Freedom is Process

Is it more freeing to quit my corporate job or to stay? This question has occupied my thoughts as I balance my role in corporate America with my vision for an innovative couples coaching platform. The conventional wisdom suggests a clear answer: entrepreneurship means freedom, corporate jobs mean confinement. But my conversations with entrepreneurs—and my own experience—have made me question this.

The Entrepreneur's Paradox

I recently spoke with a friend who built a startup in Brazil. From the outside, she had achieved the entrepreneurial dream. But her reality was different.

"As I move towards my dreams, I feel like I'm building a new prison for myself," I admitted.

"That’s because you are," she replied.

For two years, she had wanted to leave her startup but couldn't. Even after selling her company, she felt trapped—bound by responsibilities to investors and employees.

This story is not unique. Many founders find that the freedom they sought transforms into a new kind of constraint. One told me, "Any idea is a five-year commitment. Entrepreneurship isn’t about loving an idea, but about loving the process of building it."

The Risks and Unknowns

If I were to leave my corporate job to pursue my platform full-time, I'd face uncertainties:

• Will developers execute my vision on time and within budget?
• Will people actually use and pay for this platform?
• How will I navigate financial instability?
• Would seeking investors just create a gigantic burden?

For therapists in private practice, the similar paradoxes exist. What initially appears as freedom can quickly turn into a new set of constraints. These patterns of unexpected constraint and freedom aren't just found in business contexts—they appear throughout history, mythology, and popular culture. They remind us that the relationship between structure and freedom is often more complex than it first appears.

Superman may have had superhuman strength, but Clark Kent’s day job at the Daily Planet was just as crucial to his mission. His work as a journalist gave him access to information, allowed him to stay connected to humanity, and provided a cover that let him operate effectively. Without his corporate job, Superman would have struggled to understand the world he was trying to save. In the same way, my corporate role provides me with structure, financial stability, and learning opportunities that make my mission possible.

There is a story from Paramahansa Yogananda’s lineage about his master’s master, Lahiri Mahasaya, and how he found his guru, the great Babaji, in the mountains. Overcome by divine ecstasy, Lahiri Mahasaya wanted to renounce the world—to leave behind his job, his family, and all responsibilities to devote himself completely to spiritual practice. But Babaji, instead of encouraging this, told him that in this era, the true disciple is one who remains in the world, fulfilling their duties while embodying spiritual realization. It is not through escaping responsibility but by engaging with it that one truly walks the path of enlightenment.

Similarly, in Norse mythology, Odin, the all-father, sacrificed himself on Yggdrasil, the World Tree, to gain wisdom. He hung upside down for nine days and nights, enduring great suffering not to escape the world but to understand it more deeply. Through his sacrifice, he unlocked the runes—symbols of knowledge that would guide gods and men alike. He did not retreat from the world, but rather embraced his responsibility to it, using his newfound wisdom to lead and protect.

As I develop my platform while working my corporate job, I’ve realized something unexpected: my job provides freedom, not restriction. At any moment, I can walk away. Meanwhile, I earn a stable income, maintain professional growth, and have the space to build my vision without pressure to monetize it immediately. This allows me to iterate, learn, and preserve the integrity of my work without financial compromise. Like Odin’s sacrifice, my current position provides the foundation for something greater—it enables me to create from a place of strength rather than scarcity.

Redefining Freedom

J Krishnamurti offers a radical view of freedom: "To be free of all authority, of your own and that of another, is to die to everything of yesterday, so that your mind is always fresh, always young, innocent, full of vigor and passion." Freedom, in his view, isn’t about external circumstances—it’s about being free from conditioning and expectation.

True freedom is not the absence of structure but the conscious choice of the right structures. Entrepreneurs often replace one form of confinement with another. A thoughtfully chosen corporate role can, paradoxically, provide the conditions for genuine autonomy.

Krishnamurti also argues that "freedom implies absolute responsibility." This resonates with me now more than ever. My corporate job provides enabling constraints—predictability and financial stability—that allow me to pursue my vision without desperation. Instead of seeing this structure as a limitation, I now see it as a foundation.

Walking the Path of Freedom

Freedom is not a destination—it’s a process of alignment between our external circumstances and our deepest values. Sometimes, freedom means making peace with structure rather than rejecting it.

As Krishnamurti suggests, true freedom is not about escape—it is about radical responsibility for our own lives. And sometimes, paradoxically, a corporate paycheck can help fund that responsibility. Maybe Jongu’s best self will be as a non-profit… Or, even better, an art project!