Why Freedom is the Ultimate Aim of Life

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As I’ve been working on my book project, I’ve been thinking a lot about my past, reading old journal entries, and trying to make sense of my life. I’ve realized that my motivation has changed quite a bit—not just in waxing and waning intensity but also in character. This is obvious, perhaps, but not trivial.

I believe firmly that you cannot really judge a man without first knowing and understanding his motives and intent. As T.S. Eliot once so eloquently put it:

“[T]he last temptation is the greatest treason: to do the right deed for the wrong reason.”

People like to say that in the end all that matters is what we have done. But the why behind it all is what really matters. The fact that our motivations are changing all the time makes judging others a rather tricky proposition, right? This is probably why Lincoln was always quoting Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount:

“Judge not, lest ye be judged.”

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Anyway, in this process of reflection, I realized that there is at least one big, consistent theme in life: I am someone who has prioritized freedom to an unusual degree.

Most of the time I didn’t quite know it, but it’s crystal clear looking backwards. My whole adult life, I have wanted freedom and autonomy above all else. It’s why I struggled so much with life in corporate America and why I could hardly stand the idea of having a boss. It’s what drove me to be an entrepreneur and why real estate seemed so attractive as an industry.  What I wanted most was to have control over my daily schedule. I also wanted, of course, to get rich, but I craved financial success, not because I dreamed of living some lavish, materialistic lifestyle, but rather because of the promise of freedom which seemed to come along with it. In fact, in all the major decisions I’ve made and at all the big turning points over the last 20 years, my desire for freedom has won the day. 

I’ve been lucky beyond all reasonable expectation in this regard. I’ve logged more hours of genuine work week daytime autonomy in the last decade than many people do in a lifetime—I know, an incredible privilege. Don’t get me wrong. It’s not like I’ve lived some stress-free, cushy existence. I’ve had many sleepless nights and several moments of real crisis. I’ve been responsible to many people—business partners, team members, investors, lenders…etc.—and had to do plenty of things I didn’t want to do. But all along, I have been free. 

You might be thinking, “Hey Nick, this is interesting and all but what does this have to do with Profit+.”

It’s all relevant, trust me!

If I had to sum up the problem of modern life in one neat little sentence it would be this:

Most people think they are free, when they are not. 

I know that this may sounds strange, given that we are living in an age of unprecedented political and economic freedom—at least on historical standards. But I’m talking about a very particular kind of freedom here. 

“Freedom” is another of those tricky words that we assume we understand but often don’t, probably because there are so many versions of it. 

There are obvious things like national freedom—living in a free, independent country—and personal freedom—living without undue outside influence or control (as in not being incarcerated, enslaved, or otherwise physically/psychologically controlled). And there are more subtle manifestations like financial freedom—having enough money to pay for what you need and some left over for what you want—and psychological freedom—learning how to live in the small space that exists between stimulus and response and not being controlled by unconscious conditioning. But the ultimate freedom is the freedom to think for yourself. This is easier said than done but absolutely crucial for living a good life.

Again, I know it may sound crazy to say something like “people don’t think for themselves” but it’s true more often than it is not. If you are looking for proof, just ask the myriads of modern psychologists and neuroscientists who have been busy figuring out all the ways our brain gets hijacked by forces outside our conscious control. When Socrates said that most people are “sleepwalking through life” he didn’t know about things like the subconscious and mirror neurons but he absolutely nailed the diagnoses. 

Most people are simply not thinking for themselves, even on the most crucial of matters and decisions. It doesn’t take a genius to realize how big of a problem this is. When you think you are free but are not, you walk around in a kind of permanent state of delusion and thus are prone to making mistakes and bad decisions. 

To think freely is the challenge of a lifetime and, given our biology and our psychological tendencies, almost impossible. But it’s imperative that we try! Even just a few moments of true free thinking each day is enough to completely change the trajectory of our lives.

Now, I don’t know if I’m really qualified to teach people how to go from “not free” to “free” but that’s what I’m trying to do here! While the world is busy yelling at you to chase success, most commonly imagined as “having a lot of money and power,” I want you to aim for freedom. And it’s not freedom from work, responsibility, and stress that we’re after—that’s not possible in life anyway—but rather true freedom, the freedom to think for ourselves. As we have learned from Holocaust survivors like Viktor Frankl, the beautiful and empowering truth is that once you develop the ability for free thinking, no one can take it from you, not even in the darkest and most evil of places. 

Lately, I’ve been spending a lot of time thinking about how to translate this very general advice into a tactical action plan. Writing motivational and aspirational essays can only take us so far! At some point, we have to get to work in daily life, right?

Well, I’ve got some ideas brewing! Today, I’ll leave you with a little teaser. Here are my 4 Pillars of True Freedom: 

1. Freedom is teachable

2. Doing for others is fundamental

3. Profit is a must but it cannot be the only

4. Politics cannot be ignored

I will look forward to sharing more very soon.

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