“One of the most tragic things I know about human nature is that all of us tend to put off living. We are all dreaming of some magical rose garden over the horizon instead of enjoying the roses that are blooming outside our windows today.” Dale Carnegie
Greetings!
This is a blog about FAMILY FREEDOM.
This blog is written by me (Austin). I am a husband and father and I am tired of the “life deferment plan.”
We will _________ “someday.”
No! Bad!
“Someday” is poison.
“Someday” is a dream-stealer and soul-sucker.
“Someday” is the quickest road to Nowhereville.
Here at this blog we believe in living NOW–this very day! ESPECIALLY if you have a family.
When you have a family it is too easy to say “we will do X when the kids are older” or “when we have X amount of money” or “when we retire” or “when they let us out of the old people’s home.”
There is another path. One that doesn’t start with the question of “How old will I be when the last kid moves out?”
Even with the full responsibilities of a family you can live life now–whether that is running a marathon, starting a band, or traveling the world. It can be done.
And you can pursue any of your crazy goals with your spouse WHILE STILL RAISING STRONG, HEALTHY, FREE-SPIRITED CHILDREN WHILE LOVING THEM A RIDICULOUS AMOUNT!!!
In fact, our hypothesis is that living life this way will be even better for your children compared to the traditional life-deferment plan. There’s nothing like setting an example for your children of living life well now instead of living as a dim shadow of yourself waiting for “someday” to arrive.
I hope you join the team. The more of us there are the stronger our community will be–a community of families that have designed a life that works for them instead following the status quo.
Code Of Family Freedom
1. RELATIONSHIPS ARE #1 A strong, positive relationship with our family is the most important thing to us. The #1 thing that destroys freedom in a family is bad relationships. If relationships aren’t right, there will be no freedom.
2. WE KNOW WHAT OUR GOALS ARE We set clear and concise goals for ourselves and our families. It is goal-setting that gets us to where we want to go. Whether that is a trip to Hawaii or planning a weekend family camping trip. Not setting goals is the quickest way to getting lost.
3. WE DON’T SAY “WE CAN’T”…WE ASK “HOW CAN WE?” We think outside the box and challenge the status quo. There is often more than one way to accomplish a goal and things often cost much less than originally thought. Instead of saying “We can’t afford a family trip to Europe” we ask “How can we afford a family trip to Europe.” That simple question changes everything.
4. WE LISTEN TO THE WISE AND APPLY GOOD ADVICE You don’t need to be a genius to obtain family freedom and live a spectacular life. We live in amazing times. Step-by-step directions from experts for anything you want to accomplish is available for free online or in books at the library. All we have to do is listen and apply the advice. The tragedy of our modern age is we have easy and free access to all the information we will ever need to completely transform our lives…yet most people do nothing.
5. WE MAKE MONEY WORK FOR US, NOT AGAINST US The quickest way to be a slave is to go into debt. The quickest way to be free is to invest money or to have a low-maintenance business that covers all of your expenses. We strive to eliminate debt and build a freedom fund.
6. WE ARE NOT AFRAID TO INVEST IN OURSELVES WITH REAL MONEY While we are very thrifty, we are not afraid to spend money on things that will make us better–a family gym membership, a home workout program, online programs that teach valuable skills, books that we can own and mark up with highlights and notes, access to valuable mastermind groups, learning materials and groups for our children.
7. OUR EDUCATION NEVER STOPS We are always learning and increasing our wisdom and knowledge. We read books and blogs, listen to podcasts, follow online courses, watch informative videos, learn and practice new skills, improve old skills. We are always teaching our children, especially expanding on subjects that go beyond typical school curriculum.
8. WE VALUE EXPERIENCES MORE THAN THINGS We are 100% okay with having material possessions that are useful or bring us joy. Material things are great. But we do not let material things interfere with our ability to have regular, meaningful and fun life experiences. We don’t buy a $50,000 vehicle when a $5,000 vehicle will do.
9. WE IGNORE NAYSAYERS There will always be people who poo poo on the goal of family freedom. They will tell you that it is not possible and that you should focus on more realistic goals, like being obese while working a soul-sucking job as an office drone for the next 40 years followed by a brief period of retirement that you will be too old and unhealthy to enjoy. We ignore these naysayers and instead blaze a path forward to our own destiny. We are not realistic people.
10. WE HELP MAKE THE WORLD BETTER Each of us strives to make the world better in a cause that we believe in, be it child-welfare, conservation, or the fight against poverty. While we enjoy our family freedom, we also use our freedom for the well-being of others. Not to mention that serving a cause is honorable, meaningful, and fun.