Wow, I feel honored to be mentioned in this post Kent! I've enjoyed all of our discussions immensely and, as always, I enjoy reading TFP, which is a personal favorite. Here are some other blogs I read regularly that cover a variety of topics: -The Healthy Skeptic (http://thehealthyskeptic.org/about) A great blog that questions much of the mainstream advice about health and well-being. -The Politics of Well-Being (http://www.politicsofwellbeing.com/) This is the blog of British journalist, Jules Evans, and it covers philosophy, psychology, and the politics of it all. -The Technium (http://www.kk.org/thetechnium/) I'm fascinated by technology and the philosophy of technology. Kevin Kelly frequently shares radical and provocative ideas on the blog. -Beyond Growth (http://beyondgrowth.net/) Duff and Eric, the main authors at BG, critique and explore the personal development field. -Evolvify (http://evolvify.com/) Andrew Badenoch's site is all about the controversial field of evolutionary psychology. Although I don't always agree with him, he writes with a sense of tremendous sarcasm and wit, which I find very entertaining.

Aren't we technically doing both? The present moment won't last forever, but we can still live in it. I'm looking forward to the e-book! Out of curiosity, who are your other favorite philosophers? -Greg

Nice post Kent! At what point does creating perceived value become unethical for an entrepreneur? Pull up a Google search and one will be bombarded with a host of ads for products and services that clearly contain purposeful deception in order to create value. Value can also be created by instilling fear or worry. I struggle with this concept of selling an illusion ethically. Do you have to believe in your product or service wholeheartedly or is it acceptable to sell an illusion? I'd love to hear your thoughts on the ethics. Cheers, Greg

Kent, You must first ask "What is the purpose of my life?" Generally speaking, I think most people inherently struggle with finding an answer to that question. It's much easier to take the path of least resistance and trap yourself into thinking you need to make 'X' amount of dollars before you're free. Of course that 'X' amount of dollars variable can increase as desires increase. It's far easier to trick yourself into thinking you need a bigger house or nicer car than it is to answer that difficult first question. People gravitate towards the path of least resistance. The fear of not having authentic meaning is often masked by a phony fear of not having enough money. Again, it's the 'I'll follow my dreams after I make 'X' amount of dollars' argument. It's much easier to think you're limited by something like money than it is to actually figure out what those dreams are. Ultimately, this creates a very real fear of freedom that I think many people have. Cheers, Greg

Concojones, I think we are essentially arguing the same thing from different perspectives. Freedom from work is not the goal, but rather, freedom to find a meaningful and fulfilling use of our time. My definition of financial freedom simply implies that one is entirely free to pursue these higher needs and jobs/activities/etc regardless of if they pay or not. I would argue that one can find meaningful activities that don't require payment in the form of money (volunteer work, philanthropy, etc). Lying around the beach all day would be quite boring eventually! We can go back and worth on the best way to achieve or re-frame these freedoms in our minds, but I think control over our time is ultimately what you and I are looking for. As you mention, living in the present is important, but it must be tempered with preparing for the future. Cheers! Greg

Concojones: You bring up an interesting point: Does freedom equate to a destination? Can one be free while still on a journey? I eluded to my answers in my first comment. I'd be curious to hear yours. You said, "Even though I'm looking for passive income myself, its very notion is beside the point." Why are you looking for something that won't set you free? Cheers! Greg

Hey Kent! Ego is ubiquitous; I'm not sure if one can fully transcend it to a purely observant view void of attachment. Also, I'm not sure I could quantify what ego has cost me monetarily or spiritually for this very reason. "The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.” - Socrates Cheers, Greg

Hey Kent! First off, congrats on the guest post at such a well known blog. In my humble opinion, you're one of the best writers and thinkers in the blogosphere! Like many others, my definition of financial freedom has changed over the years. I do believe that financial freedom exists, albeit it can be tricky to define. My definition would be when passive income exceeds needs and desires. In an equation your freedom score would be written as: Financial Freedom = Income/(Needs+Desires) Most people focus on the numerator piece of the equation. I believe we should focus on the denominator because it can be changed with one simple decision; we can become more free starting today. Cheers, Greg

I'm convinced that you can never really transcend human emotions like envy, but you can limit their impact on your life. People search for image and ego food in all realms of life. Maybe they just need to find meaning??? You said it best, "self-awareness is the key to financial success and success in all areas of life; that meaning must come before money and purpose precedes planning" Cheers, Greg

This is a very timely post. I'm currently reading "Walden" right now; I've really enjoyed it thus far. Anyway, if I were blogging purely for income purposes I would certainly choose to write about different topics. I'm sure you would do the same. I write for the joy of it. On the other hand, there is nothing wrong with making some extra income through affiliate marketing for certain products (such as books). I'm really curious as to who buys these e-books about e-books. Can you say sucker??? Then again, marketing is one of the most powerful forces in the universe. I hope you have a great 4th Kent! Cheers,