Money vs. Freedom — Is It Possible to Have Both?

A topic I’ve discussed many times before is how social media allows us to share our views, opinions and lives with (potentially) millions of people around the world. In particular, the niche that I’ve always found interesting is the debate between hustle culture and freedom culture.

Hustle culture is the embodiment of “the grind”. Work hard, play hard. Make as much money as you can and enjoy the rewards that come with it. Start your own business, sell an online course — you’ve seen it all before. Freedom culture is the polar-opposite. It’s the idea that you work just enough to pay your bills and buy a few nice-to-haves along the way, with the primary goal being to maximise the time you have to yourself.

But what are the similarities? The differences? Is it possible to have a bit of both? Maybe.

The Differences

I’m not going to dwell on the differences between these two collectives, I like to think it’s fairly obvious. However, there are a few notable ones that are worth calling out.

Time

The most obvious one, right?

Hustle culture is all about dedicating your time to making money, building a business or a lifestyle. It’s about maximising every second you have in the day, ensuring that everything you do is productive, in the pursuit of something better in the future. My problem with this is simple: you forget about the present. Time is the most valuable commodity we have on the planet, yet you’re trading it for something materialistic.

Freedom culture is the opposite. It’s about minimising the amount of time you work. Finding the balance between having enough money and retaining your time. Unfortunately, as delightful as this sounds, whether we like it or not — we do need money, and this doesn’t give me the right level of comfort. In a cost of living crisis, I like to have a bit of security.

Mindset

For me, this is simple to explain. Maximalist versus minimalist. This is obviously a generalisation, there is some cross-over, but I think you’ll agree that for the majority, this summary sticks.

Oh and before anyone comments with “what about the billionaire CEOs who always wear the same outfit, aren’t they minimalists?” — it is well documented that the driver behind the outfit choice of Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg, etc. is not because they are minimalists. It is because want to reduce their decision fatigue. They believe that not needing to make the decision about what they’re going to wear will enable them to have more capacity for making key decisions in the workplace. For the record, I believe the science — it’s a real thing.

Perception

Interestingly, if you asked someone on either side, they’d both say they don’t give a sh*t what other people think about them. The difference? I believe one, I certainly don’t believe the other.

Hustle culture is all about how you are perceived by others. Time and time again we see comments like “I don’t care about the opinions of others, that’s why I’m so successful.” Yet their actions speak louder than words. Fancy cars, fancy apartments, fancy watches and fancy parties — that doesn’t scream “not giving a sh*t what other people think” to me. One of the biggest selling points of hustle culture is the lifestyle that it will enable you to have and subsequently how other people will see you. Image is everything.

Freedom culture, however, I do believe — mostly. Humans are social creatures, it’s natural to want others to like you. To crave that human connection. I also think that influencers use lifestyle trends such as this to boost their own popularity, give themselves new content to produce (yes, I do see the irony). However, for the most part, I believe that freedom culture is mostly about the individual.

The Similarities

There is one glaringly obvious area where these two worlds collide. Being your own boss.

Neither lifestyle would be possible whilst working for a big corporation. Sure, you can grind at your 9–5 and climb the corporate ladder, but that’s not really what hustle culture is about, the same way that freedom culture isn’t simply working a 9–5 that allows your to work remotely. Both are about being your own boss. Living life on your own terms, setting the rule and boundaries yourself.

Whether it’s producing content, starting a business or building a freelancing empire — both lifestyles rely on an individuals ability to market themselves, be their own boss and own everything that comes along with it. The end goal might be different, but the path is the same.

Conclusion

But what about the rest of us? The ones who want to be able to live life on our own terms, but with a little more money to enjoy the finer things in life. Is it possible?

I think so. Like everything in life, balance is key. How far you tilt the scale in either direction, that’s entirely up to you. No-one but you can decide how your life should be lived, for no-one but yourself can truly understand your reasons why.

Me? I haven’t found my balance yet. I’m still on my journey to figuring it out. Instead, for now, I focus on a couple of key mantras to help me along the way:

• Do one thing for your mind, body and soul every day.

• Focus on growing 1% each day.

I trust that these mantras will guide me in the right direction, until such a time that the balance feels right.