How I achieved the Freedom Lifestyle

Why do we work?

“To earn money? Pay the bills? children’s education? pay mortgages? buy stuff? vacations or contribute our best gifts to the world ?”, what is your answer?

In my experience after 35 years of work, I found, we work to contribute our best gifts to the world. Each one of us has been sent to the world with a unique gift, all we need to do is give our gifts till we live.

A flower gives the gift of color, a bird the gift of song, a tree gives the gift of fruit , the fruit gives the gift of seed, humans have their unique gifts too and it is not chasing paper.

In the history of evolution of humans, from work being as a means of survival to being a expression of self we have come a long way. Somewhere down the line work became a means to own more stuff. We happily traded time of life for stuff.

We got trapped in what is called the rat race.

The term “rat race” refers to a competitive struggle to get ahead financially or professionally, often at the expense of personal satisfaction or work-life balance.

I decided to opt out of rat race after over 30 years of being within, at 50 I chose to chase my dreams. I had dreams that I had been pushing to tomorrow, till things got better and everything was settled.

Till I realised we don’t have forever and I did not want to die with regrets of not having even tried to live my dreams.

Our unique gifts are our dreams that we hold in our heart.

I was warned this is not the age to chase dreams, “wait till you retire .” I was told, “You will not find another job, you have crossed 50 ”.

Ageism is real.

I jumped anyway.

It’s been the most exciting 9 years.

I found what I now call ‘ The Freedom Lifestyle’. I wish I had known about this earlier.

I do what I love. I refuse what I don’t,I take a break when I want to,I work from anywhere,I have time for me, my family ,I control My time,I chase My dreams, I am the CEO of My Life.

I work for a few hours every day and most of my time is spent in reading , in reflection and in time with self.

I cofounded a startup, I helped multiple businesses scale, I published 2 books, I made 10 short films, I built two active communities, I started writing, blogging, I cycled places, I get up with a dream every day.

I built a Eco system of those who chose the Freedom Lifestyle.

Ok so what My Freedom Lifestyle.

I chose what I love to do :

I live breathe storytelling, marketing strategy and leading teams, I have done this for over 35 years , built brands , organisations, teams , nonprofits with my passion for marketing.

Do what you love and are good at, you will want to get out of bed every day.

I stopped working for ‘A’ company :

I offer my unique gifts to many companies instead of one. How do I do it? I cut out time in unnecessary meetings and travel. When I am at work I am sharply focused without any distraction .

Working for multiple companies helps me build perspective as I work with B2B, B2C , Nonprofit organizations, I coach and mentor leaders . I find my work exciting as each organisation presents a unique challenge.

I chose Freedom :

I know how much is enough. I love my freedom to take breaks, to walk in nature, to read books, write, mentor, build communities, take out my cycle and go for a ride.

I don’t just chase money, I live My Life. So I refuse work beyond a point because I value my freedom. What also helps is I have built a team that supports me in execution.

We are told there is not enough, which I have found is not true. Remmber the COVID times when we were under lockdown, we could live with a lot less. The money we earn is in exchange for our time and time is our most precious asset.

I built a Eco System of Freedom Lifestylers :

I always have lead teams now was a time to lead a team of those who valued freedom, the writers, the storytellers, the filmmakers, the digital specialist, those who I trusted, who had values similar to mine, wanted to give their best gifts to the world and yet fiercely guard their freedom.

Welcome to the new world of Freedom Lifestylers, we guard of freedom to live our life on our own terms. Money is not our measure of success but satisfaction of having contributed our best gifts to the world is.

I told stories :

The one skill that will never go out of fashion is storytelling. It is what leaders need , it is what every business and brand needs . It is what builds connections, builds tribes with the heart.

We are all storytellers but we have forgotten to tell our stories . I don’t sell, I share my stories freely, stories of my work , my life , of my values , work has always walked to me.

I stopped comparing :

I stopped comparing my life with anyone. I choose to follow My heart . I don’t buy stuff to show off to others , I don’t care what others think.

We are not the same and we need not be each has their unique gifts but the world of advertising tells us we are not ok , we need to be like someone we are not , something is missing.

Comparison only makes us unsatisfied with what we have and there will always be someone who has more. When we see someone with a bigger car we feel bad not appreciating the fact that perhaps just a small percentage of the population in the world owns cars. We are blessed.

I stopped seeking approvals :

It is My life I don’t need any approvals, likes . I live for Me.

As children we seek approval from parents , when we grow up we seek approvals from the society and that is why all our time is spent to show the world we have arrived. We look for approvals from the society.

We pick up mortgages on homes , then bigger homes , then stuff we own , just to show off to others. When we drop this madness we are free.

I have more free time than ever , I do what I love, I am taken care of , I am more content and at peace.

I am Taken Care of

I have this crazy belief that if I give my best gifts to the world I will be taken care of and I have been taken care of till now. Its been 9 years and I have never had to compromise on my life.

I am not boasting but just sharing that what truly matters is do we do what we love ? do we bring passion to our work ? are we being ourselves , authentic , raw , with our flaws ?

I don’t try to be like anyone and I am taken care of.

It may look like that maybe I got lucky , I don’t think so , I just figured out what matters to me .

Maybe our life is just a story, we are born, we die and in between we are given the gift of adventure, we are all dealt some cards, some may seem like very bad cards, I too have a ‘many’ of them. The hard knocks of life taught me we have only one life, one chance, and I rather die having lived my best life with the cards I have been dealt with.

I am ready to die empty.