Freedom comes in many forms.
The freedom to speak your mind. The freedom from unjust persecution. The freedom to get drunk on cheap beer, wake up with a hangover, and head into the office for eight nauseous hours of work.
But freedom gives us something far more important; the freedom to create.
We live in a time and place primed for creation. With nothing more than an idea and hard work, we can build the life of our dreams. We own the freedom to turn our passion into an idea, the tools to turn that idea into reality, and access to experts from around the world who can help us develop the skills necessary to transform that reality into a business.
Just this week I went through a brief metamorphosis.
I transformed from productivity junkie and tech nerd into a home designer and remodeler. With $600 of materials from Lowe’s, 20 minutes of YouTube videos, and 16 hours of grit, we remodeled our bathroom to be Pinterest-worthy.
We had zero prior experience ripping out a bathroom sink or tearing out baseboards, let alone replacing them with new. When it came to installing batten board, we were clueless. Hell, we didn’t even have the original idea... someone on Pinterest did!
What once would have cost thousands of dollars, required in-person access to designers and contractors (or at least multiple trips to the library) can now be done with minimal cost in effort and time.
What’s more, if we had wanted to, we could have posted our before/after pictures online and offered a bathroom remodeling service to make some scratch over the weekend.
Think about that for a minute.
Anyone can go online, buy some supplies, and get to work making their passion come alive (possibly even profitable).
That doesn’t just go for bathroom remodeling, it goes for anything.
Have an app idea? Learn how to code in Swift and develop an iOS app over the weekend.
Have a particular home-decoration style you know others will love? Find a home-goods manufacturer, an order fulfillment company, a customer support service, and webpage designer online and you’re off to the races.
Have an idea for a book? Write it using free tools for your Mac or PC, upload it to a self-publishing site, and order physical copies for all your friends and family.
It’s truly incredible.
Never before in human history have ideas had a chance to flourish. Never before has someone who can offer something of value been able to build a business easier.
Creators, makers, and entrepreneurs all have limitless tools and resources to turn their ideas into reality.
And the freedom do it.
About the Author
Michael Mehlberg
Creator, Entrepreneur, and Newly Minted Bathroom Remodeler
Mike Mehlberg is a vintage camera, typewriter, and chess collector, loves reading about technology and productivity, coaches high-achieving entrepreneurs to maximize their personal and business performance, and now (apparently) remodels bathrooms over vacation.