Morgan Housel

was independence.

I just wanted to live life on my terms and do what I wanted to do.

And I've known this about myself for a long time that

I can do good work, but I'm not a good worker.

I'm not a good employee.

I'm not good at all when a boss says, here's what I want you to do.

Here's how I want you to do it and when I want you to do it.

I'm a shit worker under those terms.

But if I'm left to my own devices and somebody says, just go do your thing, then I can really accomplish something.

And so I just wanted to be fiercely independent in everything that I do.

And I think every single person has unbelievable talents if they could be left to their own devices.

But a lot of people, once they're under the pressure of other people's goals, other people's ideas, other people's, their financial incentives, you know, are pushed down a notch.

And it's unavoidable.

I'm not saying everybody should go be an entrepreneur, of course.

But I think if you can use financial independence to work at the company that you want, to live where you want, to live in an area that gives you a lower commute, to retire when you want, whatever it might be, that to me, I'm not anti-materialistic at all.

I love nice things, but using your money for that

is I think the highest ROI by tenfold.

If you can use it for independence rather than as a material, you know, social peacock showing other people, look how successful I am, using it more inward to just be like, I just want to wake up every morning and say, I can do whatever I want today.

That to me was always the ultimate goal.

I mean, one of the Koch brothers is an unbelievable wine collector.