We have all heard of the people that say their biggest desire in life is to live “The Simple Life.” Not much responsibility, worry or care, just simply them and what they love the most. Out of all they have experienced in life, their truest desire is to live simple, to get away from the hustle and bustle of the world.  That’s the simple life!

I think that living “the simple life” has different meanings for different people. I have personally had conversations with people that say their idea of a simple life is living like a hermit in the mountains without clocks, a schedule or even a wife. Just them, nature, maybe a dog and no where to be. The more common idea of living the simple life is to own a home in a suburb somewhere, have a few kids, a mortgage, a dog and a white picket fence.

I just asked my wife what her idea of a simple life would be and she said, “My idea of a simple life would be to live on the beach, in a hut with clothes made out of hemp, bathe in the ocean and just lay out all day!” I think her idea of the simple life wins the golden nugget for today! I wouldn’t think that hemp clothes would be that comfortable but obviously she is a beach bum at heart!

The word simple means, easy or not complicated. So the simple life is plainly a life that is easy, or not complicated. It is a life without much worry or stress, a life of simplicity. Although life can be complicated by nature, it is our choices that make it that way. We create our lifestyle. We either are the cause of our simple life or the cause of our miserable and complicated life.

My idea of the simple life involves a few key words. It involves financial freedom, so that the worries of bills, mortgages, rent, basic necessities of life, gas for my car or anything else that requires money will not be in my simple life. It involves complete time freedom. I mean the ability to choose for myself the schedule of the day, which is never set in stone and always subject to change. It involves service, the ability to give, teach and inspire those in need. It involves pursuing my hobbies and passions. It involves my family right along side me every step of the way.

That’s the simple life and in order to ensure that I have all those key elements in place, I have got to make key decisions right now that lead me closer to the simple life and the more I think about it, I am mostly there!

Know this, 9 out of 10 people who read this post will statistically NEVER reach their ideal lifestyle. They will never live their version of the simple life. Believe it or not but it’s true! Most people grow old wishing they had done things differently. They wish that had purchased that land or they wish they would have started that business. Your life can and will be just as you plan it to be if you choose to do so starting today. So tell me, are you hanging out with the nine……or are you the one?

Today I received a phone call from a friend telling me that my kids school was in Lock Down. There had been reports of a man wearing a trench coat, carrying a gun, walking around the school grounds. Needless to say, I dropped what I was doing and headed to the school. I live about two blocks away and was there in no time.

My intent was to check my two girls out of school and bring them home. So I pulled into the parking lot, got out of my car and started walking towards the front doors of the school. About half way there I was approached by a police officer decked out in his tactical gear asking me what I was doing. I told him that I had heard about the guy with the gun and wanted to check my kids out of school. He informed me that they were not letting anyone in or out of the school until they could verify that the area was secure. My immediate reaction was to get angry and throw a fit. They were my kids and I wanted to check them out of school right then. Instead of putting on a scene, I knew that there were about 20 to 30 police officers surrounding the school, my kids were safe.

I simply asked, “Well how long will it take for you to verify that the area is secure?” He told me that it would take about 30 minutes to an hour. So I said, “Okay! I’ll be back in 30 minutes!”

I went home, just furious at the possibility that this could happen here, at my childrens school. If you are a parent you can imagine the thoughts that would be going through your head if this had happened to you. 30 minutes later I showed up at the school, I asked the same police officer if everything was secure and within a few minutes they made the decision to allow students to leave.

The principle was almost in tears. I was the first and only parent there to pick up my children. The second person there was a reporter from the local newspaper. The office wasn’t even getting flooded with phone calls yet. I checked my kids out of school and they are home with me now. That is the safest place for them to be, right here with me!

I can tell you this much, I am glad that I have chosen to work from home. Whether it’s a school play, swim lessons in the summer or a potential disaster at school, I am always there!

I am a stay at home Dad, and I am glad I am! Don’t ever get so caught up in your own life that you forget what is most important in the lives of those you love. It’s you!

