Poolside Thoughts about Geographic and Temporal Freedom
It’s 3:37 PM on a Tuesday afternoon, and where am I to be found? At Simpkins Family Swim Center in Santa Cruz, California. No chained to a desk, or clocking in for my 4:00 shift at McDonald’s. Nope, I’m at the community pool, taking my kid to his swimming lessons. And I can’t tell you how grateful I am to have the freedom and flexibility to do it. It’s probably the biggest perk of my job. Not probably – definitely the biggest perk. Not the biggest reward, to be sure, but it’s one of the reasons why I got into real estate in the first place – and I’m sure it’s why many people choose to get into the business, is the sense of “freedom” they get from making their own schedules. Of course, the downside there is that this lack of structure means that they piss away most of their day, not ever accomplishing anything. And I’m as guilty as that as any – there’s plenty of days I should have accomplished more, but because I don’t have anyone telling me what to do, I let it slide and take it easy. Freedom is a double-edged sword, that’s for sure. As someone from Star Wars I’m sure said, “With great power comes great responsibility.” So let’s just trade the word “power” for “freedom” and there we’ll have the great challenge for anyone that has a self-directed career: making the most out of the opportunities that freedom presents to you.
