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For Nassim Taleb, freedom is the highest good, and it is inextricably linked to financial independence—what he bluntly calls 'Fuck You Money. ' This isn't about buying yachts; it's about buying the right to say 'no' and to speak the truth without fear of professional retaliation. He argues that employment is a form of slavery where you trade your opinion for a paycheck. True freedom means owning your own time and risks. He warns that debt and high living expenses are the chains that keep modern people from ever being truly free.
"My only measure of success is how much time you have to kill."
"I never use a watch. My body knows when it is time to work and when it is time to sleep."
"The three most harmful addictions are heroin, carbohydrates, and a monthly salary."
"If you want to be a philosopher, don't have a job. Jobs are the enemy of deep thought."
"Success is not about how much money you make, but about how much freedom you have."
"It is a sign of weakness to have a job."
"A man is morally free when... he judges the world, and he is not judged by it."
"The New Rich are not defined by what they own, but by what they do not have to do."
"Freedom is the ability to say 'no' to anyone."
"A flâneur is someone who is allowed to be curious for its own sake."
"A man is morally free only to the extent that his business and his livelihood are not dependent on the approval of others."
"The difference between a worker and a slave is that the slave is owned; the worker is rented."
"The goal of work should be to achieve a state where you are no longer dependent on the whims of others."
"Deep work is an act of rebellion against a world that wants you to be shallow."
"Wealth is not about having more things, but about having the freedom to say 'no' to things that don't matter."
"A 'job' is a modern form of slavery where you are paid enough to forget your dreams but not enough to live them."
"The best kind of work is the kind that doesn't feel like work at all."
"To be truly free, you must be able to work on one thing for ten hours straight without checking your phone."
"You are only truly free when you can say 'no' to a prestigious invitation."
Seeing how Nassim Taleb approaches Freedom helps you apply the idea with more precision.
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"Use this collection whenever you need Nassim Taleb's lens on Freedom."