One of the common desires of entrepreneurs or purposes of entrepreneurship is to have freedom. Entrepreneurs seek the freedom to create, freedom from relationships, financial freedom, freedom to do what they want, when they want, and so on.
There are no secrets to the feel of freedom, but the awareness that comes from discipline and practice opens up a whole new revelation of freedom that allows you to experience the fullness of its essence in your entrepreneurial journey.
For the month of July, we explore the entrails of “freedom” and extend that vision in a month-long series of reflections and writings.
Freedom requires connecting love with power
In the Booming Model, we delve into the importance of connecting to the heart as the first and most critical step into the entrepreneur’s journey, with the aim that we build our business and life from a place of love and inner power (both self love and the love we have for others). This, because love alone does not bring freedom. Power brings freedom. Love is required to temper your power so that the imbalanced urges of power do not get out of hand and control your actions. The feeling that we don’t have a sense of freedom in some area of our life is a likely symptom or indication of a disconnection with the source of power, our inner power. Both forces interact in the heart of an entrepreneur.
Imagine you are highly attracted to a person, but you also see that the attraction is not serving any purpose. Now, you feel like you are becoming a prisoner to this attraction, acting in ways that are not true to who you are, making choices that are out of integrity to satisfy the intense attraction or desire.This is an indication of powerlessness on your part. The only way you can come out of this circumstance is by connecting with your inner power, at which point the strength of your inner power overrides the pull of this attraction.
The same applies for other situations like financial instability. So many entrepreneurs share that they constantly feel powerless because of the lack of finances or resources. This is also true for social anxiety, a state where people feel powerless towards others (their behaviors or judgments). A mindset or perception of lack, anxiety, judgement and usually fear are external manifestations of imbalance and a reflection of the disconnect from inner power.
Freedom and the state of allowing
In the discipline of personal development we tend to point towards love as a solution or optimal state. Love is a great healer. Love is powerful. Love is a power. However, in contexts where you are searching for freedom (financial freedom, emotional freedom, a free mind etc), connection to inner power is essential. This awareness is especially important as you navigate the ups and downs of your entrepreneurial journey.
Using love as the only solution is a narrow minded or rigid approach, that usually has imbalanced consequences. We start equating love to a technique, forcing ourselves to think about loving everything that arises or that we experience. We convince ourselves to be okay or to have it all together no matter what arises or comes.
From the lens of The Booming Model, we offer a different frame that considers both love and power in balance. The state of allowing is an openness towards the balance of dark and light aspects in you. Having freedom is more than connecting with love. Navigating and understand what arises, being open to what arises, doesn’t mean that you have to be loving towards what arises. If sadness or anger is what arises then allow that aspect in you without guilt or justification – without judgement. If agitation is what arises in you then allow this agitation. There is no need to force love or a loving attitude. There is no need to force peace. Sit with the comfort and the discomfort equally. Allow what is arising, to arise. Then, you can attain conscious balance.
Allowing, or achieving the state of allowing, is the inner work that sustains personal and business development. Allowing doesn’t mean that you have to take external action based on what is arising. You can allow anger or hatred towards someone to surface internally without throwing hurling insults at that person. Allowing a feeling or thought within you doesn’t mean that you will take action on that feeling or thought. The allowing is just a way to bring forth a balance of energy within you, caused by a release of imbalanced momentum, so that your actions can then come from a balanced place.
What does Allowing have to do with power and freedom?
Allowing is when you stop caring about the end result of finding relief or something extraordinary. Allowing is when you stop wanting an escape and can be fully in the presence of pain or discomfort without needing a cop out. Allowing is when you can stop asking for peace and are willing to embrace the agitation in its fullness. Allowing is when you can stop seeking assurance and accept uncertainty (and the fear of it).
Through the exploration and practice of allowing, you feel and claim your inner power. When you are connected with your inner power, then you can see and experience what may come (both positive and negative) without cowering to its influence. Even if you initially experience the drawback, you do so without entanglement in the reaction to the circumstance. This as we experience, brings light into the true essence of freedom.
