True Freedom - what it is not

My father was my first influencer.

He was a registered medical practitioner.  When I was very young, apart from his private practice, he used to serve in the then Government General Hospital (Now Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital) in the diabetology department on a honorary basis.  Those days, I thought that 'honorary' meant some form of respect but later I discovered that it was 'voluntary' without any remuneration.  After a few years, he resigned from the hospital and became a full-time private medical practitioner.

He was a self-made person and valued his independence.  He always used to tell us to be independent in life.  That, sort of, became the driving force in me.

Till I finished my 12th standard, I always wanted to become a doctor.  Why?  Is it because I was good in Biology?  Not really.  In fact, I didn't enjoy studying Biology so much.  I was a natural in Mathematics as pointed out to me by my teachers.  But I still wanted to become a doctor.  Why? Because my father was my role model and I wanted to be like him.  My father wanted all 3 of us to become doctors and I was his last hope.  He personally tutored me in Biology for the board exam.

And I got my lowest marks in Biology (130/200).

Suddenly, the only thing that I valued all my life, i.e., till 18 years of age, became a cul-de-sac.  I learnt this expression from an erudite childhood friend which simply means 'dead end' 😁. 

It took me sometime to accept this reality.

Then I did what was the most common practice those days - if you don't get medicine, you pursue engineering and vice versa.  Neither the people who recommended such a course of action nor the people who took such a course of action cared to understand the stark difference in aptitude required to pursue medicine and engineering.  

Since I got my engineering seat on merit, I decided to pursue that.  While I was travelling by Kovai Express to join the engineering course, parent of another student mentioned that, for boys, mechanical engineering is a good bet as getting jobs are easier.  Those days, one used to take up the specialization only from the second year of engineering.  He also said that it is better to do MBA after engineering to further improve career prospects.  

This got into my head and when I had to choose my specialization, I promptly chose mechanical engineering.  In the final year, when many of my batchmates were preparing for GRE to pursue MS abroad, I chose to prepare for CAT and other MBA entrance exams to pursue MBA in India.

The first major turning point in my life happened at the welcome party for freshers in my MBA program.  

The Institute's Director, Professor Pyare Lal Arya, said, "Unlearn whatever you have learned so far; your learning starts now."  

It hit me really hard.  I literally took his words to heart and starting approaching my MBA program with a very open mind.  In fact, at one stage, I felt so confident that I can pursue whatever career that I wish to pursue, including going back to medicine.

My father redefined 'being independent' for me.  He said that I should work for few years and then start my own business.  This became the new pursuit in my life.  I left my job with Ashok Leyland to pursue a short career in share broking so that I can make enough money to start my own business.  When this didn't work out, I joined Cholamandalam and decided to park my 'dream' for sometime.  After serving for 5 years, the 'bug' bit me again and I decided to leave Cholamandalam and explore possibilities of starting my own business.

While serving my notice period, I was introduced to network marketing by a senior colleague who was also on the verge of leaving Cholamandalam.  Though I attended the introductory session reluctantly, more out of respect for this gentleman, I was struck by one of the points written by the presenter on the white board: Freedom.  

Then he went on to explain the business model which will enable one to earn passive income, i.e., the income that'll keep coming even when one stops working.  His favorite expression used to, "To have the freedom to do what you want, when you want and with whom you want."

This became almost a life mission for me from then on.  I took it up in all earnestness and pursued it vigorously.  Somewhere along the way, the business model was tweaked a bit which didn't align with my value system.  So, I left it.

Then I joined Equitas and served for about 12 years.  I rationalized to myself that, even if I had started my own business, I would have impacted only a few lives.  By being part of a growing organization, the opportunity to impact a large no. of stakeholders has opened up to me.

It's been two years since I left Equitas and I haven't taken up anything else.

Why am I sharing my life story with you?

All along, when people talk of freedom, they are mostly talking of financial freedom.

Quality of life is not just a function of financial freedom.  It is a function of holistic development of 4 dimensions of life - physical, mental, emotional and spiritual.

• Physical is our need to be healthy and maintain a certain standard of living.
• Mental is our need to continually learn and grow to our fullest potential.
• Emotional is our need to express our love.
• Spiritual is our need to live our life in alignment with principles and make worthwhile contributions.

From the perspective of the 4 dimensions of life, how free are we?

1. Are our eating and drinking choices influenced by taste and habit or are they based on our need to nourish our body?
2. Are our sleeping and resting choices influenced by our work and lifestyle trends or are they based on our need to heal our body?
3. Are our physical exercise choices influenced by looking good and the flavor of the season or are they based on our need to be agile and alert to respond to the stimulus, both within and without?
4. Are our learning choices influenced by our financial goals and the global learning trends or are they based on our need to discover the truth, both within and without?
5. Are our relationship choices influenced by societal norms and trends or are they based on our need to express the love within?
6. Are our career choices influenced by money, status, power, lifestyle goals or are they based on our need to contribute, out of love, with total awareness of the reality?
7. Are our value choices influenced by religion, philosophy, dogma, practices, societal norms or are they based on total awareness of the reality or truth? 

True freedom can never be defined.  It can only come into being when we understand what it is not.

Sensitivity is the key to true freedom.