Saturday, May 5, 2012

The Anti-Retirement Do It When You're Young - Lifestyle

There is an alternative to the old ways. Those old ways were Failed Ways for me. Took me a long time to really understand that.

*Colorado High Country Horny Toad*
 ... and it's small little things that keep me seeing it.
Like finding one of those Rocky Mountain High county... Magical Dragons! on a hike.

It's living those small little moments that you don't get, sweating away in your cubicle... that remind me; "In spite of the troubles I might have... I'm here! I'm Free! I could be an Employee!"

Spell that W-A-G-E  S-L-A-V-E

I escaped. I found Freedom. You should join us.

But You Say You're Going to Wait? Why?

Don't do that! Work out your path now. Do it Now. Don't Wait.

If a Way of Living is calling to you... Speaking to your heart... A way that is Outside the Box and just the thought of it makes you smile... Why wait? Don't let the Naysayers talk you out of YOUR life because they're too scared to chase their own dreams and ambitions... (they also don't want to lose one more donkey off the treadmill that supports them)

 This is the view near our camp... it kind of reminded me that the trail can be hidden from you. You have to push through the confusion, mis-direction and false trails to find the sunny slopes beyond.

Only you can make you do that. And let me tell you... those sunny slopes and grassy meadows of a life of Freedom are fine people. They are Shining Times!

Stop being their meal ticket... and START supporting YOU!

I get emails and comments from people we talk to all the time; "We hope to do what you're doing... One Day." Really? Then, Why aren't you?... I mean right now, today! What is it you're waiting on?

Till you retire? Why? So you can be just another of the ones who say; "The only mistake I made was waiting too long to do this!" ?  That is of course... if you live that long.

I've lost count of the people I've talked with who pursued a "Career" only to end up with a drained spirit and an empty purse. Remember the Jack Nicholson Movie; As Good As it Gets ? (I think that's the title)

Way too many people, after years of career struggle end up asking that question; "Is THIS as good as it gets?"

My answer; In THAT life, yes it is. BUT... that is NOT as good as LIFE gets. You just have to pony up the guts to grab on to it and ride it!

This life I have now is NOT, a lifestyle of retirement. I am not retired and I never will be. The ONLY true mistake I made in the whole deal was finding excuses NOT TO and Waiting!

I know all the excuses, made a lot of 'em myself for a while; Money, Job, Family, Cost of Fuel... yadda yadda yadda. in the end just that... EXCUSES... Not legitimate reasons. If you truly want a Gypsy life of Freedom and Yondering, Do It! ... The only thing stopping you... IS you.

It stopped me for a long time... Then one day I got weary of the lame excuses, tied my packs and rode out.

I/We closed our eyes to all the excuses... changed the perspective of our cogitating from; "We can't. It won't work. The obstacles are too big." to; "How CAN I. Where's the road 'round. What's the solution. I'll just do without... and any other way of climbing over, around or crawling through the rough spots.

The biggest Fears I hear folks ask about are the cost of fuel, the cost of RV Parks and how do you support yourselves?

These are all bright folks. But I suppose they've been so conditioned for so long that they "Can't"... until the system tells them when and how... they simply don't saddle up their own mule and ride! Somehow they don't realize... It's their choice.

Those top questions;

The cost of fuel and RV Parks? How much do you pay for rent Now? How much do you spend on fuel to get to and from your "Work"? for your utilities? for your water? We pay less than a $100 bucks for heating propane in the winter... in the summer propane goes to maybe $35... our water is mostly free at the RV Dumps we use... which are most all free. Our Parking fees have never risen above $180 bucks (and that's for National Forest Camps... NOT... High Dollar Commercial RV parks... packed in belly to butt.


Most months, our Rent ... or Camp fees is Zero... just like this, our current camp. Can you afford a yard like this? with zero cash outlay? as for fuel... Currently at $4.15 for diesel down in town. We'll spend maybe $400 bucks at the most in the months we move more.

Months like this one coming, when we make a couple long camps... the diesel bill plummets...

