Business and mastering the four freedoms

Business and mastering the four freedoms
As you consider each new endeavor, think about how it will affect four types of freedom
NOV 17, 2020

If you don’t learn to carefully manage your time, your daily commitments will rob you of your freedoms and ruin both your business and your quality of life.

I’ve seen many people start their own firms believing that having control would give them more freedom. But all too often the opposite occurs. It certainly happened to me.

Many years ago, I adopted a “freedom” grid through which I evaluate every business opportunity. There are four categories of freedoms that I weigh: money, time, people and purpose. (I was first introduced to these four freedoms by Dan Sullivan of The Strategic Coach, which I’ve participated in on and off for 20 years.)

Early in my career, I worked long hours building a financial planning business. While my professional goal was to provide high-quality advice and counseling to our clients, my personal goal was to make a good living to support my family. I was fortunate in that I was surrounded by smart people who helped me grow the business, so the goal of obtaining the freedom of money came relatively quickly.

But I was buried. I was working more hours than I wanted (or than was probably healthy). So after about 10 years, I made it a priority to carve out more free time for myself and my family. Professionally, I began to spend time on only those things I was good at and loved doing, and, hard as it was, I learned to delegate everything else.

Relatively speaking, I’d mastered the freedom of time. But the irony here is that bothmy business and my quality of life drastically improved.   

Now in my mid-50s, there is often a trade-off between the two other key freedoms -- people and purpose.

As for people, whether it’s clients, co-workers or business partners, I won’t work with or spend time with people with whom I don’t share similar values, who I don’t enjoy, or who I can’t learn from. Yes, it’s a luxury. But I’ve worked hard, and life is simply too short to spend time with people who bring you down.

The fourth freedom, purpose, is now the most important. Like you, of course, I have many different purposes, including raising children who are good people, having deep friendships, helping clients reach their financial goals, providing employees with an opportunity to grow, volunteering and faith, just to name a few. 

Each time a new business opportunity or endeavor presents itself to me, I think about this matrix and how saying “yes” will impact my freedoms. Will the new commitment support my purpose? Will the additional finances give me more free time? Will this individual help me to become a better version of myself?

To be clear, life is a learning process and I don’t always make perfect decisions. But I’ve found as I’ve gotten older that this framework works very well for me, and so I use it to both guide my own professional decisions and as a framework to mentor my young co-workers.

Scott Hanson is co-founder of Allworth Financial, formerly Hanson McClain Advisors, a fee-based RIA with $8 billion in AUM.

Latest News

Farther debuts AI investment proposal tool for advisors to win clients
Farther debuts AI investment proposal tool for advisors to win clients

"Im glad to see that from a regulatory perspective, we're going to get the ability to show we're responsible [...] we'll have a little bit more freedom to innovate," Farther co-founder Brad Genser told InvestmentNews.

Are you optimally efficient?
Are you optimally efficient?

Taking a systematic approach to three key practice areas can help advisors gain confidence, get back time, and increase their opportunities.

Advisor moves: Father-son duo leaves Raymond James for LPL, RayJay adds Merrill Lynch alum in Florida
Advisor moves: Father-son duo leaves Raymond James for LPL, RayJay adds Merrill Lynch alum in Florida

Meanwhile, Osaic lures a high-net-worth advisor from Commonwealth in the Pacific Northwest.

Beacon Pointe adds six RIAs in two-month acquisition spree, boosting AUM by $2.7B
Beacon Pointe adds six RIAs in two-month acquisition spree, boosting AUM by $2.7B

The deals, which include its first stake in Ohio, push the national women-led firm up to $47 billion in assets.

RIA moves: RWA Wealth Partners strengthens leadership as $8B Procyon widens Northeast footprint
RIA moves: RWA Wealth Partners strengthens leadership as $8B Procyon widens Northeast footprint

The Dynasty Financial partner firm's latest deal in Connecticut adds roughly $600 million in client assets.

SPONSORED How advisors can build for high-net-worth complexity

Orion's Tom Wilson on delivering coordinated, high-touch service in a world where returns alone no longer set you apart.

SPONSORED RILAs bring stability, growth during volatile markets

Barely a decade old, registered index-linked annuities have quickly surged in popularity, thanks to their unique blend of protection and growth potential—an appealing option for investors looking to chart a steadier course through today's choppy market waters, says Myles Lambert, Brighthouse Financial.