Freedoms of all Kinds
What is freedom? Many entrepreneurs will say it's being free to choose what you want with the time you have. I like that definition, but there's often a significant delay to that. It's a challenge to be free of the guilt and panic of being away from your business - a team, systems, relationships. As you read this, you're thinking about all that backstage setup involved. That's a work in progress for most entrepreneurs I meet to have that state of affairs.
My version of freedom is the ability to be you, doing what you love doing. In my eyes, being free isn't creating a 4 hour work week, it's doing what you love doing, focusing on activities that energize you. I don't want less hours, I want more hours doing meaningful work that involves me. And doing it now, getting paid for it, is perfect freedom to me, instead of later on after a catatonic career of misery for money.
Remember in the film Shawshank Redemption when Tim Robbins talks about the music he hears inside his heart, and the walls of the prison will never get to him. That's inner freedom. No one can take your music away from you, only you if you let them. And no one can steal your favorite memories. You're free to visit them at any time.
Remember in the film Castaway when Tom Hanks must let go of any fears of knowing how and when he would die, and just simply keeping breathing, "because tomorrow the sun will rise, who knows what the tide will bring." It's letting go of the notion of what you cannot control. That is freeing to be that honest -sometimes the universe will cooperate, sometimes not. It's not your call. You can't predict your own luck, only prepare for it to happen.
Freedom is about choice. Don't forget that you can make choices regardless of the circumstances you're in.And inner freedom is available right away to you. Isn't it freeing to be who you are and create what you want without changing you? Isn't it freeing to enjoy moments in stillness without your mind playing its television broadcast of runaway ideas on you? Isn't it freeing to know that you can fundamentally choose to be the predominant creative force in your life, with a blank canvas in front of you with everything up for grabs at any time? Isn't it freeing to know that you're not as in control of things as your mind would lead you to believe? Isn't it freeing to know that you don't know all the answers and don't need to? Isn't it also freeing to know the answers are within you if you just fiddle with what you have enough until you find out? Isn't it also freeing to know that you don't have to deserve what you desire. No one says you have to be worth what you want, only you can put that shackle around your ankle!
Being free is being free of who you think you need to be from who you think you aren't. Over the course of your life failures may have dipped into your identity to shape a belief about who you think you are or aren't. Life then becomes a game of tampering with a personal ideal of yourself, rather than being free of yourself to create what matters to you. But you can throw that switch, if you choose!
And isn't it neat to know that people want the real you, not a fake version, not a version to impress, or get approved, but they want your signature you -your transparency. There's only one of you with your strand of DNA right? Don't sing another's song, that'll erase your freedom, because it attracts competition. Instead, do it in your rhythm, expressing your unique angle and style. That's what makes you indispensable, especially if your one of a kind skill creates huge value for others.
The greatest freedom of all is freedom from your own answers. When you come to your conclusions about what you see and observe, learning stops, curiosity ends, and freedom to experience anything different is hindered. Instead of 5 possible doorsteps, you've narrowed it to one. You must see your own seeing, to get free again. A fresh mind is truly free. Turn off the NO VACANCY sign. Ask more questions.
As Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps said, "his imagination got him here, not just his apparent skill." And the mystery of wondering whether he could or not, made it all worth it. It shows that people who need so much determination aren't very good at what they do. Imagination, honesty with self, coupled with recognizable skill is where freedom lives. I'm sure Michael had many bad days to create his outcome, when determination was missing. Imagination pulls, determination pushes.
Imagine, but don't lie. The mind doesn't work well when you lie to it. You can't believe in what you haven't done yet. But you can imagine it. Otherwise make-believing in yourself causes delays to just getting started despite the imperfections. Remember --Motivation heightens after, not before. You won't know if something really pulls you until you fiddle with it. The words, "I don't have any motivation" is just encarcerating in itself, because there is no motivation until you start.
Dare to be all that you are, in service to what you love to create.
Sincerely,
Coach JD
HLP Group
