Most people don't think about freedom until they don't have it. My time in the military taught me that.
Military service teaches you many lessons: discipline, accountability, responsibility, leadership, and how to keep moving when things don't go according to plan. But one of the most important lessons I carried with me after my service was an appreciation for the things in life that are easy to take for granted—time with your family, a quiet weekend, being there for birthdays, anniversaries, and milestones, having control over your schedule, and being able to decide that work is finished and go home. They seem ordinary, but I’ve learned otherwise.
Service Changes Your Perspective
When you serve in the military, your time isn't always your own. There are obligations, long days, missed events, and times when the mission must come before everything else. It changes the way you look at the simple things.
You understand the value of sitting down for dinner with your family. You appreciate spending a Saturday doing absolutely nothing. You understand that being present for the people you love is a privilege, not something to automatically assume you'll always have.
When my military service ended, that perspective didn't end with it. I left grateful for what I had but also believing gratitude should lead to something. Being thankful for the opportunities you've been given means more when you find a way to use those opportunities to help someone else. For me, that eventually became another form of service: helping business owners.
The Important Question
One question I think business owners should occasionally ask themselves is incredibly simple: Why did you start this in the first place?
For many entrepreneurs, part of the answer is freedom. They wanted financial independence. They wanted control over their schedule. They wanted to create something of their own, provide for their family, or build a life where someone else wasn't always deciding what their time was worth.
Then the business starts growing. Before long, the owner becomes the salesperson, manager, recruiter, problem solver, customer service department, and emergency contact. Vacations become working vacations. Dinner gets interrupted by phone calls. Weekends become catch-up days. Even when they're physically away from the business, mentally they're still there.
They created a business because they wanted freedom, but somewhere along the way, the business took that from them.
A Successful Business Should Give You Choices
That's one of the reasons I became an ActionCOACH business coach. I help business owners grow their companies, but growth alone isn't enough.
Revenue matters. Profitability matters. Cash flow matters. Sales, marketing, leadership, accountability, and strong systems matter. But I don't believe the purpose of building a successful business is simply watching the numbers get bigger. Those numbers should create something, and ultimately, they should create choices.
When a company has good systems in place, everything doesn't depend on the owner. When employees are properly trained and empowered, they don't need approval for every decision. When leadership is strong, the owner doesn't have to be involved in every problem. Eventually, something important starts happening: the owner gets time back.
Maybe that means being home for dinner, attending their child's game without answering emails from the stands, or taking their spouse on vacation and actually leaving the laptop at home. Maybe it's volunteering, traveling, pursuing a hobby, or simply waking up on Saturday morning knowing the business will be fine without them.
To me, that's freedom.
Gratitude Requires Action
My military service taught me to appreciate the freedoms I have, but it also reinforced something else: If you've been fortunate, you should find a way to give something back.
Business owners give an incredible amount to their communities. They take risks, create jobs, support families, and provide products and services people depend on. But I've also watched owners sacrifice themselves for the businesses they've created.
There's a point where working harder stops being the answer. You need better systems, better leadership, better accountability, and better processes. You need a business that works without requiring you to personally hold every piece together. Success shouldn't mean sacrificing everything else that makes your life worth enjoying.
The Mission Changed
I don't wear the uniform anymore, but my desire to serve didn't disappear when my military career ended. The mission changed. Today, I get to serve by helping business owners build stronger companies, stronger teams, and businesses that don't require their constant presence.
Yes, I want the businesses I work with to make more money, but I also want the people behind those businesses to remember why they worked so hard to build them. I want them to have the choice to go home, take the vacation, be present with the people they love, and enjoy what they've spent years building.
My military service taught me to be thankful for those freedoms. Now, I get to help other people reclaim theirs.
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Success shouldn't mean sacrificing everything else that makes your life worth enjoying.
Being thankful for the opportunities you've been given means more when you find a way to use those opportunities to help someone else.