By Ángel Luis López – The Nomad Build
Category: Mindset / Self-Mastery / Financial Freedom
Location: Tampa, Florida
Introduction
Most people think financial freedom starts with a raise, a promotion, or some big lucky break.
But the real turning point for me wasn’t a new income stream or a business idea.
It was the day I realized this:
I didn’t have a money problem.
I had a self-management problem.
In this episode, I talk about how discipline — tiny, simple, boring daily discipline — completely rewired the way I think, live, and handle money.
Financial freedom didn’t start in my bank account.
It started in my mind.
The Old Patterns: Spending to Avoid Yourself
There was a season in my life where food wasn’t the problem —
my habits were.
I wasn’t eating because I was hungry.
I was eating because I was restless, bored, anxious…
and honestly, I didn’t want to go home and sit alone with my own thoughts.
A typical day looked like this:
- Breakfast on the road
- Lunch out somewhere convenient
- Takeout or something quick for dinner
Not because I couldn’t cook,
but because staying busy and “on the go” felt easier than sitting in silence.
I wasn’t blowing money on one big luxury splurge.
I was leaking money, slowly:
- Coffee here
- Fast food there
- Snacks I didn’t need
- “Little” expenses that added up
Looking back, it wasn’t about food, taste, or convenience.
It was about avoiding discipline…
avoiding structure…
avoiding myself.
Silence exposes you.
And at that point in my life, silence felt like a threat.
So I stayed loud.
I stayed moving.
I stayed spending.
And like a lot of people, I told myself:
“I just don’t make enough to save.”
But that wasn’t true.
The truth was:
I didn’t respect my own energy enough to direct it.
The Reset: Less Comfort, More Clarity
When things fell apart and I had to reset my life, I didn’t get an upgrade.
I got less.
- Less comfort
- Less space
- Less ego
- Less distraction
No more waterfront luxury.
No more pretending.
No more living like everything was fine when it wasn’t.
Just a simpler place, a simpler life,
and a lot more time alone with my thoughts.
And in that season, I did something different.
Not a massive transformation.
Not a perfect “5 AM grind” routine.
Just small disciplines, done daily:
- Pushups, pullups, and situps
- Setting a number and actually finishing it
- Choosing a simple diet I could stick to
- Cooking instead of always eating out
- Saying no to impulsive spending
It wasn’t glamorous.
It wasn’t exciting.
But it was consistent.
And that changed everything.
When Discipline Starts Talking Back
The first proof that discipline was working didn’t show up in my wallet.
It showed up in my body.
On the days I stuck to my plan:
- I felt lighter
- Less bloated
- Less gassy
- More energy
- Clearer thoughts
On the days I broke it:
- I felt heavy
- Sluggish
- Irritated
- Foggy
The same thing happened with working out.
When I honored my commitment to move every day, my back hurt less.
My posture improved.
My confidence went up.
When I skipped it, my body reminded me quickly.
I realized something huge:
Every time I honored my word to myself, life got a little better.
Every time I broke my word to myself, life got a little worse.
Discipline stopped being this harsh, rigid concept.
It became a signal:
- Keep your word → you grow.
- Break your word → you stall.
It wasn’t about perfection.
It was about who I was becoming through the actions I repeated.
Discipline creates the version of you that you always wished you could be.
Lack of discipline creates the version of you that you’re always trying to escape from.
When the Mind Shifts, Money Follows
Once I saw discipline changing my body and mindset,
I started noticing the same pattern with money.
Every time I:
- Cooked at home instead of eating out
- Skipped an impulse purchase
- Chose to stay home and work instead of going out just to “do something”
my situation improved.
My account grew.
My stress lowered.
My options increased.
It wasn’t a miracle.
It was math — driven by behavior.
Most people think they’re stuck because of income.
But a lot of the time, it’s not income.
It’s impulse.
We say:
“I can’t save. I don’t make enough.”
But often the real truth is:
“I don’t control my urges enough to save.”
And that distinction matters.
Because if the problem is income, you’re waiting on someone else.
If the problem is impulse, you can start fixing it today.
Cutting the Noise: Protecting Your Attention
One of the biggest changes in my life wasn’t just what I ate or how I spent.
It was what I paid attention to.
I started to notice how much of my time and mental energy went to:
- Scrolling social media
- Watching other people’s lives
- Getting pulled into drama and opinions that had nothing to do with me
So I made a decision a lot of people are scared to make:
I deleted my personal social media.
Not just a weekend detox.
Not a temporary “break.”
I removed the apps and stepped away from the constant noise.
The result?
- My confidence in real life interactions increased
- I stopped comparing my journey to someone else’s highlight reel
- I suddenly had more time
- And more importantly — more mental clarity
I realized:
If you are always consuming other people’s lives,
you’ll never have the energy to build your own.
We think we’re “tired of life,”
but most of the time, we’re tired from overstimulation.
Once I cut a lot of that digital noise,
I stopped trying to control everything around me
and started controlling the one thing I actually can:
Myself.
Discipline Is Directed Energy
Here’s how I see it now:
Every morning, you wake up with a limited amount of energy.
That energy is going to go somewhere.
Into discipline — or into distraction.
Into building — or into escaping.
Into your future — or into your impulses.
Discipline isn’t punishment.
It’s directed energy.
It’s choosing:
- “I’m going to move my body,” instead of “I’m going to scroll.”
- “I’m going to cook,” instead of “I’m going to blow money on food I don’t need.”
- “I’m going to sit with myself,” instead of “I’m going to run from my thoughts.”
Every time you choose the harder, better option,
you place another brick in the foundation of your future.
Over time, those bricks become:
- A healthier body
- A stronger mindset
- A more stable financial life
- A deeper sense of peace and self-respect
Once you taste that,
chasing little hits of temporary pleasure doesn’t feel satisfying anymore.
It feels cheap.
This Week’s Challenge
I don’t want this to just be something you listen to and forget.
So here’s your challenge for the next 7 days:
1. Pick ONE physical discipline
Some ideas:
- 30 pushups a day
- A 20-minute walk every day
- 3 sets of situps or core work
Not extreme. Just non-negotiable.
2. Pick ONE financial discipline
For example:
- No eating out — cook every meal this week
- No impulse online purchases
- Set a daily spending limit and track it
3. Pick ONE digital discipline
Choose something like:
- Delete one social media app from your phone for a week
- No scrolling in bed
- No screens after a certain time at night
Write all three down on a piece of paper and put it where you’ll see it every day.
Every time you feel the urge to break one of them, remind yourself:
You’re not just breaking a rule.
You’re casting a vote for who you are becoming.
Closing Thought
Financial freedom didn’t start for me the day I made more money.
It started the day I stopped lying to myself.
The day I stopped saying “I can’t”
when the truth was
“I won’t.”
You don’t have to transform your whole life overnight.
You just have to prove to yourself — one week at a time —
that you can be trusted with your own potential.
Because the real “rich life” isn’t something you buy.
It’s something you build —
one disciplined choice at a time.🎧 Listen to the full episode: Episode 4 – Financial Freedom Starts in Your Mind
(Available soon on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube.)
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