This is what it feels like when you finally make it

You’ve been fighting for this your whole life, and now that you’ve finally made it, it feels... weird? That’s normal. For example, when I finally got my first job as an engineer, all I wanted to do was quit, because I felt like I no longer needed my job in order to validate myself as an engineer. When you make it, you start to see the other side of it—you see the people who will never make it, and how much work they have ahead of them to get there.

The Moment of Freedom

I imagine that for many, the moment of freedom happens when you decide to leave your job or your current living situation. I say decide because ultimately no one can tell us what to do with our lives except ourselves. And yet, in most cases there are both subtle and overt pressures on us to do things other than what we really want to be doing with our time on earth.

The more successful we become, the stronger those pressures seem to become — as if suddenly people start taking notice of how much time and energy has been invested in any given endeavor and get it into their heads that they know best how that should be spent. It’s easy to forget why we got started down the path of a particular career in the first place: The joy of it. The fight for it.

The Moment of Freedom. I don’t mean to imply that anyone who works outside the home doesn’t love the work they do (because clearly, many people enjoy their jobs), but whatever work it is, the process is easier and more fulfilling when you feel like you have control over the choices around when, where and how long (or short) you spend doing it. If working from home has ever been an option for you and being able to stay in bed til noon would sound amazing... then trust me: You’re ready for the next chapter.

The truth is, the process isn’t always pretty—it takes commitment and perseverance sometimes too—but the rewards will come. It won't always happen quickly either; some take longer than others, sometimes a lot longer.

But you're going to keep fighting every day until you see it through - because The Moment of Freedom makes all the hard work worth it. The minute you know something beyond the shadow of a doubt and The Moment of Freedom arrives, at that very instant your life changes forever.

There's never a best time to make these kinds of changes; they happen when they happen. Whatever change you want to create in your life, there is always a moment when the choice becomes clear.

The Moment of Freedom. That moment comes the exact second you stop worrying about whether or not it was the right thing to do, and simply decide that it was.

The Fight for Freedom

Life after a big achievement looks different for everyone. What’s important is that you enjoy the moment of freedom and truly embrace it—not just for the next few weeks or months, but for the rest of your life.

The fight to achieve something great can be brutal, so use the energy from working toward your goal to begin living a better life than ever before. Focus on what matters most to you and surround yourself with people who inspire you to reach new heights every day. Make sure you know what the first things are going to be that you’re going to do when the moment of freedom comes along.

The key here is for you not to think about where these things should occur; instead, focus on them as if they will happen regardless of circumstance or place. This keeps the stress low and lets your mind work optimally in the moment.

Perhaps an adventure vacation at sea will fuel your passion again? Or perhaps hanging out with family members across America or around the world would fuel it? Go find those things now! What does The Moment of Freedom look like for YOU? Find out today. The journey up the ladder isn’t easy.

There are plenty of potholes and obstacles that slow down even the fastest climbers, if only temporarily. In addition to facing financial hardship and lack of material success, failure can threaten our basic self-esteem. The Fight for Freedom plays a huge role in how we feel afterward.

It takes extraordinary confidence in one's abilities to push past feelings of inadequacy that come with failure by keeping focused on the journey's true meaning: growth over time.

The knowledge gained through the trial and error involved in taking on The Fight for Freedom shapes your skills long term, making it easier to get back into the fight and face adversity head-on. Even after winning The Fight for Freedom, new struggles await us all.

More often than not, they relate to values regarding interpersonal relationships: whether involving finances or household chores, raising children or interacting with neighbors and extended family members.

The Joy of Freedom

When all of your hard work pays off, the sense of accomplishment and freedom can be overwhelming. You’ve spent years dedicating yourself to achieving a goal—and now that you’ve reached it, the universe opens up in front of you. Sure, there are practical things you need to take care of (e.g., handling clients, finances), but if there was ever an appropriate time to indulge in some self-care (e.g., vacations!), now would be the time!

By allowing yourself to enjoy those moments after achieving success, you set yourself up for long-term success. Early on in my career, I used to treat everyday as the first day of the rest of my life. After 10+ years working a 9–5 job though, I started looking at every day as the last day before going back to my real job or being crushed by the Big Bad WorldTM.

My fear would keep me working 24/7 only pausing long enough to grab whatever nuggets of joy I could. At times I was successful at capturing them all; more often than not though I ended up tired and disappointed feeling like life wasn't good enough and wishing I were still sleeping at night with one eye open so nothing escapes me during daylight hours.

But then, I got promoted...there was no moment of awakening – it took much longer to arrive. One day I noticed myself walking down the street just enjoying the warmth of the sun...one day while driving somewhere listening to a song with no expectation other than trying to figure out who sang that song...one night while eating dinner noticing myself focusing on how delicious the food tasted.

It seems silly but those really were great accomplishments for me! And since then we had new goals and bigger adventures where true sense of accomplishment came from getting through challenging circumstances: seeing our baby born despite complications, encountering beautiful nature for the first time ever, experiencing fabulous food and scenery around world – moving forward against all odds towards reaching something seemingly unobtainable – yet still very tangible nevertheless.

What steps have you taken to achieve the same sense of freedom? Where did they lead? How did they change your mindset? What challenges do you face today? How will they ultimately help prepare you for success?

What else should people know about achieving The Joy of Freedom? Would love to hear your thoughts & experiences in the comments below.