More freedom and ease, please!
This is the answer I consistently get when I ask people what they want more of.
And to be clear, it’s ease they’re seeking, not for everything to be easy.
A seasoned business owner recently remarked, “I just want to walk, not run all day long.”
Can you relate? Holy smokes, I can.
As a business owner, there are so many things that you can do.
Shiny object syndrome is real.
And it fuels your exhaustion and fades your freedom.
As a 29+ year entrepreneur, I’ve certainly learned a thing or two. For some reason, it was often the hard way!
I hoped that if I just worked harder and pushed more, I could eventually get to the other side, create more balance, and finally experience freedom and ease.
In case you’re curious, hope is not a good strategy. (Ask me how I know.)
During my time prior to coaching, I was a caterer. It was a fun job that allowed me to be creative, travel around the state, and build a very successful boutique catering company.
While I was successful, I was also working 10–12-hour days, often six days a week.
I was missing many of the activities my kids were participating in, things I cared about.
When my kids would come to me and ask me to do something with them, I’d tell them just 10-more minutes. When they wouldn’t come back and get me, I thought, “Score, I can get one more thing done.”
It took me a while, but I finally realized that I was NOT being the person I wanted to be.
My business was very successful, yet I was burnt-out, checked out, overwhelmed & exhausted, and at times, a bit prickly with the ones I loved.
It is possible to have both a thriving professional life AND a thriving personal life, simultaneously.
Both matter. Yet I think all of us have been on a journey at some point where deep down we know we’re sacrificing our physical health, our relationships, and mental health.
That was my journey.
I was working long hours and neglecting the people who meant the most to me.
And I had convinced myself I was doing it for them instead of to them.
As crazy as it sounds, I told myself that I was being present with my family even while my phone was in my hand when we were sitting on the couch. We were watching a movie “together,” and I was still in my inbox responding to clients.
Over the years as an entrepreneur, I’ve found that whenever I’m pushing, driving, and saying “YES” to more so I can finally “make it to the next level and just breathe,” it rarely happens. Even if it does, it comes at a cost.
In fact, that head down, shoulder in, masculine drive for more moved me further away from what I went into business for in the first place…to create more freedom, flexibility, and financial security.
That to-do list is like a fluffle of rabbits. It. Just. Keeps. Multiplying.
It’s time to build a business that will sustain the life you want to live, not consume it.
Interested in changing your To-Do list to a Success list so you can create more of what you want?
Here are 3 strategies to start moving you closer to the freedom and ease you desire:
Strategy #1: Pause for Freedom
Now, this may sound counterintuitive to you.
You’re probably thinking, “Lisa, for the love of Pete, I’m overwhelmed and exhausted just looking at my to-do list…and you want me to Pause?”
There’s some serious power in an intentional pause.
Not everything matters equally
We often experience overwhelm, stress, and exhaustion because we’re saying “YES” to something that seems like an opportunity in the moment. In reality, it’s a distraction dressed in the most clever of disguises.
If you’re not clear on what more freedom and ease in your day looks like, how will you invite more of it?
Pause and ponder this question:
What does more freedom and ease look like in my life?
**With specificity, not simply, “more time, a stacked retirement account, and someone to do the damn laundry for once.”
Strategy #2: Prioritize Ease
Let’s be clear, when you’re saying “YES” to one thing, you’re saying “NO” to something else. There is always a tradeoff.
There are 24-hours in a day. That is non-negotiable.
You wake up, and there are all these things you could do, all these things you could have, and all these things you could know.
Which means you have to make choices about what you want and how you go about getting it.
Refer to Strategy #1 above, then ask yourself:
What do I want more of?
What do I want less of?
Then, put your MORE list in order of priority (what you want most at the top), and unapologetically move into action starting with #1.
Strategy #3: Structure = Freedom
The creative in you is probably cursing my name right now. It’s ok. I still love ya and completely understand.
Here’s the thing, when you have more structure, it will be easier to pause, prioritize, and intentionally invest your resources (time and financial) rather than spending them. Investing provides ROI.
Spending rarely does.
Pause, Prioritize, and then Ponder this:
If what I want is more of X, what’s one action I can take today to ensure that my calendar (and checkbook) reflect that? What’s one action that will structure my time around that priority?
Here’s a favorite quote of mine by Viktor Frankl, a Holocaust survivor, and author.
“Between stimulus and response, there is a space.
In that space is our power to choose our response.
In our response lies our growth and our freedom.”
As I said earlier, there’s some serious power in an intentional pause. Choose your growth and freedom.
Need some help figuring out what more freedom and ease is for you? Set up a complimentary 20-minute call so I can support you, here.