Freedom (Rooted, Not Drifting)

This week, I want to take a slightly different approach.

I often write about discipline, systems, and becoming a better version of ourselves. What I don’t always address directly is how much of this journey is supported—and shaped—by God.

As I’ve reflected more, I’ve noticed that many of the principles I write about in these newsletters and posts consistently trace back to Scripture. That connection matters to me, and this week I want to make it more explicit.

Most men and women say they want freedom.

Few are willing to build what freedom requires.

They want less pressure, fewer constraints, more options.

Freedom doesn’t come from removing structure.

It comes from choosing the right structure—and living inside it daily.

Scripture uses a word we don’t hear enough anymore:

Roots.

Freedom is not found on the surface.

It is earned underground.

It involves a lot of hard work that most people cannot see from the outside.

This is not something I understood when I was young. I was always searching for the quick win. Jumping from one thing to the next, never planting roots deep enough to take hold.

Jesus warned us clearly:

This isn’t about belief alone.

It’s about practice.

A man without systems will collapse under pressure.

A man without discipline will call his lack of structure “freedom.”

What he really has is drift.

The Day Warrior understands this:

Without it, you are ruled by moods, impulses, fear, and circumstance.

When I first moved to Japan, I blamed the early problems I had adapting on everyone else but me.

I quickly changed jobs twice in two years, and by year five, I was seriously thinking of going home.

Then I decided to put down roots and take ownership of my path.

I stopped drifting and got serious about my life.

I focused on getting better—every day.

Those deeper roots became sixteen formative years of building a career, a family, and a life full of memories.

Jeremiah gives us the contrast:

Notice what Scripture doesn’t say.

It does not say:

It says they are unbothered.

It is all about controlling our emotions.

It is about facing the things we fear.

It is about doing the things that seem too hard.

That is freedom.

Freedom is not the absence of hardship.

Freedom is mental stability in the face of hardship.

Stability only comes from discipline and systems practiced daily:

Roots grow slowly.

So does real freedom.

Once I learned to stop letting my surroundings in Japan disrupt me, everything changed.

I moved there to pursue a dream, yet I was allowing cultural differences to become friction instead of fuel.

When I reframed those differences as opportunities, I began using Japanese culture to my advantage. Over time, I learned how to move fluidly between Japanese and American ways of thinking, choosing the right approach for each situation.

That adaptability became an invaluable addition to my talent stack.

Gratitude is not passive optimism.

It is a disciplined perspective.

A Day Warrior practices gratitude intentionally because:

Gratitude is freedom from comparison.

Freedom from bitterness.

Freedom from the endless “more.”

Treat gratitude as a system, not a mood.

Practice gratitude daily for what you have accomplished.

My first job in Japan was frustrating.

I moved there to serve as a middleman on a large ERP implementation at an auto parts factory in Nagoya, but the project never fully materialized. I found myself in limbo, with an unclear role and plenty of blame circulating around the office.

While I struggled professionally at first, I found grounding in my surroundings. I lived near a small station called Kozoji Station—just twenty minutes by train to downtown Nagoya, twenty minutes by car to work and my favorite sports club.

What mattered most was that I was only five minutes from endless mountain trails. That environment shifted my perspective. Gratitude for where I was turned into discipline in how I lived. I got into the best shape of my life, built strong friendships at the sports club, and spent countless hours running and hiking the trails near my home.

What began as frustration quietly became a foundation.

Faith is not waiting.

Faith is moving forward before certainty arrives.

I always talk about the need to take action even if you do not completely work out all the details of your plan. I also talk about reframing fear and obstacles as opportunities to learn, adjust, and create experience.

Both these concepts require some level of faith.

Every man of faith in Scripture obeyed without full information:

Faith requires discipline because it demands action without immediate reward.

Freedom is never found by standing still.

Growth is never found by standing still.

Becoming the best versions of ourselves is never found by standing still.

Nearly thirty years ago, I took my first leap of faith and moved to Japan. I never imagined that returning to the United States would one day require an even greater leap.

I spent more than twenty years in Japan shaping my identity and living out a dream day by day. Everything around me reflected that life—my home, my neighborhood, the daily train rides, familiar supermarkets, even the local pizza shop and Starbucks where I was known as part of the community.

When it came time to move back to the United States, it was difficult because I had come to define myself as “the Japan guy.” Letting go of that identity required faith.

I leaned into that faith and worked through the reverse culture shock. While Japan is never far from my thoughts, my career, my family, and my own growth have expanded beyond what they were before.

Faith helped us make that transition—and become more than we were.

Joy is not emotional volatility.

It is a settled state.

A disciplined man does not outsource his joy to circumstances.

He does not look to others for affirmation or acceptance.

He anchors it to truth:

Joy is freedom from emotional slavery.

It’s sobering how often others take satisfaction in our struggles.

That’s why joy can’t be borrowed or approved by anyone else.

It has to be rooted within.

This is something they don’t teach us in school.

There is value in understanding what others think—it helps us learn right from wrong and develop awareness. But when we begin seeking validation from others, it quietly holds us back.

At some point, we have to develop confidence without needing approval.

I remember my parents trying to teach me that lesson growing up, especially when I struggled with friendships or when I cared too much about what a girl might think of me.

Once you truly understand this, you can develop a sense of joy that isn’t dependent on others' opinions.

I laugh about this often, and I try to get my oldest son to understand the same lessons. Life truly is circular.

Love is not earned by performance.

It is received—and then reflected.

Men and women who don’t understand this chase approval.

Men and women who do are free to serve, lead, and sacrifice without fear.

Love removes the pressure to prove yourself.

That pressure is one of the greatest enemies of freedom.

When I first moved to Japan, I felt constant pressure to prove myself.

I was the foreigner. The outsider. The “Japan guy” trying to earn his place—at work, in the community, and in daily life.

At first, I mistook effort and performance for belonging. I thought if I worked harder, adapted faster, spoke better Japanese, or delivered results, I would finally feel secure. But that mindset kept me tense and reactive. I was always measuring myself against expectations—real or imagined.

Over time, something shifted.

As I learned to stop fighting my surroundings and instead accept where I was planted, I found a deeper sense of grounding. Gratitude replaced comparison. Presence replaced performance. I stopped trying to earn my place and began to live faithfully within it.

I became part of the community not because I impressed anyone, but because I showed up consistently—riding the same trains, shopping at the same stores, running the same mountain trails, building relationships slowly. Love and belonging grew quietly, the way roots do.

That experience taught me something lasting:

When your roots are anchored in love—God’s love, not approval—you are free to serve without fear. You stop chasing validation. You stop performing for acceptance. You start leading calmly, giving generously, and living with confidence.

Love removes the pressure to prove yourself.

Once that pressure is gone, freedom follows.

Hope is not wishing things were easier.

Hope is trusting the process is working—even when it’s slow.

Peter reminds us:

Discipline allows you to stay the course.

Hope allows you to endure it.

Together, they build freedom over decades, not weeks.

Remember, the journey we are on is not short.

Our journey will last a lifetime.

Faith and hope, combined with discipline and systems, are an unbeatable combination.

This newsletter became much longer than I expected.

I thought I would struggle writing on this subject, but found that as I dug in, it really hit home.

My hope is that it hit home for all of you, too.

Freedom is not discovered.

It is built.

Built with discipline.

Built with roots.

Built with daily obedience.

Built quietly.

Ask yourself:

Stand firm.

Go deep.

Build patiently.

That is the path to real freedom.

The Day Warrior

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