Can you afford "Rent" of less than $400? (camp fees + diesel) and utilities of $35?


 The big "Nut" to crack is; "How do you support yourselves"; I work my websites, write my books, We still own that lil' store from the "Old Life" that kicks in half or a lil' better... We work the NASCAR races in Phoenix in the winter... We're almost the modern version of Hunter/Gatherers.

Just yesterday a woman made a comment about us being retired. When I said we weren't she looked at me kind of funny... like; "I thought you were full timing?"... That's when I told her; "I'm a professional Traveler!"

It just struck me at the moment... but it hit me as being the real truth. Bein' a wandering, yondering, Gypsy Cowboy Biker, IS my Career! ;) Like in any Job you've ever had, you find the solutions required to get the job done.

Don't ever use the word can't. Every time that starts to slip past your lips... STOP! and replace it with How Can I?

Point is... there's no shortage of ways to support yourselves. You can all read... or you wouldn't be HERE. You all have talents and passions. Focus on them. Find a way to turn your talents and passions into a cash flow. If I can do it... ANYONE can.

First though... you MUST... quit surrendering to fear.

Quit making excuses and start building your life. If a broken down old soldier, biker cowboy with a bad attitude and empty pockets can do it... You can. I'm not telling you to do anything I've not already done. So I KNOW it can work. I KNOW you can do it. The worst that can happen is you fail and have to start over... so what? Great glory only comes to those who try... if you don't try... you've got No Chance at all.

I've said it before and I say it again now to all those who say they don't have "Enough" saved up. We left, September 2010... with a pocket full of money.

Yup... Plenty of money. Enough to make it to maybe the 20th of that month... IF... we lived really frugally.

Then... we destroyed a high dollar tire on Day ONE!

Guess what... it's been some little while... we've run low on cash (or never got ahead of low on cash!), busted more pieces and parts... and we're still out here... Livin' High and gettin' fat.

If you're serious about wanting a different life, a better life... a LIFE that is the realization of your Dreams and Ambitions, quit making excuses and Start building. Do it now. Do it today...

When you succeed...

*Magic Freedom Dragon*
... and find your Magic Dragon...

We'll see you on the road somewhere.
Brian

6 comments:

Teri said...

Are all those dragons that small? Or is that a baby? Too cool! I lived for 33 yrs with a guy that said "can't". I dragged him around traveling as much as I could, unfortunately he died before I could convince him to full-time,and now I travel alone. I'm working, but its short hours and gives me an almost free parking spot and the opportunity to see an area in depth.

KarenInTheWoods said...

We are a mere 51 weeks from turning our "can't" into our "can"!

at the ripe young ages of 55 and 52, we will be able to hit the road full time. Wheeeeeee

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Karen and Steve
(Our Blog) RVing: Small House... BIG Backyard
http://kareninthewoods-kareninthewoods.blogspot.com

Brian said...

Teri; Don't know. They're either brand knew babies... or they've got a breed of midget Horny toads in these mountains :) Seen quite a few but they're all these lil' tykes.


Karenin and Steveio; You should start an Old Army Tradition... A "Short Timer's" Calendar! ;)

e said...

You said it in prose, here it is in verse:

When things go wrong as they sometimes will;
When the road you’re trudging seems all uphill;
When the funds are low, and the debts are high
And you want to smile, but have to sigh;
When care is pressing you down a bit-
Rest if you must, but do not quit.
Success is failure turned inside out;
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt;
And you can never tell how close you are
It may be near when it seems so far;
So stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit-
It’s when things go wrong that you must not quit.
"Don’t Quit," Author Unknown

Ed said...

My fingers got a little twisted up on that lats post, sorry!

Anonymous said...

You have said it all in this post. I have been trying to make up my mind since the RV urge hit me hard in the side of the head 9 months ago. Much of what you said in this post is exactly what I needed to read. I can't believe that the power of a paycheck keeps me from doing what I want to do. Then again, I might be closer to making the decision to sell out and hitting the road more than I think.