What does it mean to live free? Living rich and living free are two separate concepts. I think it’s crucial for you to understand both, because it is possible for you to live free, and your life lack values. Similarly it is also possible for you to live a rich life, but with little to no control. You were probably thinking I was going to say,”… little to no freedom”, but really freedom is defined by another word, control. The amount of freedom you have in your life parallels with the amount of control you have over your life. Some believe by trading a portion of control they have over their life, will grant them a certain level of security. Successful entrepreneurs understand that security is just an illusion, and that control is the closest feeling to freedom we have. To barter with your control is to play with your freedom.
Honey, Have You Seen The Remote?
Nobody controls every aspect of their life from cradle to grave. Some of us are born with more control than others. Take someone born into a family that offers plenty of free time, and said person is not obligated to produce much in order to contribute to the week to week survival. As a result, that person will have plenty of time to take control and make choices in order to live their life free. Now consider someone born to a family that has very little free time. This person’s time is dictated by the need for immediate production of resources in order to sustain week to week survival. Most of that person’s time will be outsourced until they are able to position themself to gain more control over their life. Ultimately the difference in any scenario is how one spends their free time. This will define how much control one may have and freedom to simply experience happiness as they define it.
Freedom, the Pursuit of Happiness
For instance, freedom to one person could mean being able to travel anywhere in the world whenever they felt like booking the plane ticket, whereas freedom to someone else could mean being able to travel over to the lake every morning for a solid five hours of good fishing. So just like you defined what it means to live rich, you need to define what it means to live free, and unlike rich being based on what you value, freedom is defined by a level of control that makes you happy. Sometimes what you value and what makes you happy is one in the same, but the difference is your values are something that can be used to help others and your happiness is something that helps yourself. To live free is to follow your pursuit of happiness. What kind of life do you fantasize about? Is there something or someone in your life right now that you wish you had more time for? Do you have a happy place you day dream about to escape the nine to five monotony? What does it mean to live free?
How Freedom is Lost
I feel like I live in a country where government and legislation seems to garner more power and control with each passing year. As a result this seems to be creating less competent and more dependent societies across the nation. If you look back in time there were more entrepreneurs, so to speak, than laborers. People learned at an early age, from their family and neighbors, how to provide a service or produce goods for their community. Granted, I’m speaking of a time without the technological advances we have today, when most people worked on a farm, out of a shop, or were rolling salesmen. Now, even with virtually an endless amount of knowledge at our fingertips through smartphones or tablet devices, more and more people join the welfare ranks or find themselves stuck in the rat race running around in circles without a clue how to get out.
Most parents nowadays seem to only know how to teach their children how to fill out welfare applications or teach their kids how to bust their ass at a part time job so that one day they may qualify for a management position. The parents that want more for their children think that college is the answer. I sigh at all the above, because following any of that advice can seriously jeopardize one’s control. Realize that a life dependent upon welfare, a system funded by earned income tax payers and controlled by the government, literally means your freedom is one budget cut away from a further impoverished outcome. You want to become the burger king? Understand no matter how high you climb on the corporate ladder, as long as you work for a business under somebody else’s control, your job is expendable. You think that degree is a magical scroll? Wrap your head around the idea that just because you went back to school and earned a degree does not automatically entitle you to a high profile job. Not to mention your mountain of student debt will inevitably siphon off your freedom as you spend your time paying for it. That is, as long as someone else isn't paying it off for you. What does it mean to live free, anyway?
Build a Portfolio of Options
Could one’s pursuit of happiness be found in becoming a welfare queen? I hope not, but sure. Could someone be perfectly content as their town’s local king of burgers? Well, if it makes them happy then why not? If someone wants to become a glorified slave to their debt, created from pursuing a higher education that will enable them do something they dislike less than being the king of burgers, then more power to them! My intention isn't to come off as being cynical here. I told you that freedom is defined by control and all I want to illustrate with the above examples is how your control is so easily compromised by a single factor in each equation. If you are tired of living a life "in pursuit" of happiness, and wish to simply live a life of happiness then you must gain control of your life. You gain control over your life by adding options. For instance consider the following:
1. If you have a job then you only have one client to satisfy in order to bring home the bacon, your boss! If your one client fires you then you are finished, and your lifestyle dramatically changes.
2. If you have a business then you have multiple clients to satisfy, but you’re the boss! If you lose one of your clients then your other clients will continue to put bread on the table, and you will have the freedom to focus on why you lost that one client instead of worrying about how you will eat!
