An anchorwoman fired over a Facebook post.
A woman fired from her job before she even starts it after a tweet.
A man let go from his apprenticeship at a Cleveland-area real estate firm after a tweet.
Another woman not only lost her job but also had her entire life changed after a tweet about AIDS on her way to Africa.
I’m neither defending nor admonishing the social media posts in question. That’s not the point of today’s article.
Instead, I want to talk about a benefit of financial freedom that goes largely unnoticed: the complete freedom one has of their voice and opinions.
Free To Be Me
While I’m not saying one should go out and post offensive posts on social media if they’re financially free, being able to say whatever you want, whenever you want, is an amazing perk of financial freedom.
And what is the value of that? What’s the value of not being limited in any way? How much is being able to state your opinion at will worth?
I can literally go out and tweet whatever I want, right now. I could tweet about politics, religion, race, or any other sensitive topic… but I won’t be fired.
Why’s that?
Shareholder And Boss, Not Employee
Well, I’m nobody’s employee. Instead, most of the passive income that is right now covering my core personal expenses, rendering me financially free in the first place, is comprised of dividend income.
And we’re not talking dividend income from one or two companies; I’m receiving checks from over 100 of the highest-quality companies in the world.
What’s great about the makeup of my passive income – being underpinned by dividend income – is that companies don’t fire shareholders.
As a shareholder, I can say whatever I want without worrying about any recourse by an employer.
Instead of an employer having power over me through the form of providing me a paycheck I can’t live without, I rely instead on a very small portion of the profit that dozens of great companies generate. That completely circumvents the normal employer-employee relationship that can be so tenuous.
Plus, as an entrepreneur who owns this blog outright, I’m my own boss.
Although I don’t need to write/blog for money, it’s still a passion of mine that I consider very worthwhile. I write because I enjoy it and because I think my ideas are inspirational and worth sharing.
But I’m still my own boss. I write about what I want, when I want. And as my own boss, I don’t have to worry about being fired. I won’t fire myself.
Moreover, it’s becoming more and more commonplace for employers to Google a prospective employee’s name, looking for anything they might not like. They might find pictures, tweets, or arrests. And they might decide not to hire you if they find this stuff.
The unfortunate thing about social media posts and most other actions is that they’re immortal. They live on long after the act was committed. That means these actions can literally follow you around for the rest of your life, like a ghost haunting you.
But this is something one doesn’t need to worry about at all if they’re financially free, living off of passive income that is completely disconnected from the typical dynamic where one exchanges time for money.
Another point to remember here is that being around co-workers who may hold opinions/viewpoints that you strongly disagree with is another potential source of discontentment or drama that one doesn’t need to worry about when they’re financially free.
I remember having to grit my teeth many times over the years when someone I worked with would do or say something that strongly irked me, but I really have no such concerns any longer.
However, even if you still work at a traditional job after you become financially free, you don’t really have that need to refrain yourself any more. If you need to speak your mind, you can do so without worrying about the consequences. Someone who needs a paycheck isn’t afforded such courage.
In fact, this can make a regular job far more tolerable. You may even find yourself enjoying your workplace after you’re financially free because of this benefit, no longer in such a hurry to move on. Once you’re unrestrained, you kind of feel like a superhero. You can speak up and tell people how you really feel about things. You’re free to be you.
Make Me A Better Me
Does financial freedom actually make you a better person?
I’m not sure about it being something that’s automatic, but I think financial freedom can make someone a better person.
I’ll give you two real-life examples in which financial freedom has indeed made me a better person.
First, let’s get real here.
Most jobs out there are driven by money. And there’s a large gray area in which a lot of people operate, for most of their time on the job.
Being a service advisor for luxury car dealerships, if I didn’t sell parts and service, I didn’t make money. So it behooved me to sell things to customers.
Now, I’m not saying I ever sold anything that wasn’t necessary. But I am saying there’s a gray area. Perhaps a set of brake pads could go either way… an air filter might be able to go another service interval… a particular fluid might not be dirty enough to fully flush.
Moreover, I had to be cutthroat when it came time to setting appointments and landing clients. Every client I didn’t land was one less potential sale of parts and/or service. My fellow advisors were often looked at as barriers to that goal. Because of the pay plans I operated under, my co-workers and I were usually naturally opposed to one another, rather than being on the same team.
But I don’t have to be or think like that anymore. I don’t have to be ruthless. I’m not driven by quotas. I’m not selling anything to anyone. I’m free to be just me. No more gray areas, which is an incredible relief.
Another real-life example is philanthropy.
