The true meaning of the word freedom
Freedom is a very powerful word. Webster’s Dictionary defines freedom in many different ways, but this is the one that really stood out to me. Freedom is the state of being free, freed from the bondage, restriction, or power of another. When I read this definition, the Bible verse Acts 12:7 flashed through my mind.– And behold, the angel of the Lord came upon him, and a light shone in the prison; and he struck Peter in the side, and lifted him up, saying, Get up quickly. And his chains fell from his hands. Can you imagine the delight in Peter’s heart when those chains released his hands and he was no longer in captivity?
You too have the opportunity to escape from captivity and live in freedom for the rest of your life. Can you imagine being truly financially, spiritually, socially, emotionally and physically free? To most people that seems completely unreal, but I’m here to tell you that it may be your reality. Remember, within the word impossible is possible. You may have freedom in every area of your life!
In the United States, we celebrate Independence Day on the Fourth of July. There are fireworks exploding in the air across the United States to celebrate our freedom, made possible by the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776. When that document was signed, the United States was “declared” free. Let me ask you a question. When will you declare your independence? When will you declare your freedom? Before you can achieve it, you must believe it so say it out loud now… I DECLARE THAT I AM FREE IN ALL AREAS OF MY LIFE! THE SHACKLES ARE GONE! I AM FREE!
After declaring that you are free, you need to understand exactly what freedom is for you. If you don’t know what it is, how are you going to achieve it? What is freedom for you? I’m going to break down each letter of the word FREEDOM and I want you to visualize what it really means to you.
The first letter of the word freedom is ‘F’, which stands for focus. Are you focused on being free in every area of your life? If not, then you need to change your focus and focus on your freedom. Most people don’t become truly free in their lives, because they feel comfortable or just aren’t brave enough to go beyond the limits of their current life. Take the opportunity to make yourself uncomfortable and stretch, because to be free you have to do things differently than most people.
Imagine standing inside an average size circle every day. Your current job, friends, habits, and general way of life are also in the circle. Can you feel it getting tight? Don’t feel like getting out of the circle? Now, imagine extending your foot, stepping out of the circle, and feeling a sense of relief. You have room to move and make decisions that you couldn’t make within that circle. Unfortunately, you will never be able to get out of that circle because it is the limit you have put on your life unless you make the decision to focus on your freedom and get out of your comfort zone.
Whatever you focus on every day will determine whether or not you achieve freedom in your life. One of the main goals you should focus on is to make the most of every minute of your day. If you are scheduled and plan your day, then you are moving towards freedom. On the other hand, if you lie in bed at night, reflecting on your day, and have no idea what you did all day, then you are allowing time to take advantage of you. I often hear people say, “I have no idea where the time has gone.” It is one of those moments in which I have to bite my tongue, because I want to tell that person that they are wasting their time instead of investing it.
Time is our greatest form of currency, so we must spend it wisely. If you focus on freedom and invest your time wisely, then you are one day closer to being free instead of being trapped. While working with one of my coaching students, I asked her to show me her schedule. He wanted to know what she was spending her time on, because she was stuck in a rut. Amazingly, he had every minute of her day scheduled. This woman knew where she was every minute of the day and she led an extremely busy lifestyle. However, I took a closer look at the actual activity and saw the problem. I explained to her that just because she was active didn’t mean she was productive. She filled her day with meaningless tasks that created activity instead of fulfillment. Just because her calendar is full doesn’t mean she’s spending her time wisely. I encourage you to sit down and take a good look at where you are spending your time and how some of those petty activities and waste of time are taking you further away from your freedom.
Another determining factor for you to become free or not is what you really look at on a daily basis. I love taking photos with other champions at events and have built a Why wall in my South Florida office. This wall is filled with not only images, but also letters, art, cards and many more positive and inspiring things that I have received from people all over the world. In my home office or as I prefer to call it my “construction zone”, I have photos of my own dreams and goals. I focus on these things every day as I sit in my construction zone and build my business. No matter what obstacle I encounter, I am constantly reminded of my Why in life, because I see it right in front of me.
What are you looking at? If your answer to that question is “nothing”, then that is exactly what you are doing to achieve freedom in your life… NOTHING. In my favorite book, the Bible, it says that a man without a vision will perish. Another way of saying it is that a person without focus in the pursuit of his dream will fail. I cringe when I see someone reading those rubbish books and magazines that highlight all the gloom and doom in the world. Can you really hope to achieve freedom in your life if you focus your mind and eyes on that garbage? I challenge you to throw out the trash and start reading positive and uplifting material. You can also go a step further and post some photos of your dreams and goals in your construction zone. You won’t believe how quickly your results will skyrocket when you change your approach!
If you’re saying, “That sounds easy. All I have to do is organize my schedule and post some pictures, then I’m going to focus on achieving freedom in my life.” YOU ARE WRONG! It is not a one-step process. It is the daily focus in every area of your life. When I say you have to be focused, I don’t mean that you just think about freedom at some point in the day. You have to be focused like a sniper with a laser aiming at his target…laser focused! If you let something or someone distract you, your goal (freedom) will no longer be in sight.
