Humans have evolved to have heightened sense of consciousness, enabling us to adapt and dream about a better future. Although not everyone is a dream-chaser, most humans have a deeper desire to live happily ever after – we want a fairy tale life.
A few years ago, I had a great awakening. I suddenly realised that I was not living my dream life. With some help, I gained clarity about what my desired future looks like. Like a fairy tale, I started writing new chapters of what I call my freedom story.
In this article, I attempt to inspire you to become a better freedompreneur: an entrepreneur who wants to have freedom in their work and personal life.
Chapter one: Clean out your ‘house’ and let the energy flow in
We live in an era where we can easily be overwhelmed with all kinds of triggers. Like social media and other forms of entertainment that pulls you into a hamster-wheel of content. However social media is not the only thing that can distract you from what really matters.
Our brain is programmed to use structures and patterns so that it can handle more without a need for “thinking”. Your daily life routine and habits are an example of how you start doing things in automation. It serves us well, because we get better at it, with less time and energy costs.
The disadvantage is that we are less aware of the activities or habits that do not serve us anymore, and still require some energy. After all, we only have a limited amount of energy…
That’s why I regularly clean house to get rid of activities etc. that are not contributing to my purpose or life goals. It helps me to save energy and time. The less attention taken up by redundant activities, the ‘lighter’ your life will feel.
In my business I use this principle to save time and to get rid of offers, subscriptions and processes that are no longer serving my business goals. Even if it means I need to transition my whole business. That’s how I have been evolving my business.
Chapter two: Spend time with the people you want to be with
When you are into personal development, you will notice that you are met with resistance as you advance. A lot of people don’t want you to grow and develop. Some, out of jealousy, and others who are close to you, out of fear that you will get hurt or that you will not be the same kind of person anymore. That is okay and human.
When you show how your development is helping you and how it can also contribute to your relationship, they will accept it and continue to care. If not, then maybe it’s time to move on.
You will also meet new people that are attracted to your ‘new, developed you’. In business, it means you might quit working with customers that you don’t enjoy working with, even when you need the money. It will cost you more if you do work with them. You will also begin to build joint ventures and partnerships with people you love working with. They will boost your energy and your business.
You can apply the same kind of principle towards people too. Get rid of relationships or customers who cost you a lot of energy and are not contributing to your life. Even if that means breaking up with people that you have known for a lifetime.
Chapter three: Create a vision for your ideal personal lifestyle and work environment
There is no general guide for freedompreneurs. Words like ‘success’ and ‘freedom’ mean something different for everyone. However, for people I connect with, freedompreneurship is about having passion-driven work that blends in and supports an ideal personal lifestyle.
Having a vision of what ‘freedom’ means for you is key. Even when clarity doesn’t strike you at the start, knowing what direction to walk in will be the turning point to get to your destination of ‘happily ever after’.
You can create a vision board or write into a journal to get more clarity. Create a roadmap that will eventually lead to your desired outcome. To keep it sane, don’t focus too much on how fast you want to go. Also, you don’t need to compare yourself to others. Each person’s journey is different.
Chapter four: Design a professional life that gives you freedom
Is your professional life giving you freedom or does it cost you freedom? Get more into what feels aligned and what doesn’t. How many hours do you want to work? How much money do you require to have your desired lifestyle? Take some thinking time to map out how your professional life can serve your lifestyle. Too many people have a professional life that is dominating their personal lifestyle.
More importantly, keep acting on making changes that lead you towards your goals. Even when you can’t have your desired professional life yet, there are always steps that can be taken.
For instance, if you are currently an employee at a company and your business is your side hustle, you can figure out a proposal to bring to your boss that’s a win-win scenario. Ask for more tasks which are better aligned with your talents, so that your company can reap the benefits, and you can gain more energy from doing work which feels more effortless.
Another example of taking steps towards your dream life is to consider negotiating fewer working hours so that you have more time to work on your business. If there’s no possibility of improving your work situation, then you might be better off seriously looking for a different job that is more in line with your dream life.
As a business owner, ask yourself this: do you have a product or service that gives you freedom or does it cost you freedom when you scale to 100x? If the answer is not positive, then consider transitioning to a different business model or product/service.
Even when you are starting out, keep focusing on building your ‘freedom’ product or service that will eventually lead to more freedom. Step by step, you can create your own freedom empire. I could write a whole book on how to build scalable products and services. That is how I help my customers with their freedom story. One step or one customer at a time, in a way that aligns.
Now it’s your turn?
Steven Poelmans
Steven Poelmans has supported hundreds of entrepreneurs and companies to build scalable products and grow meaningful businesses. He decided to restart his career and founded The Freedom Story Academy to support impact-making coaches and entrepreneurs worldwide to rewrite the way they work, live, and breathe and help them to structure and launch online services.
Steven Poelmans
Steven Poelmans has supported hundreds of entrepreneurs and companies to build scalable products and grow meaningful businesses. He decided to restart his career and founded The Freedom Story Academy to support impact-making coaches and entrepreneurs worldwide to rewrite the way they work, live, and breathe and help them to structure and launch online services.
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