How to Be Free: 3 Things to Consider if You Want More Freedom in Life

Is it possible to be free in this world, free from having to work a 9-to-5 job every day? Is there a way to get out of spending most of your income on car payments, rent payments, health insurance, clothes, gas, food, the latest electronic gadget?

The answer is yes, it is possible to be free. But, in order to be free, you have got to realize 3 things:

1. You have options that you are probably not aware of.
2. You do not have to accept limiting beliefs and assumptions that restrict your freedom.
3. If “the rules” don’t work for you, then play by your own rules.

Let’s go over these, one by one.

1. You have options that you are probably not aware of.
A lot of people believe that in order to make more money, you have to go back to school to get a degree in order to get a higher paying career job. This is only one way to earn more money. And the potential risk in doing this is that just because you have a degree does not necessarily mean you will get the higher paying job. Also, if you do get the higher paying job, you’re likely to have student loans in the six figures, with interest, that demand payment every month. This track, however, is only one way to, potentially, earn more money.

There are many ways to earn more money. One is by meta modeling which, essentially, says that you model your behavior after the behavior of someone else. If you figure out what the rich do to get rich and you do it, then you are likely to get rich. If you pattern your behavior to match their behavior while, at the same time, finding a way to demonstrate value to a wide audience, one that combines your skills, your passions, in a market that is ready to buy, then you’re very likely to get rich. Find out more at my other website http://www.abundance-101.com.

Options are available to you if you seek them out and apply them. There are rules, patterns and footprints to freedom. You’ve just got to follow the path of others who have gone on before you to find it and do what they have done.

2. You do not have to accept limiting beliefs and assumptions that restrict your freedom.
Most people don’t want to face the fact that the only person they have to blame for feeling unable to move, stuck, caged, or imprisoned in this world, is themselves. It’s easy to blame another person, a place, or even an entire era, for their feeling caged, but when it comes down to it, they really only have themselves to blame. But we’re not talking about most people or them, we’re talking about you. When it comes to feeling unfree, you only have yourself to blame.

The reason you feel unfree is because you’ve accepted limiting beliefs and assumptions that have restricted your freedom. Then, you’ve made certain choices based on this false premise and erroneous mindset that have led to you taking action that, in turn, has walled you in even further. You’ve made choices to keep yourself “safe”, but in doing so, you’ve rubber cornered the world to the point that the charm has disappeared as well. You feel safe because everything is familiar and you know what to do next but you hate yourself because you’re not challenged in any way.

A limiting belief I recently overcame is that hitchhiking is dangerous. Why did I have this? Because of the shows, movies, documentaries on TV that, most of the time, feature horrifying and terrifying accounts of what has happened to hitchhikers. And why does the TV feature such stories. Because they draw an audience. People sitting at home in their couches are drawn to the macabre, similar to the way they slow down for a traffic accident, curious to see the wreckage in order to come home and share this information–this battered, dog chewed nerf ball–with friends and family. Watching such programs allows people to rubberneck from the comfort of their own home.

My experience with hitchhiking, however, has been entirely different. Even before hitchhiking, I heard interesting stories from friends and acquaintances who had done it, successfully, and met really cool people along the way.

On a trip to retrieve a stolen car (you can read this story in “Shelters are Melting” journal at www.bicycledays.com website), I found myself stuck at a gas station in Elko, Nevada. I needed to get to Eureka, Nevada. Before I left on this journey, I remember folding out the map, back in Florida, and noticing that the distance between the two points was about an inch or two, and figured I’d take a bus. Now that I was in Elko, I looked at the map again, and asked the gas station attendant what the green patch on the map indicated that separated the towns.

“That’s the Ruby Ridge Mountains,” she said.

“Oh.” I said. Then, I realized my dilemma. I had a mountain range to cross. So, I hitchhiked from Elko, Nevada to Eureka, Nevada, and the experience was interesting. My first ride was with a pot smoking man, tanned, wiry, who wanted to keep the windows almost all the way up. He was nice. I declined on the puffing, but it probably didn’t matter, because by the time he dropped me off, I was a bit spaced out.

The second ride was more exhilarating. I was standing at a gas station in Elko, and a I asked for a ride and the couple in the front seat of their open cabbed red pickup said “get in”. I jumped in the back cab. They proceeded to drive about 70 miles an hour through the Ruby Ridge Mountain Range, on a spectacularly beautiful day and the cold mountain air whipping around me, as the truck chewed up this desolate ribbon of asphalt that wound it’s way up the mountain, while I sat in the back truck bed, admiring the Ruby Ridge mountains with cloud cover and snow that sat on the top, is something that was so beautiful that even writing about it now brings a smile to my face.

