10. Soul Freedom, Financial Freedom & Japanese One-Pot
Happy Wednesday!
Welcome to the tenth edition of this Newsletter where I set out to share perspective shifts and mindset reminders to help you find and follow your true nature along with quality foods and simple beauty I’ve found on the journey to following mine.
No matter your age or stage of life, it’s never too late to connect with your authentic self and soul because when you do you’ll find life gets easier, more dynamic, more joy-filled and more thrilling.
Following your true nature will make you smile more - promise!
In today’s newsletter, I’m sharing a reflection on financial resources - yes, that topic good parenting recommends we never speak about in public - and the real freedom it can provide.
I post multiple times on LinkedIn each week, so if you enjoy that platform, connect with me there, too.
Today you’ll also learn about one of my Japanese inspired one-pot meals. It’s quick, super nutritious, and will leave you light on your feet.
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And if you missed out on my introduction to this newsletter, click here.
This Week’s Reflection
I love conveniences. I especially love anything of high quality - whether a handbound leather journal, a tomato paste from the sun-kissed fields of Italy or the feel of impeccably sourced merino wool.
Financial freedom can, of course, buy a wealth of conveniences and lots of quality.
But what it can’t buy is the keys to your soul.
That’s where all the enduring joy, excitement and satisfaction we want is stored. In your soul.
Many of us get lured into the mindset that wealth can solve all problems and stresses and bring infinite joy.
But we all know that isn’t the whole truth.
If we start with a mindset that seeks to solve for soul instead of wealth, lots of good things start to happen.
Solving for soul means that we first pinpoint work that reflects our authentic talents and the values of our soul (not work that looks good in the eyes of others, boosts our social status or feeds our ego) and figure out how it can be scaled in the marketplace and next, accumulate the financial resources to help us make that happen.
After we get that machine working, additional financial resources then tend to accumulate as a byproduct of that soul-aligned work if we’re successful at scaling it.
Naval Ravikant conveys this idea quite eloquently. You can watch him here.
So, financial freedom isn’t the end goal, it’s merely an instrument to help us get to it.
To read more on financial freedom vs. soul freedom, visit my LinkedIn article here.
This Week’s Recipe: Japanese Inspired One-Pot Soup
On most days, I like eat the bulk of my nutrition at lunch. That means I try to get in my greens, protein, fiber, prebiotic and probiotic foods all in one sitting.
Here is a quick one-pot I throw together using a base of either dashi broth (I use dried dashi broth bags I get shipped from Japan) or a homemade chicken broth.
Below: Tatsoi, or Japanese/Asian greens, also known as Spinach Mustard
Ingredients
Broth of your choosing
Cooked rice or buckwheat soba noodles
Broccoli or broccoli rabe spears
Tatsoi leaves
Raw, minced red onions
1 garlic clove, minced
1 egg, fried in olive oil or ghee, chopped
Beans of your choosing (I often use garbanzo beans or black beans)
Condiments, to taste
Mirin
Tamari
Spicy Furikake
Ghee (if you want a nutritional boost)
Preparation
In a heavy bottomed sauce pan, simmer broth with broccoli and tatsoi for a few minutes - make sure broccoli is not overdone and still has a nice crunch to it - a few minutes. Remove from heat to a bowl, adding rice or noodles, egg, and remaining ingredients. Season with condiments, and enjoy!
Serves 1