Normal is getting dressed in clothes that you buy for work, driving through traffic in a car that you are still paying for, in order to get to a job that you need so you can pay for the clothes, car and the house that you leave empty all day in order to afford to live in it. | Ellen Goodman
 
Most of us can only evaluate what we want, by discerning what we don’t want. Firstly, all I have ever known, is that I don’t want normal. Not that kind of normal, anyway. Secondly, I don’t like being told what to do. My inner rebel acts up the moment someone tries act as my authority. And I can’t handle it. And finally, I want extraordinary, not average. Average simply does not cut it. Not in this lifetime.
 
Those three very basic starting points lead into my why. Why I want a freedom-fuelled business and life.
 
There are a lot of things that I don’t want.
 
I don’t want to have to get up early and sit in someone else’s office, being told what to do. I don’t want to commute. I don’t want to listen to boring people in boring meetings talk about things that are fake and superficial and have no positive impact in the world. I don’t want to spend time around people who act like they have no soul. I don’t want to have to beg and ask for holidays, to get away. I don’t believe in the 40 hour work week, and hence, I don’t want to be a part of it. I don’t think women are meant to work in such structured, regimented environments. I don’t want to have to beg for a raise and convince people I don’t respect, that I am worthy of an extra dollar per hour. F*ck off! I don’t want to have to live in one house for the rest of my life, spending 25+ years paying it off, doing soul-less work that I don’t care about. I don’t want to experience a limited life, because that’s what is expected of me. I don’t want to shrink myself to fit into “the box”. I don’t want to have to adhere to rules that make no sense to me. I don’t want to waste my time doing mindless things and shuffling paperwork because the system works that way. I don’t want to live my life and feel that it was wasted at the end. I don’t want to come to the end of my life and wish I had done more. I don’t want to play it safe. 
 
Knowing what you don’t want, helps you know what you do want.
 
I want to live a creative life, that has a meaningful and positive impact on those around me. I want to help people and make things. I want to create my own reality. I want to break all the rules. I want to live the width and breadth of life. I want to touch the edges of my existence. I want to be able to follow my intuition and natural cycles as a woman and create and give from a space of authenticity, truth and courage. I want to understand my own, unique worth and learn how to charge money for the value that I give to the world. I want to travel when and where I want. I want to know the limitless of life and abundance. I want to do good work for and with great people who stretch and grow me. I want to live at the leading edge of our existence. I want to know that I can create anything I want. I want to surround myself with like-minded people who get my vibe. I want to make a difference. I want to colour outside the edges. I want to know that I have lived fully and well, in every area of my life.
 
And if I had to choose one word to illustrate all those words, my why, it would all come down to freedom.
 
The reason why, we need to know our great big why, is because it becomes our driving force, as we move forth with this dream. And there will be challenges, and there will be times that we cry and throw our hands up in the air and say to the sky “I give up!”. And then we remember our why, and we keep going. Our why, is what helps us stay focused, it connects us to our hearts, and is the undercurrent of our singular, unique purpose: to be the full expression of our why.
 
You need to know your why, before you start a project this life-changing, immense, beautiful, tough and crazy. Without your why, you are lifeboat, stranded in the sea, with nothing to connect to.
 
You can access all the articles in this 8-part series, here:

1. Identifying your skills, and deciding what kind of business to start.
2. Understanding your great, big, guiding why. (By using your heart and intuition to make decisions.)
3. Overcoming fear, self-sabotage, and putting yourself out there.
4. Creating a platform, building an audience and using social media.
5. Finding balance and boundaries, to live out your freedom-fuelled life.
6. Changing your mindset around self-worth, value and money.
7. Honing and defining your niche and your message.
8. Nurturing relationships and connecting with influencers to elevate your brand.

 
Image created by the amazing Marija from Posy Willow