Inspire to Be Inspired

The Opportunity for More of a Freedom Lifestyle

The opportunity to have more freedom in life has never been so great.  Today, thanks to the internet, we are able to work remotely from anywhere in the world – and not only does this pertain to employment, but also study.

Once upon a time, you would have to physically attend lectures, pay expensive college fees in addition to rent – whereas today, you can study most things online, even courses you wouldn’t expect such as police studies and nursing degrees.

The remote working lifestyle is something many people dream of, yet whilst there is a wonderful opportunity to create more freedom in your life, from working remotely or studying remotely, the reality doesn’t always measure up with the dream.

Many people today are looking for a side hustle or remote business that allows them to travel the world and manage their digital business remotely, from anywhere with an internet connection, yet the reality is that more and more people are trading their office lifestyle for a more convenient yet insular home working setup.

The challenge of this is that you can end up feeling rather isolated, and too much of anything can be a good thing – even freedom – for the structure that comes with the daily commute, water cooler gossip, and collectively concentrated state of sitting in an office together does have its upside with regard to the social aspects.

That said, the downsides are several and severe – for instance, it costs a lot of money to commute to a job during peak hours, particularly if you live far from the office, and takes a lot of time you could be using more effectively.  It also means your life is not your own, working from home offers more flexibility and it means you can fit your work around your life rather than having to fit your life around your work.

There are of course many benefits to setting up a blog, travelling the world, and gaining financial freedom through the process of business automation – or setting up a side business, selling items on Amazon, or working for a company that reliably sends you tasks to complete each day… meaning you can complete them from anywhere in the world.

That said, the “freedom lifestyle” is not necessarily the right fit for everyone, as we all have different priorities, needs and desires.

For instance, if your highest priority on an emotional level is a sense of certainty and stability – then the freedom lifestyle that is offered by being a freelancer might not be for you, as there is a lack of certainty for most freelancers, in that they are not getting a reliable wage each week, or month, they have to scurry around to get gigs trying to make ends meet.

Indeed, there’s something reassuring about knowing you will get paid a certain amount of money each week, and in many ways all you really have to do is turn up and perform at an average level.  There’s also the security of knowing that if you get sick your employer will still pay you, in fact, they’ll even pay you to take a vacation!

The “employee” lifestyle is not one many people relish as images of congested commutes and being chained to a desk; where someone else is defining the terms on which you work, yet the  certainty that comes with this lifestyle is what keeps most people in this position.

The trade-off, however, is that whilst they have certainty in the sense of a regular paycheck and the stability of going to the office each day… they give up their freedom.

Of course, if you’re someone that values freedom rather than certainty, then the remote working revolution of freelancing, setting up side hustles and automated digital businesses will be perfectly aligned with where you’re at.

In fact, if you value freedom more than anything else, there’s a strong chance that you have made a very poor employee – because people that have “freedom” as their highest emotional priority tend to value the autonomy and independence that is taken away from them in the conventional work lifestyle.

The people that value freedom above all else tend to make better entrepreneurs, and if you look at anybody who has truly changed the world, or made a fortune, they haven’t done so by being a “good employee”.  

They have done this by standing out, stepping up, and embracing their differences… embracing the fact they don’t want to live like everyone else, in the rat race, and if you feel compelled to break free off the rat race and live a life of more freedom… it’s only a matter of time, as most people with this in them, find it comes out sooner or later.

Being self-employed, setting up a side hustle, or a major new business can be a great way to spread your wings and have more autonomy.

We talked before about the trade-off between certainty and freedom, and it would appear you can have one or the other, rather than both – that’s not to say you can’t create your own financial certainty and stability by building a business… but in the early days, starting out on your own has very little financial stability attached to it.

This level of freedom and responsibility, however, can feel burdensome at times.  Many people can’t deal with that level of risk – but with risk comes the potential for reward, and those that truly value freedom above all else, will step up to the challenge of setting up a business or going it alone as a freelancer.

In summary, there are many opportunities for you to live a life with more freedom, yet freedom often comes at the price of certainty and stability.  Therefore, one of the best ways to move forward is to consider setting up a side hustle, whilst remaining employed, which you manage on the side – but grow into a business that can provide a secure and stable financial future for yourself and your family.

 

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