The Freedom Plan – Investing in Yourself
March 17, 2010
In the past week, I must have talked to a hundred people (well maybe that’s a teeny bit inflated) about a term I concocted a few years ago called the “freedom plan.” Quite simply, the freedom plan is a plan you adopt to fund your freedom. In other words, you invest in yourself to pursue your passion.
When I was in career transition from president of an advertising agency to budding author and professional coach, I knew my income was going to take a serious dive during the first year while my new business ramped up. In the old days, I would have found the idea of making less money to be an insurmountable hurdle. And I would have run right back to the profession I knew (and didn’t love) to find another position that was at near or equal pay. In this frame of mind, I was stuck.
If you think about it, anytime a new business or major endeavor is starting up, you can expect to make some sort of investment. This applies to changing careers from one field to another in existing organizations as well. Some people pay for advanced education or training to make a change. That can be expensive. Some entrepreneurs look for outside investors and/or invest in their business themselves. That’s not cheap either. Another way is to accept the idea of temporarily making less income while you get started.
If you view this transition period as a time to invest in yourself, you will get unstuck. You can decide to cut back to the bare essentials for a period of time (six months, one year or whatever you can tolerate) in order to fund your freedom and pursue what you love. Instead of thinking of this time as a period of lack, think of it as liberation.
Here’s an example of how this concept worked for me. In order to fund my transition, I reduced costs by cutting everything that wasn’t essential. Things like: expensive dinners out, pedicures, a new car after mine reached 100,000 miles, cable TV (yes, I cut down to the basic five channels) and extra clothes. If someone invited me to dinner at an expensive restaurant, I’d suggest a more casual (and affordable) place. Occasionally I’d get teased about this, and I’d smile and explain that I was on my freedom plan and would rather pursue my dream than drink expensive wine. I called my savings my “freedom money” and guarded it fiercely. Instead of thinking about it as not having enough money to buy extra things, I thought of it as having a choice. The money I saved was money I could invest in myself… and you can do the same.
The formula is simple:
- Reduce your expenses
- Cut out everything you don’t need
- Change your mindset from lack to liberation
- Pursue what you love
The freedom plan allows you to reevaluate priorities. You can change your focus from having things to having opportunities. Yes it’s a sacrifice, but when in doubt, ask yourself…
“What is it worth to pursue your dream?”
Filed under: Doing What You Love,Transition
8 Comments Leave a Comment
1. Ashley Whittenberger | March 17, 2010 at 1:34 pm
Followed this through from Facebook…what great words of wisdom — I needed this right now!
2. aaron jackson | March 17, 2010 at 6:10 pm
Familiar thoughts for anyone who has went through a transition. And I believe in them. But explanation to spouse and family, would be a nice follow up article.
Keep writing
3. Valerie Hausladen | March 17, 2010 at 7:57 pm
@Aaron: Very good point. It’s definitely important that the family understands your goal and supports you. Also helps if you have an agreed timeline (say one year) that you all commit to supporting. Thanks for the idea for a new blog post!
@Ashley: So good to see you at this site. Glad you liked the post. As we all know, the journey is NOT for the faint of heart!!
4. Greg | March 17, 2010 at 8:21 pm
Always good advice Valerie, no wonder the book is doing so well. This really hits home right now with so many people being forced into a transition they hadn’t planned. However, one should embrace transition for the experience it can be. I believe everyone should embrace your “freedom plan” idea because sooner or later, you will find yourself at that crossroad.
5. John Wilson | March 18, 2010 at 12:33 pm
Great advice. My wife and I have both left the “corporate world” over the last several months and have started our own company to offer IT “cloud” services both from a consulting view and re-seller of services. It is refreshing to be putting your time into something that you can build and the business is getting off the ground.
6. Valerie Hausladen | March 18, 2010 at 2:07 pm
@John: This is so good to hear. You and your wife are the perfect examples of the liberation and new opportunities made possible when you embrace the “freedom plan.” Thank you for sharing this comment.
7. Professional Destiny &raq&hellip | March 31, 2010 at 10:49 pm
[...] Making degrees of freedom—simplify in order to free yourself to do the work the world wants you to do. For more ideas on this see, The Freedom Plan. [...]
8. Professional Destiny &raq&hellip | July 7, 2010 at 11:46 am
[...] to the bare essentials so that you can invest in yourself to make your dream happen. I call this “The Freedom Plan.” It’s a plan that buys your freedom to do what you [...]
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