Without a care in the world… What a way to go through life. While Americans are typically stressed out of their minds, they have come to equate happiness with a carefree existence. Somehow along the way that has morphed into care-less.
“Free will” is an interesting concept. Most imagine James Dean in Rebel Without a Cause. In actuality, James Dean’s character Jim Stark, is an emotionally confused teenager, who is bullied, feels misunderstood and longs for closeness with his parents. He is hardly expressing free will; in fact his non-conformity is just a thirst to feel significant.
Free will is something that requires extreme care, laborious discipline and massive self-understanding; it’s about identifying your personal set of principles and honoring them with ferocity and bravery every second of every day — That my friends is free will!
Imagine you are a corporation onto yourself. You are the CEO, CFO, CIO, COO and every single employee in the entire building of you! Let’s also imagine that you are a highly successful business. You are “Apple Inc.” of individual human beings. What makes Apple so successful?
First off, they have a business plan, complete with a mission statement, a set of core values, and a real plan of action.
1. We believe that we’re on the face of the Earth to make great products.
2. We believe in the simple, not the complex.
3. We believe that we need to own and control the primary technologies behind the products we make.
4. We participate only in markets where we can make a significant contribution.
5. We believe in saying “no” to thousands of projects so that we can really focus on the few that are truly important and meaningful to us.
6. We believe in deep collaboration and cross-pollination of our groups, which allow us to innovate in a way that others cannot.
7. We don’t settle for anything less than excellence in every group in the company, and we have the self-honesty to admit when we’re wrong and the courage to change.
Take a minute and look up Google’s Core Values or any kick ass company for that matter. They have a GPS of sorts, grounding, something to base every decision they make on.
Now let’s equate this to our own individual lives. How can you get to where you want to go if you don’t have directions? If you don’t have a core set of values, a guiding set of principals how can you exhibit free will, much less move in a direction that supports your deepest convictions?
Is having free will that you can light up a cigarette whenever you want and no one can tell you different? After a few years you are a slave to the addiction of nicotine. The same can be said of your emotions, are you a slave to your emotions? Are you reactive? Do you practice any form of mental discipline?
Free will is perhaps the hardest work you can ever attempt. To be unwavering in your decision making and being 100% determined when it come to adhering to your personal belief system. Think about it. Next time someone makes a joke at someone else’s expense reconsider your reaction, do you still laugh? What about when all your friends are going out but your goal is to be the best father that you can possibly be? Or you want to get ready for a big competition and everyone is going out partying, are you staying in? Free will is not entirely “fun,” in fact it is flippin’ hard work.
If you have a code of ethics and a set of core values it makes life much simpler. Every decision you will have to make tomorrow is already decided for you today. Regardless of your emotional makeup or mood. The decision is either in support or opposition to your core beliefs/goals. Don’t for a second equate “making things simpler” with “making things easier” You will come to find that simple is not always easy. Making a decision that supports your personal code that is free will. Care free? Not even close, more like care-dependent.
It’s time to get clear on what you want to be, where you want to go in life, what you want to accomplish and how you want to live.
I have a great friend and what he always tells me is, “Jeff, I’m just trying to make the next right decision…” One by one, little by little, decision by decision. Hours turn into days, days into weeks, then months, then years. All you have to do is start with the next right decision…
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