Free Advice from Freemo

Have you ever been driving down the road or enjoying a night out with friends, and a song comes on that just catches your ear? You lean in a little closer to listen, and if you have time, you quickly open your Shazam or SoundHound app to identify the title or artist.

Or maybe you're scrolling through social media and a photo or video of a vacation destination makes you want to learn more right away. You Google it or go down a rabbit hole looking for more information to satisfy your curiosity.

I was listening to a conversation between two friends on a podcast the other day when something made me hit rewind and listen again. It was one of those quotes I couldn't stop thinking about all the way to my destination. I immediately wrote it down and have been pondering the wisdom inside these simple words ever since.

"Some people's lives are meant to be great. Some people's lives are meant to be easy.

Great people's lives aren't easy, and easy people's lives aren't great."

I texted my friend Neal, host of the Beyond the Velvet Rope podcast, to ask where the quote came from. He quickly replied, "My best friend's dad would tell us this every time he saw us."

He followed that with this:

"It's been with me for almost 30 years now."

"His name is Freeman White III. I just call him Freemo."

I don't know who Freeman White III is and probably never will. But I love the fact that his words will echo in my head, just as they have in Neal's, for a long time.

We chase songs, places, and moments that spark our curiosity.

But what if we chased a different question this week?

Not “What’s easiest?”

But “What’s worth it?”

Because the life that’s great might be harder…but it might also be the one worth rewinding, replaying, and remembering for the next 30 years.