Liberty · Pace and routine · lesson 11.1 open
What liberty is, in numbers
Geographic and time freedom become three numbers you measure today: hourly income, hours per week, and days away per year.
Promise: by the end of this lesson you will have your liberty baseline in three numbers—measured, not estimated.
Why it matters
"I want to be free" cannot be improved. Three numbers can. Liberty is the goal of the club and the consequence of the other two pillars: Mastery and Value only matter if they turn into time and place.
The three numbers
| Number | How to measure | What it shows |
|---|---|---|
| Hourly income | monthly net income divided by hours worked in the month (actual hours, not contract hours) | what each of your hours is truly worth |
| Hours per week | sum of actual hours over 7 days, including email, meetings, and on-call | how much of your week work takes up |
| Days away per year | days you spent (or can spend) away from your home base, working normally | the extent of your geographic freedom |
The idea of measuring wealth by hourly income rather than monthly or annual earnings comes from The 4-Hour Workweek (Tim Ferriss): two people with the same monthly income are very different if one works twice as many hours. Only the core idea applies here, not the "four-hour" promise.
Illustrative example
| Person A | Person B | |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly net income | R$ 20.000 | R$ 15.000 |
| Hours per week | 80 | 30 |
| Hours per month (×4.33) | ~346 | ~130 |
| Hourly income | ~R$ 58 | ~R$ 115 |
Person B earns less per month and is twice as rich per hour. Fabricated numbers to illustrate the calculation.
Over 7 days, log your actual working hours. At the end, calculate the three numbers using the Income per free hour tool and save the result with the date. That is your baseline.
Using contract hours instead of actual hours; forgetting off-hours email and meeting time; comparing one person's gross income with another's net income.
Checklist
- Do I have the three numbers measured across an actual week?
- Do I know which of the three is furthest from what I want?
Sources: idea of relative income: The 4-Hour Workweek, Tim Ferriss (2007; expanded ed. 2009). Example: illustrative, unrelated to anyone's actual income.
Checked on 09/10/2026. Educational content; tax and legal: confirm with a professional.