Table of Contents
Chapter One: The Price of Freedom
Felix gripped the steering wheel as he turned onto the gravel driveway, his tires crunching over loose stones. The house ahead of him was smaller than he expected—just a one-story place with an overgrown garden and a beat-up Ford truck parked out front. It didn’t look like the home of a man who had figured out the secret to making money without selling his soul.
But then again, nothing about Jasper Endel seemed to fit expectations.
Felix had spent the past week stewing over a single thought—a thought that had gnawed at him like a splinter he couldn’t pull out.
His friend Milo had sold out.
Milo, the guy who used to mock corporate life, who swore he’d never trade his creativity for a paycheck. The guy who once lived out of a backpack, same as Felix. Now?
Now, Milo had a sleek new condo in Austin, a Tesla, and a startup salary that made Felix’s bank account look like a joke.
And the thing that unsettled him most? Milo seemed happy.
Not dead-eyed and hollow, not crushed under the weight of compromise. Happy. He went to meetings, sent invoices, built things that people paid for. And somehow, he had convinced himself it wasn’t selling out—it was just smart.
Felix didn’t resent Milo’s happiness. If anything, he wanted that for him. But it raised a question he hadn’t been able to shake: Had Milo figured something out that he hadn’t?
Felix had spent years believing that chasing money led to emptiness, that there was more to life than climbing some financial ladder. But now, standing at a crossroads, he had to ask himself: What if I was wrong?
That thought had brought him here.
He parked the car and killed the engine. For a moment, he just sat there, watching Jasper work in the yard. The old man was kneeling in the dirt, planting something in a raised garden bed. He moved with a slow, unrushed confidence, like someone who had nowhere else to be.
Felix stepped out of the car, gravel shifting under his boots. He wasn’t sure how to start, so he just said, “If you’re about to tell me money doesn’t matter, I’ll turn around and leave right now.”
Jasper didn’t look up. “Then why’d you drive all this way?”
Felix exhaled. “Because I need to learn how to make money without hating my life.”
Jasper sat back on his heels, brushing dirt from his hands. “Then you must already have everything else.”
Felix folded his arms. “I wouldn’t be here if I did.”
Jasper studied him. “So what’s missing?”
Felix hesitated, then sighed. “I’ve lived well. I’ve traveled. I’ve had incredible experiences. I’ve chased meaning. But money—” He shook his head. “Money is the thing that keeps forcing me to compromise. Either I do something I hate to make it, or I keep struggling while I avoid it. I want to know if there’s a way to have both—money and freedom.”
Jasper wiped his hands on his jeans and stood. “You’re not asking how to make money,” he said. “You’re asking how to do it without regret.”
Felix felt something shift inside him. A recognition. Jasper had named the exact problem he hadn’t been able to put into words.
Jasper nodded toward the porch. “Come inside. I just made coffee.”
Inside the House
The place was simple, but not poor. There was no clutter, no signs of struggle—just intention. A wooden table sat in the center of the room, next to a large window that let in the morning light. A whiteboard hung on the wall, filled with handwritten notes:
- The cost of ownership is often higher than the cost of purchase—choose what you own wisely.
- Wealth is built through ownership, not labor.
- Every dollar you earn should be a worker, not a prisoner.
- The cost of stability is lower than the cost of survival.
- Money doesn’t make freedom. The ability to walk away does.
Felix read them, intrigued.
“You think about this stuff a lot?” he asked, nodding at the board.
Jasper poured two cups of coffee. “I think about what matters.”
He set a mug in front of Felix and sat down. “Tell me,” Jasper said, “how do you define wealth?”
Felix considered the question. “To live freely. To experience deeply. To never be owned by another.”
Jasper took a sip of coffee. “And yet, you drove all the way here because something’s missing.”
Felix exhaled. “Yeah. Because I just watched my friend sell out and win.”
Jasper raised an eyebrow.
Felix shook his head. “We used to talk about not chasing money. About how life is more than work, more than climbing some financial ladder. And now? He’s got a salary, a condo, a car. He’s making real money, and he’s fine. Not miserable. Not stuck. Just… fine.”
Jasper tilted his head. “And that bothers you?”
Felix hesitated. “I don’t know. Maybe? It just makes me wonder if I’ve been fighting something that doesn’t need to be fought. What if I’ve been making this harder than it has to be?”
Jasper leaned back in his chair. “You believe money and freedom are enemies?”
Felix frowned. “Aren’t they?”
Jasper smiled slightly. “No. You only think so because you’ve never seen money used as it was meant to be used.”
Felix leaned forward, frustration bubbling to the surface. “Every way I’ve tried to make money just kills the joy.” His voice was sharper now. “Either it drains the life out of me, or it pays too little to matter. It’s always one or the other.”
Jasper nodded, as if he’d heard this before. “You think you’ve tried everything?”
Felix’s jaw tightened. “If there was a way to do this right, I would’ve figured it out by now.”
