A Jury of Your Peers
I had the honor (so to speak) of going through the jury selection process this week. I can't say that it was pleasant but that's compared to sipping a cold strawberry daiquiri on a tropical island, not compared to the option of living in a country which does not provide for a 'fair trial' by a jury of our peers.
To be honest, the process of jury selection used here locally is laborious and wastes untold man-hours. It was lengthy and tedious and in the end, a resolution was reached between the two parties and we all went home. But it certainly was no party. But again, maybe it WAS a party compared to spending years in a prison when, in fact, you aren't guilty of what you were sentenced to prison for.
Did I have things to do? My heavens, of course. Just as all of the 130 or so folks did. Did I come up with 101 reasons I couldn't possibly spend 2-3 weeks listening to a trial that I know would have sickened me at every turn? Of course I did. And quite honestly, I would have been excused as I would not have made a good juror based on the subject matter of the trial.
But none the less, we all had to sit through this process while they whittled, one by one, down the crowd to just 10 jurors or so. When we were finally dismissed, there were still at least 75 of us sitting in the room, waiting and waiting and waiting. I did take my computer and worked so I made the best of it, as always.
In a way, I was disappointed when it was over and I haven't a clue why. I spent more than two days in a process I respect but know could have been done much more efficiently. I needed to finish preparing for this weekend's Creative Wealth for Women workshop and yet, when we were dismissed, there was an interesting disappointment in the air by all. Why, when so many spent the two days complaining about everything from the seats to the time spent to the lighting in the room?
But truthfully, I was intrigued by the process, as long and tedious as it was and as inconvenienced as we all felt. Yet at the same time, consider what it would be like if one of us, or someone we knew, were "inconvenienced" for a year or 10 or even a lifetime by being convicted of a deed we did not do by people we did not even know. Now that is inconvenienced!
I can't help but think that this "inconvenience" thing somehow plays into our current context of freedom, and specifically, financial freedom.
How many of us currently feel inconvenienced by the ups and downs of the financial markets, playing badminton with our precious 'freedom funds' on a daily basis? How inconvenienced do we make ourselves out to be because we have to go to work all day, save our money for later instead of spending all of it on stuff we want? Is there a better way? How inconvenient are our lives really when we get to spend our days breathing, smelling, loving, hugging, eating, moving, seeing, feeling and more?
Do we not complain about things that others would rejoice about? Do we not whine when we could smile and find simple joy on a daily basis if we chose to?
Is the freedom to make as much (or as little) money as we'd like, invest how we'd like (or not) and spend how we'd like to spend (or not) worth having a little bit of "inconvenience" attached?
Here's the bigger question: what if we simply reframed the word inconvenience or didn't use it at all?
What if we allowed ourselves to enjoy our work, regardless of what it is?
What if we allowed ourselves to dedicate our lives to the proposition that ____________________ (you fill in the blank) and never gave up, or in, until we accomplished this or died (the ultimate inconvenience).
So, how willing are you to be inconvenienced in some way in order to be financially free? Are you willing to do whatever it takes to meet your financial goals?
Could you stop, for just a day, chasing after the illusive goal of always wanting to be somewhere you're not? Why does it seems that the more convenient road of complaining and not making it happen is somehow easier for many human beings?
Are you willing to be happy today and just for today, FEEL free. Because this is where freedom begins. It starts as a feeling. This is true freedom. If you can feel it, you are half way there.
In all of the stories I ever read or heard about the prisoners of the concentration camps, being inconvenienced was never mentioned. They were 'free' inside to think and feel as they wished and I believe it is this thinking and feeling that got many of them through it and ultimately free in the end.
In all of the years that I have been coaching people in one capacity or another; first as a personal fitness trainer and now as a Creative Wealth Coach, I have found one thing to be common place. Many, but not all, of the people I work with know what they need to be doing to achieve their goals. For some reason, though, they just aren't willing to do what it takes and need a bit personal attention and guidance. For this I have always been grateful becaus coaching others is one of my biggest joys.
If you're not happy where you are today, in any aspect of your life, then I ask you: What is it you're refusing to admit that you know that is keeping you in this place?
Your answer to this question may inconvenience you a wee bit, but I bet that the answer has a wee bit to do with what you need to do to meet your goals.
And the envelope please... |
Elisabeth Donati (aka Miss E) is CEO of Creative Wealth Intl., LLC, a company devoted to empowering individuals of all ages with the tools and information they need to be responsible for themselves and the world. 
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