Even more recently, I hitchhiked in the area of Normandy, France, gotten rides with a few friendly couples and even an older gentleman who gave us a tour of the town. It's been a rich experience. The photo below is of Raegan and I, getting a ride from Terry and Tiffany, who took us to a small town in France that was halfway to our destination of Reims, France. Before leaving, Tiffany gave us 2 coupons, valued at $8 euros each, with which we could buy food.

Terry and Tiffany gave us a rideto a town halfway to Reims, France

Giving up my limiting belief about hitchhiking has enabled me to travel freely, without having to own a car or pay for car insurance. (And yes, I contribute to pay for gas if the driver stops at the gas station.) And in giving up this belief, by hitchhiking and getting rides, this has opened up more freedom for travel.

3. If the rules don’t work for you, then play by your own rules.
If the rules of life mean working 40 hours a week, living somewhere that is not inspiring to you, and hanging around people that annoy you, then play by your own rules. This sounds simple enough, but sometimes the simplest things can be tremendously difficult to do, since they involve change and it’s easier and more comfortable to stay in a familiar routine.

How do you play by your own rules. This is really simple. Are you ready? First, you determine the rules that you are playing by. Write them down on a piece of paper. Ask yourself: Who wrote these rules? Do they benefit me? Why am I playing by them? Ask yourself more questions if you like, but these are essential. Then, answer the questions. Figure out why you’re playing by these rules and what, if any, benefit you get from them.

Next, write down a new set of rules for you to play by. Figure out what rules serve you, write them down, and act on them.

If you want to live in Paris, it’s really simple. Just set a date that you want to move to Paris. Start saving money. Start selling your stuff. You’ll probably just need a reliable laptop, a few pairs of clothes and not much else. Trust me. I was recently in Paris and you don’t need much. I was in the Bastille area of Paris, France and there’s a large outdoor market with inexpensive and delicious produce and bargain clothes, too.

A picture of Paris from the 9th floor condo:

Paris, France. The Bastille area of town. From 9th floor condo.

Minimalism = Freedom
Personally, I’ve been living a kind of vagabond life for the last 5 years. Having a really caring family and super nice friends have enabled me to do this. Also, being a minimalist (not owning too much has really helped, too). Basically, I worked and saved money while, at the same time, living cheap, eating food out of dumpsters, and living with friends and family for free. Then, using the money I saved, I bought some cheap real estate in North Florida and South Georgia, that I sold with a low down payment and low monthly payments. So, essentially, I became the bank, in order to get checks every month. Instead of buying liabilities (name brand shoes, Starbucks coffee, designer sunglasses, spending money at restaurants), I bought assets (income producing things).

Instead of instant gratification, Choose Long Term Benefits
Why did I do this? Because the merry go round of dead end jobs and crummy apartments at the edge of the ghetto was not working for me. That was a limiting belief that was probably rooted in my punishing myself in some way in order to feel like a victim or a hero among losers. So, I had to change the rules for my own life. Sure, it involved discipline and risk, but the beauty of it now, years later, is that I’m in Europe, hitchhiking between farms (http://www.wwoof.de) with a kind and intelligent girlfriend, and couchsurfing spots (http://www.couchsurfing.org), eating delicious meals with interesting families and new friends, eating delicious chocolate in Germany, and documenting the trip with photos and a journal.

You can get freedom in life, You can be free
The beautiful fact of what I’m explaining to you is this: If you want freedom in your life, you can get it. You can do anything you want to do. But first, you’ve got to eliminate the negative belief systems that are holding you back. Secondly, you’ve got to develop new rules for yourself. Thirdly, determine what freedom means to you, then move in that direction.

Action eliminates fear.
- Carrie Snyder

How to be free, right now
If you’re wondering how to be free, right now, reread this blog post and memorize the 3 principles. The time for you to be free is right now. Quit talking about tomorrow. Tomorrow is just a thinly veiled disguise for never. Instead, talk about right now, what you’re going to do right now in order to get the freedom that will enable you to lose yourself–your old self–in order to find yourself–your new self. Before you can change the world, you have to let the world change you. What are you waiting for?