Jasper studied him for a long moment, then reached into a desk drawer and pulled out a small leather pouch. He dropped it onto the table with a soft, weighty thud.
Felix raised an eyebrow. “What’s this?”
Jasper leaned back. “Ten grand. Cash.”
Felix’s pulse ticked up a notch. “You’re just… handing me ten thousand dollars?”
Jasper shrugged. “Not quite. You have to spend it.”
Felix hesitated, glancing at the pouch. “On what?”
Jasper smiled. “On something that will keep bringing you money—without requiring your time in return.”
Felix let out a slow breath, turning the words over in his head. “So I can’t just pay rent, throw it in savings, or buy a new laptop?”
Jasper shook his head.
“No investing it in stocks?”
“Nope.”
Felix exhaled. “Then what the hell am I supposed to spend it on?”
Jasper grinned, sipping his coffee. “That’s for you to figure out.”
Felix picked up the pouch, weighing it in his hand. It felt heavier than it should. Not because of the cash, but because of what it represented.
He looked at Jasper. “And what happens if I fail?”
Jasper took a slow sip of coffee. “Then you’ll keep living like you always have. And we both know how that’s working out for you.”
Felix glanced out the window. The sun was climbing higher, casting light over the garden, the truck, the road leading back to town.
Without another word, he stood, tucking the pouch into his pocket.
Then he walked out the door.
Chapter Two: The Illusion of Smart Money
Felix sat at his tiny kitchen table, the leather pouch from Jasper resting in front of him. Ten thousand dollars in cash. The weight of it wasn’t just physical—it was psychological. He had never had this much money at once that wasn’t earmarked for rent, food, or survival. And now, he had to make a choice.
Jasper’s rule was simple: Spend the money on something that would keep bringing in more money—without requiring his time.
Felix had spent years rejecting the idea of chasing wealth. But now? Now he had an opportunity to prove to himself that money could work for him—on his terms.
He leaned back, staring at the ceiling, his mind racing. Real estate? Too expensive. A business? Too risky. The stock market? Too slow.
And then he thought of crypto.
A friend had made a killing last year—turning a few thousand into six figures, practically overnight. It was fast money, smart money— the kind that could multiply without requiring a suit, a boss, or years of grinding away.
Felix grabbed his laptop and started researching. He read whitepapers, scrolled through forums, watched YouTube videos from self-proclaimed "crypto prophets." The more he read, the more he convinced himself that this was the move.
The markets were down. Prices had tanked after last year’s crash. But everywhere he looked, the smart voices were saying the same thing—this was the dip before the next bull run.
He texted Milo:
If you had $10k to invest in crypto, what would you buy?
Milo replied almost instantly:
Dude. No. Walk away. Buy index funds like a responsible adult.
Felix smirked. Index funds weren’t going to turn ten grand into financial freedom.
An hour later, he was watching his cursor hover over the "BUY" button. His heart pounded. This was the first real financial risk of his life.
And he liked the feeling.
He clicked. The money was gone.
Now, all he had to do was wait.
A Week Later
At first, it felt like he had cracked the code.
Felix watched his portfolio rise by 10%, then 15%, then 20% in just a few days. This wasn’t gambling. This was strategy. He had timed it perfectly, buying just before the inevitable rebound.
He didn’t tell Lily at first.
Not because he was hiding it—but because he wanted to be sure before bringing it up. She was practical, grounded. If he told her he had just put $10,000 into cryptocurrency, she’d say the same thing as Milo.
But by the end of the week, his balance was up 35%.
That’s when he told her.
They were sitting at a tiny wine bar she liked, a place with dim lighting and too many candles. He had been in a good mood all night, and she finally asked why.
“Alright,” she said, swirling her glass. “What’s up? You’ve been buzzing all evening.”
Felix hesitated just long enough for her to notice. Then he smiled. “I made an investment.”
Lily raised an eyebrow. “Investment?”
“Yeah. A good one.”
She leaned in, amused. “Do I even want to know?”
Felix exhaled, still feeling the afterglow of his success. “Crypto.”
Lily’s expression froze. “Oh no.”
He laughed. “Not like that. I did the research. I didn’t just throw money at a meme coin. This is solid. The numbers are already up.”
Lily set her glass down. “How much?”
Felix hesitated. “Ten grand.”
Her lips parted slightly. “You put ten thousand dollars into crypto?”
He nodded, still confident.
She leaned back. “Felix, please tell me this isn’t your rent money.”
“It’s not,” he assured her. “It’s money I was given—specifically to invest. This is exactly what I’m supposed to do with it.”
She ran a hand through her hair. “And you picked crypto?”
Felix leaned forward. “Lily, I know how this sounds, but I’ve been watching it all week. I’m up over 30%. If I cash out now, I’ve already made three grand. This isn’t a gamble. It’s a strategy.”
Lily sighed, studying his face. “And what happens if it drops?”
Felix shook his head. “I got in at the bottom. It’s not going to drop. It’s already rebounding.”
