Dream

There’s a song from the musical Man of la Mancha called The Impossible Dream. It’s a powerful song starting off with the words:

“To dream the impossible dream. To fight the unbeatable foe. To bear with unbearable sorrow and to run where the brave dare not go.”

Intense, huh? The song basically talks about following your dreams that seem like they would never be achievable, to do what’s right and to be willing to go through difficulties in order to reach your ultimate goal which is referred to as the unreachable star. I see the Freedom mission in this.

If you think about it, we’re in a business where we compete with other, not just large, but humungous, financial institutions. How do we stand out? How do we contend? How do we survive and grow when others have more resources?

By doing what’s right that’s how. Right for our members, for our employees and for our community. By being a trusted partner and by putting people before profit. Seventy years in business may seem like a drop in the bucket to some, but it’s not the number of years, it’s what you do with them.

From my perspective, we’ve used that time, especially in the most recent years, to dream the impossible dream and keep reaching for that unreachable star. The journey can be challenging. It requires resiliency, flexibility, patience, commitment, and a belief that we make a difference.

I’ve seen the difference we make, and I believe our continued success is because others have seen it too. But we’re not done yet. In fact, we’ve only just begun. There are still foes to fight and stars to reach and the dream gets more possible every day.

Deep Impact

This may start out a little morose but stay with me…

Last night I had a dream where I found out my father died. In actuality, he passed away October 8^th, 2003 (20 years ago). The thing about this dream was the impact it had both while I was sleeping and after it woke me in the wee hours of the morning. I felt, intensely, all the anguish, sorrow, heartbreak, loss one would expect in the dream, but upon waking those feelings lingered for some time after.

It was difficult to shake. I’m not sure what triggered the dream, but you know me, I figured there was some purpose, and, in my head, I started forming what is now this message. In conjunction with this nocturnal event, I remembered that just a couple days ago I was talking with one of my brothers about the time since our father’s passing and he asked, rhetorically I’m sure, why it seemed like yesterday.

I, of course, endeavored to respond and the answer that immediately came to mind was, “it was because of the impact he had”. That conversation, the dream, all got me thinking about the impact we make on those around us and what we leave behind.

In emails, meetings, and public speaking opportunities, I’m always talking about “the experience”; how the member experience and employee experience are the two absolute pillars of Freedom’s culture and strategy. It’s our why.

I met a lady recently at one of our Business After Hours events who recently found out about us and moved all her accounts and loans from one of the big banks to Freedom. Oh, she told me about the things we did, how we saved her money, dropped her auto loan rates, how we simplified her banking, etc., but what really meant the most, what had the biggest impact, was how she was treated and how wonderful the people she’s dealt with are. She raved not only to me, but to anyone that would listen. Talk about a testimonial!

That moment was a tangible realization, a validation, that each of us can have a positive impact on those around us. That what we do and say to one another, to our members, in the community, can make a difference.

I’ve always said banking is what we do, not who we are, but really who we are AND what we do is so much more when we realize that someone and some point will be better off because of our involvement or intervention.

I know this won’t always happen and not everyone will be impacted in some transformative way, but if we start with one, who knows where that will lead. In a world where we are inundated with negativity, where there is more talk about what makes us different than unites us, where there isn’t enough rational discourse and tolerance, I’ll gladly focus on the impact we make on one and build on it.

“One moment can change a day, one day can change a life, and one life can change the world.” ~ Buddha

The Freedom Way

The last time I wrote one of these philosophies it referenced change.

At that time, my focus was on the never-changing aspect of our culture; how the core of who we are and why we do what we do is, and will be, a necessary constant.

Of course, change in some form or fashion is inevitable.

But you know what I love about Freedom? It’s that when change does come, we adapt, and we thrive. Pandemic, economy, technology, staffing, no matter the impetus, we trust one another, we rely on each other, and we succeed.

That’s not an opinion, not wishful thinking. That’s a fact.

There is an evolution to everything and when we embrace that, use that as fuel to move us forward, we can accomplish great things.