Freedom baby, it’s what we crave

If you were to do a survey of business owners, or people in general, and you asked them what they want from their business, life, and all that comes in between, one of the recurring themes will be the notion of freedom. More specifically, personal freedom.

But what does that even mean? Does it mean money? Having enough money to do whatever you want? Does it mean time? Having enough time, free time to do as you please? Or is it an emotional thing? Being free to feel without constraint? 

The answer is, as it is with most things, a bit more complex than just picking one or the other. It is never just one thing. Freedom, or the idea of personal freedom, is unique to the individual.

Freedom is personal

For me, personal freedom is about having enough money to do what I want and live reasonably comfortably, and having enough time to put that to use to actually go and do those things.

The thing is, in order to achieve that sacrifices have to be made. Whatever your idea of freedom is, your vision of freedom, you need to be aware that it requires sacrifice on your part. What will you sacrifice right now to gain your idea of personal freedom tomorrow? 

Freedom requires personal sacrifice

It’s a question that people don’t ask enough. And they certainly don’t answer enough. It’s something that, if you asked a room full of people, let’s say there were 100 people in that room. In all likelihood only, maybe, 10 people in that room would be able to answer that question. The other 90 people will be a mix of why should I sacrifice anything? And I haven’t got a clue.

What hardships are you willing to endure today? Ignoring that tomorrow part, what could you tolerate today and what would that mean to you? The sacrifices that need to be made to ensure that your tomorrow is better are not grand Hollywood style sacrifices, they are small and minor; they are just inconveniences. 

How uncomfortable are you willing to get?

Are you willing today to do a bit of extra work? Are you willing today to spend less time on leisure activities? And, are you willing to commit to doing something that you don’t enjoy, that is boring, and is uncomfortable? Are you willing today to spend less time talking to your friends so you can spend more time working on your business? Will you invest your time into your business? 

Those are things that won’t kill you, they are no real sacrifice in the grand scheme of things.

Nothing is ever quite as it seems

It only seems that way because of how we describe it to ourselves. But those things, they will ensure that your future is better than your present. They will ensure that you have at least tried to make an effort, you have at least tried to ensure that tomorrow will be more profitable, it will be more sustainable, and more enjoyable than today.

There is no such thing as an overnight success. There never has been and there never will be. There are people who have made small and minor sacrifices, day in and day out, to ensure their success. And, they continue once they have achieved what you would deem to be success, they have continued to make small, minor sacrifices day in and day out to ensure their continued growth, and their continued success.

Personal freedom, no matter how it looks to you, is never given, it is earned. 

Whatever you deem to be freedom, requires effort on your part. Nobody is going to give that to you and if they did, would that not mean that is no longer your personal freedom?

Freedom requires hardship. It is something we fight for. It doesn’t matter whether your freedom is financial, time based, emotional, or some combination of the three. It is earned through hardship, so what hardships are you willing to endure today in order to pursue that freedom for tomorrow? What hardships are you willing to endure, to put up with, to tolerate?

There are people in this world that have sacrificed a great deal more than you ever will, for a great deal less than what you demand in your life. Those people come from less fortunate circumstances, from times and places where choice was not an option. They had no choice, they had no alternatives, they just had what they had, and they worked with. 

Perspective is powerful

They strived to create a better life for themselves. And better, as we all know, is relative. So the result of their achievement is still less than what you have on an average day, and their sacrifice is far greater. Greater than any sacrifice you have ever even considered in your own life. It is worth remembering that, any time you try to tell yourself that it’s too hard, the sacrifice is too great, that you’re not willing to give up that thing, and you’re not willing to put effort into that thing. 

There are people that are on their best day are not as fortunate as you and they never stop sacrificing. Look at those people, look closely at those people. It’s time that you examined them and their lives, so that you can learn from them, so that you can learn about the true nature of freedom, and the true nature of sacrifice. Because your current idea of personal freedom and sacrifice is minor in comparison. 

Your personal freedom is relative

Having that insight, that perspective will help you to keep going. It will also ensure that you are grateful for the achievements that you have so far, for the life that you have so far, for the luxuries that you take for granted in your day to day life. 

There’s no easy way to achieve personal freedom and it doesn’t matter what your idea of freedom is, there’s no easy way to achieve it. It does require sacrifice and hardship. So it’s time to stop whining and just put the effort in, it’s time to stop complaining and just get on with it, it’s time to stop dreaming and start working. Put the effort in and do it now, there is no other way.

Freedom requires resilience, at least the pursuit does

Resilience comes with repetition. Repeatedly getting back up when life knocks you flat. Your pursuit of freedom will undoubtedly knock you on your ass over and over. It would be all too easy to give up but you will never achieve the personal freedoms you desire if you give up. Keep on going. I have previousl;y written about resilience, a post you can find here https://mybizacademy.co.uk/resilience-for-entrepreneurs 

If you would like some help creating a plan to enable you to achieve your personal freedom then I can help. Drop me a message through my company website and we can get you booked in for a 1 to 1 session and get you on the right path. Head over to the following link and send me a message https://mikethebizguy.co.uk/Contact