Is work and financial freedom a mirage?
These days I find myself in a contemplative and reflective mood and there is one question popping up in my head: is work and financial freedom really a desiderate and goal or more of a mirage? I mean we all aspire to that, but once we achieve it how will our life change and what will we do? Would we fall into boredom and want to get back at work, has financial freedom really an end to it or will we want more and more? For some reason I feel that having such goals consumes a lot of energy, while I might not get close enough to that. Steady and little steps might be good, but one would need big steps to get there in a lifetime or soon enough to be able to enjoy it early than... 70s. I think we need to wake up and look to financial freedom as a desiderate that requires big leaps and moves in order to get it and enjoy it in the same time. And you know what that means - big risk. And of course not many will make it, but the ones with a plan, DYOR and analytic decisions might get there. And I plan to be one of them...
Crypto, work and the idea of balance
After years in crypto and traditional finance like stocks, one thing is clear to me: work and financial freedom are not opposites. Early on, I believed freedom meant not working at all. No alarms, no deadlines, no stress. In reality, the people I’ve seen reach some level of financial freedom didn’t stop working. They just changed how and why they worked.
Crypto showed me this faster than anything else. Markets never sleep. Volatility forces discipline. Big wins look exciting from the outside, but behind them are long hours of reading, tracking cycles, managing emotions and accepting losses. This is still work, just a different kind that maybe we don't perceive it. The difference is control. I choose when to step in, when to step back, and what risks make sense for my life.
Balance is the tricky part. During bull markets, it’s easy to forget life exists outside charts and portfolios. During bear markets, it’s easy to question every decision ever made. I’ve learned that work-life balance in crypto isn’t about doing less, it’s about being intentional. Some seasons require intense focus. Others demand stepping away to protect mental health. Freedom grows when work serves life, not when life disappears into work. And I feel that more and more lately.
Financial freedom, risk and the success of it
Financial freedom, at least in my own experience, is not a finish line lately. It’s more like a moving horizon. At first, it’s about paying bills without stress. Then it becomes about time. Later, it becomes about choices. Crypto magnifies this feeling because gains can come fast and so can losses. That constant swing forces a deeper question: how much is enough?
For beginners, this is where many go wrong. Freedom gets framed as all-or-nothing. Either total escape from work or total failure. I don’t buy that anymore. Financial freedom can exist in layers. Reduced dependence on one income. The ability to walk away from bad opportunities. The confidence to take calculated risks without fear of survival.
In the same time, while aiming for financial freedom, risk is unavoidable. Big leaps are real, especially in crypto, but blind risk is just gambling. The veterans who last focus on education, patience and position sizing. I’ve seen people make life changing money and still feel trapped because they never figured out what freedom meant for their life. Without clarity, money doesn’t create balance, it just creates noise.
At this stage, I see work and financial freedom less as a mirage and more as a mindset shift. The goal isn’t to stop working. The goal is to build a life where work, money, and freedom don’t fight each other. Crypto is just one tool in that process. A powerful one, yes, but still a tool. And maybe real freedom is accepting that the journey itself is the point. But we need to measure the time spent for achieving a financial milestone and find the balance of it or move to bigger things that are really worth. Or at least that's what I intend to do.
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What I have seen is that most people got lucky and achieve the financial freedom. For example, some investment helped, some great career risk as well as inheritance helped. So yeah luck also play a crucial role on financial freedom.
We see that the way crypto is working, here we definitely have complete freedom, but we also have to do physical work to make a living. If we don't do physical work, it will cost us a lot later. So it's best that we have to do both things together, and crypto has definitely given us the freedom to control our own finances.
Getting caught up thinking if reaching that money goal would actually fix everything or just give us new problems to stress over is real, I do want to get to that point but always think nothing is always pink as ppl might think, I been down that rabbit hole before too. The crypto space pushes you to think bigger and faster because waiting til retirement age to enjoy life sounds like complete shit honestly, but for example look at where Hive is, well the entire alt market kinda sux this cycle though, but the way most people actually get there isnt calculated risks sometimes its persistance a bit of luck reasons I dont give up on crypto. The freedom aspect idk, things have change drastically now that I change jobs and Im at a way more IDEL position where I dont have work unless something breaks, that IT life, so I have come to think that even if I reach a certain amount of $$$ I might continue working and not look for that kind of freedom. Its easy to burn out chasing big moves when steady smaller ones might actually let you sleep at night and not loose your damn mind checking charts at 3am during bear markets, that balance between going hard and staying sane is where I struggle most.
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In the current era yes it is, there have been to many economic downturns, too many wars and too much instability. Maybe the next generation can.
Indeed big leaps when putting available years into consideration. Personally, asides from big risk, precised calculations is key, this is where what to hold on to for the long term matters. A good read through I must say, thanks.