Why did you want to work for yourself? Chances are the main driving force, besides money, is the freedom motivator. The ability to choose your own path in life and do the work you really want to do. Freedom isn’t just being able to do what you want, whenever, however. It’s also the ability to be fluid and mobile.

People go into business for themselves so they can “live the dream.” Living the dream means less work, more money and enjoying the fruits of your labors. It means having more family and leisure time. It’s setting up your life so you’re able to get out and do what you really want as often as possible.

Is this you? Does this describe what you want? Let’s take a look at how your work style is promoting or hindering this desire.

It’s no easy ride to create your own business and wealth. It takes work and lots of it. This fact alone may seem like a contradiction to living the dream. What I’ve found, however, is that the problem isn’t with the work load, but rather how it’s managed and executed.

THE PROBLEM

People tend to stick to what they know. When you’re branching out on your own, that translates to most people sticking to the same modes of operation they’ve learned “on the job.” These are the same patterns that keep you from enjoying the most desirable benefit of working for yourself.

In a world of cloud computing, mobile devices and mini-laptops, it’s hard to imagine being tethered to a fixed location. However, that’s exactly how some of us still approach our work load. Being tethered to one device or location can severely limit our flexibility and cause us to needlessly lose time. With the demands on our time constantly increasing, who can really afford to waste any of it?

In the vein of productivity, I’m going to share my three main strategies to keeping it fluid. These strategies help me stay mobile and allow me the freedom to work when I want, where I want – no matter what else is going on in my life.

THE SOLUTION

Strategize Your Time
Sometimes it’s quite possible to kill two birds with one stone. You should always be on the look out for moments where you can maximize your time. In line? Catch up on your emails through your mobile phone. Driving in the car? Listen to a motivational audio tape or record your thoughts for an upcoming product or meeting. Need to be around your family more? Use a laptop and do “busy work” such as checking in social media sites or answering emails in the same room so you can stay connected.

Work Anywhere, Anytime
Inspiration can strike at any time. Are you able to leverage that motivation into something tangible? Many bloggers keep voice recorders, video cameras or a mobile computing device with them at all times. This ensures that no matter where you are, your ideas are never wasted, forgotten or even diluted.

Access to Everything, Everywhere
If your files are located on your hard drive and there’s no way to access them from another device, you’re stuck to working in one place. I’m pretty sure this isn’t your idea of “living the dream.” There are quite a few applications that allow access to documents via multiple devices, such as Google Docs and Evernote. Using these types of services gives you the freedom to work anywhere you want.

Flexible Living
Once you have the technical side of these strategies down, it’s important to remember that flexibility is also a mindset. Don’t use work as an excuse to not partake in the joys of life. Say “yes” and then figure out a strategy to make it happen. Remember, necessity is the mother of all invention! If you force yourself out of the box, even if you’re not quite making the wealth you want, you can still live with the freedom you desire.

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What habits are you creating each day? Take a look at what you do every single day. Are your actions creating habits of excellence? What should you be doing every day?

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“You will get all you want in life if you help enough other people get what they want.” –Zig Ziglar

I take this quote to heart and try to implement it in every aspect of my life. I’ve found following this philosophy to be an exceptionally rewarding experience. The universe has a nice way of giving back what you give out. Due to relationships I’ve made helping other people, I’ve had the opportunity to lead a pretty fulfilling life thus far. It isn’t what they teach you in college, but for me it has become a basic building block of all my business strategies.

“Happiness comes from spiritual wealth, not material wealth… Happiness comes from giving, not getting. If we try hard to bring happiness to others, we cannot stop it from coming to us also. To get joy, we must give it, and to keep joy, we must scatter it.” –John Templeton

On the flip side, if I find myself worried about something or not getting what I want, I can track it down to losing sight of this philosophy. The second I take my focus off of helping other people, it seems that life retaliates in kind.

