This audiobook is for people who also believe personal freedom is the most important thing in life. In our free world, we can do what want, spend time with people we like, and have a career that gives us joy. And yet, we don’t use our freedom. Why is that? The problem is that we’re held captive by ourselves. On a deeper level, we all strive for the same thing: To be free. It’s in our nature. Every human has the desire and the need to be free. What It Takes To Be Free will lead you on the path to personal freedom. It’s a highly practical guide that’s based on timeless wisdom and personal experience. You’re the ruler of your own kingdom. You can do anything you want, spend time with people you like, and have a career that you love. If you’re willing to do what it takes, you will be free to do those things.
The book popped up as a recommendation and I had not come across Darius before taking a chance on this book. What I discovered was a succinct journey into yourself to help you achieve your own personal freedom, however you may define it.
The book is in three parts: Awareness, The Price, and The Plan. The third part is the magic ingredient in this book.
Awareness
The first part talks about what happiness is and what it takes of ourselves to be able to set out on the road to personal freedom. Each chapter is short and to the point. The first question is simply “What is freedom?” and the chapters that follow outline a series of areas which we are guilty of choosing that lead our path to comfort instead of freedom. These are:
- No core values
- Sacrificing ourselves
- We avoid pain
- Social obligations
- Guilt
- Pressure to be successful
- Following our emotions
- Lack of self-esteem
- Short-term happiness
- Lack of vision
- The ruler of your own kingdom
The last chapter turns the previous chapters on their heads and lets us consider the possibility of what it means to be free.
The Price
The second part looks at the prices we pay trading freedom for comfort. Again, nice and succinct.
- Certainty
- Comfort
- Lies
- Incompatible people
- Fearing money
- Mindless entertainment
- Anger and resentment
- Expectations
- Debt
- Unwanted help
- Defending my ideas
- Forced happiness
The Plan
The third part takes the book’s title “What it takes to be free” and lays out an actionable blueprint that you can follow to achieve your own personal freedom. Most self-help books are words and leave you to figure out how to apply the contents to your own life. As many of us do, we don’t do the hard work of figuring it out (and that includes me as we are all guilty of some or all of the trade-offs in this book, especially at the start of our journey). Work through this section and find your own path. The chapters are:
- Planning is everything
- Establish your core values
- The “I can always …” technique (which is simple and incredible)
- Set goals for every area of your life
- Build your freedom fund
- Eliminate what makes you miserable (see fear setting)
- Get moving
- Systemize your finances
- Meditate on what can go wrong
- Invest when you’re ready
- Explore ways to generate extra income
- Declutter your life
- Avoid over-planning
The Takeaways
Darius lays out a clear map to help you find your freedom. There are difficult choices – nobody said this was easy – but you can avoid the pains outlined in the first two parts and enjoy the life of your dreams. And at just over 4 hours, it respects your own personal time freedom and doesn’t bog you down with unnecessary prosaic details. Some parts of this book are covered in other books of this type, but What it Takes to be Free collates all areas into one handy workbook.
I recommend this audiobook.