Financial freedom has afforded me extra resources, like time, money, and energy, to give back to the world around me, which helps me self-transcend and strive toward my ultimate potential as a human being.
I’ve already started my philanthropic giving in earnest, but it’s something that is only going to incrementally increase as I get older. In fact, I foresee the last 1/3 of my life being devoted almost entirely to philanthropy.
To be fair, I’m not saying that one can’t work in a traditional full-time career and simultaneously be involved in philanthropy; rather, I’m just saying that financial freedom affords one additional resources (that I just laid out) to be more involved.
Furthermore, I’m more motivated to be a philanthropist than I ever was before.
When you have great fortune in your life, I don’t know you can’t feel a pull from deep down inside to give to people that aren’t so fortunate.
And I’ll say this: philanthropy comes natural to me. I really think that “being me” is being someone who tries to make the world a better place, even in a very small way. But I wouldn’t have been able to really be me had I never arrived here.
Conclusion
I have no plans to offend anyone via social media or any other platform, although, these days, almost anything one says can be deemed to be “offensive” by someone.
But that’s really the rub: I don’t need to worry about whether or not my writing, comments, or tweets will be misconstrued, or whether or not I’m offending anyone. It’s just one less worry in life.
One less worry here and one less worry there and all of the sudden you’re living a pretty carefree life. As I’ve discussed before, I’ve found that my happiness has moved up a few notches by addition through subtraction. Subtract enough and you’ll find a lot of addition in regard to your overall quality of life.
So I’m not saying you should become financially free to go on tyrannical tirades. Nor do I think that anyone who would live this lifestyle and accomplish something so amazing as financial freedom be the type of person who would relish the opportunity of being a total prick to everyone. That’s not what it’s about.
But being free to be you at all times is an invaluable perk that deserves your attention.
And not operating in any kind of gray area – being motivated almost exclusively by money – is a great relief.
Lastly, financial freedom has motivated me to become a philanthropist, which I think is the ultimate example of me really being able to be not just me but a better version of me.
If you could be you, and be a better you, wouldn’t you want that?
What do you think? Are you looking forward to being free to be you? Is having complete freedom over your opinions and speech a perk that you’d like to have? Do you think financial freedom can make you a better person?
Thanks for reading.
Image courtesy of: iosphere at FreeDigitalPhotos.net.
100% agree.I now get around 60% of my income from dividends and 40% from self employed earnings.Most of the time i re-invest the dividends and my earnings cover everything so the % from dividends keeps growing.However if my self employed earnings turned down the dividends would be taken for as long as needed.Another five years they will cover me 100%.Due to this i now have lots of spare time,time i never had when i was employed.I use a lot of that spare time doing what i love.Protecting fresh water wildlife around the countryside and turning my garden and pond into a fabulous haven for nature.So because of my effort to be (nearly) financially free i am helping create a better world,helping protect and expand rare wildlife and being very very happy in the process.
I never valued or wanted flash cars,holidays etc.I wanted time.Time to do something worthwhile that i love.Better for me,better for the planet.Time really is the most valuable thing of all.
Durhamborn,
That’s awesome that you’re able to do so many things that matter to you. 🙂
Now, we can all certainly take on passions, projects, hobbies, or philanthropic ventures while we’re still employed full time. But it’s not nearly as easy when one doesn’t have as much time/energy/creativity to give to these pursuits. Being free allows you to fully spread those wings!
Thanks for stopping by and sharing.
Best wishes.
Great article. Even just getting close makes a difference. I remember before I went FIRE, as I got close to my target number, I put up with less and less bullshit from work. That actually made me a better employee because some times management needs someone to push back to justify not doing something they know is stupid…but expected…
FV,
Yeah, couldn’t agree more with you. As I’ve talked about a few times now, freedom exists along a spectrum. Naturally, one’s ability to express themselves (and do pretty much everything else I write about) also exists along a spectrum. If you’re, say, 75% financially free, you’re going to be a lot more flexible in terms of being you than someone who is 0% financially free. So on and so forth.
Of course, that can also backfire. If you get too loose with things at work and put yourself in a bad spot, that might end up actually slowing your progress. So one has to be a little restrained until they can fully break free.
Cheers!
Jason –
Nice article and being free of any concerns has to be amazing. What’s funny is that as my dividends are growing – I am slowly developing the – I’m going to tell it like it is syndrome and I am really digging into to stating the facts, right circumstances and trying to correct my team’s behaviors when they are blatantly wrong/incorrect. It may be taboo for me to do so, as I’m not taking the “let it slide” approach. Coming down hard and the worst/best part about it – the firm loves it.
