Am I living or am I waiting for those dividend payments?

One goal of mine is to achieve financial independence by increasing my passive income to the point were it equals my average expenses. I have decided that investing in the stock market is the right choice for me, concentrating mainly on yield and dividend growth. I started investing properly in 2014 and received my first dividend payment in January 2015. I remember my excitement at the time, not because it was a large amount, around £25 if I recall, but because it represented the beginning of something that could change my life. I wanted to spend my time how I wished, I wanted my time to be mine and not anyone else’s. That £25 represented something big for me and it always will be.