The Foundation Of Our Freedom:
Here in the United States, we talk a lot about freedom and being a free nation. In terms relative to other countries, that is largely true thanks to our Constitution.
For example, we are blessed to have the right to freedom of speech and to elect our leaders from a local through State to Federal level. We have the Constitutional Rule Of Law. But, do we really have freedom on a personal level? Are you doing the things that you love and that bring you joy?
What, exactly, do I mean by personal level freedom? What kind of freedom is that? Freedom from what? And how do you get, and enjoy having, this freedom? And, if you are you not doing the things that you love and that bring you joy, why not?
Statue Of Liberty - Freedom
"How To Live Off The Grid Now" is ultimately about creating and enjoying a level of personal freedom for yourself and your family! It's about living a healthier, less-stressful, more rewarding life. It's about getting to do the things that you love and that bring you joy! Stay with me here as I show you what I mean by all this. Then, let me know in the Comments below what Freedom means to you and what you think about all this.
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The Many Faces Of Freedom:
For some people, personal freedom may be defined simply as having the freedom to do what they want to do when they want to do it and with whom they want to do it.
Taken to extreme, that would be a narcissistic, hedonistic, kind of freedom: A lifestyle devoted to the pursuit of pleasure and self-gratification with no responsibilities. That extreme is NOT what I'm suggesting here.
Some people would find personal freedom in living a life that is healthy, happy and free of stress in successfully following their life passion. Usually does not happen without years of preparation and perspiration. For example, artists, singers, dancers and the like.
For other folks, personal freedom comes simply from avoiding debt and risk. They live life in ways such that they avoid incurring any form of financial obligation or personal safety risk as they see it.
The key for them is to live within their means and capabilities. They "pay as they go", keeping all expenses within the bounds of their income. They do things by convention and by "the book", choosing to live within the bounds of, and being dependent upon, "the system".
My Definition Of Freedom:
Then there are the adventurers; the entrepreneurs, prepared to do whatever they can to get to personal freedom as they define it.
What I mean by "Freedom" is being able to enjoy the kind of freedom that comes only when you have control over how you spend your time while also being able to avoid doing anything that would create stress in your life. That includes intelligently avoiding debt, getting out of "the system" and into living a self-sufficient, self-reliant, lifestyle following your passion - doing what brings you feelings of joy and satisfaction while also giving you rewarding income.
Typically, that means creating your own version of a "living off the grid" lifestyle.* That's what "How To Live Off The Grid Now" is all about helping you to create and maintain.
Freedom
True Freedom comes only when you have control over how you spend your time while also being able to avoid creating burdensome stress in your life. #howtoliveoffthegrid
*What I Mean By Freedom In "Living Off The Grid":
Note that I use "living off the grid" as a generically descriptive, umbrella phrase to label this kind of freedom. Here, I do not mean just cutting your tie-in to the public power grid for your electricity. That's not the only "grid" to which I am referring when I talk about "living off the grid"!
I'm talking about separating yourself from the need for any tie-in to any public or commercial utility or service resources.
This applies whether you live in suburbia, rural country-side or a remote wilderness area.
It includes having freedom from dependence on the 9-5 jobs market for income, conventional housing for shelter, the super-market for food and the power grid for electricity.
It means, ideally, enjoying a lifestyle having as much freedom as possible from dependence on any outside public or commercial utility or service providers. But it also means taking care to locate where you are not hindered by any HOA, local Zoning, State or Federal Law restrictions.
Freedom, ideally, means enjoying a lifestyle with as much freedom as possible from dependence on 9-5 jobs for income, super-markets for food and service providers for utilities including the power grid. #howtoliveoffthegrid
Four Pillars To Successful Living Off The Grid Freedom:
There are four pillars underlying and supporting the full scope of having, and enjoying, Freedom in living off the grid.
- 1There is the Freedom of control over your source of Income. Hence, Freedom from dependence on the 9-5 Jobs Market!
- 2Freedom from living anywhere in under any form of HOA type rules or under any zoning, state and/or federal restrictive covenants or laws. Hence, Freedom from dependence on Conventional Housing!
- 3Freedom to control the food you eat and to choose to eat only healthy, non-toxic, non-GMO's type food. Hence, Freedom from dependence on Super-Market and Fast-Food outlets for your Food!
- 4Freedom to manage and create your own sources of energy. Hence, Freedom from dependence on the Power Grid for Electricity!
Ultimately, this is about having freedom of control over those things over which we conventionally, and typically, have no control but the loss or failure of which could put our own, and our family's, welfare in serious jeopardy.
This is why the Banner Heading Graphic of all of the "How To Live Off The Grid Now™" assets includes a Tag line. Freedom from Dependence on 9-5 Jobs Market for Income, Conventional Housing for Shelter, Super-Markets for Food and Power-Grid for Electricity.
Are You Enjoying This Kind Of Freedom?
Well, are you enjoying this kind of Freedom? Perhaps you are, but, if not, why not? What are you doing about getting it if you are not already living the lifestyle you would rather be living?
