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The Joys of being Responsible or Discipline Means Freedom (and some warm fuzzies)

Guest post by: Toni Taylor

Article Overview: The joys of being responsible. Discipline means freedom. They do sound rather contradictory, don't they? But if you gently focus on the rewards of discipline, rather than any sense of stingy self denial, all will make sense. Working with a very broad definition of "rewards" will also help.

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The Joys of being Responsible or Discipline Means Freedom (and some warm fuzzies)

The joys of being responsible. Discipline means freedom. They do sound rather contradictory, don't they? But if you gently focus on the rewards of discipline, rather than any sense of stingy self denial, all will make sense. Working with a very broad definition of "rewards" will also help.
Yes, it can be a bore to practice musical scales forever. But when you know the scales so well they can be felt in your bone marrow, you gain the freedom of creating entire musical masterpieces. Which, if you think about, it how most of western music has been created.
The drudgery of practicing free throws for hours, is, well a drudge. But the freedom the muscle memory derived from all that practice gives you in a clutch is immeasurable. And the warm fuzzies you get, knowing that you contributed to the success of your teams, will keep you practicing free throws for months.
Yes, it momentarily feels bad to forgo the purchase of those cute little red shoes in the shop window, but doing so often enough, gives you the wherewithal, to invest your "passed up little red shoe" fund in a business or anything else that might generate income. With some luck, hard work, and hanging out with the right people, you'll create the resources and freedom to buy all the little red shoes you can use. Or better yet, buy your little red shoes (OK sensible little red shoes) at TOMS Shoes. For every pair you buy, they give a pair to a child in need.
One of the many gifts of self discipline is the freedom of responsibility. Again, contradictory, but keep an open mind. Of the innumerable valuable insights derived from my many mentors is the joy of having the resources (educational, professional, & financial) of being responsible and sharing those resources. Recently I've found myself with the opportunity and responsibility to contribute to the launching and sustaining of a new family. While the rest of my family continues its long time support of these young people, I'm now in the enviable position to add to their good work and intentions.
Which means, I now have the freedom and obligation to be successful, financially and spiritually, so I can support their success. My fruits will be the warm fuzzies (which can keep me going for months) of contributing to the success of members of my family, with no expectation of repayment. Re-filling the karma pool, if you will, as my family supported my success over the years.
One of the joys of all of this is that even when this young family becomes able to repay the family, would we really want them to? Probably not. Perhaps knowing that we can never fully be re-paid and that contributing to the success of someone else is far greater than the value what was provided to this new family. Perhaps rather than being repaid, our only expectation is that they do they same when the opportunity arises, either for their own children, or anyone else's.
I once found a guy's cell phone on a subway platform in New York City. A bit of poking around with the stored phone numbers identified whose phone I'd found. After arranging to meet at the clock at the information desk in Grand Central Station in NYC (is there anywhere else to meet a stranger in NYC?) I was taken aback, even slightly offended, when he offered a cash reward, which I declined. I enjoyed that, with so little effort, I'd made someone's day a little easier. The whole exercise would have been some how diminished by a cash reward. In return, I asked him to pay it forward, and that was that. I've never heard from him again. While there's no way of knowing if he paid it forward, those warm fuzzies kept me going for a long time.
So, I invite you to consider the discipline required to fulfill your responsibility of being successful, and the freedom it will give you to contribute to the success of others, as well as maintain a steady diet of warm fuzzies, which might be as good for you as a steady income.

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Home > Home-Based-Business > Toni Taylor > The Joys of being Responsible or Discipline Means Freedom and some warm fuzzies >
Article Tags: freedom of success, responsibility, responsible, success, successful
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About the Author: Toni Taylor
RSS for Toni's articles - Visit Toni's website

Being passionate about the creative process and how it can be applied to all areas of life, business, and art, I'm committed to the creative success of my friends, family and colleagues. Internet marketing is the basis of my other businesses, which include holistic health counseling, web /graphic design, and a dance company.

So go ahead, start a business.

A few more thoughts for your consideration.


Click here to visit Toni's website Dashed Line

More from Toni Taylor
Taking Action in the Face of Disenchantment
Ageless Marketing Principals for Start Up Entrepreneurial Types
Abundance is Yours
Are you Retrenching or Reimagining
Branding In Spite of Yourself


Related Forum Posts
Re: Why Did You Become An Entrepreneur? Re: Why Did You Become An Entrepreneur? - You mean Freedom = Responsibility. Freedom and responsibility are two sides of same coin. But I like the word choice. Robert
Re: What is Your Favorite Thing About Owning A Business? Re: What is Your Favorite Thing About Owning A Business? - 1.Freedom 2.Freedom 3.Freedom
Re: FILL IN THE BLANK: The thing I love MOST about being an entr Re: FILL IN THE BLANK: The thing I love MOST about being an entr - Freedom!
Re: FILL IN THE BLANK: The thing I love MOST about being an entr Re: FILL IN THE BLANK: The thing I love MOST about being an entr - Freedom to work the hours I want and make my own choices and decisions. MichelleJ
3 for 1 3 for 1 - Thats a tough job, a single word as an expression of thought for a word like 'internet' is sure a difficult one ! However, I could think of a number of them - they are : 1. Creativity 2. Freedom 3. Universe Hope this is of help.


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