The I, and – I assume – a lot of the audience of this blog are striving for, is financial freedom/independence… basically being able to choose if we go out to work or not.

Having the choice of whether I get up and trudge to an office or not is one of my big goals in life. I’d rather spend each day finding something new to push myself with; use each day to find new challenges, rather than work to pay some bills. That’s the idealized dream.

The thing is, and I was thinking about this today, would I really give up work if given the opportunity? Would I really spend each day working on new entrepreneurial ventures, just for the challenge? I tried thinking to myself – “if I won tonight’s lottery, what would I really do?” So what would I do with roughly £7,500,000?

There’s the usual stuff; pay the mortgage, buy a bigger and better home, a family holiday, pay all debts… nothing too exciting. Then I got to thinking the majority would be put into high-interest savings and live off the return. Even at a conservative rate of 10% there’s more than enough to live off. So what would I do about work?

It’s here I came unstuck. What would I do? I could give up work altogether, but I know I’d just get bored. I could spend all my time trying different business ventures, “for fun”. Something didn’t sit right with that idea either. So I thought and I thought, then thought some more. Eventually I reached the epiphany.

I’d probably not change a thing. I’d still work at my current employer. Maybe not 9-5, and maybe as an “associate” rather than staff, but I’d still work the job. The difference between now and this imaginary reality: knowing I had a choice on the matter. It’s this lack of choice that’s driving me towards financial freedom even now.

I once heard someone say “just because you can choose, doesn’t mean you always should“. If you had the choice, what would you choose?