Example 1 above was someone who had one option, go to work. That doesn’t sound like freedom to me. Example 2 is someone with multiple options, because they have more control. If they want time off they can increase the amount of the clients they have and hire someone to manage while they go on vacation, or continue building relationships with their current clients. Having control gives you options, and options create opportunity for you to live free. For more examples of options that will aid you in gaining control of your life, you can refer to: HOW TO CREATE MULTIPLE STREAMS OF INCOME.
Nobody controls every aspect of their life from cradle to grave. Some of us are born with more control than others. Take someone born into a family that offers plenty of free time, and said person is not obligated to produce much in order to contribute to the week to week survival. As a result, that person will have plenty of time to take control and make choices in order to live their life free. Now consider someone born to a family that has very little free time. This person’s time is dictated by the need for immediate production of resources in order to sustain week to week survival. Most of that person’s time will be outsourced until they are able to position themself to gain more control over their life. Ultimately the difference in any scenario is how one spends their free time. This will define how much control one may have and freedom to simply experience happiness as they define it.
Freedom, the Pursuit of Happiness
For instance, freedom to one person could mean being able to travel anywhere in the world whenever they felt like booking the plane ticket, whereas freedom to someone else could mean being able to travel over to the lake every morning for a solid five hours of good fishing. So just like you defined what it means to live rich, you need to define what it means to live free, and unlike rich being based on what you value, freedom is defined by a level of control that makes you happy. Sometimes what you value and what makes you happy is one in the same, but the difference is your values are something that can be used to help others and your happiness is something that helps yourself. To live free is to follow your pursuit of happiness. What kind of life do you fantasize about? Is there something or someone in your life right now that you wish you had more time for? Do you have a happy place you day dream about to escape the nine to five monotony? What does it mean to live free?
How Freedom is Lost
I feel like I live in a country where government and legislation seems to garner more power and control with each passing year. As a result this seems to be creating less competent and more dependent societies across the nation. If you look back in time there were more entrepreneurs, so to speak, than laborers. People learned at an early age, from their family and neighbors, how to provide a service or produce goods for their community. Granted, I’m speaking of a time without the technological advances we have today, when most people worked on a farm, out of a shop, or were rolling salesmen. Now, even with virtually an endless amount of knowledge at our fingertips through smartphones or tablet devices, more and more people join the welfare ranks or find themselves stuck in the rat race running around in circles without a clue how to get out.
Most parents nowadays seem to only know how to teach their children how to fill out welfare applications or teach their kids how to bust their ass at a part time job so that one day they may qualify for a management position. The parents that want more for their children think that college is the answer. I sigh at all the above, because following any of that advice can seriously jeopardize one’s control. Realize that a life dependent upon welfare, a system funded by earned income tax payers and controlled by the government, literally means your freedom is one budget cut away from a further impoverished outcome. You want to become the burger king? Understand no matter how high you climb on the corporate ladder, as long as you work for a business under somebody else’s control, your job is expendable. You think that degree is a magical scroll? Wrap your head around the idea that just because you went back to school and earned a degree does not automatically entitle you to a high profile job. Not to mention your mountain of student debt will inevitably siphon off your freedom as you spend your time paying for it. That is, as long as someone else isn't paying it off for you. What does it mean to live free, anyway?
Build a Portfolio of Options
Could one’s pursuit of happiness be found in becoming a welfare queen? I hope not, but sure. Could someone be perfectly content as their town’s local king of burgers? Well, if it makes them happy then why not? If someone wants to become a glorified slave to their debt, created from pursuing a higher education that will enable them do something they dislike less than being the king of burgers, then more power to them! My intention isn't to come off as being cynical here. I told you that freedom is defined by control and all I want to illustrate with the above examples is how your control is so easily compromised by a single factor in each equation. If you are tired of living a life "in pursuit" of happiness, and wish to simply live a life of happiness then you must gain control of your life. You gain control over your life by adding options. For instance consider the following:
1. If you have a job then you only have one client to satisfy in order to bring home the bacon, your boss! If your one client fires you then you are finished, and your lifestyle dramatically changes.
2. If you have a business then you have multiple clients to satisfy, but you’re the boss! If you lose one of your clients then your other clients will continue to put bread on the table, and you will have the freedom to focus on why you lost that one client instead of worrying about how you will eat!
Example 1 above was someone who had one option, go to work. That doesn’t sound like freedom to me. Example 2 is someone with multiple options, because they have more control. If they want time off they can increase the amount of the clients they have and hire someone to manage while they go on vacation, or continue building relationships with their current clients. Having control gives you options, and options create opportunity for you to live free. For more examples of options that will aid you in gaining control of your life, you can refer to: HOW TO CREATE MULTIPLE STREAMS OF INCOME.
