Step 49 Up the Tribe Triangle: The Pursuit of Freedom and Meaning
“The greatest task for any person is to find meaning in his or her life.”
-Victor Frankl
There is a plotline that runs through every great story of humanity. The great mythologist, Joseph Campbell, refers to it as the monomyth or the hero’s journey.
We keep retelling this great story across every generation, in every culture because it contains the unavoidable and universal sequence of human transformation but also contains the answer to what we are all truly searching for. The gold at the end of every quest is freedom and meaning. Whether you realize it or not, you are currently on your hero’s journey and are the main character of the story.
Freedom
Freedom is the ability to exercise our free will; to think, speak and act how we want to and need to. It is the act of claiming our sovereignty from slavery and tyranny. This is happening in both an external and internal level and both of freedom in both of those worlds is interconnected. Freedom is the ability to pursue meaning.
Freedom is not just discovered and it is never given; it is won and claimed. Freedom is never free and exists on the other side of fear, courage and discipline. Freedom is never owned, it is only rented and the rent is paid in courage and discipline. That price of freedom is due every day and, often, every moment.
“Freedom, in any case, is only possible by constantly struggling for it.”
-Albert Einstein
The quest for freedom takes many forms. The easiest to grapple with is financial freedom which means the ability and resources to say yes to what we want and no to what we don’t. Again, this is a form of freedom that liberates us to pursue meaning which is not fully possible to commit to when we are struggling to get our basic needs met.
Freedom is the ability to have your choices be a product of your hopes and not your fears. The ability to set an aspirational vision for the future and actually commit to it is an act of true freedom and it is very rare. Now that you are aware of it, you will notice that most people are not actually in active pursuit of their dreams because they are not free enough to do it.
If you are at this stage of this journey you are already aware of this and have struggled with others who lack the freedom to commit to an inspiring vision.
Often, this lack of freedom to commit to a vision for the future is not generated from an actual danger of not getting basic needs met. It is a product of a fixed mindset and a history of self-limiting beliefs. We carry these self-sabotaging mindsets with us long after they are no longer valid or practical.
Like a tourniquet, these practical priorities cut off our aspirational hopes for the future in order to survive in a challenging present. Left on too long, that self-limiting mindset tourniquet will kill the limb which must receive the blood flow of hope and meaning to survive. Playing small is easy and safe for yourself, family and team in the short-term. In the long run it is disastrous. Freedom to grow is a vital expression of self-love and the love within your culture.
“If you want to understand love, first understand freedom.”
-Paulo Coelho
Freedom is also the ability to create. Creativity is a central part of innovation and growth of all sorts. If we do not have freedom from a fixed mindset and fear-based schedule we will prioritize survival ahead of creation. It will become something we ‘get to’ when we ‘find the time’. Freedom unlocks this engine of expression and sustainable success.
“Freedom is the oxygen of the soul.”
-anon
There is also the freedom from control. It is the power to say no to people and projects that are not in alignment with your family and team’s shared vision and their shared values. This can be viewed as entrepreneurship, sovereignty and the freedom to make your own decisions. Freedom allows you to boldly reframe your culture in alignment with more significant, meaningful goals and behaviors.
The secret of happiness is freedom and secret of freedom is courage.
Freedom is ultimately not the right to do as we please (although that is part of it). True freedom is the ability and responsibility to do what is right and important. Freedom unlocks responsibility. Once we become free, we realize that we are now responsible for doing the right things and not the easy things.
This is where freedom connects to meaning.
Meaning
The quest for meaning is the search of why we are here and what we are and should be doing. This is the larger purpose of our shared vision. That vision which guides us must be significant and meaningful or it will not activate meaning within your team and sustain you through your ongoing quest for freedom. You do not have enough willpower or discipline to maintain growth in yourself or your team without the engine of meaning. Ultimately, our legacy will be defined by the meaningful projects and relationships that we create.
Families and organizations that have elevated their agenda from survival to meaning elevate and revitalize whole communities and industries. The ripple effect of people and teams leading meaningful lives is vast and important.
“The meaning of life is to live a meaningful life.”
-Bill Phillips
Personal and professional meaning includes the freedom and responsibility to pursue development and transformation. It is the pursuit of our greatest potential and therefor our greatest potential to not only live and model a greater life but the ability to provide a greater service to the world. Meaning is an expression of vitality and passion. Where our passions serve people is our purpose.
“The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away.”
-Pablo Picasso
Meaning is the primary component to resiliency. If people have a strong enough why they can endure any what. Meaning is that why. Your shared, meaningful vision will be an important source of this meaning but the kinship level relationships will be your goldmine of meaning. If you find yourself or your team struggling with the resiliency and meaning revisit the vision and kinship components of your Tribe Triangle.
All members of your family and team are going through their own hero’s journey and you also have a collective journey which is happening simultaneously. As Tribe Leader you must realize that embedded in all those quests is the pursuit of freedom and meaning. Hold that north star and be a part of that noblest human journey for your people and yourself.
Click here to watch the video of Step 49: Freedom and Meaning
Leaders Must Write and Speak
Answer these questions in your journal by really writing them down. Discuss them with at least one of your most important people and really listen to their response.
What is a self-limiting belief you see in yourself and your family or team? What is gained by claiming freedom from it? What is lost by continuing it?
What does meaning mean to you within your family and team? Is it personal development and reaching full potential? Is it service to each other and the world? This is an invaluable conversation to have with your people at this point in the journey and will unlock increased sustainable success.
Ubuntu,
Philip Folsom