I spent some time digging through my emails tonight and updated the book page with about a dozen emails from people who purchased Breaking Free the book.

Some of them are pretty inspiring…and it’s amazing to see the VARIETY of people who all share the same desire to be free from a job (from doctors to 15 year olds).

I hope you enjoy them as much as I did…

Hey! I just finished your book, and although I’m not writing to thank you for the vast changes it has brought up in my life JUST YET- I feel the need to tell you that I completely enjoyed every sentence of the book.

There were many parts where I couldn’t help but smile because it was clear how you genuinely wanted the absolute best for the reader - you weren’t worried about how silly things might sound as long as you got your point across or as long as it worked (like punching the little ’self doubt creature’ off your shoulder hahah). I also loved the stressed importance of not ripping off your customers or ‘being evil.’ You seem like a great person and I’m genuinely happy that you’ve reached this success because you seem like you totally deserve it.

Take care!
Juliet

Hi Brian,

Big fan of your blog. Bought your ebook a couple of days ago and I think it’s great! Congratulations for a job well done.

One of the posts that I find very inspiring is your “From Idea to Launch” post series. Mainly because it shifted my paradigm that online business = information products.

[Specific question removed]

-Carlo

PS. FYI, in “Breaking Free”, Afterword was spelled Afterward (don’t know if that was intentional) and you have a typo on page 229 for your email address :D Yes, I got to that within just a couple days of reading.

Dear Brian,

I am a doctor, and this was the only way I could see myself functioning in this world.

You gave me the courage to “start breaking free” away from the path, which no longer was led by my desire, but rather by inability to turn back on something into which I have invested so much. I am not sure this mail will reach you, but I want to thank you and wish you success in everything you do.

- Kind regards,Katie

Hey Brian,

I actually thought this was a pretty good book. This is the first full eBook that I have bought, and I have to say that I was very impressed.

The concepts are well thought out and presented in a very clean manner that helps for easier understanding and retention.

I bought this book at the same time as 4-Hour Work Week (by Timothy Ferriss) and these two books are now two books that I am recommending to people over everything else.

I think the ideas presented in your book are very reasonable and there should be no problem implementing them, especially using the “small steps” guideline.

Thanks for a good read and plan for “Breaking Free”..
Tom

Brian,
I finally finished Breaking Free last night. It was good; I liked the no-nonsense advice. The message I especially took away from it is: “this is not that hard to do.” I just wanted to share with you some of the things that I’ve started doing as a result of your book and some of its spin-off activities:

[goes on to list 9 activities…]

Anyway, thanks for helping me get started on this path; I’ll let you know how I’m progressing. Let me know if you’re ever in Boston!
- Dave

Hi Brian,

I am half way through the book so far (probably need to take you up on that speed reading suggestion) and have started playing around with Wordpress. Thank you so much for putting the info out there that you do. I am at a point in my life (I turn 30 in November) where I know I need to start working for myself–the employee world is just not for me. It is exciting but scary. I am still working on pushing myself harder.

I am really glad blogs and e-books like yours exist! They do wonders for encouraging me. One of the things you wrote that really set off a bell was the “no matter what” ;-) I have two Masters degrees and kind of just followed a path for a while of getting a good education and going to work for a co. with benefits–blah, blah…it’s not my destiny. I know I cannot waste my whole life dreading work in the morning.

Thanks!
Christine G.

“Hello Brian,
I met you at the after hour networking event with Jon King and bought your book. Enjoying it!
This information is such valuable stuff especially for the new business builders. Thank-you so much for sharing!
- Faye DeSilva

Hi Brian -

Just writing to let you know that I really liked the book. It is quite a value for the money and it had some helpful advice I had not encountered before. (and I’ve read a lot on the subject)

I’m in the process of trying to break free right now. I’m a very successful engineer at a top company, published author, and I consider myself a smart and capable guy. Starting the process is difficult at times, but reading the experience of someone who has broken free has been very inspiring.

Thanks
Addis

Hey dude, love your book. (im 15 by the way). I want to have my own web designing company but I really wouldn’t know where to start. Its really good from the beginning on how you started out. I can feel the experience myself though because im more of a business person too.

Looking forward to speaking with you once more and maybe in reality!

-Jarod B.

