How To Create Freedom for a Meaningful Life
Happy Fourth of July! This is always a tough holiday for me because it’s the anniversary of my father’s death. He died on 4th of July when I was only 9 years old. So it has been a challenging day for me for most of my life.
That being said, it always gets me thinking about how precious our life is, and how blessed we are as the human race to have free will. Regardless of what you think about American politics (trust me, we face a looooot of challenges…), we can take the idea of freedom even deeper into the existential idea that we all have internal freedom of choice in every moment.
Viktor Frankl, a Holocaust concentration camp survivor and one of the fathers of existentialism, wrote extensively about this is his famed book “Man’s Search for Meaning.” (One of my personal favorite books.) He talks about how no matter what external circumstances we find ourselves in, we always have an internal freedom of choice - even if it’s just a freedom to choose our attitudes and how we think about our external circumstance.
I always like to reflect on Fourth of July on the types of freedoms I have in my life, and how I can create more spiritual liberation for myself and others. I have listed below the types of freedom that have made the most impact in creating a meaningful life. Cultivate more of these and you will start to feel more and more liberated.
FREEDOM OF TIME
Having the freedom to set your own schedule, do what you want when you want, is one of the most powerful ways to have autonomy in your own life.
Tony Robbins says that you’re either built as an employee or as an entrepreneur. And let me tell ya, I am an entrepreneur through and through. I value the freedom of time so much that when I had jobs where I clocked in and out, even when the work was fine, I felt like my life wasn’t MINE.
Being on someone else’s time literally felt like prison or slavery to me. I felt like I was wasting my life away according to someone else’s watch, and I recognized just how precious my time was. Not because my time is more important than anyone else’s, but because it was the most important to ME.
As a Buddhist, I believe in reincarnation and know that I’ll come back for lifetime after lifetime. But, I have always appreciated that this is my one and only chance at being SARAH BYRD, and that life goes by quick. So when my time is used up working for someone else’s dream at the expense of my own, I knew I had to make a change.
If you are able to create a business where you can set your own hours, work less (while making more $), and dedicate time to what lights you up… it’s like being released from prison and being given a new lease on life. The world opens up to you.
You have time in the morning to enjoy your coffee while journaling and writing out your gratitude list (my favorite way to ease into the day). The mid-day yoga classes refresh your body. And the walks in nature to ground your soul become more and more frequent and leisurely.
Your life isn’t crammed into two days on the weekend anymore. You get to enjoy ALL of your life, and decide how you prioritize your time and experiences.
Creating your own schedule is a true form of freedom.
How can you start to create more time freedom - even if you have lots of scheduled responsibilities?
1. Time block
Time blocking has been a game changer for me because it gives me the structure to keep moving forward, but allows me the freedom to adjust as I need and decide when I prioritize my tasks in my life - on my terms.
The simple way to do it is to:
- Write out all of your responsibilities/projects and how much time you want to dedicate to each one per week (40hrs for work OR 20hrs if you own your own business, 5hrs exercise, 1hr morning and evening rituals/routines, 8hrs sleep, etc.).
- Get a blank weekly calendar, and plug these hours in. Start with the things you know have a set schedule (going to bed at 10pm, waking up at 6am).
- Then decide when you want to focus and work (maybe you focus better in the morning or afternoon), plug in the other responsibilities, and then block off flexible time for transitions. Hint: Don’t forget to prioritize time with loved ones, down time, and time for YOU!
2. Discipline
Sticking to your commitments and doing what you set aside time to do.
If your to-do list only seems to get longer and longer, and never gets shorter, it might be because you add to it more than you take things off of it. I had a teacher once say that if a task takes two minutes or less, do it right then. Don’t put it off until later, because it’ll just stay on your list forever and ever amen.
Create your weekly calendar at the beginning of each week, then stick to it or adjust as you go. Being able to set aside time, and then actually do what you say you’re going to do instead of putting it off, will give you ultimate freedom in your schedule!
3. Create a business
This one isn’t a simple quick fix. Obviously starting a business is a major venture. But ultimately, if you are wanting to be in charge of your own schedule, it’s just not possible when you’re an employee of someone else. Even in salary positions where you get paid as long as your job gets done still is ultimately answering to someone else.
