Freedom

by Robin J. Elliott

Many people talk about “Freedom”, and since it’s my highest value and objective, I wanted to throw out a few thoughts on it. First, we need to think of its opposites: fear, restriction, scarcity, and unhappiness – turmoil and tension. We know that to be truly happy, we need to live according to our uncompromised values, and to create a congruent lifestyle. We also know that, only when you’re happy, fulfilled, and feeling good about yourself, can you be truly creative.

According to Ayn Rand, there are two classes of people in this world: the prime movers, creators, moneymakers and producers, and then the second-handers, parasites, leeches, and money appropriators. In order to belong to the first group, which comprises perhaps 1% of the population (statistically, anyone earning over $250,000 per year is in the top 1.3% of the North American population), we need to make sure we are independent, happy, and free. And when you are free, you can create wealth, by which everyone will benefit. It is, therefore, the primary responsibility of intelligent, driven capitalists to become free.

The first step to freedom is to overcome your fear of the opinions of other people. People don’t fear failure per se – most of the time they fear the opinions of others. And if you didn’t fear failure, and didn’t give a rat’s ass about what others say, think, or do, what would you do differently? The thing is, the only people who will mock you when you fail are losers. Winners regard “failure” simply as a stepping stone, feedback, and interruption, a detour. Fear of success? The only people who will resent your success are the leeches, who will look for ways to appropriate your wealth and steal the milk out of your tea.

In order to accomplish this first step, we need to reinterpret “failure”, and realize that you can only fail if you quit. Even then, you are free to quit any time you tire of a goal, which means that you simply can’t fail, unless you’re a quitter for the wrong reasons. We’ve all heard the old question, “What would you do if you knew you couldn’t fail?” Well, there you go, then. To be truly independent, we need to understand what that implies. Ayn Rand, according to authors Greiner and Kinni, teaches that “The act of living by the work of their own minds is the primary difference between [the two classes of people mentioned above.]…They have the strength of character to act alone without the comforting support of tradition and popular opinion.”

The second step is to define your purpose, your raison d’etre, your life objective, and that is where most losers fall out of the tree. When your purpose is big enough, (your “WHY” in seminar colloquial), when you commit absolutely to your objective, you suddenly access strength and energy beyond what you ever experienced before – you find your groove, your Mojo, your inner powerhouse, and you start becoming unstoppable.

At this point, alignment is everything. EVERY aspect of your life needs to be aligned with your major purpose – physical, mental, social – every choice, word, deed, and thought – all your input - and that means cutting away and discarding the posers, the passengers, the pretense, the passivity, the poison, and the pussyfooting. Warriors are not hesitant, timid, pessimistic, or nervous. They discard anything that will encumber them, slow them down, or sabotage them. They shoot deserters, and when their friends befriend their enemies, those friends become their enemies, too. They are focused, lean, and mean, and they make things happen. They are proactive and determined machines. They are leaders, and they never doubt that they will win. They are ready and willing to courageously pay whatever price is necessary.

Thirdly, freedom is the result of ACTION. Losers live vicariously through their sports heroes, become seminar junkies, and excel at excuses and mediocrity. They hide, delude themselves, and believe their own lies. In today’s world, money is a major component of freedom, and you can’t make money watching hockey or smoking pot. According to Ayn Rand, Freedom means, “To ask for nothing, to expect nothing, to depend on nothing”. To me, Freedom means the same – to do what you want, when you want, how you want, where you want, with whom you want, if you want – life on my own terms, in alignment with my personal, rational values and beliefs. I have to create this freedom, and I cannot do that without the appropriate and necessary action.

True warriors and Prime Movers are people of action; they are the rainmakers, the movers and shakers, the producers. They make their dreams come true, they believe in themselves, and they do not need the permission or sanction of anyone to do that. They insist upon success, and they are free. DollarMakers provides the vehicle for people to achieve financial freedom, and in order to maintain the freedom that I have created for myself, I am free to choose whom I work with, so the Members of DollarMakers that are accepted and allowed to remain Members are people with whom we are comfortable. We live what we teach, and we discard losers and rats from our lives. That is freedom. Talk is cheap. Results matter. No compromise. Face the truth, embrace reality, make your choice, and become free.

Robin J. Elliott dollarmakers.com