“In about the same degree as you are helpful, you will be happy.”  –Karl Reiland

If you’re unhappy with where you are in your business or life, take a look at your business model. How is it helping other people? What are you doing to help other people find their happiness? The amount of energy you exert making life better for other people will be given back in return. It may not be the way you intended (it often isn’t), but you will reap the rewards in some way or another.

In closing, I leave you with this thought to ponder….

“The Constitution only gives people the right to pursue happiness. You have to catch it yourself.” –Ben Franklin

What are you doing to catch your happiness?

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“Leaders are not born, they are molded by a remarkably similar, simple, and dynamic set of habits.” –Napoleon Hill

I believe that one of the most powerful forces in the world is habit. Did you know that it’s estimated that 95% of the things we do, we have done before? Think about it. How much consideration do you give about the way you drive home, the places where you eat, or what grocery stores you shop at? When you really ponder it, you’ll find that most of what you do in a day is done out of habit. We tend to do things because we’ve done them before and know it’s a logical and comfortable action for us to take.

This is a powerful observation. It means that if we do things out of habit, then by developing different habits we can change our personal characteristics and traits at will. When you do something repetitively, that action becomes an ingrained part of who you are. People often say they are a procrastinator, that they are shy or even that they are outgoing. These are not things you are, but rather habits you’ve allowed yourself to become associated with.

“Men’s natures are alike; it is their habits that separate them.” –Confucius

If habits are learned behavior, then it stands to reason that if you want to change something about yourself, you only need to create a new habit that will lead you to the desired change. Someone who wants to become a better chef might develop a habit of cooking a new meal once a week. A person looking to become more educated in a certain subject might make a practice of studying that topic every day for 30 minutes. Over the course of time, the person will get closer to their goals and these actions will develop into habits that will continue until other habits replace them.

Of course, this sounds simple on paper (and it really is), but many times we end up getting in the way of ourselves. We’ve developed so many bad habits over the years that it can feel like a monumental task to make any real changes. This is where willpower is just not enough. You need more than a desire to change to create a difference. You need steps that will help you take action every day.

“Successful people are simply those with success habits.” –Brian Tracy

Success is not an elusive dream or goal. It’s created by taking small daily strides towards your goal. It’s achieved by creating habits that will lead you closer and closer to your desired success.

How do you create new habits?

To start, it’s always easier to tackle one habit at a time. I know we all want to have everything fixed “right now”, but when it comes to long-term change, slower is always better. Personally, I tackle my habit changes with a simple, easy method. Every six weeks, I write down six things I really want to focus on and change. Then I prioritize them. Over the course of the six weeks, I tackle a new habit each week, starting with the habit with the highest priority. I tend to put the most difficult habit first so I have the entire six weeks to focus on it. At the end of the six weeks, I start again. Sometimes I may not be satisfied with a previous result, and the habit ends up on the cycle again until I’ve mastered it. If you start to feel discouraged about how far you may need to go, remember – “Rome wasn’t built in a day.” It’s really the baby steps that take you where you want to be.

Don’t worry if you temporarily fall off track. Devote every Monday as a “restart” day, just in case. That way if you do let your behavior slip, you can always renew your commitment to your new habits on Monday.

Create a method of accountability. Let your inner circle know what your intentions are and ask them for help in keeping you focused on your goal. Having an accountability buddy gives you an outside motivator and helps considerably when you’re feeling like giving up or straying from the path. If you feel yourself slipping or losing motivation, call on your inner circle for help.

Make a 30 day challenge with yourself. It’s been proven that most habits are deeply formed after 21 days. Use this knowledge to your advantage and make a pact with yourself to just get through the 30 days. In most cases, you’ll find you’ve deeply rooted a new habit for yourself. This will put you on the track for a long-term change.

Thought to Ponder:

What habits do you want to create? Do you need to blog every day for a month? Exercise for 30 minutes three times a week for a month? Try a new productivity system? Think about your goals, and then consider what habits you currently have that get in the way of reaching them. Work on developing new habits that will get you there faster. As a final thought, keep in mind this quote from Charles C. Noble, “First we make our habits, then our habits make us.”

How are your habits defining you?

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