Freedom From Your Mental Prison 神経的な刑務所からの自由

Let me ask you a question: Is freedom important to you? If so, do you know exactly what “freedom” means? It’s a bit harder to define than you might think. Is freedom the ability to do anything you want? Is it the ability to go anywhere you want? Is it that feeling you have while you relax on the beach?

If you want to study English at the donut shop, but your wife wants to watch a movie at home with you, how do you feel?

If you want to go to an English club, but your Japanese friends want to go out to an izakaya, how do you feel?

If you want your company to transfer you to their American branch, but they decide to keep you in Japan and give you a promotion, how do you feel?

Freedom is the feeling you have when you spend your time doing what you want.

Freedom is not an external thing that people give to you. It’s also not a “goal” or endpoint. It’s a result of your mindset and systems-thinking. You take or create freedom through your thoughts and the systems you design.

Your wife wants to watch movies with you because of your mindset and systems. You married someone that doesn’t want to support your ambitions because you didn’t know what you wanted, and because you didn’t have a system to get what you wanted.

Your friends want to go out drinking because you didn’t find English speaking friends. Neither did you distance yourself from friends that would undermine your ambitions.

Why didn’t your company transfer you to America? Because you got a job at a company that wouldn’t support your ambitions and you didn’t negotiate strongly enough for the American position.

In short, the cage you are locked in is the one you are creating everyday.

It will take a long time to free yourself from your mental prison. If you have supporters, cherish them. You may feel invisible and unimportant to all but those few beautiful people. But, you have those people. Their love and companionship is enough—more than enough. They sustain and energize you.

This is the beginning of your future empire. It’s a period of good times sprinkled here and there with bad, if you’re doing things right. Sure, there are fears and doubts about the future. After all, the world is a scary place. Your fear reminds you that you have something that’s worth loving and protecting. It’s a signal to keep you focused. No time for lallygagging; this empire isn’t gonna build itself.

But, empires are not built by lone wolves. At some point, you really do want to reach a wider audience. When you go to work and nobody really notices or cares, it’s deflating. If you release a new product and nobody buys, your financial future is in jeopardy. Getting attention will be a critical part of your journey to freedom.