What is your Freedom Vision?

Last week in the mentoring group, we began to explore the idea of Freedom Visions -- how our lifestyle AND business vision supports our picture of freedom. You see most people just start their business because they know how to do something really well and they figure....why don't I make $$ with it?

Then 2 - 3 years later, they are running a business that feels a lot like a job. You know that feeling where you are working 50, 60, 70 maybe even over 100 hours a week, and you are STILL not making the $$ you want. You have more stress than you did in your corporate career with less time for your family, friends and the freedom you crave.

Well, it's time to create a vision of what you want. I've asked all of my mentees to create a picture of their ideal business lifestyle. Here are four types of business lifestyles:

• Traditional: You want to build the more traditional "brick & mortar" business where you actually go somewhere to work everyday, have an "8 - 5" schedule, and hire employees. A typical traditional entrepreneur might be Donald Trump.
• Social: This is the type of entrepreneur who is driven by "making a difference" in the world. Financial gain is secondary to their mission. An example of a social entrepreneur would be Marianne Williamson.
• Lifestyle: A lifestyle entrepreneur does everything to gain more freedom so they can enjoy their life. They build their business in a way to afford them more time off. An example of a lifestyle entrepreneur is a real estate agent -- they typically work a little, make a lot, and take tons of time off.
• Creative: The creative entrepreneur is driven to express their creativity. They tend to produce lots of ideas, products and will be leaders in their industry.

Now, none of these "types" are exclusive. Most of us have a bit of all of them. But you will find that one type tends to lead you in your actions, your motiviation, your mental processing of how you build your business.

The question: is this "type" going to get you the life you always dreamed of?

Here is an example. My client, Jake, was overwhelmed and frustrated because of all the employee management issues he experienced. As we began to dissect the issues and understand what type of life he really wants to live, he confessed that being a manager really drained him.

In the end, we realized that he is a true creative with a lifestyle passion. Jake wants to create products that will lead him to enjoy more financial freedom. By simply clarifying that vision, he is now rebuilding his business to support a creative lifestyle.

What is your freedom vision? I guarantee that if you take some time to write out a clear picture of what you want your Freedom LIfestyle to be, you will see instant shifts in your success.