Life is pretty simple really. When you break things down, it’s the simple things in life that truly make people happy. Time is a very simple thing, it exists all around us, yet hardly anybody has it. Those who do are hopefully grateful for it. Money is very simple as well. It is only worth the value given to it and is a tool used for leverage. You can’t build a house out of it, you can’t wear it or eat it. It is used for a greater purpose, to show value. The level of happiness in ones life directly depends on the simplicity of it, or the simple things in it.

It’s not only what you do but also how you do it that determines your level of happiness. And the thing that determines your level of happiness is your lifestyle. If you work more than you want, you’re unhappy. If you don’t make enough money, you’re unhappy. If you make a ton of money, yet have no time, you’re unhappy. You see, it’s what you do and how you do it that determines your level of happiness.

My role as a husband and a father is very black and white. It’s the three P’s of fatherhood:

1. Provide
2. Preside
3. Protect

If I’m not fulfilling one of those three P’s, I am not happy because my family isn’t happy. There are fathers all around the world that barely see their families because of the way they decide to fulfill the three P’s. Fathers in the Military are shipped out for 6 months or more at a time. They do it to provide for their families. Fathers in corporate sales are shipped all over the country for their company being gone days and weeks at a time. They do this to provide for their families. Fathers and mothers leave their children in daycare to provide. All of these people are noble and responsible and are doing the best they know how. Leaving the home for long periods of time is the way they know, so they continue to choose that way.

Most people just don’t know how to provide for their families, without being absent all the time. There are ways, tons of ways for you, the working father and mother, to stay at home and make a great living. However it involves a choice to do it in a different way instead of the traditional way of leaving the home. Times have changed. Take advantage of what the world has to offer. The world has made it so easy for you to still fulfill the first of the three P’s, provide, while at home. I choose to work from home and by doing so, I am able to better fulfill the other two P’s by being completely present in the lives of those I care for most.

So you see, it’s just a choice really. Everyday you leave the home to provide for your family, you are choosing to do so. One day, when you are sick and tired of being gone, you will start to choose differently. You will choose to open your eyes to that “different” way of doing things. Once that happens, look forward to seeing your life through a brand new pair of eyes because it will be nothing like the life you know right now. That is, if you are still choosing to provide by being absent.

What do you consider most important:

• Making money OR
  
• Spending time with family

What is your answer? It’s pretty obvious right? Most people would say that spending time with family is most important and you know what…they are exactly right! That is more important, but, if you have no money, are you going to enjoy that time you spend with your family? Or are you going to even have that time to spend? Money isn’t everything right, but what is everything without it? What is your life like with money….and without it? Think about it a bit.

I will be straight up honest with all of you right now…I put money making above family time! Yes, you heard me right. I put making money above family time, but I have a good reason. Here it is…If I am not making money, I cannot fully enjoy my family time. If I can’t provide a good living for my family, while I am with them, I will be thinking of what a failure I have been to them. While with them in physical form, my mind will be somewhere else! My mind will be thinking about the money I am short that month or the bills coming up. So in reality, I am not even truly spending that time with them.

Time spent half-heartedly is time wasted! If you aren’t giving something all you’ve got, if you aren’t completely present, it would have been better if you weren’t there at all. If I am to truly enjoy my family, I must know that I have everything else in order. Given I don’t have to have billions of dollars coming in before I am comfortable. I just have to know that my short term future is immediately taken care of. For example, if I know that my rent or mortgage is coming up next week and I don’t have but fifty bucks in my bank account, my wheels are turning. Since I work from home, I have the freedom to choose my schedule right? So, if my kids get home from school and want to go catch bugs, it’s 2:30 in the afternoon, should I pick up and go catch bugs right then? I wouldn’t be able to truly enjoy that time with my kids because my mind is preoccupied with bills, so I would hold off until I feel I have accomplished all that I can with my work day. Then maybe when six o’clock rolls around, I can hang out with my kids. Now this is just an example but how true is it.