If you are a business owner, there’s a way to set it up so that you generate big $ while working less. And this gives you back your freedom without sacrificing your income.
I show women how to do exactly this in the Abundant Soul-Aligned Business program. I walk you through the exact steps to building foundational business structures and generating income on repeat, so you can leave your 9-5 and get back to living!
FREEDOM OF MONEY
Imagine if you had an extra $5K - $10K income every month. How would life change for you?
Would you be able to pay off your debt?
Would you be able to leave your 9-5?
Would you be able to take your family on that dream vacation, or yourself on the spiritual retreat you’ve been dreaming of for years?
Would you be able to upgrade your car to the newer model you’ve always wanted?
Would you be able to buy that house you’ve had your eye on?
Money has gotten a bad wrap in society. We’re taught it’s the root of all evil. Oof. No wonder so many people have such a complication love-hate relationship with it!
But the truth is that money affords you freedom. You are able to use your power in a way that aligns with your desires and goals. You get to create the experience you want for yourself and create waves of empowerment into society by contributing your money to causes you care about.
With money, you get to be empowered. You get to be generous. You get to have a grounded nervous system and not worry about your bills.
Money affords you one of the most powerful forms of freedom:
The freedom to exchange money (and energy) to create the life you want.
What are some ways to create more money freedom in your life?
1. Unpack Your Money Feelings
Money mindset is a huge topic in the coaching world, and for good reason. The beliefs you hold about money and about your worth will significantly impact your relationship with wealth. It is definitely important to unpack your beliefs about money.
But one thing that gets overlooked is your FEELINGS when interacting with money. Based on what I know about the manifestation process, I would say your feelings about money is having a more direct impact on your financial situation than your beliefs. That’s because your thoughts are held in your mind and can shape or reframe your experience, but your feelings dictate your embodied vibrational frequency. So they are the biggest determining factor in what you manifest.
So ask yourself when you interact with money - how do I feel?
Are you empowered when you spend money?
Are you scared you’ll lose it all when you earn more?
Do you feel insecure when you look at the price of something?
Do you get mad, fearful, or stingy when you don’t get paid as much as you thought?
We’ve all known people who have pleeeeeenty of money, but fret over every single penny. And we all probably know people who have far less than most but are willing to give the shirt off their back to someone else in need.
You don’t need to be in either of these extremes, but if order to start manifesting and calling in more money, start to dig into your FEELINGS about money - when you’re making it, when you’re spending it, when you’re budgeting, when you’re investing, when you’re saving, and when you’re just thinking about money.
See what comes up and ask what is ready to be healed.
2. Infusing Your Day With Blessings
One of my favorite and simple ways to create more financial freedom is to infuse blessings of gratitude, abundance, prosperity, and overflowing wealth into my everyday life.
I start every morning with a gratitude list, and I always have AT LEAST 3 items on the list related to my financial freedom: gratitude for having enough money to buy whatever I want and need, for being a wealthy woman, etc. Feeling and expressing gratitude is one of the most spiritually powerful way to infuse your blessings with a boost of energy!
In addition to your gratitude list, you can bless your money any time you spend, pay a bill, or receive money. One of my favorite mantras is “Money is growing and flowing to me!” Even when I spend, I have a belief that anything I send out will return to me 10 fold. So every dollar comes back as $10! When I make a purchase, it feels amazing knowing that more money is going to come back to me, and completely changes the experience of spending. It shifts it from feeling like I’m losing money to attracting 10x more money!
One of my favorite prayers says:
“Divine Love, through me, blesses and multiplies all that I am, all that I have, all that I give, and all that I receive, and God’s great circle of abundance is completed in me.”
Start using this prayer, gratitude practice, and other blessings daily and you’ll be amazed at the shifts in your finances
3. Start a business
The truth is that no matter how much you make working for someone else, you can always make exponentially more working for yourself.
There is so much freedom that comes when you are in your zone of genius, working with your soulmate clients, and offering your Divine Gifts as a form of sacred service - and getting paid for it.