She smiled, but it wasn’t a happy smile. It was the kind of smile people give before delivering bad news. “You think you’re the first person to believe that?”
Felix’s confidence flickered, but only for a second.
He had done the research. He knew what he was doing.
Lily took a sip of wine, her eyes scanning his face. “Alright,” she said finally. “I hope you’re right.”
Felix grinned. “Trust me. I am.”
A Month Later
Felix lay in bed, his phone screen glowing in the dark.
Everything was red.
The markets had tanked overnight. His portfolio, once a soaring success, was now worth less than half of what he had put in.
He stared at the numbers, his stomach twisting into knots. This wasn’t supposed to happen.
He was supposed to be right.
His fingers hovered over the sell button, but he hesitated. Selling now would mean admitting defeat.
He closed his eyes.
Jasper had given him one rule: Spend the money on something that would keep bringing in more money without requiring his time.
Crypto had seemed like the perfect answer.
Now?
Now, he wasn’t so sure.
And worse—he wasn’t sure what to do next.
Chapter Three: The Cost of Knowing
Felix stood in Jasper’s doorway, the weight of failure sitting heavy in his stomach. The drive back had felt longer this time. He had turned off his music halfway through, preferring the silence. The rush, the excitement, the confidence—it had all burned away, leaving only the bitter aftertaste of regret.
Jasper leaned against the frame, arms crossed, watching Felix with an unreadable expression. The late afternoon light slanted across the porch, casting long shadows.
“That was faster than I expected,” Jasper said, finally.
Felix let out a breath, forcing a smirk. “What can I say? I’m efficient.”
Jasper stepped aside, nodding toward the inside. “Come on in.”
Felix hesitated before stepping over the threshold. The house smelled the same—fresh coffee, wood, the faint scent of something cooking. But it felt different now. The first time, he had walked in brimming with anticipation, ready to crack the code. Now? Now he felt like a student returning to class after failing a test he thought would be easy.
He sank into the chair at the table, rubbing his hands together. Jasper sat across from him, waiting.
“So,” Jasper said, “tell me what happened.”
Felix sighed, leaning back. “I made the best possible decision with the information I had at the time.” He ran a hand through his hair. “Which turned out to be the worst possible decision.”
Jasper raised an eyebrow. “Crypto?”
Felix blinked. “How did you—?”
Jasper chuckled, shaking his head. “Because you’re not the first guy to come in here looking for freedom and leave thinking they’ve found it in the promise of digital gold.”
Felix exhaled, looking away. “I thought I was being smart about it. It wasn’t some random meme coin. It had a solid project, a strong team, real utility.”
Jasper nodded. “And?”
Felix rubbed his jaw. “And… the market dipped. Then dipped again. Then rumors started. Then the project collapsed in a matter of days.” He let out a bitter laugh. “Turns out, ‘strong team, real utility’ doesn’t mean much when people panic-sell.”
Jasper tilted his head. “Did you panic-sell?”
Felix hesitated. “Not at first. I held. But when it kept dropping, I figured I’d cut my losses before it went to zero.”
Jasper sipped his coffee. “So you didn’t lose ten grand. You locked in a loss.”
Felix frowned. “That’s the same thing.”
Jasper shrugged. “Not quite. But we’ll come back to that.”
Felix drummed his fingers on the table. “So what now? You tell me I blew my shot and send me on my way?”
Jasper studied him for a long moment. Then, without a word, he reached into the desk drawer and pulled out another small leather pouch.
Felix stared at it. His chest tightened.
“Wait… what?”
Jasper set it down on the table between them. “Ten grand.”
Felix’s mouth went dry. “Again?”
Jasper nodded.
Felix swallowed, staring at the pouch as if it might bite him. “Why?”
Jasper leaned forward, folding his hands. “Because the first ten grand was for learning what doesn’t work.”
Felix exhaled sharply, running a hand down his face. “You knew I was going to fail.”
Jasper smiled slightly. “I suspected.”
Felix looked at the pouch, then back at Jasper. “What’s the catch?”
Jasper tilted his head. “The same as before. Find something that will keep bringing you money—without requiring your time in return.”
Felix let out a short, humorless laugh. “And if I lose this too?”
Jasper shrugged. “Then you’ll have learned twice as much.”
Felix rubbed his temples. “You must be rich if you can afford to just hand out ten grand to idiots like me.”
Jasper chuckled. “You think I got rich by holding onto money?”
Felix looked at him. There was something in Jasper’s eyes—something calm, certain, like a man who had seen this play out before and knew exactly where it led.
Felix sighed, reaching for the pouch. He held it in his hands, feeling the weight of it. It wasn’t just cash. It was another shot at everything he had been chasing.
He looked at Jasper. “Alright. One more time.”
Jasper nodded, leaning back. “Let’s see if you do something different.”
Felix clenched his jaw, tucking the pouch into his pocket. Then he stood, the fire reigniting in his chest.
This time, he wasn’t going to waste it.
This time, he was going to win.