It’s almost like they need more and more individuals who can conclude, call BS when it is due and to take a lead/show the right path. Too funny.
Overall – financial independence lets you be you without worrying about being you. Done and done. Thanks for writing JF! I know I was a little intense here so I apologize haha. Or wait, should I not apologize for being me? haha…
-Lanny
Lanny,
Hey, no apologies necessary! 🙂
You’re absolutely correct. Financial freedom allows you to be you, and even perhaps a better you. That’s what it boils down to. And who else would you rather be than a better version of you? It’s an amazing thing.
Thanks for dropping by!
Cheers.
“although, these days, almost anything one says can be deemed to be “offensive” by someone.”
Isn’t that the truth!
I look forward to the day when I can be my own boss!
I don’t imagine I would change all that much from my current self but the time I could spend doing the things I wish I could do now would be the big difference.
Great read Jason and I’m glad you made it to where you are.
DiviCents,
We live in a PC world, don’t we? Although I’m not advocating to be purposely inflammatory, it’s nice to know that you can kind of do whatever you want. I mean, I’m a nice guy, so I’m not doing anything real different than I ever was before. However, no longer having to operate in any kind of gray area is pretty nice.
Thanks for the support. I’m sure you, too, will be here in no time! 🙂
Best regards.
Another great piece Jason. I’m 50 and will retire later this year and really look forward to NOT having to trade time for money. Still, my job took me all over the planet in great comfort. I met leaders and decision makers; refugees; activists; journalists; etc in dozens and dozens of countries. I also got to have an impact on global politics and was directly involved in things in the New York Times and on CNN. All of that — the expansive and exciting parts of my career — took place between 35 and 50. So, I’M actually glad I didn’t retire super early. But there was a lot of stress and a lot of compromises that had to be made to keep it all going. There is no one path, but what a joy to realize that even if your career has some glamour and meaning, still, you don’t have to keep going and going, reaching and reaching.
DD,
That’ll be a really big change in your life. Sounds like you’re very excited. And who can blame you? 🙂
Yeah, some careers are fantastic. I’m not one of those people who believe that all jobs suck and all careers are terrible. It’s not like that at all. When I read a lot of the research out there on this, there are some people that are happy with what they do. It’s like 20% or so of people. So that’s great for 1 out of 5. It’s the other 4 out of 5 people that are usually in a tough spot, where they’re just doing what they do for the money (generally speaking). You might have been one of those 1 out of 5 people that genuinely had a pretty good go of it, although even you’re looking to get out early. I think that says a lot about the whole idea of being stuck doing one thing for most of your life. I honestly don’t think we’re meant for that.
Wish you much luck and happiness in the next phase of your life.
Cheers!
If Dividend Diplomats felt the need to apologize for the intensity of his comment, then I may have to drop to my knees and beg for forgiveness.
All this is one of the reasons that my blog is anonymous. I’m an opinionated prick. On Twitter, Reddit, my own blog, and as you’re about to see, on other people’s blogs .
I wrote sometime ago about Alicia Lynch and another girl named Anjali Ramkissoon (the latter of whom DID probably deserve termination from her job) who were Twitter and Internet shamed. My public opinion on these matters is a lot more direct and concrete than yours, Jason. Twitter shamers shod be dragged into the street and shot. I’ll let you decide how metaphorical the bullets should be.
Seriously though, anyone who took part in the Twitter shaming is wasting my air. I want my air back.
I don’t think words can adequately express how much I hate people who gleefully take part in the destruction of other people’s lives. But I love that sometimes, what goes around comes around. The fact that, in the Justine Sacco article, the two people that started their respective shaming events (Biddle and Richards) got subsequently Twitter shamed and fired as well. I’ve no sympathy for either.
Agreed that financial freedom (coupled with anonymity in my case) makes one less likely to be an actual victim. I don’t have to worry about what others think if my employer and family don’t know, right? And while doubt anything I say or do is going to go viral (I have neither the blog traffic not the Twitter followers for that, and even I’m not THAT offensive) , I’d love to see the Twitter shamers come for me. Being anonymous, they wouldn’t know what company to boycott. And being a stubborn prick whose temperament makes Donald Trump look presidential), I’m not as passive as others who would be Twitter shamed. And I’m certainly not nearly as nice.
Pricks.
As for doing things for the money, Jason, you’re right again. I’ve NEVER pushed a product that I didn’t feel was right for my customer, but sometimes I get a little aggressive with customers who decline the extra services. It’s partly because I AM passionate about what I’m offering–any banker should be when they are giving their customer a way to fully avoid overdraft fees or increase their interest rates by more than 20x–but it’s also because I need to make sales. If I was financially free, I would be able to step back and essentially say “Hey, if you’re okay with excessive fees and inflation eating away your purchasing power, that’s YOUR money you’re putting at risk, not mine.” Unfortunately, being nowhere near financial freedom, I’m not at liberty to do that. I have to push and make the sale rather than just simply letting the customer mismanage their money.
