Traveling can reduce this unhappiness Long-haul flights are very tiring and unfortunate Sitting in business class can reduce this unhappiness When traveling, being crowded in a crowded place is very unfortunate Find a place to have an ice cream It will dispel this unhappiness These various "feelings of unhappiness" Often accompanied by our lack of control over life and time For example, if your income is very low The pet at home suddenly gets sick The car broke down again when you went out in the morning You will not only be late for work You also don't know how to afford the bills for pet treatment and car repair At this time, you will feel very unhappy Lack of control The increase in income allows us to have resources to eliminate these feelings of unhappiness Let us gain a sense of control and independence Obtain experienced happiness Because the problems mentioned just now To a certain extent, they can all be solved with money Can money buy happiness? The previous example gave the answer Money can buy experienced happiness But there is a big BUT here This kind of happiness is obtained by reducing unhappiness and the feeling of lack of control When those unhappinesses are solved You will not feel extra happiness That's why after reaching a certain level of income This experienced happiness will no longer increase linearly A sense of control and freedom can help you resist unhappiness But they cannot guarantee happiness That's why I say freedom does not equal happiness In 2016, I was fortunate enough to reach this state But many of what I pursue is actually consumerism It is the continuous accumulation of experienced happiness This cannot bring more happiness I did not find the so-called meaning from traveling either So money and time are resources And happiness needs to be sponsored by these resources When your time and financial resources Are sufficient to fund those experienced happinesses to reduce unhappiness What kind of happiness should you fund next? The author of this book says We should fund reflective happiness Reflective happiness So-called reflective happiness is A deeper sense of satisfaction It can be building deep relationships with others Excelling in a beloved skill Striving for the freedom of autonomous choice Or finding purpose and meaning in greater goodness To achieve the satisfaction that these experiences can bring It requires System 2 thinking And is related to the prefrontal cortex that our brain has evolved So they involve more deliberate and slower thinking Experiential happiness and reflective happiness The biggest difference lies in the dimension of time Experiential happiness happens in the present Its impact lasts for a shorter duration And the topics involved are usually narrower in scope But reflective happiness brings deep satisfaction Which may last for a longer time Because it is often based on broader participation Reflective happiness is harder to obtain at the same time It often requires you to put in more time and effort Even experiences challenges and setbacks In the end, experienced happiness is passive whereas reflective happiness relies on taking initiative So when I found that travel and consumption couldn't bring me more happiness and meaning I started trying various things and endeavors I started doing photography Taking photos of weddings and events for people Taking pictures of families and pets Going to model agencies to shoot fashion I even made a photography YouTube channel I also filmed a rap music video for someone Now looking back, it's a bit embarrassing But gradually I found that I liked photography But I didn't enjoy taking pictures for others While trying photography I also started an English teaching channel I even did a podcast about learning English for half a year There was a time when I updated it every day But I found that although I used to be a teacher I didn't like teaching English So I gave up on both of them I often tell my wife From 2016 to 2019, these three years Seemed to be wasted by us Although we were free, we were confused I found that when people say they hope to have the opportunity one day to do what they love it is often self-deception because most of the time we only know what we don't like but we don't know what we really like something we want to devote ourselves to wholeheartedly That's how I was at the time So in my confusion, my schedule became very indulgent and irregular I would sleep whenever I wanted and wake up whenever I wanted Often opening my eyes already at noon And then staying up late without doing much There was no self-discipline or efficiency at all But now looking back 但是现在往回看 All these confusion and attempts have not been wasted. Because these three years are equivalent to our Gap Years. These three years are about self-exploration. Although I haven't found the meaning of the next stage of life yet. I haven't fully experienced that reflective happiness. But those attempts I made have prepared me for the changes in the next stage. I have accumulated a wealth of knowledge and experience in media production. Including the operation of cameras, lighting, sound, equipment, and editing software. As well as YouTube topic selection and operation, and so on. These three years have also made it clear to me what I don't want. And I have been reading and studying all the time. Studying personal finance, real estate, and stock investment. These books have completely changed me. From someone pursuing consumerism with sudden wealth, to a pragmatic investor pursuing FIRE. Then in 2020, the pandemic came. Our lives suddenly changed. Chapter 3: Losing Freedom The pandemic trapped everyone at home. My business also suffered a significant decline in income due to the pandemic. Not only did I suddenly lose physical freedom, I also lost some degree of financial freedom. But this also brought me an unexpected benefit. That is, I finally don't have to waste time traveling anymore. I can stay at home and think about what to do next. Fortunately, the stock investments I made before the pandemic began to grow rapidly. This completely freed me from relying on active income. At least for a long period of time, I don't need to worry about money. So I decided to start again. Although my previous attempt at content creation was not successful, it taught me one thing. No matter how much I go around in circles, I always want to speak, express, create, and share. So I decided to start doing YouTube again. This time, I plan to create an investment and finance channel. I want to share what I learned in the years before the pandemic. 