In order to be truly present in the lives of my family, I must make money. I must provide. That is my first and foremost responsibility to them. Once that is done, I can then devote all of my energy, authentically, to them. Family is always first in my mind, that’s why I make the choices I do. It’s to ensure that I will always be there. As a father who missed out on 8 month out of the first year of my oldest daughters life, I know what it’s like to have your child look up at you and not recognize who you are. It’s not something every father dreams about.

Money is a lifestyle tool. Make enough of it and you can live your life however you want to. That’s the important principle here. Now let’s make it happen!

Let’s scrap the dictionaries for today and define what Entrepreneurship is. I think it’s more of a concept or an idea rather than a thing or a status. It is an action word and something that does not revolve around everyone. It is a choice, a role and a journey all in one. It is the very concept that the American economy and several economies around the world thrive on and depend on for survival. It is the idea that will propel you, I and the rest of humanity toward a better financial future. It’s the backbone of all commerce. It’s the reason jobs exist.

Wrap your thoughts around this: Entrepreneurship is the process of making YOU better, more profitable and more capable. I love the fact that the word “process” is used here. Entrepreneurship is a process that involves taking risk, failing, succeeding, learning, growing, connecting, changing, consistency and many many more! You can’t just take a college course and say, “BAM, I am now an Entrepreneur. Now where’s my money?!” It doesn’t work that way and never will. A college education cannot teach you how to become a true Entrepreneur. Business ethics, economic education and other skills will only take you so far in the process. More is required.

Now allow me to get a little religious here without getting too religious. We all have heard the phrase, “Entrepreneur spirit!” When someone has the spirit of an Entrepreneur, it’s almost as if they are possessed, controlled and driven by some unseen force or power. They have that extra bounce in their step, their creative wheels are always turning and they live each day with more than average passion. They have a definite purpose.

The Entrepreneur spirit is the additional piece of the pie. It is the thing that an educational institute cannot teach. It’s kind of like a talent. In order to become better at that talent, you must use it and exercise it. Some are born with it, others aren’t.

Entrepreneurship is a process of taking an idea and changing it into an enterprise that will benefit OTHERS. The trick to making a fortune is to find a solution to a problem. Right!? Is it really that simple? Yes, it is. If someone wants to listen to music all day, the Entrepreneur makes the mp3 player. If someone needs shoes in Africa but can’t afford them, the Entrepreneur starts a business that can provide shoes for the needy. If someone is looking to change their lifestyle from struggling to flourishing, the Entrepreneur provides the income opportunity. Supply and Demand. I would think, for an Entrepreneur, it is reversed. Demand and Supply!

Entrepreneurship is the process of learning to be truly FREE! What does it mean to be “Truly” free? Does it mean to live in a country that allows you the right to do as you please, to come and go as you may? Does it mean the right to practice your choice of religion or exercise your right to freedom of speech? I live right here in the USA, the land of the free. Does that mean I am truly free?

Freedom, true freedom, is Entrepreneurship. No boss to govern you, no time restraints (unless you choose them), no requirements or outside dictators. It’s just simply you, your creativity, your ambition and your ability to choose for yourself the lifestyle you are to live today and tomorrow and the next day. Wake up in the morning because you want to, not because you have to. Entrepreneurship gives you the ability to create solutions, assist and inspire others and in turn, get rewarded for it.

Life in Entrepreneurship is a blank canvas. Most people would be terrified by it as they think of their lack of artistic ability, but the Entrepreneur in spirit is excited about it because that means he can do with it whatever he chooses. No coloring within the lines, no clashing colors and no defined picture. Just pure freedom.

When the sun goes down at the end of each day, I can say that I am living free. As the sun rises in the morning, it rises just for me. It gives me another today to create my day as I see fit! All in all, my worst day as an Entrepreneur is far better than my best day imaginable not as an entrepreneur. I can truly say, “I am Free!” Can you?