Three weeks ago, I had received a request that I had never received before. I was asked to review a documentary. Generation: Freedom is a film by Christopher Sakr and Michael Hall. It is a documentary covering the revolution of starting an online business and the possibilities that have been created. It follows 16 people who changed their lives by creating income streams as a full-time business or side business. I am following the work of many of the people highlighted in the film and definitely wanted to see more. I was not disappointed.
This is a well-produced film that runs for about one hour and forty minutes. The purpose of Generation: Freedom is to show that there is a way to generate a sustainable living while not feeling like a cog in a machine.
Generation: Freedom interviews experts who reveal their secrets to creating multiple, fulfilling income streams. The documentary shows you the blueprint to time and financial freedom.
The film begins with Arthur C. Clarke in 1964 talking about the future. He predicted a time when we could reach anyone in the world electronically. Dr. Lee Shaker, an associate professor of communications from Portland State University, noted that Clarke’s vision of the future has been realized. With this future, entrepreneurs can create and sell products throughout the globe. They do not have to invest significant amounts of money or have specialized equipment to realize their dreams.
Through a series of interviews, Sakr and Hall told the stories of a group of entrepreneurs. These successful business owners shared their secrets for success. More importantly, they provided a blueprint for those who wish to follow them.
The blueprint is only a superficial look at what one needs to do to be successful in an online business. To actually capture the details would take countless hours. I have been listening to Pat Flynn (Smart Passive Income) and John Lee Dumas (Entrepreneurs on Fire) for years. During that entire time, they have shared their secrets freely as they have in this film.
During the beginning of the film, these different experts told their story of how they got started on their own. A surprising number of them had lost their job due to resizing. It is always good to have a plan “B”. A plan “B” is something you can start to pursue while you have a fulltime job. This is what I am doing.
Throughout the film, a definition would appear on the screen that a computer voice would narrate. The experts would then elaborate about that term. The majority of the documentary focused on six online business elements:
- Passion
- Income Stream
- Audience
- Test Idea
- Begin
- Grow
Each of these items was discussed in detail. For example, when the experts focused on the income stream, they noted topics such as freelancing, creating products, selling digital content such as online courses, advertising, affiliate marketing, and personal branding.
I took a lot of notes while watching the documentary. When I was done, I realized that I created a rather robust checklist of important tasks to consider when starting an online business. Listening to these experts was quite inspirational as well.
My only criticism came when watching it again with my spouse. We both agreed that the filmmakers tried to pack too much into the film.
All in all, I really enjoyed what Sakr and Hall had put together. Some of the stories I had heard before since I listen to the podcasts of Flynn and Dumas, but it was great to see in this context. If you have an itch to create an online business, I would certainly recommend Generation: Freedom.
