Happy 4th of July to everyone in the U.S.
Hope you're having a lovely day with your families or friends or friends who are your family #framily, AmIRight? And if you have the day off tomorrow, even better!
Americans are quite an independent group of people. I'm usually not one for looking up definitions, but I did for the word "independent," and I think it sums up Americans (and in terms of financial independence, I want you to check out #8 & #10):
#1 may seem obvious, and it definitely seems very American. However, if you get down to it, how many people are really independent thinkers? We may all think we are, however, so many of our beliefs are formed without us even knowing about it, and we operate in a way, as if it's the absolute truth, when it very well may not be.
When it comes to money, for example, I work with clients in looking at their childhoods because our parents or caregivers were the ones who taught us about money, whether they taught it to us consciously or unconsciously.
This is not an exercise to blame our parents.
Instead, now that we're adults, it's time to examine those beliefs that were formed deep down inside and decide for ourselves if we want to keep them, release them or give them back, so that we can become the person we always were and meant to be.
This is true independence.
Next, I love definition #8 - being independent means you are sufficient to support yourself without having to work. I also love that independence in #10 means working for yourself in a small, privately owned business, #11, if you're expressing a spirit of independence, you're self-confident & unconstrained and #4, if you're independent, then you're *obviously* not depending or contingent upon something else for existence.
I've shared that I've known 3 women in my life who stayed in abusive relationships because they didn't have the money to leave their situations. All 3 had small children. Two of those women were in marriages that were physically and emotionally abusive. One of those women was sold into a brothel when she was 15. She was sold into the brothel by her father, and all of her earnings were sent back to the family. If you want to know more, I wrote about it in this blog post and also recently on an IG Live.
On a not-as-heavy note (I know you don't want to spend your 4th of July holiday reading something that bums you out), we've all had work situations that didn't align with our values, and yet we stayed because we either had to, in order to pay the bills, or because the money was "good."
Perhaps that's why you decided to work for yourself.
I know it's one of the reasons I've been "independent" for over 15 years.
However, to be truly independent, you must cultivate some money habits that will allow you to NOT be dependent or contingent upon something else for existence and to allow yourself the runway to support yourself without having to work.
To me, that doesn't mean you're retired and NOT working.
I believe in having that "F*#% YOU" money, which fits into definitions #1-6 & 11!
You have the freedom of choice, and that's true freedom.
You don't have to take a job...just for the money.
You don't have to stay in a relationship...just for the money.
You don't have to do anything...just for the money.
Happy 4th! Here's to your financial independence!
With Gratitude & in Celebration,
