The two values behind every decision I make

Hey everyone, this is Allan. In today’s video I want to talk about the values that guide my work and my decisions.

God First

I value God above everything. My faith is the top priority, and everything else is secondary.

Freedom Matters

I also value freedom a lot. I prefer to work from home, and in the past I chose a lower income just to have the freedom of a home office. I spent several years taking buses every day to get to college and work. I live about 100 kilometers from the nearest college, so I would leave home at four in the afternoon, travel to study, and return around one in the morning. Many people have worse routines, but for me that amount of travel time was not sustainable.

Living in the city I’m in now is much cheaper than a big city, and I can work from anywhere as long as I have internet. I finally gained the freedom I wanted a few years ago, but it came after a lot of struggle. In my first month as a freelancer I made no money at all. I might make a video about that later.

Time Choices

I value the freedom to choose how I spend my time. For example, last Friday I worked only until 10 a.m. so I could catch a bus to my girlfriend’s house. She lives in a city a bit farther away, and we spent Valentine’s Day together on June 12. On Saturday I worked in the morning while she was also working, but because I can work from anywhere I simply set up in her place and continued as if I were at home. All my decisions now aim to preserve my freedom in the medium and long term.

Limits to Freedom

Even though I prize freedom, my faith sets limits. There are two thousand years of knowledge about what is right and what is wrong, and I follow that guidance. Freedom does not mean I can do anything that harms my soul. For instance, if I wanted to smoke marijuana and saw it as an expression of freedom, I would recognize that it is harmful to my spirit and choose not to do it. Controlling urges and avoiding actions that damage my soul is essential.

Decision Framework

When I make a choice, I ask myself whether it will trap me where I am now or give me more freedom in the future. That’s how I think about my core values. The most important is God; freedom heavily influences my decisions, and there are other values I’ll discuss in future videos. That’s it for today.