The Exit-Optional Playbook
Build a business you can sell without needing to—and create the leverage, liquidity, and freedom to choose what comes next.
Explore the book →Books by Dr. David Phelps
Ideas for building more freedom.
David's books challenge the default path around business, investing, time, and what comes next—giving successful owners practical frameworks for creating more choice in their lives.
Start with David's newest book.
David's latest book
The Exit-Optional Playbook
Build a business you can sell—without needing to.
Most owners spend decades building equity they cannot easily access, income they cannot replace, and a business that depends too heavily on them. The Exit-Optional Playbook presents a third path: create leverage, liquidity, and freedom so you can keep, scale, transition, or sell from a position of strength.
Inside, David explores the decisions that determine whether your business expands your future—or limits it—including buyer scorecards, replacement income, partnerships, identity after exit, spousal alignment, and more.
The library
Explore all nine books.
Each book approaches freedom from a different angle—business, capital, time, resilience, identity, investing, or the next generation.
Scaling Time vs Wealth
Reframe the relationship between money and time so financial success creates more life—not simply more demands.
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Building Your Financial Ark
A blueprint for protecting wealth, preparing for changing economic conditions, and building a more resilient financial future.
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How Much Is Enough?
Define your Freedom Number and replace vague ideas about retirement with clarity around how much capital and income you actually need.
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Own Your Freedom
Co-authored with Dan S. Kennedy, this book explores how alternative investments and passive income can create freedom well before traditional retirement.
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Inflation: The Silent Retirement Killer
A look at inflation through history, why it matters to investors, and how to think about protecting purchasing power through changing cycles.
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What's Your Next?
A guide to putting your five Freedom Assets—yourself, business, relationships, capital, and legacy—to work toward a more intentional life.
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The Apprentice Model
A practical blueprint for young leaders who want to think independently, develop their unique abilities, and build a foundation for financial freedom.
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From High Income to High Net Worth
Alternative-investment strategies for high-income professionals who want to stop relying entirely on earned income and build durable cash flow.
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Go deeper
Freedom should create more choices—not fewer.
Explore the ideas, frameworks, and community behind David's work.
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