5 Steps to Financial Freedom

5 Easy Steps to Financial Freedom: Do What You Love and Get Rich Doing It, Duane Harden, CEOeBooks, 2012

Many books have been written about how to make money doing what you love. This book reduces the process to just five steps.

Before anything else, you have to commit to changing your life. Don't just say it; you also have to mean it. Write a Creed, or other inspirational saying, and post it someplace where you can read it every day. Some people, knowingly or unknowingly, will try to discourage you, convinced that you are going to fail. Limit your exposure to such people.

What are you passionate about? What do you love doing? That is where you should look for income-generating ideas. Don't get into, for instance, real estate investing because all those infomercials have convinced you that you will be instantly rich. Do it because you want to do it. Get a copy of your credit report and credit score. If your score is Average or Poor, work now on fixing it. The book talks about using OPM (Other People's Money) to finance your venture. A bank, or other lender, will have a hard time approving your loan request if your credit score is just Fair.

It's normal to want to plan and plan and plan, removing all possible obstacles before starting your income-generating plan. You may just over-analyze yourself right out of a great business opportunity. At some point, you have to Just Do It (to quote Nike). If things don't work out, pick yourself up, regroup, and start over.

You need to register your venture as a separate business entity (like an S Corporation or an LLC) with the state and federal governments. If for no other reason, do it to reduce your personal liability should someone get injured on the premises. You can't do this alone, so you need a team behind you. Start with a CPA and an attorney who specializes in real estate investing, or whatever your venture entails. The book also explores what to do when the time comes to sell your venture (your CPA says that you have gotten all the tax benefits you are going to get, or you decide that it is time to retire).

This is an excellent book, written by someone who has been through the process. It is easy to read, and full of information. The hardest part is to convince yourself that Now is the time. This book shows the reader how to do everything else.