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The mistake that I see a lot of people make / when they / start asking questions / about how to manage their money / is that / oftentimes / people will ask a question about / a product / or a tactic.// So for example /, they might say, / "Should I use this app, / or should I / invest in cryptocurrency?" // First-principles thinking / is / stripping away / everything / and really getting to the root / of something. // So / if you think about a tree, / the tactics and the products / are like the leaves of a tree./ That's the most visible surface / so, / of course, / it's what people might ask about first. / But first, / let's start / with the roots of that tree./ The roots of that tree / are your values. / It's that question / of what matters most. / And then / from those roots / stem that trunk of the tree, / which is your philosophy / of life,/ the type of life that you want to lead. / And / from that philosophy,/ then your objective / or your goals: / How does that philosophy of living / translate into specific goals? / That's really that tree trunk./ From there, / you go out / into the branches of the tree, / and they represent the strategy. / Now that you know / your philosophy of living, / you know your goals, / now you can come up with strategies / for how to obtain those goals /. And then / once you have that strategy / in place, / then those leaves / are the tactics and the products. / So / if you're starting with the question about tactic or product,/ you've got a leaf in your hand, / but you don't have that root system built yet. // When / personal finance is framed / in the context of delayed gratification / so that you can have more money / when you're 75 years old, / it's really hard to get excited about that.// But / when / we reframe that / as financial independence / and how / taking better care of your money / leads to / this flourishing / of freedom, of opportunity, / of choice, / that becomes much more enticing.// FI / is the point at which / your / potential / passive income /- money that comes to you when you're sleeping,/ typically through investments /- is enough / to cover your basic bills. // And the reason that matters is because / then / endless options / open up for you. / You have the freedom to do whatever you want / - whether that's / to stay in your current profession, / make a midlife career change, / become a full-time parent, / or travel the world. / Whatever choice / you want to make, / you're able to make that / without having to sweat about / how you're gonna keep the lights on, / how you're gonna keep the fridge stocked.//