“Do you need the money?”

I pause, taking a bite of my steak to buy some time.

“Uhh I guess not.” I mumble between mouthfuls. It’s my first night in Paraguay, and I’m having dinner with a friend of a friend.

“Then who gives a f**k?”, he replies.

I like him already.

I’m here to become a resident. I’m moving my business from the UK to dodge tax—sorry, expand my horizons. But it’s been a mess. Not the Paraguay side. The UK side. The documents I needed were lost in the mail 3 times. I still don’t have them. But I decided it was better to wait, drowning in steak than the wet misery of the UK winter.

Because of this ‘limbo’ phase, I am incentivized to not make money.

I thought I was OK with that. I have a book to write, Spanish to learn, assets to build, and life to explore.

And yet I’ve been feeling a lot of guilt.

When you measure yourself with money

It made me realise how much of my self-worth is tied to my income. When I’m making money, I feel great. But when business slows down, doubt creeps in. I get restless. I start judging myself for being lazy. I begin thinking of ways I can increase my income.

But this is terrible for building a business.

Why?

Because not making money is often the best way to make it.

Let me explain.

The Money-Now Trap

The problem with money is that it is a safe goal to pursue.

Everyone’s chasing it. No one tells you that you’re wrong for wanting more. And it’s easy to understand. Bank balance goes up, good job. Bank balance goes down, bad job.

This makes money a great measuring stick. But also a sticky trap. If you can’t survive income dips, you won’t have space for long-term leverage plays.

We think money is best earned in drops. When in reality, the best way to build wealth is to build a bucket.

The simplest example is building a brand.

You can keep climbing the conventional career ladder, getting small raises each year that barely cover the cost of inflation, or you can start your own thing. Aside from rare cases, you can presume it takes 2 years to see any sliver of success. During this period, your career will suffer. You can’t do two things well.

And you likely won’t see any extra income from your effort.

But just because you’re not making money doesn’t mean you’re doing it wrong. Because you’re creating leverage:

• Ideas
• Skills
• Reputation
• Relationships
• A body of work

These things build like pressure behind a dam. One day, a crack shows, and then the floodgates burst open. Your potential income might 10x overnight. For example, it took me 18 months to make my first dollar as a writer, but just 3 years to make my first 7 figures.

The best views come from the longest climbs

Leverage is the key to freedom. But building it is not a one-time decision.

It is a constant test of your long-term thinking. Because money is like any drug: it only gets more tempting the more you taste it. But trading time for money now makes your time worth less in the future.

The more assets you build, the more valuable you become.

For example, over the past three months, I have lost $45,000. But I am not relaxing. I:

• Written 8 essays
• Built a profitable paid ads book funnel
• Scheduled 2 months of social media content
• I have recorded 15 YouTube videos (you can join 600+ subscribers here)
• Completed the first draft of my book, Magnetic Writing and am halfway through the second (you can join 1000+ people on the waitlist here)
• Designed and launched a high-ticket offer (the spots were snapped up in 2 days, and the money will be collected when my new business is ready)

Instead of working hard to make money now, I’m building an army of robots that will grow my business for me—giving me more space to take on bigger projects. When you understand the power of digital leverage, this is a no-brainer choice. Long-term reputation is the best revenue generator.

The secret to breaking free

I am not suggesting you renounce money.

But if you want to be free, you must understand that money is a tool for life, not the point of it. Society wants you to believe otherwise, so you remain a cog in the machine. But if you can resist the Money Now Trap, you can build leverage for later. And trust me, you won’t care about what people think when you are free to live on your terms.

But I’m not suggesting we become paupers until we are 60 years old, then buy a wheelchair made of gold. It’s nice to have a little fun along the way. Plus, if you can spend it in ways that make you happy, you operate better as a writer and entrepreneur. Joy is an underrated tool for success.

There’s one word you need to embrace to play the leverage game well:

Enough.

Because without enough, the desire to make money becomes blinding. I’ve been there as a dentist. Each month, I set a bigger target, wondering why I was never satisfied. But paychecks are not a substitute for a lack of purpose. You should make enough money to snap out of scarcity mode, then focus on doing work you love.

There are two challenges with defining enough.

The first is having the guts to go lower.

For example, when I quit dentistry, I told myself all I wanted was to cover my costs (around $2,500/month). This was a tough drop from £20k/month, especially when comparing with friends. But it gave me the freedom to change my career. And that change has made me much more money as a result.

The second is making sure people don’t change the number for you.

A lot of my friends want to get filthy rich.

When I say I am happy to make $250-500k a year, they look at me like I am a loser (even typing that sounds silly to me—perspective gets skewed fast).

But then I start wondering if they are right.

You must get clear on the game you are playing and protect it ruthlessly. This is why I rarely go on social media: the world is constantly trying to make you fit into its box.

I don’t know about you: I care more about feeling good than looking good. My priority is to be free first and rich later.

Because freedom gives you the space to write more. And writing is the ultimate long-term leverage play. If you can master the craft and build a body of work that you’re proud of, you will unlock a whole new level of the game. Because the Internet is built on a foundation of words.

Write well, and it becomes your playground.

To your freedom,

Kieran