I find myself only agreeing with you on this article, Jason. No ifs, ands, or buts from me. Financial freedom turns those useless, worthless, air wasting, abortion-justifying Twitter shamers from a threat to you and your family into a minor nuisance at worst.
Seriously, Twitter shamers aren’t people.
Sincerely,
ARB–Angry Retail Banker
ARB,
No need for apologies. 🙂
“I don’t think words can adequately express how much I hate people who gleefully take part in the destruction of other people’s lives.”
I feel the same. No disagreement there. I say “to each their own” a lot because I genuinely believe that. Unless you’re purposely causing harm, we all need to live and let live. That said, financial freedom makes it that much easier to do just that. It makes it easier for you to go about your day, do what you want, say what you want, and execute your lifestyle in the most customized manner possible. Freedom of speech is certainly never so free.
And I totally hear you there about work and sometimes being a bit more aggressive than you’d like to be when it comes time to close a sale. It’s not the biggest deal in the world, operating in gray areas like that, but it’s just one less thing that someone who’s financially free has to deal with. And like I mentioned, each little piece of the puzzle adds up over time. It’s, in aggregate, a wonderful way to live.
Thanks for stopping by and sharing!
Best regards.
While FI allows one to speak their mind (I have a post on this coming up soon), I don’t think it is a license to hurt others. I treat my online persona the same way I do my real world persona. This consistency between online and physical world is essential in my view and speaks to the character of the person. The people who hurt others’ sensitivities using social media are perhaps misguided in their thinking that the relative comfort of online posts somewhat makes them immune to backlash. It’s a type of immaturity. What they are all realizing now is that objectionable online behavior has consequences in the real or offline world. Behave online the same way as you would in your office or neighborhood – being online is just a channel for you to express your thoughts. I know this was not the main point of your post, but your linked stories at the beginning made me wonder why some people act this way.
TFR,
Right. I’m not saying one should go out and purposely hurt people, but that’s not really the point. The point is that you’re unleashed to be the real you. And if you’re, say, a highly political person that likes to constantly pontificate about your political views, you’re free to do so. I’ve read articles about people having problems at work because of their political opinions. That’s just one example.
Moreover, their level of “immaturity” is just your opinion. There are others that wouldn’t agree with you on that. I could make an argument that none of these people should have been fired. And so could others. Of course, there are others still who would agree with you. That’s really the point. If you’re financially free, who cares?
In the end, this is really just one underrated benefit of financial freedom. You’re allowed to say what you want and be who you really are without fear of major repercussions. And you don’t have to really do anything you don’t want to do, from a professional standpoint. As I mentioned in an earlier comment, unless you’re purposely out there hurting people, you should be able to say what you want. I do believe people in general are way too sensitive sometimes, but that’s a totally different subject.
Cheers!
Jason,
I think FI evaporates a large percentage of the fears that dog our everyday lives and stop us being the best human being that we can be.
For me it started staring at my cubicle computer screen with ‘Paid in full’ on the Wells mortgage account,
the very next lions den meeting I went to was a surreal experience. It consisted the usual roaring I had become accustomed to but little did they realize their teeth and claws had gone, to me they had anyway, I just became placid and at peace with it all…after all what could they actually do now?
After a couple of months of not having a clue about my next move I stumbled upon the DM website,
and so began the snowball from the top of the metaphorical mountain I was sitting on, now I pretty much get paid a few days a week from companies in the USA, UK, Canada and Singapore before my head even leaves the pillow, bills are hopefully now a thing of the past. I am eternally grateful for your efforts on this subject and wish everyone every success in the same journey.
I still work, but to be honest I have no idea for how much longer or in what future form, when the fear evaporates a lot more confidence shows up to replace it and you find yourself intolerant to the regular schoolyard politics and drama.
Keep up the good work,
Dave
Dave,
Right. Absolutely. It frees us from fear. When you have that fear, you tolerate a lot more than you normally would. When the fear disappears, we’re free to act with full authenticity. And I think you’re definitely right in that we’re less likely to deal with the normal drama that plagues most workplaces. When you know you don’t have to deal with that, you find that you’re probably not a willing participant anymore. What that then means for each person will naturally vary, but I think finding that next step is part of the fun. 🙂
Thanks for dropping by!
Best wishes.