My Liberation Story: Lisa Fyfe

[A Note from Clay: I've talked with Lisa on two occasions, and both of those conversations forced me to re-examine my preconceived notions about family and the limits of "lifestyle design."  Lisa is an inspiration.  Some might say that she hasn't "made it" yet.  But I think she made it a long time ago.]

The Business That Supported Our Family Closed

18 months ago, when I was 9 months pregnant with our second child, the business that supported our family closed. In addition to the loss of our financial support, my husband suffered the painful loss of the business which he had fought so hard to save and which had belonged to his family for two generations.

Consumed with Fear And Struggle

At the time we were so consumed with fear and struggle that couldn’t see the gift beneath all that had happened, which was that my husband Mark was finally freed from an all-consuming career that was often poisoned with toxic family dynamics. After a while, Mark and I came to the conclusion that while this situation might mean difficulty for us in the short term, it likely added years to his life. So, while we were in the habit of cutting back and making drastic changes to our lifestyle, we decided to reevaluate everything and recreate our lives.

The Goal: More Time

Our goal was that we wanted more time. We have two small children, and while I was home raising them, Mark didn’t get much time to spend with them. And, being an artist, he rarely had time to paint. I, on the other hand, was always with the kids and didn’t have time to pursue my interests in health, writing, or much of anything else. We craved time together as a family without having the weight of schedules, and longed to break from the lightning speed at which it seemed everyone we knew moved through their lives. We wanted out.

Some interesting things started to happen. We streamlined what we owned, and realized that we didn’t need two cars, as many activities for our kids, and eating out was really bad for us anyway. As it turns out, we didn’t need some of the friends we thought we did, who – apparently – were only into us for some of the possession we owned. Almost magically, friends that shared our values of a more simple way of living appeared, filling the gap and making our life more meaningful and real. It seemed that everything was pointing toward us moving forward to create the best life we could imagine. The question was, would we accept the challenge?

Things Started to Turn Around

My husband took a job that is much more creative with a company that values an entrepreneurial spirit. His hours are much less intense, and while the money is less, he enjoys his work, and our quality of life has improved tremendously. I took my love of writing and combined it with what I know about living a life free of depression without using medications, and created a website designed to help others become happier. (Clay has given me some amazing advice that I know will help take my business to the next level.) I’ve started offering a few different services such as copywriting and Reiki that brings us some money and can be done on my own time. Thanks to the generosity of a wonderful family friend, I’m learning the ins and outs of the stock market and learning to trade options. As things evolve, our plan is to pare down on the things that trade time for money and cultivate the ones that offer us more of a passive income. We’re willing to risk nearly everything for this dream, because if we don’t do it now, we know life will simply get in the way to stop us from making it happen. So, we’re committed to riding this out and we already know it won’t be easy.

Moving Forward Without Knowing Exactly What Will Evolve

So, here we are, in the midst of our family’s “financial makeover,” moving forward without really knowing exactly what will evolve. All my life I’ve made decisions based on my instincts, and even though some things didn’t work out, I have no regrets. My instincts tell me that this will work out for us, but we’re also working really hard to make it happen. I’m so grateful that I’ve started to connect with others – like Clay – who are making this happen in their own lives. This gives us the courage to believe that we can do this for ourselves – and the model to know how to do it. Our current goal, and it’s a big one, is that Mark will eventually be able to be home full time, managing the trading piece of our business. Right now that’s some way off, but we’re going to make it happen.

I Consider Us Lucky

Sometimes a well-meaning friend might express sorrow for what we’ve experienced these past few years. It always takes me aback, because I don’t think of us as having an unhappy or particularly difficult life. Frankly, I consider us lucky, because we’ve been given a second chance. It’s amazing how empowering it has been to simply let go of the collective American dream and focus on what it is that will make us really happy. And I know that one day soon, we’ll look at each other and know that all this hard work has been worth it.

For more of Lisa go to her Alternative Health Therapies and Young Living Essential Oils website.  And for more liberation stories, subscribe to Finance Your Freedom: