“I own my life. I set the terms. I take responsibility for my results.”
—Nik Halik and Garrett Gunderson, 5 Day Weekend
How to Finance the Life You Dream About
What would it be like to free yourself from the work grind AND have the money to do anything you want with your time?
Meet Nik Halik: a self-made multi-millionaire, wealth strategist, angel investor with businesses all over the world, and “adventure entrepreneur” who lives a lifestyle few can even imagine.
As a boy, Nik Halik was confined to his bedroom due to asthma and poor health. An Australian boy born into a Greek family, Nik fed his imagination in that lonely room with Brittanica Encyclopedias and Adventures of TinTin books. He dreamed of one-day accomplishing things that a boy from a family of modest means would have little chance of ever actually doing:
- Become an astronaut
- Climb the highest mountains of the world
- Witness the Titanic on the ocean floor
- Sleep in the Great Pyramid of Giza
- Become a rock star, and
- Travel the world and exploring over 100 countries.
At the age of 8, Nik wrote a list of ten such lofty goals. A few decades later, Nik has accomplished all but two of his original goals:
- Walk on the moon, and
- Go to the international space station on a rocket and live there.
Nik is now a cosmonaut who is the “alternate” for just such a space station journey, and Nik has a plan to get to the moon one way or another: when Nik’s life on earth is done, his cremated remains will be sent there.
“I reject the grind of 9 to 5. I escape the oppression of time clocks and bosses, commuting and cubicles.”
How did Nik create such a life? Our colleague and friend, Garrett Gunderson, just co-wrote a book with Nik that gives the roadmap. We heartily recommend to you 5-Day Weekend: Freedom to Make Your Life Rich with Purpose.
Five Day Weekend challenges myths about jobs and security and creates an inviting new paradigm of possibility. It is broad in scope with practical suggestions on everything from goal setting, personal growth “hacks,” handling debt and insurance efficiently, passive income strategies and inspiration for re-thinking your legacy.
If you enjoyed the time-and-lifestyle transforming strategies of The Four-Hour Work Week, appreciate the contrarian thinking of Robert Kiyosaki or our own Prosperity Economics books, or consider yourself an entrepreneurial thinker committed to an extraordinary life that defies the status quo—this book is for you.
“I am the master of my fate, the determiner of my destiny. I live by design, not by default.”
The quotes above and below are from the “5 Day Weekend Manifesto” in the book. (Much of the manifesto is sprinkled throughout this article to give you a “taste” of the ideas and inspiration in the book.)
Nik and Garrett argue that job security is a myth in the fast-changing work world, and surveys point out that the majority of Americans don’t like their jobs anyway. Too many people spend their lives working a job they hate so that they can one day retire at an elderly age and drink pina coladas on a beach. (That is if they are still healthy enough to travel and can even afford to luxuriate on a beach.)
The authors assert that “your real dream job does not exist. You must create it.” Don’t wait and hope for a promotion or a new opportunity—make it yourself.
Both Halik and Gunderson have done exactly that.
Garrett Gunderson began his first business at the age of 15, winning the SBA’s “Young Entrepreneur of the Year” award. By age 26, he was a multi-millionaire. Today, he is a recognized financial educator and the founder and CEO of The Wealth Factory, a company that specializes in creating more cash flow for entrepreneurs.
Nik Halik (whose story and “voice” prevails in much of the book) began his first business at age 14 when he started teaching guitar lessons. At 17, he sold his business and used the proceeds to relocate himself to Los Angeles and attend the prestigious Guitar Institute of Technology (now Musician’s Institute). Soon he was in demand as a lead guitarist and touring the world in opening acts for Bon Jovi and Deep Purple. “Become a rock star”? Check.
“I do not yearn for security but hunger for freedom.”
Being a professional musician was time-consuming, with endless rehearsals, gigs, and tours. It didn’t leave Nik a lot of time for mountain climbing or becoming an astronaut. Some rock stars live only for the moment and burn through the money they make, but Nik was different.
He took a hefty portion of his earnings and started investing for cash flow. He bought his first property at age 19, building a business on the side that would eventually buy his freedom. By the time he left the music business, Nik was making twice as much from his properties as from his band.
The book focuses on three types of freedom: financial freedom, time freedom, and location freedom. It gives financial strategies to free you from full-time work, and personal strategies for developing the personal strength and discipline to achieve extraordinary results.
“I build businesses for cash flow, while others slave at jobs for a salary.”
Halik and Gunderson assert that we can never earn our way to freedom by doing what most Americans do—working at a job and putting aside a small percentage of earnings into savings and investments. (That formula only traps us into a lifetime of earning and paying taxes.)
Rather, we must use an entrepreneurial mindset to raise our incomes and invest for cash flow now—not decades in our future. As we build passive and semi-passive income, we can free ourselves from the typical work week and accelerate the process.
Not unlike Robert Kiyosaki’s “Cashflow Quadrant” in his book of the same name, Five Day Weekend guides us from the lifestyle (and tax structure) of an Employee or Self-Employed person to a Business Owner and (ideally) Investor. The cash flow quadrant identifies the four different types of people who make up the world of work and business. Progressing from the left side of the quadrant to the right, we gain control over how we spend our most important asset—our time.
Halik and Gunderson frame the journey to freedom as a function of increasing one’s Passive Income Ratio, or PIR. The first goal—after building up your savings—is to cover your monthly expenses with passive income. Rather than spending decades achieving this in “retirement,” the authors (and Prosperity Economics) urge you to invest for cash flow rather than accumulation.
Once your basic expenses are covered, your goal is to keep increasing your PIR. Earn twice your monthly expenses in passive income, and you’ll increase your freedom. Develop side projects that earn five or ten times your expenses and you’ll afford a life most only dream about.
“I create wealth by investing in assets, while others create liability on credit.”
Most people get “trapped” in a job and never reach financial freedom because they fund the lifestyle they want with their active income (from their job, salary, or business they work in full-time). Although they may accumulate a portion of their pay towards an eventual retirement, they never develop passive income streams that can free up their time.
Five Day Weekend gives many real-life stories and suggestions for maximizing cash flow through restructuring finances, investing and creating passive income businesses, some which can be done with small dollar amounts. While all of the ideas won’t be for everybody, there is something for everyone.
Chapter 9 discusses the Foundation of your wealth, what Gunderson calls The Rockefeller Formula. This shows the advantages of using an overfunded whole life policy for long-term savings instead of traditional banking, a strategy recommended and used by Prosperity Economics advisors.
Garrett gives specific examples of how to use a “Cash Flow Insurance policy,” as he calls it:
- Buy into businesses
- Provide a down payment for a cash-flowing real estate investment
- Pay off credit cards
- Invest in a business expansion or equipment
- Protect yourself against the financial disruption of emergencies
- Obtain long-term care benefits and life insurance benefits in one policy by obtaining a life insurance policy with a long-term care benefit rider.
“I am willing to do what others will not do, to get what others will not enjoy.”
5 Day Weekend is not a “get rich quick scheme,” but a strategy for anyone willing to put in several years of hustle, hard work and learning to create freedom and fulfillment. Halik and Gunderson teach you to create a goose that lays golden eggs—passive income streams—and to fund your dream lifestyle with that.
The book is an excellent primer on passive income and creating cash flow. More passive income sources include ventures and investments such as:
- earning royalties
- selling intellectual property
- investing in real estate, bridge loans and land leases
- energy development such as oil and gas
- subscription-based businesses and
- owning businesses with minimal management, in which you create an idea, invest your dollars, and hire a team that runs the business for you.
The book has entire chapters on real estate investing for cash flow, passive income businesses, and alternative investments.
“I produce and create, initiate and innovate. I live boldly, while wisely managing risks.”
5 Day Weekend is not just a book about financial strategies; it contains valuable insights on personal development and the person you will have to become to create a life of freedom.
There are chapters on strengthening your mindset, building your inner circle, maintaining the habits necessary for high achievement, and amplifying your energy throughout the day. These “hacks” really do work!
“I live not for retirement, but for purpose. I develop my gifts and talents and leverage them to create value for others and fulfillment for myself.”
Five Day Weekend is as much about purpose and fulfillment as it is about financial freedom. There is an entire section on living your purpose that will help you clarify what’s important to you, get “unstuck,” and find what inspires you. You’ll learn how to maximize your productivity, create adventure, and let go of what doesn’t serve you and your purpose.
When it comes to choosing financial opportunities, the book offers an “Income Opportunity Score Sheet” and a formula for finding a “winning idea” that will be fulfilling as well as profitable. (They also have great resources on their website, 5DayWeekend.com, such as a 48-point Idea Optimizer and a Real Estate Cash Flow calculator. You’ll find codes inside the book to access the resources.)
“I have one life to live, and I intend to live it fully… I dare to dream and live with passion.”
Kalik and Gunderson’s book will inspire you to be more fully and purposeful, give more to others, and live without regrets. Our whole Prosperity Economics Movement team is reading it, and we recommend it.
“I live the life I love.”
That’s what it’s all about. If you “win” the money game at the expense of the life you want, you’ve taken the wrong path. Prosperity is about having abundance in every area of life. Create a lifestyle that you find truly fulfilling, and use the strategies in 5 Day Weekend to fund it.
Need help to implement?
We hope you enjoyed this review. If you don’t already have a Prosperity Economics advisor, reach out to us for assistance. We can help you find utilize the Rockefeller Formula and find cash-flowing investments that can help you achieve your most important goals sooner.
