Let me ask you a question.
What if you could retire in 1-2 years?
What would you do with your life?
In the past, retirement took 30 or more years to achieve.
People would work their entire adult lives, saving just enough to finally stop working in their 60s or 70s.
But times have changed. Thanks to technology and smarter strategies, many people now retire in 10–20 years.
That’s a massive improvement, but it’s still a long time to wait.
What if you could retire in 1–2 years?
Sounds impossible, right? Well, it’s not.
That’s how long it took me to retire.
The truth is, with the right approach, you can break free from the grind much sooner than
you think.
Why Trading Time for Money Will Keep You Broke
The problem most people face is that they trade time for money. Or if you’re an entrepreneur you trade work for money.
Whether you work a job or run your own business, you only make money when you're working.
And if you’re not working? The income dries up fast.
Many entrepreneurs leave their 9-to-5 jobs hoping for more freedom. But they often find themselves just as stuck. They become slaves to their businesses, hustling harder than ever, and if they stop working, the money stops too.
When they want to retire, there’s a huge gap between their income and savings. And, unlike traditional employees, who may at least have a 401K or pension - most entrepreneurs have no safety net.
So unless you’re saving a large chunk of your income every year (which few entrepreneurs are), there’s no hope of retirement.
The Shocking Truth About Modern Retirement
But retirement today isn’t about sitting around, growing old, and watching TV all day.
The new retirement is about financial freedom.
This means you have the freedom to do what you want, when you want, and with whomever you want.
It’s not about age. It’s about having enough money coming in to cover all your living expenses, savings, and investments—without needing to work.
Unfortunately, most entrepreneurs never experience this freedom. Their income is tied to their work. They need to hustle just to survive.
And if they stop working, they stop making money.
So, instead of working for a boss, they become a slave to their own business. It’s like trading one hamster wheel for another—except this new wheel has no benefits, no insurance, and no end in sight.
This isn’t the entrepreneurial dream, is it? It’s just a nightmare in disguise.
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The Real Reason Most Entrepreneurs Burn Out
Now, most entrepreneurs think they can solve their problems by working harder. If they just hustle more, get more clients, or land bigger contracts, they’ll finally make enough money to stop working.
But that’s a dangerous lie.
When you work harder, you usually end up with more customers. And more customers mean more work, more hours, and more stress.
Suddenly, you’ve traded one boss at your job for a hundred bosses—your clients.
Others hope they’ll hit it big with a groundbreaking idea that will rake in cash. But 90% of businesses fail within a few years.
Banking on striking gold is like buying a lottery ticket and hoping to win.
Even those who succeed and grow their businesses think they can just hire more people and their workload will get lighter. But the truth is, as your business grows, so do the headaches.
Managing people, systems, and customer expectations takes even more time and effort.In the end, you’re working more hours than ever before, with no clear path to real freedom.
It’s a vicious cycle. One that leaves many entrepreneurs frustrated, burned out, and nowhere close to retiring early.
The Secret to Retiring in 1-2 Years
The good news is that there is a solution and it is shockingly simple: Stop trading your time and effort for money.Instead, put your time and effort into building assets—things that generate income without relying on you to constantly work.
An asset is something that makes you money even while you sleep. It could be a rental property, a book you wrote, a YouTube channel, or an online course.
The idea is that once you create or acquire the asset, it keeps working for you, providing steady income over time.
In short, stop working for money and start making your money work for you.
By creating or acquiring the right assets, you can finally escape the endless cycle of hustle.
You’ll have more time, more freedom, and—best of all—the ability to retire much earlier than you ever thought possible.
Why This Works (and Always Will)
Entrepreneurship often depends on you being involved. You only make money when you’re putting in the work.
But with assets, the game changes. Assets keep making money whether you’re working or not. They don’t take sick days, and they don’t need vacations.
They can even appreciate in value over time, which means they become more valuable the longer you hold them.
Take real estate as an example. If you buy a rental property, it will generate rental income month after month.
Plus, the property will likely appreciate over time, making it worth more in the future.You don’t have to be there to collect rent or manage the property every single day.
But there’s even better news. In today’s digital age, you don’t have to rely on physical assets like real estate.
You can build digital assets that generate income and grow in value.
For example, I wrote a children’s book series based on the Minecraft video game. At first, I wrote 18 books, which have been making me money for years now.
I don’t have to do any more work for them. They continue to sell, and I collect the royalties.
Even better, I licensed those books to global publishers, and I’ve hired a ghostwriter to write more for me. We’re up to 50 books now, and all of them are bringing in more income.
Those books are assets. They generate money without me having to lift a finger. That’s financial freedom—and that’s why this solution works.
