"To have a good relationship with money, you must know who you are and what your purpose is in this world." —Kate Northrup, Money: A Love Story Find your purpose, exercise your courage and you are on your way to financial freedom. Simple AND true. Not easy, but definitely doable. For many of us, we were taught (or it was modeled) that money and how to approach money successfully is to solely look at it logically, requiring tangible proofs in order to know we are successful - the amount of money in our checking account, a lack of debt, the amount we have saved in our chosen mode of savings, the value of our quantifiable assets - our home, our business, etc., etc.. Don't worry, I am not going to say, being without any money in the bank is okay as long as you have [insert whatever non-monetary example you have heard], because it's not true. We do need money to live and live well; however, to only look at the numbers is to dismiss the powerful engine of creating the financial freedom you seek. Our lives are not Money Ball. While a wonderful film and a very successful approach to winning in the game of baseball, when we only look at the numbers, we lose the core of what living well, a life of true wealth, is all about, to lose ourselves in the sole pursuit for more money or having a certain amount of money in the bank before we [insert your big dream here] is to live without trust in the universe, to live without trust in ourselves. Again, do not worry, I am not going to say, ignore money and pursue whatever fleeting fancy your heart desires and the money will follow, but sort of, I am, it just doesn't happen overnight, or within the window you would like it to. When I picked up Kate Northrup's first book Money: A Love Story, Untangle your financial woes and create the life you really want, it was the book I was looking for for some time but I wasn't able to find it because likely, the most important lessons wouldn't have landed with such great effect. The truth about what financial freedom is while yes, having to do with the monetary concept of literally earning more than you spend, it also involves the fuel for making money and that is not logical or literal monetarily, it comes from finding and living a life of true contentment. And as we have talked about for years here on TSLL blog and podcast, stepping onto the path toward cultivating contentment begins with being courageous enough to get to know yourself, to dig in and learn the helpful skills that all of us can learn if we choose, and then with what we discover, being brave about the next step that may be entirely different, or even slightly different than the path we were originally on. "As with any relationship, the key to dealing with your financial woes lies within." —Kate Northrup, Money: A Love Story The path to financial freedom, something that upon reading Kate Northrup's book Money: A Love Story, I discovered that what she shares overlaps in multiple ways with how to live simply luxuriously. How? Being present in your daily life is the power needed to discover your purpose Discovering and then trusting what you can uniquely give to the world to positively contribute is the key that is immeasurable monetarily and requires great courage to embrace and step forward toward as there are unknowns that will never be answered until you act. Knowing yourself is the priceless piece of information necessary finding your calm and your direction. Self-awareness is a crucial tool to learn and hone. Understanding your mind and being mindful of the stories that swirl about inside your mind and your ability to shift those unwanted stories to something more constructive is essential to attaining financial peace of mind. Where you place your attention and time is what will grow. Learning and practicing the skill of being content, accepting that you will not be happy all of the time, and finding calm with all sorts of emotions along