Roland Cochrun

There’s so much advice out there. But, is it good advice?

That depends on what you’re trying to accomplish.

For me, I wanted to spend my days doing only the things that I wanted to do.

Work I enjoy. Hobbies that light me up. Time to build exciting businesses. Time with my family. Time with myself.

Most of the pop culture advice was not going to take me there anytime soon.

“Never satisfied. Always hungry”
“Nobody cares. Work harder”
“Sacrificing your life now for a better life later”

As a boy, it seemed to me that these approaches were broken.

I wanted to feel content. At peace.

I wanted to enjoy my life NOW… and later.

My greatest gift is not listening to other people unless I feel like they know how to take me where I want to go.

The hustle culture in this country is a real thing. It tortures people with the promise of “happiness later.”

What about happiness now?

Lauren and I have been traveling the world full-time for five years now. However, we are one month away from calling it quits.

It was a fun five years. We lived in over 12 countries, visited an additional three, and had some cultural experiences we will never forget.

But, like all things… it gets old.

Originally, I wanted financial freedom.

So, I built my business to the point where I no longer had to worry about money.

Then, I wanted time freedom.

So, I set up a team and built systems that allowed me to remove myself from the day-to-day operations.

But, I found myself bored, restless, and discontent.

What did I need all of this money and time for?

This was what prompted me to sell the house and travel the world living out of Airbnbs. My thought was that I needed to have more life experiences, and that would make me happy.

But, about 1 year into our travels, I was even more empty inside than ever before.

Money freedom, time freedom, and location freedom.

It scares me how many people are banking on these freedoms to “make them happy.”

They won’t.

Ask anyone who has these freedoms and they will all tell you that it was not the freedom that brought them peace…

It was what they did AFTER the freedom that brought them the fulfillment they were seeking.

The sad part is that most people don’t ever do the “after” part.

This isn’t because they don’t want to… It’s because they don’t know how.

So much of their identity was lost in the decades of accumulating wealth that they have forgotten who they are (or, they never really knew who they were).

This slows people down.

It’s your true self (your purpose, your calling) that provides you with the things you need to be successful.

Confidence, motivation, and a clear direction.

Without a strong sense of self… financial freedom and time freedom are useless.

P.s. I’m hosting my next INdesign event here in Arizona very soon. If you’ve been lacking the confidence and motivation required to make you more successful… I might be able to help you. Send me a DM and let's jump on a Zoom.