As a guy who has circled the globe and built a blogging business over the past 10 years of my life, I have engaged in 2 of the most uncomfortable, challenging, freedom-promoting, fun, freeing, fulfilling and scary endeavors, but simultaneously.
Entrepreneurs often share how building a business is the most fun, freeing, challenging and scary thing they ever did. Ditto for world travelers; circling the globe will force you outside of your comfort zone unlike few human practices.
Combine the 2, doing each at the same time, and you will begin to comprehend what:
- freedom of movement
- freedom of thought
- freedom from time
genuinely looks like.
My possessions right now:
- carry on
- laptop
- Chromebook
- phone
- week's change of clothes
- money stuff
- 2 pairs of sneakers; mudders and clean weather pair
No house, job, mortgage payment or family ties me down, anchors me or keeps me in one spot. A few wise, detached souls feel as free as a bird owning a home, working a job, paying a mortgage or raising a family. Most do not.
I definitely have my fears-attachments but my life is similar to a bird you see flying by your window, with some worldliness and attachment, mixed in.
For example, I will not walk out of this house right now, leave behind my wife and few physical possessions, meditate in a jungle, and become enlightened. I am not THAT free. But my wife and I can say right now:
“Let's spend 2 months in Costa Rica.”
After booking plane tickets and an Air Bnb in a few minutes, we can arrive in Costa Rica tomorrow.
Few people on earth have built this level of freedom through their choices. Few people build online businesses while circling the globe.
So…..let me tell you what freedom looks like sometimes:
- fear
- pain
- suffering
- embarrassment
- grief
- guilt
- anger
- rage
- loss
- resentment
- trying to make things perfect only to realize making things perfect is impossible
- trying to bend people to your will, to realize its impossibility
- agitating missed flights
- frustrating language barriers
- confusing cultural barriers
- agonizing business flops
Remember; being free involves sometimes feeling really bad, making mistakes and floundering, to clear the fears and pains that need to go, for you to largely experience a life of freedom.
What does freedom look like most of the time?
- the bliss of liberation
- the peace of living your life made to order (largely, until ego fights what is)
- the happiness of movement, at will
- the soothing feeling of making your own choices
- the loving emotion of feeling cared for, taken care of and supported not from a government, politician, employer or paycheck, but from your inner world
- the serenity of taking unlimited vacations anywhere on earth while you experience the fulfillment of helping people through your online business
Freedom = lots of sweet, and some sour. The sour feels horrible for a few moments. The sweet feels like the best feeling in the world, a calming, relaxing, smiling, loving energy, exuding through your being, most of the time.
Do you plan to be around for another 10, 20, or 50 years?
Now that you know what freedom looks like from a guy who lives a life few live, does it make sense to choose freedom?
Ultimately, it is your choice. Every human has a different role, and a different definition of freedom, but pay particularly close attention to folks living a worldly life who appear to live a predominant life of freedom.
Perhaps you will not follow their specific path but you will learn enough from these free birds to liberate yourself from your confining fears, attachments and emotional anchors.