我想把疫情前几年学的 Finance investment knowledge sharing And it cannot be denied The surge in stocks during the epidemic Also gave me the opportunity I need So this channel MoneyXYZ was created Through continuous efforts, this channel is on track And I finally experienced that reflective happiness Not only because this channel became successful But because I learned and achieved personal growth through creation Sharing what I truly believe in And bringing value to others Just like I said earlier This reflective happiness doesn't come easily Creation is difficult And will face many setbacks and failures But with every completed video I feel infinite satisfaction I can proudly call myself a writer And a content creator This is my new identity and meaning At the same time, I started to reorganize my life No longer squandering this time freedom like before I started to try getting up early and creating a routine for life That's why this channel appeared That video about getting up at 5 in the morning Interestingly, it is the most viewed video on my money channel It also confirmed one plan I've always had That is, this channel should not only be about money It should be about a broader topic of money and personal growth That's the XYZ in MoneyXYZ Chapter 4 Regaining Freedom After the epidemic, I regained the financial time and freedom I had before But at this point, I am no longer Clueless about how to use this freedom I chose "unfreedom" I just finished a month-long trip And I found that compared to the freedom I had during the journey I look forward to it ending earlier To return to the routine I have established. 回到我建立好的routine里面 The true freedom of time is to know how to protect your own time To choose to spend it on the most important things to you Instead of squandering it Since we mentioned travel My travels are different from before I will be more moderate More importantly, I am starting to introduce "difficulty" into my travels I don't even make travel plans I don't go to tourist attractions to take photos Completely in adventure mode For example, when I went to Mexico, I chose to stay in a local homestay I went to small bars where only the locals go and chatted with them This time in Taipei, I had the opportunity to visit the home of a local audience member And experience the daily life of people in Taipei Last year, my trip to Europe was even less conventional I followed my curiosity Explored the history that interested me And made a few small documentaries This kind of travel is completely different from before They are intentional travel It is a form of reflective happiness That brings me more lasting happiness and memories Then, in my content creation career I decided to take another step and build my own community from scratch Starting a community that I had no experience in It consumes a lot of time and energy Although I lost "freedom of time" I gained a responsibility for over a thousand people But I am happy doing it After more than half a year of learning Trying, setbacks, and efforts I can proudly call my community "One New Bite" an alive with its own unique culture Not just a membership website This community has brought me so many surprises and unexpected things It has opened up a whole new world for me Here, I have met a group of like-minded friends We read books together Plan for early mornings Do online meetups Record podcasts The main purpose of my one and a half month trip to Asia this time Is to meet them It's interesting that even though we haven't met in the real world, when we finally do meet, it feels like we're old friends who haven't seen each other in years. We can't talk enough. For example, in Kyoto, we had lunch and talked until we were asked to leave the restaurant. Then we went to another place and talked until evening. The activities in Beijing and Taipei originally were designed to last four hours starting from noon. That's already quite long. But without exception, every single event had a lot of people who didn't want to leave until 8 o'clock at night. At the event in Taipei, I even received a surprise, they recorded a special video for me. It almost made me cry. And another friend made a lovely pick-up sign with his daughter for us. I even brought it back to Canada. So this is my current state, the meaning right now, and what I will be doing in the near future. Creating, learning, sharing, helping, connecting like-minded people through communities, making change happen, making new stories happen. Of course, if you want to be part of it, you are welcome to join us. So after saying all that, what is the truth about wealth and time freedom? The truth is, wealth and time are tickets to happiness. This book says that before people pursue financial freedom, they should first think about the meaning of their life. I agree with this idea, but it's difficult to do, at least not for me. When you're in survival mode, you often don't have the privilege to choose what is meaningful to you. You may not even know what you like, because all your energy and time are spent on survival, like a computer running at full capacity. You don't have the extra bandwidth to contemplate the meaning of life. In this stage, 在这个阶段 Every experienced happiness you obtain is truly valuable even if it only reduces your unhappiness This reminds me of a comment under a previous video about financial freedom He said, "Typical 'first-world' problem" I was puzzled by this comment So I put it in the community to hear everyone's thoughts Then a member's reply gave me a revelation He said many things are "you have to have things first in order to lose it". That's how it is For many people before we discuss reflective happiness, we first need experienced happiness But what we need to be cautious about is that experienced happiness is a natural result and not the ultimate goal we pursue because it can reduce unhappiness but cannot bring more lasting happiness Unfortunately, too many people have lost themselves in survival mode thinking that these experienced happiness is all happiness In survival mode, what we should pursue is more safety margin and bandwidth rather than just stopping at experienced happiness Before 2016, I was always living for others in survival mode When I finally had enough safety margin and bandwidth to live for myself I found it difficult to find my own purpose It took me three years So if you are in a state of confusion right now please don't worry because it will pass If you are still in survival mode what I want to say is you don't have to wait for absolute financial and time freedom to pursue the meaning of your life As your income increases you should consciously create time and space for yourself to start thinking and exploring to pursue the meaning of your life For example, the early rising plan that many people in our community participate in Many people give themselves a break a gap year, to explore the new possibilities of life Are all striving to increase the bandwidth of life So if wealth and time are the tickets to happiness and meaning You don't have to wait for financial and time freedom to buy this expensive ticket You can buy this ticket now when you can take a breather even if it's cheap It can only take you so far Because getting on the bus is just the beginning There is still a long way to go ahead It's best to start this journey early
