If you're from Canada, you may remember the Freedom 55 ad campaigns. The insurance company running the ads was attempting to alert Canadians what it would take to retire by the age of 55. I remember seeing those ads and saying to myself "freedom 35 is what I'm aiming for!"

Things started off well and in my young naive mind I was well on my way. I started my career at the young age of 17. I met my beautiful wife, Natasha, at the age of 19. I bought my first house at 20. I proposed to Natasha at 21. I bought a second house at 23. I started my business at 24 while Natasha was doing her Masters in clinical psychology. Natasha and I got married and started building our dream home at 26. We had our son when I was 27​. Life was looking good! At least from the outside...

Although I looked successful on the outside, I did not feel successful. Debt was pilling up and every day I felt more and more like a slave. Freedom 35 was no longer in site and once I turned 35 we were right in the thick of the pandemic and not only was I not financially free, I was now locked down as well. We had to close down another business we had started and the debt spiral continued.

I was on my knees but trying to hide it from my wife. There was no need for both of us to be stressed so I carried the burden myself.

So let's back up a little. What is freedom? For me it was doing what I want, when I want, wherever I want, with whoever I want, however I want. That's the financial freedom the world is trying to sell to us everyday.

I remember being at a personal development event that was held by a very well know person. There were hundreds of people there. At one point in the event, all the men, including me, were yelling freedom. The music was blasting and the ground was shaking. It was a powerful experience. It was like the men yelling "FREEDOM" in the Braveheart movie and running into war. I came out of that event on fire but it did not last very long.

What I have come to know is the freedom I was chasing is not freedom at all. It's a trick. It's a lie. It's a trap. As long as your freedom is tied to some "thing", you are always trying to get more or you are trying to hold on to what you have because once you loose that thing, you will loose your freedom.

True freedom can never be lost once you have it.

True freedom lifts you of the burdens you are carrying on your shoulders.

True freedom is not achieved, it is received.

How do I know this to be true? I am experiencing it in my life right now. I can honestly say that I feel more free today than I did yesterday, last month or last year. My freedom grows every single day no matter what happens in my life.

How did I receive this freedom? I made one simple decision. A commitment that changed my life.

The last blog post I wrote was about surrendering. I know in my heart that I had to surrender. To let go of the control. I had one thing wrong though. I was surrendering to the wrong thing.

The decision that changed my life was to surrender and commit my life to Jesus.

If you're an atheist or don't believe in Jesus, don't stop reading yet. That's what the enemy wants you to do. I know exactly where you're at because I was there before as well. Just a couple more minutes. I promise the end will be worth it.

I remember saying when I was a kid, "I wish there was a a guide the life." The truth is that there is and it's called the Bible. It's not some religious book like I originally thought. The more I study it and the more I put the things I learn into practice, the better my life gets and the more free I become.

Now don't get me wrong. This is not some prosperity thing. I still have to deal with all sorts of struggles, pains and so-called bad things. The difference is that I'm free from the burden of carrying all those burdens on my shoulders all by myself. God will carry as much as I want to give him and I'm giving him more and more every day.

I'm no longer a slave. I'm not a slave to money. I'm not a slave to stuff. I'm not a slave to my business. I'm not a slave to anybody. I'm a servant of God and servants are cared and provided for.

If I'm a servant, I'm not in control though? How is that freedom?

If you're trying to control everything in your life, how's it going for you? If it's anything like my life, probably not very well. Control does not equal freedom. If it did, once you lost control, you would loose your freedom. Which I'm guessing happens every day.

The truth is that God's plan is always going to be better than our plans. We just have to get out of our own way, surrender and commit to Him. I know this to be true because He was working in my life before I believed in Him.

Remember that freedom 35 dream I had? I achieved it and I didn't even realize it until I sat down to write this. The reason I wrote this is because Pastor Doug Millar asked me to share my testimony at church after sharing a little bit of my story with him. I achieved freedom 35 because at the age of 35 is when I decided to surrender and commit my life to Jesus. God's plan was way better than my plan (and I can share dozens of stories proving this).

​If you have read this through to the end, I'm guessing you're either already a believer or you're searching for something. If you're searching, I'm praying for you. I'm praying you see the light and start the feel the freedom that I now have. You are one decision away from freedom. All you need to do is accept Jesus into your life.

If you're not sure how to do that, please reach out to me. We can do it together.

If you want to watch the testimony I shared at church, you can watch it here. It's around the 15:30 mark of the video.

The law of attraction states that everything that we are experiencing, have experienced or will experience has been attracted to our lives by our own doing.

Personally, I believe in this. And if you're reading this, I'm guessing that you believe it or some part of you believes it to be true.

Like most things in life though, it's easy to take credit for the positive stuff. When you get that promotion, land a new client or finally get that date with the person of your dreams, you can say "I did this!"

But what about the negative stuff. Are you taking credit for that? Or are you blaming external factors?

Thanks to Grant Cardone's The 10X Rule, I have come to realize, yet again, the power of words.

