🎙️ Episode 3 : The Power of Less

By Ángel Luis López – The Nomad Build

Category: Mindset / Self-Mastery / Financial Freedom
Location: Tampa, Florida

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Introduction

Most people think freedom starts when you make more money.

For me, it started the day I gave up the waterfront apartment, packed my life into a few bags, and laid a blow-up mattress on my brother’s floor.

No balcony view.
No designer furniture.
No image to protect.

Just me, a plastic mattress that went half-flat in the middle of the night, and a quiet room that echoed with my thoughts.

Minimalism wasn’t an aesthetic choice.
It was survival.
And it rewired my mind in ways I never expected.

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From Waterfront Views to a Blow-Up Mattress

I had spent three years living in a waterfront apartment — the kind of place people post on Instagram to look successful.

Then I walked away from it all and moved into my brother’s spare room.

Suddenly, I went from “the guy on the water with the boat”
to “the grown man sleeping on a blow-up mattress in someone else’s house.”

It was humbling.
It was uncomfortable.
And it was exactly what I needed.

The mattress would slowly deflate at night until my back hit the floor.
I shared a bathroom.
I had no real space to cook.
I felt like a burden — like I was in the way.

So instead of hanging around the house, I left early and came back late.

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When You Have Nothing, You Stop Hiding

With no distractions, no parties, and no “lifestyle” to maintain, all I had left was my work.

I started waking up around 5–6 a.m. and treating every day like it mattered:

• Calling old customers I’d neglected
• Following up on leads I had almost forgotten
• Doing any service call or small job I could find
• Running errands, organizing, rebuilding my systems

Honestly, my business wasn’t even a real business at that point.
I had burned bridges by not being reliable.
The phone wasn’t ringing much.

But when the ball has stopped rolling, the hardest part is getting it moving again.
And that’s when you find out who you really are:

Quitter or builder.

I chose builder.

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The Shame, the Isolation… and the Shift

Living in someone else’s house at that age came with a quiet shame.

I didn’t want to be in the kitchen “too long.”
I didn’t want to feel like I was taking up space.

So at first, I ate like crap — cheap food, one meal a day, whatever was quick.

Eventually I started stocking simple things:
water crackers, canned sardines, canned sausages.

It wasn’t glamorous.
But it was fuel.

And in the middle of that isolation something unexpected started happening:

The quieter my life became on the outside,
the louder my truth became on the inside.

Those lonely nights?
They turned into the most important conversations I’ve ever had — with myself.

I started asking:

• Why do I feel the need to always be out?
• Why do I reach for my phone when I feel anxious?
• Why do I want to spend money the moment I have some?

The silence exposed my programming.
It showed me how much of my life had been an automatic reaction to emptiness.

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Letting Go of Weight to Gain Momentum

During that season I still had the financed car — the “nice” one.

Payments were behind.
The finance company was calling, threatening repossession and even jail.

I had already paid over $20,000 in payments…
and somehow still owed around $20,000.

The car was probably worth about $12,000 on the used market.
The math was insane.

So I made a hard choice:

• Two months of discipline to save for a simple second-hand cash car
• Then I turned in the financed car and walked away

A month after that, I saved enough to move out of my brother’s house into a cheaper apartment — no view, no hype, just mine.

When I left the waterfront apartment, I sold my furniture instead of paying for storage.
I used that money to pay down debt.

In the new place, I went full minimalist.

Instead of rushing to Ikea and putting more on a card,
I opened Craigslist — the free section.

I found:

• A dresser
• A sofa
• A TV
• A dining table and chairs

Most of it just needed cleaning, paint, or new fabric.
I reupholstered the chairs myself with discount fabric.

The only thing I bought new was a mattress in a box.
I could sleep on a free couch — but I wasn’t about to sleep on a stranger’s old mattress.

It wasn’t pretty.
But it was mine.
And it was paid for.

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When Less Stuff = More Clarity

Months went by.

No club nights.
No random shopping “just because.”
No “I deserve this” purchases.

I was cooking at home.
I was staying in.
I was focused.

Some nights, the cravings hit hard —
Cravings for food, for company, for distraction.

But I stayed with the discomfort.

Because here’s what I learned:

When you stop numbing your mind, your mind starts telling you the truth.

I started hearing God more clearly.
My thoughts slowed down.
I could actually see the patterns:

• The impulse to go out every weekend
• The urge to buy something when I felt stressed
• The need to reach out to people who weren’t good for me, just to not feel alone

Minimalism wasn’t just about having fewer things.
It was about having fewer excuses to avoid my own reflection.

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The Compound Effect of Simple Choices

Within that first year of living simple, staying focused, and not trying to impress anyone…

I saved $30,000.

No miracle.
No lottery.
Just:

• No financed car
• No unnecessary subscriptions
• No “flex” purchases
• Cooking at home
• Staying busy with purpose

A year later, the discipline continued paying off:

I used those savings — and the momentum that came with them — to buy my first apartment, cash.
A rental property.
An asset instead of another liability.

That’s the power of less:

Every “no” you say to a small impulse
becomes a “yes” to a bigger future.

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The Old Habits That Try to Come Back

I won’t lie and say the temptations disappeared.

As my bank account grew, sometimes I’d catch myself scrolling for things I didn’t need:

• Cars
• Gadgets
• Vacations
• Things that would “look good”

The old voice would try to come back:

“You’ve worked hard. You deserve it.”

But each time, I’d ask:

Do I want to look rich…
or do I want to be free?

Because that’s the real battle.

Most people stay stuck because they keep trading tomorrow’s freedom
for today’s approval.

Minimalism kept me honest.
It reminded me that every dollar has a job:

Either it builds your future…
or it pays for your denial.

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What Minimalism + Isolation Really Gave Me

It wasn’t just money.

Living with less gave me:

• Clarity – I could finally see what mattered
• Discipline – I learned to sit with discomfort instead of running from it
• Confidence – I didn’t need stuff or status to feel like a man
• Peace – My life was simple, my bills were low, my mind was quiet

But maybe the biggest gift was this:

I stopped needing people’s approval
and started respecting my own.

When you’re alone in a quiet room with very little around you,
you realize something powerful:

God didn’t put you here incomplete.
You were already given everything you need to build a powerful life —
inside you.

The stuff was just in the way.

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This Week’s Exercise – Your “Power of Less” Reset

I want to leave you with something practical.

This week, do three things:

1. Pick one room or corner in your home and strip it down.
   Remove everything that’s not essential.
   Clean it. Organize it. Make it simple and calm.
2. Choose one expense to eliminate for 30 days.
   It could be eating out, ordering delivery, a subscription, or a “fun” habit that drains your account.
   Track how much you don’t spend.
3. Schedule one hour of intentional isolation.
   No phone, no TV, no music.
   Just you, a notebook, and your thoughts.
   Ask yourself:
   • What am I running from?
   • Where is my money really going?
   • What do I actually want my life to look like in 3 years?

Write down whatever comes up.
No filter. No judgment.

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Food for Thought

“If your life feels heavy, it’s not because you’re weak.
It’s because you’re carrying things that were never meant to be yours.”

You don’t need a bigger paycheck to start your freedom build.

You need a smaller load.

Less noise.
Less ego.
Less pretending.

More honesty.
More discipline.
More intentional living.

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Closing Thought

If this episode spoke to you, share it with someone who feels stuck in the cycle of “looking successful” but feeling empty.

And remember:

You don’t become free by adding more.
You become free by subtracting what keeps you from who you really are.

🎧 Listen to the full episode: Episode 3 – The Power of Less
(Available soon on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube.)