Your eBook is awesome! More people need to hear your story.
- Jason

“I found this book online by accident and bought it at a time that coincidentally I was getting sick of working for someone else. The book is very motivational and a must read for anyone who wants to “break free”. The book offers a step by step approach to quiting your job and becoming financially independent.
The author of the book, Brian Armstrong, writes from his own experiences and shows how anyone can follow in his footsteps…making breaking free seem a lot more possible.
-by A. Lehrer, New York, NY

Brian,

I am loving the book for its inspiration as I have been contemplating quiting my job. I have more than sufficient $ to take some time off, so last Friday I went ahead and put in my two weeks. It’s a scary feeling to do this especially without a side business already up and running, but I can afford it. I know that taking some time off will help give me a level head and aid in my pursuit to find my passion.

Best,
Aaron V.

To read more about Breaking Free and get your own copy of the book (either PDF or Paperback) click here.

Thanks,
Brian

I’ve been listening lately to Robert Kiyosaki’s Choose To Be Rich, and I have to say that it is outstanding.

Probably one of the top three book on building wealth I’ve come across, and as you know I’ve read (or listened to) a lot.

He gets into all sorts of topics in the book, but here are three ideas that stood out in my mind.

Hopefully you will find them as insightful as I did. They may even challenge some closely held ideas that you have!

1. Having Lots Of Money Doesn’t Make You Rich

   Being rich is much more about your mindset and your financial intelligence than it is about how much money you have.

   Take Richard Branson for example. The man is a billionaire, but if you took all that money away from him he would still have all the knowledge. He would still know how to start businesses, invest wisely, etc. In fact, if he had to start from zero today I’m quite sure Richard Branson would have lots of money again in less than five years.

   Take the opposite example though: what about a person who wins the lottery but doesn’t understand how to be rich? Is it any wonder that 1 in 3 lottery winners are flat broke in five years? Even though they had all the money in the world, they still had the mindset and financial intelligence of a poor person, so they lost their money. They were not “rich”.

   If you understand how to build wealth than you are rich, no matter how much money you have.

   A person who make $100,000 a year and spends $100,000 a year is not rich. They are thinking like a poor person and remaining stuck in the rat race. In fact, a person who makes $40,000 a year and invests $20,000 is richer.

2. Read the rest of this entry »
   
   

Sometimes people ask me questions like:
Why take the risk of quitting your job?

I was just listening to Brian Tracy speak in The Psychology of Achievement, and he phrases it better than I could have:

Every single peak performing human being, every single high achieving man or woman, has been a person who has thrown off the natural tendency to play it safe and stay within the comfort zone, and has continually tried to exceed their previous levels of accomplishment, has continually moved forward into the risk zone, to try something more and bigger and better and more important. Every single accomplishment in the history of man, has come from men and women who have had the courage to take the risks, to step out even though they had no guarantee or assurance of success.

I would go as far as to say that it is IMPOSSIBLE to reach your full potential as a human being while spending a third of your life working for someone else. Make a quick list of people who really changed the world, helped others, and were wildly successful. Did they have a 9-to-5 corporate job?

I also love what Brian Tracy has to say about failure. Most people don’t try, and those that do give up after the first or second time.

Read the rest of this entry »

I started re-reading one of my all time favorite books this week, The Richest Man In Babylon.

The principles to building wealth really haven’t changed much in several hundred years, and this book has been around forever. Building wealth isn’t that hard; just look at what successful people are doing and model it. Trying to do things your own way or taking advice from those without a proven track record is what gets you in trouble.

The book is told in parable form. Through some interesting characters and memorable stories the book is able to convey its lessons much more effectively than if they simply made a list of points to remember. Even if they are talking about building chariots and selling sheep, the lesson still applies to modern day. (Side Note: I find this is an effective technique in public speaking as well: make a point and then back it up with a personal story or anecdote. It really drives the point home.)

As an excerpt from one chapter, here are seven cures for a lean purse, which each contain a story behind them:

1. Start thy purse to fattening
2. Control thy expenditures
3. Make thy gold multiply
4. Guard thy treasures from loss
5. Make of thy dwelling a profitable investment
6. Insure a future income
7. Increase thy ability to earn

Highly recommended: check it out.