Sjoerd Bak had a stroke at a young age. In his year long rehabilitation, he realised had he died, he would have left his family in a a very poor financial position. He set about remedying this and explains how he uses Sigmund Freud’s pain-pleasure principle to his modern finance decisions. Sjoerd Bak QFA is a financial coach and founder of Become a Millionaire Ltd, based in Dublin. Originally from the Netherlands, he moved to Ireland in 2006 and transitioned from a successful tech sales career to financial coaching after realizing that high earnings didn't equate to financial security. Now, he empowers young professionals—especially in tech and sales—to escape the "earn-more, spend-more" cycle by teaching practical financial skills. Sjoerd focuses on helping clients grow wealth through low-cost index investing, leveraging workplace benefits, and building financial independence. His coaching is jargon-free, product-agnostic, and centered on simplicity and long-term freedom. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx