04 Jul What Does Freedom Mean to You?

“Freedom” will be celebrated in pools, backyards and BBQ’s over the coming weeks.  Celebrating our country’s independence is clearly worthy of celebration.

Rarely do we take time to contemplate what freedom means within the context of our personal lives.  We’re fortunate to live in a country where we’re free to do as we wish. Does this mean that we’re truly “free”?  During the research phase of writing my book, Thought Revolution, I interviewed 200 people.  It was a very eye-opening experience in which I discovered the majority felt they were trapped or stuck in some aspect of their lives.  Relationships were not quite what they desired or their career wasn’t living up to expectations. The net result was a majority of this group did not feel as if they were living a completely intentional and authentic life.  This feeling was not foreign to me, as I too had felt this way at an earlier stage in my life when it came to intimate relationships.

Unfortunately, it’s not easy to break out of this “comfort zone,” even if it’s not all that comfortable. Remember, Einstein defined insanity as “doing the same things over and over again, expecting a different result.”  Yet we’re all guilty of this and tend to dismiss it with some type of lie to ourselves, such as “I’ll get to it later.” Thus, we return our attention to pool parties, BBQ’s and cocktails. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for the aforementioned, just not at the expense of solving those thorny issues that keep us from attaining our full potential in life.

STEPS YOU CAN TAKE

The first step is to be willing to devote some time and potential resources  to take a look at what’s not working in your life.
The second step is to become open to the possibility that you can address and solve the issue you’ve not been able to solve.
The third step is to determine why that problem exists in your life.
The final step is to take action to change your behavior and resolve the problem.

THE RESULT

You will be able to be intentional and authentic in every part of your life, and much happier, too.  I realize this sounds daunting or even impossible to imagine. Take it from me, however, it is a journey worth taking.  Please don’t postpone it for decades as I did. It is truly liberating and empowering to get “unstuck.”

HOW TO ACHIEVE THIS RESULT

My solution was to seek assistance from a professional therapist.  During the course of this therapy, I learned a methodology that was transformational for me, helping me to break through my “stuck” place.  I found it fascinating and decided to take time at a later stage in my life to take a deeper dive into finding a way to adapt the methodology into a tool that could be applied to solve problems both in personal lives and in organizations.  Over three years of research, interviews and applications of the methodology convinced me that there was a simple, powerful and effective way to think in a truly revolutionary manner. I learned that what worked for me could indeed work for others.  Fortunately, my publisher, Simon & Schuster, agreed to publish a book containing these findings and stories: Thought Revolution, How to Unlock Your Inner Genius.

If you are interested in becoming “unstuck,” this book is a good place to start.  Obviously I’m biased as I have invested years of my life in this project, but I’ve also seen enough evidence to suggest that it works.  If you are not a big reader, you might also consider attending my upcoming workshop at the Esalen Institute in Big Sur, California.

While celebrating our country’s freedom this year, make sure you’re also able to celebrate your own freedom from whatever it is that is keeping you trapped in life.