Freedom is a Necessary Condition and Objective
I am free, no matter what rules surround me.
If I find them tolerable, I tolerate them;
if I find them too obnoxious, I break them.
I am free because I know that I alone am morally responsible
for everything I do.[i]
Freedom and iLeadership
You might recall that last week’s Leadership Note (#2625) opened with the following statement:
- I have yet to meet the person who does not want to be “a success” (at something).
This week we have a variation on the theme… what we all seek or want, but do not necessarily have.
- I have yet to meet the person who does not want to be “free” (i.e., who seeks bondage over freedom).
But freedom is a tricky condition because it implies, we must accept a bunch of other associated elements for which we might not care, such as personal and moral responsibility.
Robert Heinlein’s quoted view might appear radical, that to be existentially free we must be prepared to break rules that are objectionable.
To be an unrepentant Influential Leader, we must pursue existential freedom and act in accordance with such freedom even when it is not existent.
Existential Freedom
To be existentially free means to recognise and embrace the radical freedom we each have to shape our own lives—not just in terms of external choices, but in how we respond to existence itself.
At its core, existential freedom is about Personal Agency:
- We are not defined by events, conditions or circumstances—but by how we choose to act within and despite them.
- Even in situations where personal, social or political freedoms are stripped away, existential freedom remains—because it is rooted in conscious choice, self-awareness, and responsibility.
Viktor Frankl, the Holocaust survivor and psychiatrist who we come across often in the Influential Leadership System, captures this condition beautifully:
Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances.
Freedom is Our Soil
Freedom is like soil—it is not merely a condition—it is the very foundation from which a person, a people or society grows, thrives, and draws its strength.
- Soil nourishes life: Just as fertile soil provides nutrients for plants to grow, freedom provides the conditions for individuals and communities to flourish—intellectually, economically, and socially.
- Roots in liberty: It implies that our values, identity, and resilience are rooted in freedom. Without it, we risk becoming uprooted, disconnected from what sustains us.
- Freedom as a living ecosystem: Soil is dynamic, teeming with life and constantly regenerating. Likewise, freedom is not static—it must be cultivated, protected, and enriched through activism, participation, vigilance, and responsibility.
The connection between iLeadership and freedom to soil echoes the sentiments of Rabindranath Tagore who reminds us that true freedom is not about detachment, but about being deeply grounded in something life-giving.
- Emancipation from the bondage of the soil is no freedom for the tree.[ii]
If you have been around the Influential Leadership System for a while you will know that Social Agency governs the Leadership Process, and it is right here that freedom is situated—it is our soil.
Freedom starts in the mind (critical thinking), then manifests in our choices and actions.
To practice Influential Leadership, we must examine whether we are free in our thoughts, choices and actions—if not, set yourself free or you cannot lead.
Have a great Leadership Week!
Regards,
Colin Donian
Karoo Founder & CEO
Cultivate the Soil of Freedom!
Leadership Note # 2725 | 07.07.25
e: colind@karoo.world
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[i] Robert A. Heinlein (1907-1988). Known as the ‘dean of science fiction writers. His wring covers issues of individual liberty and self-reliance, the ethics of authority and governance, nonconformity and technological progress and its social impact.
[ii] Rabindranath Tagore (1861–1941) was a Bengali polymath, a creative genius who reshaped Indian literature and music, and Western notions of Eastern thought. He was a poet, philosopher, playwright, composer, painter, and social reformer. He was also the first “non-European” to win the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1913 for Gitanjali, a collection of devotional poems.
