Freedom is a Choice & a Responsibility

“Man is free at the moment he wishes to be.”

– Voltaire

Well, then man better make that decision as quickly as possible in his (or her) life, or they will forever be a slave to the system.

It’s funny, I often hear people say that they crave more freedom, but this idea of freedom seems to elude most.

Freedom, at its core, is a privilege. It is the ability to make daily choices in all aspects of your life without constraints; it’s leading with intention and not with organized chaos; it’s having the ability to determine what kind of day you’d like to have and with whom you’d like to share it with; it’s knowing your value.

In short, it’s independence.

And while we have our basic freedoms (religion, expression, press, etc.), the freedoms we crave for are more lifestyle driven.

Freedoms as simple as:

Being there for the kids’ play, their practice and dropping them and picking them up at school

Investing in one’s relationships and family.

Having time for passions and hobbies.

Having the ability to be mobile and travel

Or simply making the daily schedule you’d like to keep. Many things that other people simply are not able to do because they are working jobs they don’t enjoy to consume more things they don’t use and pay more bills to consume those very things. Meanwhile, they are missing out on their personal lives, sacrificing their health and not living their purpose.

Freedom As a Father & As an Entrepreneur

In my latest podcast, I mentioned an example of this.

My daughter Miki goes to a school where her friends’ fathers typically work in finance. They have to be in the city by 7:30 am to be there for the markets to open.

This means they’re getting up at 4 am or 4:15 am to drive to the shore, then catch the 5:30 am ferry and then sit in traffic to be at their desk at 7:30 am. And the kicker, they’re often not home till 7:30 pm.

I’ll pick her up from after school playdates, and I almost never see the other dads.

This is such a privilege. I’m grateful to have that. And it’s not just me. It’s what it does for my daughter. When I pick her up, all the kids are saying, Uncle Jay is here!

And then they say, “my dad is never here. He’s always working!”

She says, yeah, my dad is never working. (laughter).

The truth is I work more than most, but because I like what I do and have a digital lifestyle, most others won’t understand that.

See, I put a lot of value in being able to be the best possible dad I can be. That’s a value you cannot put a price tag on. Think about that for a minute. If you truly had to put a price tag on it, what would it be?

For me, a priceless lifestyle is not material; it’s not the things money can buy, but time away from the office and cubicle, time with family, being able to invest in my kids’ future, having more influence over my kids, and being a part of their lives and greater purpose.

These things you cannot put a value on and I find them to be the most priceless.

So, I’m a digital entrepreneur.

I live a remote lifestyle, but connect with tons of people worldwide; both within my organization and complimentary to it.

When you think about creating a digital life, or a freedom for yourself, don’t think for a minute that it’s just about the money to have that freedom and lifestyle. Yes, money is part of it.

But to truly achieve this, it’s much more of a mindset. That has to be in place before the money comes. The money is a necessary tool living in society, but freedom starts with simple principles to get your mind right so you can truly achieve this concept.

5 Mindset Principles to Achieve Freedom

The wakeupcall today is going to seem so simple, but if you really want to understand freedom at a fundamental level, you’ll need to understand that the laws of the universe are what make this real.

#1: Whatever you want, learn how to give what it is that you want.

You get what you desire, by helping others get that which you desire as well.

For me, it’s very simple. The more freedom I can help people find, even spiritually, mentally or exposing them to a different way of thinking, then I’m achieving my goals in this category. In truth, there’re so many different ways to give people freedom, even through a blog post.

In this digital world, we have the ability to communicate, give and contribute to society that a million times more than ever before. You don’t have to have a brick and mortar business, you don’t need to become a published author, you don’t have to be an authority, not any of the things that tradition used to have. You can start just yourself. Start sharing. Start giving and with the intention of enlightening and awakening, encouraging and motivating,  and inspiring and helping others.

#2: Are the things I do each day, that of a leader?

If you’re practicing #1, then those are all things that at the end of the day will make you a leader. Leadership is an act, and the by-product of leadership is remuneration if you properly position yourself.

It has to start with you. Learn, do, teach.

This is all encompassing.

You have to learn in order to do for others, but your reasons for learning have to be from the right place.

Everything you’re learning, are you learning it to better yourself; better your finances; have the money to have the lifestyle you want for solely for yourself?

If so, then you’ll never tap into a world of abundance; true wealth; true fulfillment; and true happiness. That can only come if you are making an equal, if not greater impact on other people’s freedom. So, leadership is the ability to provide value to others based on what you have come to learn.

#3: Change your perspective

Make your daily method of operation to think in the right perspective on all things you do.

For example, when you need to buy a book for a program to enhance your knowledge, when you need to attend a workshop or an event like we have in New York, if you’re thinking to yourself, “I can’t afford to go to New York because I can’t afford the flight and what it’s going to cost me to get there”, then you’ve got it all wrong.

Cause you’re looking at it in terms of what it’s going to cost you as if you’re the only beneficiary of what you’re going to get there.

That is such a narrow and poverty conscious point of view.

Alternatively, look at every opportunity to grow; as an opportunity to be able to share more with others. The greater the experience you have, the greater the experiences, relationships, network and breakthroughs that you have, the more that you have to give and contribute to others.

Every single moment in front of you daily is an opportunity for growth. Think in terms of that and you’ll see a completely different life unfold.

#4: Know your values

Know what you stand for. Whatever it is, you have to think like an independent person and lot let others do it for you. I realize that sounds like a simple concept, and it can be, but most people are on autopilot and don’t even know it.

When a person works for a company and does what they are told, they are an employee, an order taker, not an order maker.

Now, that’s just one example, but it’s important to know your values for many reasons, some of which include:

How do you determine who you’d like to work with or for?

How would you like to raise your kids?

What should you spend your time doing?

Who should you spend your time with?

You need to know what drives your decisions, so you better have an understanding of a core set of values. This will help you determine a direction in both your professional and personal endeavors.

#5: Have a mission

A mission is critical. If you don’t know why you’re doing what you’re doing, you’ll never be able to truly follow through with it. Your responsibility in having a mission is to give. In short, it is service to others for a particular set of skillsets and talent you bring to this world.

And in the digital world, it’s your responsibility to give. That’s how the business model works. Try to keep that in mind.

You have to learn to master the digital world because we are not only migrating there as a whole, but almost every human being on the planet is practically using the Internet for one piece of knowledge or another, regardless of topic.

Look at it as investing in yourself. Mastering skills like digital marketing so that you can reach more people regardless of your focus is a masterful thing because you have the ability to affect critical mass people. Think of it in those terms and see how you feel. See mountains and walls just dissolve. As if they’re made out of fog.

Having a mission that is based on helping others get what it is you want; I’m not saying money; I’m using freedom because it’s the most powerful example. Freedom is deep rooted and emotion based. Much more powerful than some numbers in a bank account.

I absolutely guarantee you that you will make 10x more money by being a leader in business.

As always, feel free to comment and share your experiences and thoughts below.

All my best,