How Two Books Helped Me Ditch the Rules and Redesign My Life
A Journey of Financial Independence and Personal Freedom
When I was around the age of 30 I read 'Rich Dad Poor Dad' by Robert Kiyosaki.
Freshly enthused from a Tony Robbins style personal development week away in Tenerife, I was ready for a change.
I'd had a good career up to that stage working my way up the management tree. But I knew my kind of commitment and work ethic was worth more than the wage I was on.
As I read about financial IQ and independence, it occurred to me that no-one had ever taught me this stuff.
My Dad was an entrepreneur but had never discussed investing, buying or growing businesses, or even compound interest with me.
My Mum was a bookkeeper and had taught me how to run a weekly budget and live within my means, but nothing more. (Her teachings didn't always work - 3 concurrent jobs in my mid twenties to pay off loans hammered home the lesson)
By the time I reached 30 years of age, I'd been taught to play by the rules, work hard for a living and 'never a lender nor a borrower be'.
Rich Dad (aka Keith Cunningham, who the book was based on), introduced a whole new world.
Within a month I'd bought a training pack on how to start my own business and handed in my notice, much to the vocal dismay of my friends.
'You're on a great career path' they insisted. 'You're giving it all up on a whim!'
And my favourite - 'Don't come running to us when it all goes wrong'.
Funny thing is though, my Dad was all for it. Even though he'd had some crazy dream about me becoming an accountant in my early 20's, he'd been recently ill and wanted me to go for my dreams. (Thanks Dad ❤️).
It was the best career decision I ever made
Over the following 5 years I built a small business, learned how to sell, learned how to run a set of accounts, manage cash, run a team and work with clients.
More importantly I also learned how not to sell, how not to manage cash, and how not to run a team!
By the financial recession of 2009, I was over-leveraged, burnt out and ready for another change.
It came in the form of a two week break in Cyprus, meeting up with some friends who ran their entire business online. On the way home, on their recommendation, I read 'The Four Hour Workweek' by Tim Ferriss from cover to cover.
Within a few months I'd sold my dwindling business and everything I owned in my rented house, and with my partner and 4 year old daughter, jumped on a plane back to Cyprus to start our new remote online adventure.
It was the next best career decision I ever made
15 years later, as I write this I've travelled and lived in 45+ countries, raised my daughter in Phuket, Thailand, and am now a full time nomad.
With my husband, we've been starting, growing and selling online businesses since 2010.
It's been a ride!
The Takeaways
So what are the key lessons from my experiences?
1. Stay curious
The next book, conversation, or experience could completely change your life's trajectory. Keep your mind open to new possibilities.
2. Embrace discomfort
Growth often lies just outside your comfort zone. Be willing to take calculated risks and try new things.
3. Define success on your own terms
My definition of success evolved from climbing the corporate ladder to achieving location independence and financial freedom.
4. Learn from every experience
Both successes and failures taught me valuable lessons about business, life, and myself.
5. It's never too late to pivot
Whether you're 30, 40, 50 or beyond, you always have the power to reinvent yourself and your life.
The most important takeaway is this:
You don't know what you don't know yet
At 30, I had no clue about financial independence. At almost 40, I knew nothing about working online. At 52, there's still so much I don't know.
At every stage of life, there are new lessons to learn, skills to acquire, and opportunities to seize.
The key is to remain open, adaptable, and willing to challenge your own assumptions.
And remember knowledge is transformative: Books like "Rich Dad Poor Dad" and "The Four Hour Workweek" didn't just provide information, they reshaped my entire worldview and set me on new paths.
What's Next?
My daughter finally graduated and is now charting her own path pursuing music at a Uni in London, and my husband & I are fulfilling our own dreams of travelling full time.
We’re still growing businesses and starting projects that fund our lifestyle, but our priorities have shifted. These days, freedom, creativity, and world exploration comes first!
There’s plenty to build, plenty to explore, and I’m excited to share the journey as it unfolds.
I wonder what book will fall into my hands now?