What happens with so many business owners is that they start with all the strategies, but neglect to do the deep inner work to overcome their fears, insecurities, and resistance that is sabotaging all of their efforts.
This is exactly why I created the Abundant Soul-Aligned Business - to help women build a business with structures that allow you to bring in six figure wealth while working less, moving through your resistance, and creating a life based on your Divine Purpose.
If you’re ready to create financial freedom without sacrificing your time or sanity, join the Abundant Soul-Aligned Business today.
OTHER FORMS OF FREEDOM
There are lots of other areas of your life that you can create more freedom in as well. Your entire life is an opportunity to go deeper into your own experience of freedom and liberation. We are all ultimately spiritual beings, so every experience in your life is a tool for remembering your Truth - that you are free in Spirit.
Every experience in your life is a tool for remembering your Truth:
that you are free in Spirit.
Here are a few areas of freedom you can focus on in your life:
1. Location Freedom
The ability to choose where you are at any given time, having the resources, time, and money to travel anywhere you want, in luxury. The world is so vast, and yet, at our core, we all have a shared human experience no matter where you go. We all experience love, fear, shame, hope, and joy. The more I travel, the more I feel deeply connected with others and the world. Having the freedom to explore other cultures, try new experiences, appreciate the beauty of nature and community - it is a true form of freedom
2. Relationship Freedom
This is the ability to have choice in how you show up in your relationships. By claiming your sovereignty in relationships, you get to set and uphold boundaries, express your needs (and get them met), set standards for your level of dignity and respect, and surround yourself with people who align with your values. There is so much liberation in being able to shift out of codependence, anxious or avoiding attachment, and step into being the powerful woman you naturally are. Cultivating a healthy and empowering relationship with yourself becomes a doorway to real freedom in life.
3. Inner Freedom
This is all about being liberated from all the beliefs, feelings, confusion, resistance, ideas about ourselves, or any other mental/emotional thing that makes us play small and miss out on fulfilling our Divine Potential.
We are all such amazingly powerful being. We can use our vibrational frequency to manifest anything we want. We can build thriving businesses, impact lives, make a real positive difference in the world… if only we can stay focused.
But the breadth of the human experience can be distracting and it’s so easy to lose sight of our own potential and purpose.
Maybe you were given messages as a child to play small and have carried those with you into adulthood. Maybe you are still processing grief (like I am today on the anniversary of my father’s death) and it’s weighing on your heart. Maybe you’ve become jaded about the world and all the responsibilities of life that you gave up on your desires a long time ago.
Whatever it is, we all face it. The powerful opportunity we have to remember who we truly are is kinda the whole point of this life thing…
So, if you are looking to cultivate a true life of freedom, it starts with creating spaciousness and freedom within. Practice forgiveness to release the transgressions of others in your past. Get into therapy to have someone sit with you and help hold your experiences. Express gratitude every day to remind yourself how beautiful and precious this one life is.
And once you have some space freed up in your heart, mind, and soul, you can reorient back towards who you truly are - a powerful woman who is meant to impact the world.
You are a power woman who is meant to impact the world.
Are you ready to do the deep inner work and create a spiritual business in alignment with your soul’s calling? Join me in the Abundant Soul-Aligned Business where I will walk you step by step through creating a business and life that you love.
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Hello Lovely, I’m Sarah Byrd
YOUR NEW BFF SPIRITUAL BUSINESS COACH.
CORE VALUE OBSESSED, ENNEAGRAM 3, INFJ, HUMAN DESIGN PROJECTOR, INTROVERT, BUDDHIST, CLINICAL COUNSELOR IN TRAINING, AND WORLD TRAVELER
I’ll help you dive deep into your spiritual journey to uncover the blocks that have held you back from living your life of desires. We all have a Divine Purpose, and when you unlock this in your own life and business, your path to success unfolds.
You can awaken your Divine Potential, scale your business to a six figure income, tap into your wealth wisdom and manifestation skills to create the life of freedom and impact your really want. All this without sacrificing time, self care, fun, or ease. You get to have it all!