Yesterday we talked about building financial freedom by taking your family business to the next level in 2014. Today we will focus on building personal freedom. So what is personal freedom? It means something different to everybody. For some it’s peace, for some it’s love. Perhaps it’s the freedom to do what you want to do, when you want to do it. Maybe it’s creating time for family and friends, for yourself, to read a book, take a walk, work on your business or commune with nature. In setting your goals for personal freedom in the future, your first step is deciding what personal freedom means to you.

After the holiday season many of us focus on our health and well-being. One of the universal goals of human beings is to be healthy, to be well. Do you have important roles in life, in your family, in your business, in your community? You may be a mother, a father, a son, a daughter, a trusted friend, a business owner and on and on. We have many different roles we fulfill. Aren’t you better able to meet the demands of those roles if you are healthy?

In my opinion there are four legs to good health. In addition to physical health, there is mental health, emotional health and spiritual health. These are all legs to one chair. They can be attended to separately, but if one leg becomes too weak, the entire chair collapses. We’ll talk more about health in the future, but for now, can you see the connection between health and personal freedom? Can you see how your business can affect each leg of the chair and your overall health and well-being?

Think back to our discussion yesterday about how you can create financial freedom with your family business. If your business provides you and your family with financial freedom then it can provide you with personal freedom as well. If your business is not healthy, it can affect your health as well. Sure, you are not your business. You can survive without your business. Your business is not your identity. It’s not who you are as a person! But, be honest, it can sometimes feel that way!

So spend some time thinking about how your business can give you and your family more personal freedom, more health, more life! Does your business consume all of your time? Find some more help. You don’t have to do it all. Can your business survive without you? If not, think about how to create a business that doesn’t rely on you, or on anybody in particular. It will set you free. It will set your family free. It will set your employees free. It will make your business much more valuable when it’s time to sell your business.

You get the picture, I know you do. Take time to work on your business, instead of spending all of your time working in it. Create the business and the life that you want, not what you think you should want, not what others expect of you. Let go of believing that anything external to you can keep you from creating what you want, let go of the past, don’t worry about the future. You can only live now, in the present. The past is gone, the future is your’s to create.

Last, but not least, be true to yourself. How can you live in personal freedom if you don’t live your personal truth? Be who you are. Live by your values. You are special and unique. our world needs you, we need your contributions. Choose to create the business and life of your dreams. The choice is yours!

Happy holidays to you! I wish you peace and freedom, this year, next year and throughout your life!