Escape to Freedom #1: What Is Your Freedom Lifestyle?
“I just don’t know where to start.”
That’s a phrase I’ve heard hundreds of times from clients with whom I’ve worked.
They know they want to make serious changes in their lifestyle, they know they want to make money outside of their 9-to-5 job, they know they want to have a sense of freedom — but they literally don’t know where to start.
Freedom’s Just Another Word For . . . having choices.
With apologies to singer Janis Joplin and songwriter Kris Kristofferson, the concept of freedom is pretty closely aligned with the ability to have more choices. Freedom’s just another word for having choices.
When choices are cut off we feel trapped.
Trapped in a job we don’t enjoy. Trapped in a country with high taxes we oppose. Trapped in a financial system of relentless surveillance and confiscation. Trapped with co-workers who are a drain on our life energy. Trapped in a recurring schedule that gives us so little discretionary personal time.
And the reality is, every individual has his or her own priorities, values, and circumstances that shape their concept of personal freedom. On top of that, those elements are not static. They change at different times in our lives.
Sifting through all of that requires some clear-eyed introspection.
Here’s a podcast from The Expat Money Show where Mikkel and I talk about safely leaving the rat race by starting an online business!
The Real Reason Most People ‘Don’t Know Where to Start’
The hidden obstacle to not knowing where to start is that people don’t first think about where they want to end up. Once you define that, the ‘getting started’ part is much easier.
There are a lot of elements to knowing where you want to end up, which I wrote about here.
The two broad categories most people need to define are:
- how they want to spend their time and,
- how they want to make money.
The first is very personal and completely individual and there are basically no wrong answers. One person’s #1 priority is spending time with family, another’s #1 priority is avoiding time with family. Ha!
As to the second category — how you make money, there have never been more choices available than there are now. And remember, choices equal freedom.
So you need to spend time thinking about where you want to end up in terms of what you actually do week to week to make money.
Once you have a clear vision of your preferences, it makes it quite easy to know what you want and therefore where to start.
The Hammock Test
In my family, we devised what I call The Hammock Test. The idea is to find a comfortable place to relax for a few hours and then ask yourself what you would want your life to be like if you had no restrictions or constraints.
If you had millions in the bank, no ailing parents, no kids in university, no fear of change, no disapproving friends and family, etc. What would you really want your day to day life to involve?
What work would be so satisfying and fulfilling to you that you’d do it for free? Who would you spend time with? Who would you avoid? What would you avoid?
Paint a vivid, detailed, granular image in your mind of what you really want to do with the rest of your life if you could.
To be honest, this takes a lot of time in the hammock. But it also doesn’t cost you a dime.
And it can change your life.
Because once you know exactly where you want to end up, you can immediately see that ninety percent of your options would send you in the wrong direction.
The other ten percent send you toward exactly what you really want. And that provides it’s own motivation to get started.
Your constraints and restrictions might not go away, but there are almost always ways to work around them and get very close to what would be ideal. And very far from the rat race you want to leave.
There’s An Online Income Model That Delivers Your Freedom
Escape Artist is all about transitioning to the life you really want. I transitioned a long time ago. And it was pretty easy for me because I had a portable online income.
Options abound. There are proven business models for introverts, extroverts, and everyone in between. There are models for people with high-level knowledge of any subject, and for people with no special knowledge of anything in particular. There are models for people who want to be anonymous, and for people who would like to be famous.
You just need to decide what you want your own personal ‘freedom lifestyle’ to look like. Once you know that, getting started is easy.
Next time you catch yourself saying, “I want to escape, I just don’t know where to start,” remember to ask yourself where it is you want to escape to; geographically, emotionally, and financially. Because all the solutions are right here waiting for you.
Some quality time in the hammock will bring you those answers.
Ready to Escape to Freedom?
Are you ready to live life on your own terms – create your own online income? Reach out to us at Safely Leave The Rat Race. We are committed to helping you get from whatever point you are right now – to the point of earning regular, predictable online income.
Here are two really great articles for you to read, What Defines Your Freedom? and The Freedom You Didn’t Expect. Enjoy!
I hope you enjoyed Escape to Freedom #1: What is Your Freedom Lifestyle. In case you missed them, here is
#2 – Three Levels of Expat Online Income