Unfortunately, as you no doubt know only too well by now, this kind of freedom - which is, essentially, a lifestyle freedom - typically, is not what most people can have when living the conventional life within "the system" as most people are doing today.
They are trapped! Trapped into depending on the 9-5 Jobs Market for their Income, Conventional Housing for their Shelter, Super-Markets and Fast-Food Outlets for their unhealthy, even toxic, Food and the National Power Grid for their Electricity.
Ironically, perhaps, being "trapped" is especially true if you are living within an HOA, local zoning, state, federal or other restrictive covenant or law area. All of these "restrictions" severely limit what you might do to help yourself get to freedom. What I mean by "Conventional Housing", in particular, is referencing all property that is specifically subject to any kind of HOA type rules and restrictions - you may have no choice but to relocate.
"How To Live Off The Grid Now" is about helping you to get yourself out of living in "the system" trap and into creating your own self-sufficient, self-reliant, living off the grid lifestyle. It's about taking back control over your own life. If this is what you are now doing or what you would like to be doing, then: Welcome to this Community.
What Is The System Trap?
I've posted, in detail, my take on what "The System Trap" is. I've laid out what it is and how it is set. You can read about that here in "Take Back Control Over Your Life".
Here in this post, I'm focused on how to escape from the trap. But first, a quick recap.
Gavin Nascimento succinctly expressed what the system trap is - with editorial from me - in this little homily.
If we are not being taught how to grow our own food, not being taught how to take care of ourselves and our families and not being shown how to live without the need for huge governments, banks or corporations – as our ancestors once did before the dawn of the Industrial Age – then we are not being educated.
We are, instead, being indoctrinated to become dependent on, and subservient to, ‘the system’ as nothing more than a constant supply of grist to the mill that feeds the coffers of the ‘corporate robber barons and warmongers’.
If we are not being taught to grow our own food, care for ourselves and families, not being shown how to live without need for huge government, banks or corporations, then we are not being educated. #howtoliveoffthegrid
How The System Trap Is Set:
The trap is set early on in life by having us grow up believing that what we are actually doing in getting an education or in learning a trade, becoming skilled, experienced and moving up the ladder in a “good job”, is that somehow we are getting ahead towards having a good life.
So we dutifully go to school - trade school for a job or college for a profession! Then what?
- 1We run up tuition fees - our first major debt.
- 2We buy a car using car-loan - second major debt
- 3With luck and perspiration, we graduate; get first 9-5 job
- 4We get married using savings and credit- third major debt
- 5Then we buy a house using mortgage - fourth major debt
- 6We have children - fifth and sixth (kid's college fund) debts
Working 9-5 Just To Make A Living.
Now we are firmly trapped by, and in, "the system".
We are now, possibly together with our "life" partner, working all kinds of hours, and maybe even several jobs, just to meet our financial obligations, support our kids and the conventional societal, urban/suburban, 9-5, commuting lifestyle favored by "the system".
What Being Caught In The System Trap Means:
Jay Shetty describes the consequences of living your life within "The System Trap" perfectly in this video. I could not have better described what I mean by what happens when we are caught up in "The System Trap" than how Jay has done that here. Does this ring a bell with you?
The System Trap Evaluated
Jay Shetty
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To put this another way, paraphrasing Charles Dickens' character, Mr. Micawber, from David Copperfield: "An annual income of twenty pounds with annual expenditure of only nineteen pounds, nineteen shillings and sixpence, result is happiness. But, an annual income twenty pounds with annual expenditure of twenty pounds ought shillings and sixpence, result is misery."
In other words; when our costs of living and overall expenditures exceed our income, we are setting ourselves up for many problems and stressful living. We unconsciously walk ourselves into the trap!
When our costs of living and overall expenditures exceed our income, we are setting ourselves up for many problems and stressful living. We unconsciously walk ourselves into "the system trap"! #howtoliveoffthegrid
What's Your Definition Of Freedom?
How I define freedom is shown above but what really matters here is how you define freedom for yourself.
I wanted to find the most common answer to that question from amongst the folks who follow my posts. That includes posts made here in this Blog, on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube pages.
Problem is that there would then be as many different answers as the number of people responding. This would make it difficult to categorize responses. I need to categorize answers in order to come up with appropriate "how to do that" help.
So I reverse engineered the question and created a Facebook Poll Quiz to gather those answers. If you have not already responded, please click this link to go to the Quiz and give your answer.
If you are struggling for answers to help you get into living off the grid, please take a moment to respond to my Private Survey and tell me about that.
Identifying The Most Common Meaning Of Freedom:
I decided to use 5 key phrases to define what "living off the grid" could mean. Using a Quiz, I asked folks to select the phrase that best describes what "living off the grid" means for them. I included "Other" for the purists amongst the respondents.
How do you define personal freedom? Do you have it or are you stuck, trapped within "the system". Check out my Blog Post about Freedom and leave a comment. Let me know what you think. #howtoliveoffthegrid
This group of phrases basically reflects a version of the different forms of Freedom outlined earlier in this Blog. With the exception of "Other", the phrases above are now listed in the order chosen by respondents.