How Financial Freedom Changes Your Life
Imagine this: you wake up in the morning, and while you sip your coffee, your assets are already making you money.
No more trading time for dollars. No more stressing about bills or burnout. This is what financial freedom looks like.
When you build assets, you gain back your time. You can spend more time with your family, travel the world, or dive into passions and hobbies you never had time for before.
And the best part? Your assets keep growing in value over time, making you wealthier while you enjoy your life.
This kind of leverage is powerful. It means you’re no longer stuck in the cycle of hustling for every penny.
Your money and assets multiply themselves, and you’re finally free to live life on your own terms.
How I Retired in 7 Months
This was my experience. But it didn’t start out that way.
I was an entrepreneur for 10 years, and I struggled. I was stuck in the hustle, barely making ends meet, even though I worked harder than ever.
One day, my mentor gave me advice that changed everything. He told me: “You’re making a mistake. You’re trading your time and effort for money.”
Confused, I asked him what I should be doing instead. He said, “You need to build assets.
There are three kinds of assets you need:
Assets that generate income—like an ebook or course that keeps selling.
Assets that appreciate in value—like crypto or a business you can sell later.
Assets that lead to the other two—like a big email list or a network of valuable connections.”
So, I followed his advice.
I shifted my focus to building assets, and 7 months later, I was able to retire.
It wasn’t magic—it was simply building the right assets that freed me from the grind.
A Step-by-Step Plan to Build Your Own Assets
So here is a step by step plan that will help you go from trading time and effort for money, to building assets that will bring you money, time, and freedom.
1. Assets that generate income
These are like mini-businesses that keep making money long after you’ve created them.For example, my Minecraft children’s books still bring in royalties every month.
Other examples include:
Writing ebooks or creating courses that sell on platforms like Udemy or Teachable.
Affiliate marketing articles on popular sites.
YouTube or TikTok videos that generate ad revenue.
Selling products through Amazon FBA, where Amazon handles most of the work.
2. Assets that appreciate in value
These are assets that become more valuable over time.
For instance, I built an AI-powered app that gives business advice based on ChatGPT. As ChatGPT improves, the app becomes more valuable.
Other examples include:
Building a business with digital assets that someone else will want to buy.
Cryptocurrency like Bitcoin, which appreciates over time due to scarcity and demand.The longer you hold these assets, the more valuable they become.
3. Assets that lead to the first two
These are assets that open up more opportunities for your assets to grow in income or appreciation.
Think of things like:
A large email list full of potential customers.
A highly engaged social media following.
A network of influencers or business connections.
These types of assets give you the leverage to build more income-generating or appreciating assets.
4. Leverage Automation and Virtual Assistants
Last, let systems, technology and virtual assistants do all the heavy lifting for you.
Automated email campaigns, AI-generated content, or running ads that sell your products without your input can multiply your efforts.
Expert virtual assistants can do all of the leg work for you. You just come up with the idea and they will execute on them.
The more you automate and delegate, the less you have to be involved, and the more your assets can scale.
Action Plan: How to Start Building Your Freedom Today
Here’s how to get started building your assets:
Find a problem to solve: Identify a need in your market that you can address with a product, ebook, or digital course.
Create or acquire an asset: Write a book, start an online course, or open an e-commerce store.
Automate and delegate everything: Set up automation for emails, marketing, fulfillment and VA contractors to keep your assets generating income without your constant effort.
Diversify into value-appreciating assets: Invest in crypto, start a valuable app, or build a business that can be sold later.
Grow your network: Build a large email list, social following, or influencer network to expand your reach and grow your future assets.
Your Roadmap to Retiring Early
Retiring early isn’t about luck or working yourself into the ground. It’s about building assets that free you from the need to work.
When you stop trading time and effort for money and focus on creating income-generating and value-appreciating assets, retirement becomes a reality—often much sooner than you thought.
Remember, I was able to retire in 7 months, and you can too.
So why wait to retire 10 years from now, when you can be financially free today.
It’s time to take the next step.
To your success:
Will Peña, MBA
P.S.Ready to start building the assets that will set you free?
Check out our Passive Income Made Easy Webinar today to learn the strategies that will help you achieve financial freedom in record time: Join here.
TL;DR
Most people (and entrepreneurs) are trapped trading time and effort for money.
To retire early, you need to build income-generating and value-appreciating assets.
Examples of assets include: ebooks, online courses, YouTube channels, cryptocurrency, and an email list.
I followed this strategy and retired in just 7 months.
If you change your focus to building assets rather than working for income you can retire early too.
Want to learn how? Join our Passive Income Made Easy Webinar here.
For Weekly tips on how to make millions faster, join 277,000+ students on our free newsletter below:
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