Project Personal Freedom: Tips and Tools for a Liberated Life
“. . . a thought-provoking, inspiring journey and an important and welcome addition to the world of self-help books.”
Project Personal Freedom is 365 days of insight on what liberates us, what ignites passion in our lives, what causes us pain, and the ease of letting go of that pain. Along the journey to personal freedom, Kingsley Gallup provides the tools necessary to celebrate life, to embrace desires without compromising core values, and to do so with passion.
Gallup’s most central points are the importance of choice, “being freely and unapologetically you,” of living for now and never allowing fear to define who you are.
One of the things that make this book shine is the inclusion of 365 witticisms and adages from philosophers, celebrities, musicians, and fellow writers. From Marilyn Monroe to Voltaire to Dr. Seuss, Gallup uses their quotes to supplement her beliefs, adding humor, timelessness, and universality to her words.
She also offers up many shrewd and timeless adages of her own.
On fear she writes: “Fear not only steals from today, it lies to us about tomorrow.”
On acceptance: “Living in a spirit of ‘no matter what’ is about living from your core.”
On self-love: “Loving yourself is a very practical matter” and “Learning to love ourselves is about taking responsibility for our relationship with ourselves.”
Gallup lays down the road to personal freedom by insisting that anything that strays from our true self saps our energy and stymies our true happiness. “Being the same person inside and out doesn’t require near the energy or forethought that living incongruently requires.”
Randian in her approach, she doesn’t dwell on relationships with others, being of the apparent mindset that if you tend your own fire, the rest of the world’s fires should fall into place: “On the road to personal freedom, we need to detach from others enough to stand in our truth and in our power.”
While some may find aspects of Gallup’s approach a tad selfish, especially when she says things like “The next time someone says, ‘It’s all about you, isn’t it?’ how about saying, ‘Why yes, this is about me. Who else would it be about?’” her underlining and central message of “learning to love ourselves” resonates and transcends.
“Knowing you can count on yourself, that you will always come to your own assistance, that even if someone breaks your trust, you will be okay, this is where peace is found.”
Perhaps done purposefully to drive home her message (or because one year makes a whole lot of days) many of Gallup’s insights seem repetitive. But whether reading straight through or reading the 365 days one day at a time, readers will find Project Personal Freedom a thought-provoking, inspiring journey and an important and welcome addition to the world of self-help books.