The fear of freedom
Here at the fastlane forum, We all have diverse sets of goals, But there’s one goal we all share (at least the people who stick around in the community). That goal is freedom. It’s why we read TMF and Unscripted .
Freedom is a seemingly good term. If you ask most people, they’ll probably say “Yeah, of course I want to be free”
I’m not trying to pick on anyone, or make fun of and insult jobs here, but that same person you ask about being free, probably works at a job, probably has car loans, a mortgage, CC debt, marriage, kids, and other skeletons in the closet that unknowingly limit their freedom.
I talk about this because recently I’ve had a good hard look at my own inner demons that I battle with. It’s very challenging, and often complex and shape shifting.
One of the realizations I made was that I have been afraid of freedom.
This might sound confusing, and you might ask, “well what do you want to be in jail or something?”
No, of course not. As an entrepreneur, we have more freedom that most people. We get to call the shots, steer the ship, and make the decisions.
And at 99% of jobs, you are obedient. You are the opposite of a shot caller, you execute upon the higher ups orders.
You’re told when you have to show up, take breaks, leave. You’re told what you will be paid, what you have to wear. You’re told what you need to be working on. You’re told when you’re done working there, and need to find a new place to work.
It stimulates peoples desires to take the easiest path of least resistance.
This whole time people are in a walled garden, protected from the predators, and environment that lurk outside those walls. True freedom is getting out, but it also subjects you to much more risk.
And I think wether people want to admit it or not, They like this life style.
As much shit as they talk about their boss, as much as they bitch and moan about waking up at 6am and fighting traffic 5 days a week, they make the same choice every day to show up there. I know, because I’ve been there before.
And it’s because they’re afraid of freedom.
They can make every excuse in the book, “I need a stable job in my life, I need health insurance, I have kids, My job isn’t SO bad, I don’t want to disappoint my family, I don’t have any business ideas, I don’t have time, I’m busy, I have a mortgage…”
But the root of it is that they’re afraid of freedom and the uncertainty it brings.
I came to this realization after looking at my own life the past 2-3 years. I’ve largely coasted by. Worked the same job, made the same money, had the same half baked business attempts, come up with excuse after excuse.
I WANT freedom, more than anything and I’m willing to spend as much time acquiring it as it takes, and dedicating my life to it. But I started to wonder why I just couldn’t seem to break out of the cycle I’ve been in the past couple years. The seemingly invisible chains of my job and mediocre comfort.
And I realized it’s because I haven’t truly thought about what the freedom that I desire actually means.
It means having all of the responsibility of a business on my shoulders. It means being the means for my employees to feed their families. It means facing possible legal attacks. It means income fluctuations, expensive health insurance, Taxes, Audits, People trying to take advantage of you, facing uncomfortable criticism, Talking to strangers, Putting my self out there.
But I wouldn’t have it any other way. I actually get excited talking about all the shit I’ll have to face that others won’t, because it means that I’m not like everyone else trapped in the rat race.
Think about what freedom actually means for you, Beyond the big house and nice things. Think about all the shit freedom brings, and make sure you’re willing to deal with that.
If you find that you’re like me and just can’t seem to break the chains of a job and level up, ask your self what freedom means to you. You could be unconsciously avoiding it because you’re afraid of what it entails. Often time these fears manifest themselves as excuses like “I’ll get to it tomorrow, let me do some more research, I need to think about it more, Let me find a lower risk way to do this…”
You don’t actually want to do more research, or get to it tomorrow, You just want to avoid the pains and uncertainty that freedom brings.
Here at the fastlane forum, We all have diverse sets of goals, But there’s one goal we all share (at least the people who stick around in the community). That goal is freedom. It’s why we read TMF and Unscripted .
Freedom is a seemingly good term. If you ask most people, they’ll probably say “Yeah, of course I want to be free”
I’m not trying to pick on anyone, or make fun of and insult jobs here, but that same person you ask about being free, probably works at a job, probably has car loans, a mortgage, CC debt, marriage, kids, and other skeletons in the closet that unknowingly limit their freedom.
I talk about this because recently I’ve had a good hard look at my own inner demons that I battle with. It’s very challenging, and often complex and shape shifting.
One of the realizations I made was that I have been afraid of freedom.
This might sound confusing, and you might ask, “well what do you want to be in jail or something?”
No, of course not. As an entrepreneur, we have more freedom that most people. We get to call the shots, steer the ship, and make the decisions.
And at 99% of jobs, you are obedient. You are the opposite of a shot caller, you execute upon the higher ups orders.
You’re told when you have to show up, take breaks, leave. You’re told what you will be paid, what you have to wear. You’re told what you need to be working on. You’re told when you’re done working there, and need to find a new place to work.
It stimulates peoples desires to take the easiest path of least resistance.
This whole time people are in a walled garden, protected from the predators, and environment that lurk outside those walls. True freedom is getting out, but it also subjects you to much more risk.
And I think wether people want to admit it or not, They like this life style.
As much shit as they talk about their boss, as much as they bitch and moan about waking up at 6am and fighting traffic 5 days a week, they make the same choice every day to show up there. I know, because I’ve been there before.
And it’s because they’re afraid of freedom.
They can make every excuse in the book, “I need a stable job in my life, I need health insurance, I have kids, My job isn’t SO bad, I don’t want to disappoint my family, I don’t have any business ideas, I don’t have time, I’m busy, I have a mortgage…”
But the root of it is that they’re afraid of freedom and the uncertainty it brings.
I came to this realization after looking at my own life the past 2-3 years. I’ve largely coasted by. Worked the same job, made the same money, had the same half baked business attempts, come up with excuse after excuse.
I WANT freedom, more than anything and I’m willing to spend as much time acquiring it as it takes, and dedicating my life to it. But I started to wonder why I just couldn’t seem to break out of the cycle I’ve been in the past couple years. The seemingly invisible chains of my job and mediocre comfort.
And I realized it’s because I haven’t truly thought about what the freedom that I desire actually means.
It means having all of the responsibility of a business on my shoulders. It means being the means for my employees to feed their families. It means facing possible legal attacks. It means income fluctuations, expensive health insurance, Taxes, Audits, People trying to take advantage of you, facing uncomfortable criticism, Talking to strangers, Putting my self out there.
But I wouldn’t have it any other way. I actually get excited talking about all the shit I’ll have to face that others won’t, because it means that I’m not like everyone else trapped in the rat race.
Think about what freedom actually means for you, Beyond the big house and nice things. Think about all the shit freedom brings, and make sure you’re willing to deal with that.
If you find that you’re like me and just can’t seem to break the chains of a job and level up, ask your self what freedom means to you. You could be unconsciously avoiding it because you’re afraid of what it entails. Often time these fears manifest themselves as excuses like “I’ll get to it tomorrow, let me do some more research, I need to think about it more, Let me find a lower risk way to do this…”
You don’t actually want to do more research, or get to it tomorrow, You just want to avoid the pains and uncertainty that freedom brings.
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