It’s July 4th in the USA today!!! 🎇

Which makes me think of fireworks, BBQs, ice cold watermelon, jean shorts… and FREEDOM.

Since I wrote about My Ultimate Goal a few weeks ago, I’ve been thinking a lot about freedom. It seems appropriate to talk about it more in depth on America’s Independence Day.

Freedom sums up my list of core values. Since you're here to build your life and career by design, my guess is it's high on your list too.

Freedom is the opposite of force, it's all about flow.

Freedom is the agency to choose your definition of success. It's the ability to define how you want life and work to work for you.

As multi-passionate high performers, we refuse to be put into a singular box. We optimize for optionality, evolution, change, growth, flexibility... in essence, FREEDOM.

Let's explore four key types of freedom and how to optimize for them.

1. Financial Freedom 💸

The dream is financial freedom, baby! Our world runs on money and I believe that good people do good shit with money. If you're a good person (I know you are) and you have excess cash to spend, invest, and donate — the world will be better off.

Financial freedom creates options — everyone wants the ability to allocate resources to their priorities without making major tradeoffs, right? Your financial goals are unique to you and the lifestyle you desire. This is why it's important to align your $$ with your values in addition to your career path.

I primarily started a business to align with my purpose, but I'm also into accessing unlimited income potential based on the value I deliver. When I was still working full-time and side hustling, I built an XL financial savings net to support taking the leap. I cut back spending on what wasn’t as important to me (alcohol, big dinners, shopping) so I could invest more in myself and my skills that directly relate to growing my business.

I do a monthly money review so I know where my money is going. I also track my net worth month-over-month, keep savings in a high yield account, and invest for the long-term in retirement, brokerage, and other tax advantaged accounts.

Ideas for you:

• Develop high-income skills or side hustles
• Align spending with your values
• Learn about personal finance, investing, and tax advantages
• Invest in yourself and your skills — you are your best investment

Action step: Do a quick money review. Assess your June spending against your values and identify opportunities to reinvest in your goals during the 2nd half of 2024.

2. Time Freedom 📆

We all want flexibility because how we spend our days is how we spend our lives. Having no control over your calendar makes it very difficult to enjoy how you spend your day.

Time freedom may push you to find hybrid or remote work — so you can have more flexibility than the traditional 9-5 schedule vs. being parked at the office the entire workday.

Time freedom may push you to switch from a meetings-heavy role into one that's a bit more autonomous. My calendar looked WIDLY different when I moved from Customer Success to Marketing.

Or — like me — it may push you to become your own boss so you have full control over your calendar. I focus on creating an ideal calendar to optimize my time as much as possible (see my process here).

Remember: The most successful people do not have more time, they spend their time differently. They do this by eliminating what doesn’t matter and delegating what can’t be deleted. That's why I’m working with a VA to outsource the tasks that aren’t in my Zone of Genius.

Ideas for you:

• Negotiate for flexible work arrangements
• Master delegation and outsourcing
• Eliminate non-essential meetings
• Group your meetings together to optimize for other space

Action step: Audit your calendar. Delete a recurring meeting and identify a recurring task to delegate.

3. Location Freedom 🏝️

Location freedom is another reason why so many people want remote work. We got a small taste of it during the pandemic and forcing people back to the office has folks craving for the freedom of WFH life.

This matters a lot to me. After spending the early years of my career flying to client sites and being away from home 4+ days per week, I learned how much I value my time and not having to be in a physical location to work.

I got lucky. I've been working remote optionally since the pandemic. I loved going into the office in New York a few days per week, but could still work remotely whenever I wanted (which is how I ended up in South America with coworkers last winter).

I’m living in Valencia, Spain for the month of July, taking full advantage of the location freedom that comes with building an online business. (Fortunately, strong coffee and decent wifi are global phenomena).

Ideas for you:

• Seek remote-friendly roles or build a location-independent business
• Take advantage of policies that let you flex work remotely
• Pick a week to change up your work environment
• Take all the PTO you can in the meantime :)

Action step: Research your company’s remote work policies or plan a week to work from a new location. If you’re on a career break or work for yourself, take advantage! Often a fresh location brings fresh ideas.

4. Creative Freedom 🎨

Creative freedom is the ability to freely express your ideas. I believe that we are all born creative — and we simply get tricked into thinking we aren’t when life turns more practical after high school. We end up in engineering or business school, learning strategies and tactics without much focus on how to keep those creative juices flowing.

In case you've forgotten: You're an artist and your life is a masterpiece. What are you hoping to create?

Writing is one of my favorite ways to tap into my creative freedom. I loved writing as a kid and it’s wild to me that I’m building my business off of writing content and copy now. What did you love to create as a kid? When's the last time you did it?

Ideas for you:

• Carve out time for creative projects
• Infuse creativity into your current projects
• Think through outside-the-box solutions
• Build a side project for full creative expression

Action step: Block 30 minutes this week for a creative project you’ve been putting off… what’s been calling your name?

Here’s the catch: Freedom isn’t free. It comes at the cost of courage — in this case, yours.

Author Carrie Jones wrote, “The secret of happiness is freedom, the secret of freedom is courage.”

I agree. Courage will set you free.

What does it look like to be courageous?

• Have the difficult conversation with your boss
• Say “no” to asks that fall outside your boundaries
• Carve out time in your week for self-reflection & growth
• Set a BIG goal that feels like a reach — and commit to it
• Pitch yourself to someone who could change the course of your career
• Move to another country with very little planning (maybe that's just me)

Your next courageous step could be the key to unlocking the freedom you crave, creating a life that truly feels like your own.

To help you build the life & career you've always dreamed of and say THANK YOU for reading on a holiday weekend, I decided to do something EXTRA FUN to celebrate with you.

Here's a July 4th bonus drop​
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Grab a 1:1 coaching session for only $20.24. I don't otherwise offer ad-hoc sessions and NEVER at this price, but I want you to be able to get a taste of coaching in a super accessible way. 4 spots available. First come first serve 🎆🎇

Happy 4th (or Thursday) to my fellow freedom seekers!!