I often say that things are happening FOR me but he has flipped that around to things are happening BECAUSE OF me.

That simple change of words creates a radical shift in mindset. All of a sudden I am taking radical responsibility for everything that happens in my life. Yes, I know most things in life are out of my control but that does not mean I have to relinquish responsibility.

We are responsible for our own lives. If shit's not working out or you're not happy with your current situation, that's on you and nobody else.

Some things are easy to measure and track.

If you have decided to begin playing the piano, it's easy to see your progress. If you play baseball, it's easy to follow your stats and see the areas that are changing. If you lift weights, it's easy to track if you are getting stronger. If you invest your money, you can see it go up and down.

But what about things like your emotional strength? Or your parenting skills? Or your character? Or your leadership skills? Or your relationship with your spouse.

Often, the things that are most important are the hardest to track and since we can't track them we don't give them the attention they need.

Tracking is important, especially in business, but it's not everything. 

How do you see the world?

Do you believe people are nice and that the world is a good place or do you see destruction and all the evil in the world?

Do you believe kids are the greatest joy in the world or a nuisance because they make too much noise and wreck your front lawn?

Do you see opportunities all around the world or problems that are too big to solve?

Do you travel through the world struggling at every turn or having fun like it's a game?

We don't see the world as it is. We see the world how we are.

If you want to change the world, change yourself.

How do you define success?

Money?

Freedom?

Relationships?

Health?

Spirituality?

All of the above?

Is success something you get or something you feel?

If other people believe your are successful, does that make you successful?

The ONLY way you will ever FEEL successful is if you are fulfilled and the only way to be fulfilled is to do what you want to do.

Happy Monday! I hope you're doing what you love. If you're not, I hope you're putting a plan into place to make it happen. If you're not, that's on you...

As a parent, I believe it's important for my son to learn how to lose.

Losing is not bad thing. A loss is not a failure.

A loss is an opportunity to learn.

In my experience of life, every loss I have had has taught me something. Whether it's a lesson about some "thing" or a lesson about who I am, a loss always makes me better.

My wins, on the other hand, do not always teach me something. Not because there's not a lesson, but because I feel as though I did everything right. What more is there to learn? This can be deceiving. That is why the losses are so important.

In sports, you could win because of a bad call. If you don't realize that, what could you be missing? Life is the same.

Perhaps what you thought was working, is no longer working. Or perhaps you got lazy. Or perhaps the game has changed.

The loss will help you realign.

If you are concerned about your kid "losing", don't be surprised if your kid becomes afraid of losing when he's older (and in turn, afraid to take the risks that are required for a fulfilled life).

I should eat healthier.

I should go to the gym more.

I should watch less TV.

I should work less.

I should spend more time with my kids.

I should. I should. I should.

Stop guilt-tripping yourself! Stop "shoulding" all over yourself! It's not helping you.

Is it motivating you to change?

I would venture to say that it's not. I bet it's only making you feel like shit.

How about you compliment yourself instead? Acknowledge yourself for all the great you did.

It's a lot easier to build on a solid foundation than one that has been broken down over the years.

And if the foundation is broken down, it will take some time to repair it. The sooner you start, the better.

Would you talk to your child the way you talk to yourself in your mind? Deep down, we're all just kids looking to be acknowledged.

P.S. If you have young kids, you are building their foundation right now.

I always do that.

I never do that.

Everyone is doing it.

No one is buying it.

It happens every time.

Everything is going wrong.

Always, never, everyone, no one, every time and everything are rarely correct (notice I did not say never correct). They are all-or-nothing words.

The words we use are powerful. Both for the people who hear them as well as our subconscious minds.

Is it true that you always screw up?

Is it true that you never make a mistake?

Is it true that everyone is on social media?

Is it true that no one is buying your product or service?

Is it true that your kids push back every time you ask them to do their chores?

Is it true that everything is going wrong?

Be careful what you say to others and what you tell yourself. If you say the lie enough, you may just end up believing it.

Do you think you're stupid or do you think you're a genius?

Do you think you're weak or do you think you're strong?

Do you think you're a terrible parent or do you think you're the greatest parent of all time?

Do you think you're a terrible spouse or do you think you're a terrific spouse.

Do you think you're sick or do you think you're healthy.

Do you think you're a follower or do you think you're a leader?

Do you think you're disconnected or do you think you're connected?

Do you think you're tired or do you think you're full of energy?

It's true, you are what you think...

But only if you believe it.

It’s important to understand.

Only when we understand a person are we truly able to serve them.

Only when we understand some “thing” are we truly able to use it to it’s fullest capability.

It you want to serve somebody, you need to understand them.

If you want to use some “thing” to its fullest capability, you need to understand it.

But in order to understand, you need to stop judging.


When you judge something or someone, you are no longer seeking to understand. Your mind will be seeking to prove it’s judgement.

That goes for understanding yourself as well. Stop judging yourself and start understanding yourself instead. Then you will create amazing change.