Independence Day

LeadershipAccurate ThinkingHonoring TimeSelf ConfidenceMorning Momentum

Oct 24

It’s only when we loosen our grip that we set ourselves free!

Okay question right out of the gate this morning. What does freedom mean to you? Your own personal freedom.

I ask this as I think about the importance of this day for me. 40 years ago today, I drove into Boulder, Colorado to make it my new home. I was scared, excited and honestly in disbelief that I had mustered up the courage and tenacity to make the move by myself to a place where I knew only one person. And … with only $200 cash at that point to my name.

Last week, my husband Ed and I hiked the Green Mountain Trail in celebration of this important date. As we enjoyed fall foliage and the beauty of this hike, I remembered that day in July, 40 years ago when I took the same hike while visiting Boulder with friends. It was during the hike as I looked at the beauty of the mountains of the “back range” (todays picture above) that I knew this was where I was supposed to be. This was the filler of the void I had been feeling for years in my life.

This was where my life was supposed to unfold, this is where I would finally find the freedom, I had been looking for. Traveling back to California I also knew then that if I didn’t make this move happen immediately, it might not happen at all. Fear would set in, people who didn’t want me to go would convince me to stay put in that life.

So, with all the power available within me I said goodbye to the life I had in California, including a marriage that was not working, sold my home, packed up my little pickup truck and headed back to Boulder.

This is a decision that changed the trajectory of my life in so many ways, giving me a life, I am blessed and honored to have been given.

I did it in the name of my freedom and celebrate every October 24th as my own true day of independence. The day I loosened my grip on what I was supposed to do and be, as I set myself free.

And now as I look to my future and what lies ahead, I feel the same fear, mixed with awe, wonder, and a little touch of magic about what lies ahead as I relaunch my podcast in the weeks ahead (Bright Shiny Object Project) as well as submit my book proposal that I have worked on all summer into fall, and bring on more speaking opportunities ahead on the topic of Leadership and Bright Shiny Objects. These are the expressive freedoms I have that matter most to me right now.

With that I will ask you again, for you, what does freedom for you look like right now? What changes could you make? Or perhaps you are already there. I would really love to know how this speaks to you.

Here’s to a great week ahead!