The Freedom of Less I regularly take coaching programs and subscribe to newsletters - so many I needed to cut my subscriptions by 75% to have time to read them! Many are for people who want to run seven figure businesses from their home laptops, written and taught by people who are doing exactly that. Some run multiple businesses with a team of people they trust. Most travel frequently and contribute financially to charitable causes they are passionate about. In all the training videos I’ve watched in the last year, I haven’t run across one con artist – these are legitimate businesses founded by people with good intentions, talent, ambition, and a strong sense of purpose. My favorite business class…so far…is Marie Forleo’s B-School. http://www.marieforleo.com/ I call B-School “Everything you need to know about running an online business, with heart and soul.” Marie is tapped into Spirit, fully on and in her purpose, and serious about helping people and the energy of our planet. I haven’t met her in person yet, but I adore her. In fact, I’m a bit envious she has accomplished all she has by the age of 40. A lovely, radiant, glowing 40, I might add. As Marie says, you need to know exactly what kind of business you want from the start. Do you want something like Anne Hathaway’s character, Jules, did in the movie The Intern with Robert De Niro (my example) or a small micro-business…like me? Many successful entrepreneurs hire help for the business, and for their personal life. House-cleaning, fresh-food delivery, nanny care, etc. It makes sense from a revenue creation standpoint, and they support local business owners. I get that. I also get something Seth Godin said (condensed here) in his blog: Almost no one knows how to think about money and investing. Squadrons of people will try to confuse you and rip you off. Many will bore you. But Andrew Tobias has written a book that might just change your net worth. His advice is simple: spending less is even more valuable than earning more. Read Seth’s entire post here: http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2016/04/your-money-and-your-future.html. One of my very best friends married a rocket scientist. (Seriously, Pete’s an Aerospace Engineer. And the very best husband I can imagine for my dear friend, and father to their daughter.) Nancy’s creative by nature, with degrees in interior and floral design. Pete garners a healthy six figure salary for helping all of us with our space exploration goals. (Hmm, ya think he might have a creative bone in his body, too?) Their dream house is being built, right now as I’m writing this, in their new home state of Texas. Yet…they can’t afford vacations and splurges without Nancy also working. Their daughter will no doubt need braces, cheer competition dressage, karate, ballet, or piano or violin lessons, art classes, volleyball, college tuition, whatever their choices are as a family. I share this because it leads to my always question…what I ask myself while at a big life crossroads, or making a decision in aisle six at the grocery store. What do I really want? What will most please my inner, authentic nature and my purpose in the world? I want a small, profitable business. I want to help people reach their inner authority and express their authentic voice. I enjoy cleaning my own home, mindfully, and I love cooking for myself, my fiancé, and dinner guests. I would feel something was taken away if I couldn’t prepare meals. I just planted a patio box garden yesterday with a beefsteak tomato, sweet heirloom cherry tomato, flat leaf parsley, basil, cilantro, bell pepper, and garden hot pepper for salsa. My financial needs aren’t large. I used to think I needed a matching bedroom set…that was my ultimate home décor dream. Then I bought a good Temperapedic mattress, to improve my sleep and how my body felt getting out of bed in the morning. Then I found a 1960’s vintage bedroom set by the side of the road for $40, including delivery. Then I rented a house with my fiancé. His small beat-up wood dresser and the one I had inherited from my grandmother, which belonged to her mother, were right about the same color. So we painted the found bedroom set and everything turned out to be the same kinda color, especially after we added the leopard print bedspread set, on sale at Bed Bath and Beyond for $60. My bedroom brings me enormous joy. Adding Aunt Barb’s painting over the dresser was the final touch. No matching bedroom set purchased from a store could bring this sense of home, contentment and happiness to my heart. Whenever you think you need more…ask yourself how needing less would bring you more happiness…in your bank account, your heart, your relationships. You might be pleasantly surprised by what you find…true freedom. What can you release you thought you needed? Share on the blog to help us all. Authentically Yours, Laura
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