Make Your Full‑Time Job Optional with Freedom Profile & Assets

This article explores how to make your full-time job optional, allowing you the freedom to quit, go part-time, or continue full-time with the knowledge that you don't need the job to pay your bills. This concept is presented as a profoundly liberating feeling.

The author, Ali, a former doctor in the UK, built a side business that made his medical career optional. He has documented this journey on YouTube since 2017, transitioning from a medical student to a full-time doctor during the pandemic, and now to a best-selling author and entrepreneur.

The discussion is divided into three main parts: 1. Why your job isn't already optional. 2. The "freedom profile matrix" to diagnose career issues. 3. The income versus asset equation and how to start making your job optional.

Why Your Job Isn't Optional

The primary reason a job isn't optional is expenses. Everyone has rent, food, bills, and other costs. For example, if your monthly expenses are around $3,000, you need income to cover them. Ideally, income should exceed expenses to avoid debt. A job provides this income, allowing you to pay bills and potentially invest any surplus.

One theoretical way to make a job optional is to eliminate expenses entirely. As a child, a job is often optional because parents cover expenses. Similarly, one could become a monk, live off the land, or beg for alms, reducing expenses to zero. However, this isn't what most people envision when they want their job to be optional. Instead, they want to maintain a certain lifestyle—travel, a nice home, etc.—without being forced to work to cover those costs.

Another potential source of income is Universal Basic Income (UBI), but this is not a realistic solution in the near future. Therefore, the conundrum of modern life is how to make a job optional when you need the money.

The Freedom Profile Matrix

The core issue isn't the job itself, but rather the lack of freedom within it. Some jobs, like Ed Sheeran's music career or a friend's father's role as a hedge fund consultant, offer high levels of freedom. These jobs are often enjoyable, flexible, fulfilling, and financially rewarding.

The author introduces the "freedom profile," which evaluates work based on four "F" factors: - Fun: How much you enjoy the work. - Flexibility: The degree of control you have over your time and work arrangements. - Fulfillment: The sense of purpose and meaning derived from your work. - Finances: The income generated by the work.

A job with a good balance of these four Fs has a "high freedom profile." If you're dissatisfied with your current job, it likely has a "low freedom profile" for you. It's important to rate each of these factors out of 10 for your current role.

Examples of Freedom Profiles: - High Freedom Profile: A remote software developer living in Romania, working for a US tech company. High finances, high flexibility, high fun (enjoys coding), and sufficient fulfillment. This individual is not looking to change their setup. - Low Freedom Profile: A corporate lawyer working 16-hour days. High finances, but very low fulfillment, flexibility, and moderate fun. This person would likely be seeking a change.

The concept extends beyond traditional jobs to businesses. While starting a business offers the potential for greater control (you are the boss), not all businesses offer a high freedom profile. For instance, running a factory might involve low fun, flexibility, and fulfillment, with tight financial margins. Conversely, a freelance web designer who charges high rates, enjoys the work, has full remote flexibility, and finds fulfillment in certain client types, would have a high freedom profile. Even in a business, there are trade-offs; it's not a magic bullet for all four Fs from day one.

The Income Versus Asset Equation

Since some form of income generation is necessary, whether through a job or a business, the goal is to choose one with a desirable freedom profile. However, there's a third way to generate income: passive income from assets.

Assets are things that put money in your pocket. Examples include: - Rental properties (generating rental yield). - Stocks and shares (generating dividends or capital appreciation). - Intellectual property, like a book (generating royalties).

To acquire assets, you either need to buy them or put in the work to create them. The ideal scenario is a virtuous cycle: 1. Work generates income. 2. Income covers expenses. 3. Any profit from income is invested into assets. 4. Assets generate more income. 5. This additional income can be used for enjoyment or further investment.

The more assets you accumulate, the more your income shifts from being work-dependent to asset-dependent. As asset-generated income increases, the necessity of work decreases, making your job or business optional.

Work Optional vs. Not Working

Making work optional doesn't necessarily mean quitting entirely. Humans often need work for fun, flexibility, fulfillment, and finances. Many people, like successful authors such as Brandon Sanderson, continue to work even after achieving financial independence because they genuinely love what they do. In this context, work is optional because they would choose to do it even without the financial incentive.

The goal is to maximize the percentage of your work that you would do anyway, even if money wasn't a concern, and minimize the work you do solely for financial reasons. This involves: 1. Increasing finances and using that money to generate more assets, reducing the time spent on work. 2. Making your work so enjoyable that you would choose to do it regardless of the money.

The author, for example, would continue making YouTube videos, writing books, and giving talks even if he didn't need the money, because he enjoys them. Sponsorships, however, are primarily for financial reasons.

The Benefits of Entrepreneurship

Building a business offers greater control over your work setup compared to a traditional job. As a business owner, you can delegate tasks you dislike, allowing you to focus on activities that energize you and often generate the most revenue.

The author suggests that everyone should consider starting a business at some point, even if they don't aspire to be a full-time entrepreneur. The distinction between an entrepreneur and an employee is often just the number of clients (multiple for an entrepreneur, one for an employee). While entrepreneurship can be more stressful due to direct responsibility for profit and loss, it offers immense learning opportunities and greater control over income generation.

Starting a business is often described as "trading a 9-to-5 for a 24/7." However, like having children or being married, most successful business owners don't regret the trade-off. The desire for what we don't have is common; employees might wish to be entrepreneurs, and entrepreneurs might sometimes long for the simplicity of a 9-to-5.

Learning to Start a Business

There are two main paths to learning how to start a business: 1. Do-It-Yourself (DIY): This involves consuming free resources like YouTube videos, articles, podcasts, and even AI tools (like Claude or ChatGPT). The internet offers a wealth of free business education. 2. Get Help: This involves investing in structured learning and support: - Courses: Online courses provide a roadmap and instructions. - Coaching: One-on-one coaching offers personalized guidance and mentorship. The author spends a significant amount on coaching for his own business growth. - Community/Masterminds: Joining groups of like-minded individuals provides peer support and idea exchange.

While these paid options can seem expensive, they are forms of education, similar to books or university degrees. The perception that online courses or coaches are "scams" is often a misconception. Many successful individuals invest in such resources. Just as a university degree doesn't guarantee success, neither does a course or coach, but they can significantly accelerate learning and provide valuable skills, especially in areas like sales, which are crucial for business owners.

Ultimately, the decision to pursue entrepreneurship or invest in business education should be made with open eyes, understanding the trade-offs and potential benefits.