nomad4ever

By now you probably know John Locke already. He is a freelance writer and the author of ‘Ten Lies We Believe’, which led to hefty and interesting discussions on this blog. John was so nice and wrote another guest post for nomad4ever. This one goes even a step further and shows the way, on how we can overcome the dependence cycle we are trotting every day; right ahead to a road of fulfilment:

Your true self – a sovereign individual

An independent life is one that is lived at a place and pace of your own choice. It is a life where you are reap what you sow – you are rewarded for the work that you do and you also are responsible for risks that you take on. You choose what you believe yourself, after careful consideration and are not bound by convention. You recognise that you have rights that are inherent, not dependent on government recognition. In short, you own your own life. You are not the property of a government, church or school.

Most importantly, living an independent life means living on your own terms, not as a slave. You can be a slave to government, employer or even those around you. The master is the person who holds the slave down. Slavery is a result of not making a decision of your own but passively accepting the decisions of others. The majority of people in our society are slaves – very few live independent lives.

We are individuals, not part of a collective. We are not anyone’s slave, or a tool to be used for the end of another person – unless we choose to be.

The life of a slave

An enslaved human is someone who can never achieve a free and prosperous life. It is a life lived for someone else rather than for yourself.

An existence of slavery means that you can never achieve your own potential, at most you will be seen as a useful tool, someone who can produce or provide something, but with no real rights of your own. What you produce is the property of the master. The slave’s life is only worth what others think it is – it is not regarded as having any value. The slave does not make his or her own decisions, but is told what to think and what to do.

Being a slave also means living in fear. If you are a slave, you will constantly try to please the master to avoid being punished. This means that you will worry about your job, not doing anything too different. Freedom is when you can step outside of what you are familiar with, those shackles that have become comfortable, and life a different life.

What is keeping you in slavery?

What keeps you, an inherently free person with your own will, enslaved?

The immediate shackles that most people see is the government system, or the financial system, or their employer, or the educational system. These systems all attempt to hold us back and keep us as slaves for the benefit of others. But none of these systems actually lock us up in physical shackles.

Our prison is a prison of the mind. “They” get their hold over us by making us believe an interlocking series of lies. To break out, we simply need to choose freedom and learn to think for ourselves, understand the lies and see the truth. We need to understand what is different between the free, independent person and the slave.

Slave characteristics

Specifically, what are some characteristics of a slave?

A slave believes that the government in some way benefits him, even though it is quite simple to see that the services that the government provides are generally of poor quality and nowhere near the value stolen in taxation. The stolen money actually goes to support other people who choose to not contribute – this does not help the slave.

A slave also believes that democracy and party politics in some way provides a choice. The slave puts his faith in these systems despite the fact that they just keep recycling the same old tired cliches. He believes in government – that people need to be kept in line.

The slave is kept happy with game shows, half baked news commentary, a few movies that don’t need much thinking about, and the latest fictional novel. No new ideas interrupt his world view.

Financially, the slave is kept alive, but never really prospers irrespective of earnings. Part of this is because of taxation theft, but the slave also accept advertising at face value. Lacking a soul, he compensates for this void by becoming a consumer, then wonders why acquisition still leaves a feeling of emptiness.

When the slave is confronted with new ideas, he can accept that there might be possibly some truth, but the resultant cognitive dissonance and the shock of potential change means that he quickly rejects the ideas – usually quoting the conventional wisdom. The slave is not comfortable with thinking for himself – except in unimportant matters (what political party to vote for or what football team to support)

Characteristics of the independent person

There aren’t many independent persons around. Here are some characteristics to help you identify them:

Firstly, the independent person has their own views on most things – usually different to those of the mainstream. They listen to different music, watch different films, use different software and read different books. They do this because they are hungry for ideas and want to understand, explore and appreciate the richness of life, even if this involves taking a different path.

The independent person desires to earn their living from their own efforts and expects to be rewarded for them. He or she does not desire a subsidy, unwarranted payment or handout. The independent person prides herself on earning prosperity through exercise of skills and discipline. He will carefully husband financial assets to provide for future prosperity.

An independent person values achievement, and does not seek power over others. He recognises that the purpose of life is to realise one’s own maximum potential.

The independent person chooses a lifestyle. She seeks an existence that provides adequate time for relaxation and enjoyment of life. He does not rush through life, or work like a slave.

By definition, the independent person lives life on their own terms, not the terms of others. He will do this even if it involves leaving a familiar life or situation. This is because the independent person is confident of their own ability to deal with the situation, using their rational mind as a tool, not relying on others.

Breaking out and living life to the fullest

When you were growing up, did you dream of a dull, unfulfilled life constrained by poverty?

No!

You wanted something that was adventurous and prosperous, where you could be creative and have fun. You were dreaming of an independent life.

The first step to living such a life is to understand that it is possible. Your freedom has been stolen from you, but the cage is unlocked and you can just walk out – if you choose to.

Secondly, understand the lies that YOU believe. Ask yourself what you are waiting for, what is holding you back. Then step back and see whether it is true. You can learn a lot by reading widely and travelling to meet new people. Knowledge and experience is the antidote to lies.

The first question to ask when you hear something is “Is this fact, or is it someone’s opinion”. You need to be able to tell the difference between the two. A fact is independently verifiable. For example, it is a fact that if you spend money, then you no longer have it. An opinion is someone’s value judgement, for example that “you really should buy this new car”.

In our society, opinions are often given more weight that facts. This is because slaves are so used to being told what to think by the masters (governments, the media, corporations, educational institutions) that the ability to form their own conclusions has atrophied.

Also ask “How do I benefit from this, and how does the other party benefit?”. Being a sovereign individual involves being a trader. A trader is someone who accepts fair value in a mutually beneficial trade. If all the benefits are for someone else, then that is not a trade that you want to accept.

Think about the non beneficial arrangements that you accepted as a slave – unpaid overtime at work, time wasted with petty rules, money stolen from you in taxes. It is easy to see the benefits for others, but there were none for you. The independent life will leave these arrangements and make his own, more acceptable trades. In some situations, the former master may completely control the playing field. In this case, play your game elsewhere, don’t try to win against a stacked deck.

Next steps

Once you have freed yourself from the lies, you’ll see things differently. This will involve changes. You will need to break away from the things that have kept you back. You can see that the cage is open, now you’ll have to step out.

Firstly, you’ll need to get your financial life in order. This means understanding that prosperity is your right. Money is the tool that can help give you freedom. Only slaves have no right to their own property or wealth.

You need to learn about investments, running businesses, and operating offshore. Don’t be content to trust the “experts” with your money. Take responsibility for your own prosperity.

Secondly, you’ll need to sever your connections with the systems of slavery. The ticket out of some of these is the passport. This gives you the opportunity to travel overseas and see a bit more of the world without having to join into other systems.

Finally, you have to keep learning and growing to stop becoming a slave again. Read different books. Meet different people. Most importantly, continue to weigh up new ideas, asking “Is this a fact or opinion?” and “How do I benefit from this?”. Develop your thinking ability like an athlete develops a muscle – by practise.

(c) 2006 by John Locke

Technorati : breaking out, downshifting, finance, independence, investment, libertarianism, life, money, motivation, offshore, politics, self fulfilment, slavery, sovereignity

or save article to your Facebook with 1 simple click:

Share

written by Chris