And The Winning Phrase In This Quiz Is - Freedom is ...
The winning phrase - by majority choice and large margin over all other choices amongst 247 replies - is:
Freedom from dependence on the power grid for your electricity, super-markets for your food and 9-5 jobs for your income.
That phrase happens to be the Tag Line, ie., a key objective, of the "How To Live Off The Grid Now" Community Organisation.
It represents the ultimate objective which is to have freedom from dependence on those things over which you have no control and the loss or failure of which could jeopardize you and your family's health, welfare and safety.
Freedom From The System Trap
Do you have freedom from dependence on those things over which you have no control and the loss or failure of which could jeopardize you and your family's health and welfare? #howtoliveoffthegrid
But Wait; There's Other Quizzes About What Is Freedom To You?
In subsequent polls and quizzes, the components of the above winning option were separated out. Then the majority of responders then picked:
Freedom from dependence on the 9-5 Jobs Market for your income.
Freedom From The 9-5 System Trap
A couple of other, rather intriguing, facts revealed by this Quiz. Women outnumbered men in responding by 62% to 38% and mobile users beat desktop users by 77% to 23%.
Now You Know What Freedom Is, How Do You Get It?
There are many moving parts involved in creating your own self-sufficient, self-reliant off the grid lifestyle.
There's more to it than just installing solar or windmill for your electricity, growing your own food and starting your own business for income. I created four posts to cover what it takes.
- 1How To Make Money To Live Life On Your Own Terms: This post explores the various options that could be followed to create a source of income to support a lifestyle of living outside The System and Off-The-Grid.
- 2Get Off The Grid Checklist: As the title suggests, this is an overview of the 11 key issues that you would need to plan for in going to live fully off the grid.
- 3Going Off The Grid – You Need To Know: This is an in-depth look into what is involved in handling the 11 key issues involved in going to live off the grid.
- 4Creating The Off-The-Grid Self-Reliant Lifestyle: This is an eBook in which I go in great depth to discuss the whole process of getting out of "the system" and into creating and sustaining the self-sufficient, self-reliant, off the grid lifestyle.
As you can quickly see from scanning either of the first two Blog Posts, getting out of the system into living off the grid is a whole new way of living.
That also means that it takes a whole new mindset; a new way of thinking about how you live your life. This also applies to how you think about what it takes: It is a radically different kind of lifestyle.
All the more reason to partner up with others who are following the same path. That's exactly what joining "How To Live Off The Grid Now" Community is all about.
Both of these articles and the eBook are downloadable if you subscribe to my Newsletter and Information Update services. You will be sent an email with a link to the related article or eBook once you confirm your subscription request.
Your Next Step Towards Your Own Freedom:
In addition, a majority of respondents expressed interest in joining, subscribing to and participating in, membership in this growing Community of like-minded people dedicated to supporting the processes of creating and sustaining your own off the grid, self-sufficient, self-reliant, lifestyle and helping to answer your questions and help to solve your challenges.
Key Benefits Of "How To Live Off The Grid Now" Membership:
- Take Back Control Over How You Live Your Life: Because living in "the system" leaves you very vulnerable. The Government will not help you: Look at Puerto Rico! You need to get out of "the system" and Off The Grid. Join this Community for help and support in doing that. Create, and sustain, your own self-sufficient and self-reliant off the grid Lifestyle.
- Academy: Because there are so many parts to put together in order to live Off The Grid successfully so there is a growing set of Tutorials, Videos, Plans, Programs and PDF's designed to help you get answers to your questions. Get direction. You need a plan; a guide, a road-map.
- Forum: Because to successfully create a live Off The Grid lifestyle is a complex process, so participating in forums with folks following the same lifestyle path enables you to get real-time answers to your questions from folks who have related experience and knowledge to share with you. Get support. Together we are all stronger and more successful.
- Save Time, Money, Effort and Frustration: Direct, quick, easy access to curated information about what it takes to create and sustain an Off The Grid Lifestyle. Instead of endlessly searching the web looking for related and relevant usable information, you could save yourself not only a bundle of time, money and effort but also possibly avoid some frustration and heartbreak. Enjoy the convenience. Get access to a one-stop information resource. It's so much easier and more fun to travel with friends!
- Click Here To Learn More
Now Get Out Of The System And Into Freedom Living Off The Grid:
Get started on creating your own personal level of Freedom. Join the "How To Live Off The Grid Now" Community and get support in building and sustaining your own self-sufficient, self-reliant, off the grid lifestyle. Isn't it time you got going on taking back control over how you live your own life!
Register today to be ready to join the growing "Off The Grid", interactive Community of "How To Live Off The Grid Now" during the next open-enrollment period. Click here to register now.
Living Off-The-Grid With Complete Livestock And Energy Self- Sustaining Systems
Probably goes without saying that I'd love to have you join the How To Live Off The Grid Now Community.
I hope you have found this Post to be interesting, informative and helpful. But, what really matters is if any of this has any meaning for you or not? Please let me know in the comments section below. I read them all. Thank you.
Peter Off-The-Grid
