Freedom Foundations - Flexibility to Travel
- Nicola Lake
- Jan 5
- 3 min read
Updated: Feb 18
This blog is your first step to redesigning your life, with strong, financially stable foundations. Let's start with some definitions to ground us.
Redefining Retirement: Build a Life of Freedom and Freedom Today
For many of us, when we think of retirement, it's an age when we’ve worked long enough, saved enough, and finally earned the right to relax. But what if we didn’t have to wait? What if we could infuse freedom, flexibility, adventure, and travel into our lives right now?
As a lifestyle coach who helps expats and freedom seekers design lives of freedom and flexibility, I believe it’s time to challenge the traditional idea of retirement. This is why I created The Freedom Formula, my 5-step signature process designed to help you break free from limitations, ground yourself in your values, and create a life of freedom and financial stability.
The Problem with Traditional Retirement
The traditional retirement model is outdated. Work tirelessly for decades, retire at 65 (if not later), and then finally enjoy life. But here’s the catch: life is unpredictable. Waiting until retirement to live your dreams is a gamble, and the landscape is shifting. With rising retirement ages and an uncertain economic future, why should we put life on hold?
The truth is, freedom shouldn’t be a destination. It’s a way of life. And by adopting concepts like mini-retirements and semi-retirements, you can enjoy the best of life without waiting for a “someday” that might never come.
Why Time Is Precious
For me, this shift in perspective came after losing my dad to cancer in 2016. He was only 55—years away from the “retirement age” society promises us. His passing reshaped how I saw time and its value.
It became clear to me: nothing is guaranteed. Life is too precious to spend waiting. That’s why I’ve built a lifestyle that prioritizes freedom, flexibility, adventure and travel —right now, not years down the road. And I want to help you do the same.
The Retirement Rescope: Redefine Your Life
The Retirement Rescope is an exercise I designed to break free from traditional ideas about retirement and create a lifestyle that works for you. It challenges you to think about how work, rest, and travel can coexist in harmony.
Here’s how it works:
Reflect: What does retirement mean to you right now? How does it feel?
Reimagine: What if you could take “mini-retirements” throughout your working years? Or work part-time with the same financial stability? What would that look like?
Identify Barriers: What beliefs, systems, or fears hold you back from pursuing this vision?
Take Action: What’s one step you can take today to move closer to your newly defined lifestyle?
This exercise is about more than dreaming. It’s about creating actionable steps that align with your values and aspirations. Personally, I’ve used this framework to design a life where I work part-time hours, travel to Europe to visit family, and explore the world.
Here’s what you need to remember:
You don’t have to wait to live the life you want.
Retirement isn’t a one-and-done event; it can be an ongoing process of balancing work, rest, and adventure.
Tools like the Retirement Rescope can help you redefine your future and take actionable steps toward freedom today.
Comment "Retirement Rescope" to receive the tool for free!
And if you’re serious about making some BIG changes, book a free discovery call with me to explore my 12-week coaching program. Let’s build the life of freedom you’ve always dreamed of—starting now.
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Your Coach,
Nicola Lake
Lifestyle Coach
Freedom to live on your terms.
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