July 10, 2005
Off the Treadmill
Anyone wanting to escape the Rat Race would be well-advised to read Mark Morford's latest column,
Why Do You Work So Hard? Back in late 2003, I took the plunge and left my job at a large newspaper (Christopher was a huge help, since at the time he recognized how miserable I was more than I was willing to admit). At first, I was in panic mode. I sent out resumes everywhere, scoured the job sites, went on a few interviews, all with little success. After that phase, I just decided to concentrate on establishing myself as a freelance designer — and downsizing my lifestyle. I cut back on eating out, make do with driving my 12-year-old Saturn, kept my clothes-buying to a minimum, and severely pruned away my desire to acquire the latest CDs and DVDs. Over time, I've established a small roster of regular clients (I could always use a few more) which keep me busy. My annual salary is probably less than half what it was at the newspaper, but I'm infinitely happier now than I was then.
Maybe the process isn't as simple as Morford's column makes it out to be (tip #1: have as little debt as you can) - but it is possible. Living, even thriving, doesn't mean sitting in a cubicle all day.
Posted by mhinrichs at July 10, 2005 05:48 PM
Good article...I learned that working "to earn money" was beside the point back in the late '80s when good ol' Mike Tyson earned 50 million for about 2 minutes work (AKA "boxing")
Time (free time) is worth much more than money any day. When each of us are on our death beds (or lodged helpless beneath the pristine front tire of an SUV), sucking-in our last breaths, I figure the last thing any of us will want is a wad of 20s shoved in our trembling hands. A final minute of seeing a blue sky (or even a grey one) is worth more than any amount of dough...unless we're all going to heaven, which makes all of this a moot comment board conversational point.
I sort of get Morford's point about seeing folks hanging out at coffee shops...but people are hanging out EVERYWHERE during the day (malls, bars, bookstores) - seems like we actually have a lot of "free-timers" in the world...maybe they're drunk or too-coffee-nated or too wrapped-up in their laptop video games...but they're free-timers nonetheless. No reason for day-workers to be jealous of them. Each of us is the creator of our own reality (yes, Virginia)
The Lord God King Bufoo of this sort of thing is the late Alan Watts - pick up any of his books or listen to any of his gazillion tapes and you'll hear odes to leaving the establishment and striking out on your own. In fact, most of the Beat and early psychedelic literature is packed with this sort of "quit yer job and tell yer boss to shove it" type of thing. Kerouac's "Desolation Angels" is the guidebook for doing your own work thing...but be prepared to be bummed-out at times....freedom has it's costs.
Alan Watts
http:www.alanwatts.com
I get what you're saying, and I'll almost count myself amongst your group if I'd actually made, you know, any real changes to my expenditures. Unfortunately the Snook still likes to work hard (and gets paid pretty well for it), which makes frugality a little harder to achieve. Still, I'm definitely happier getting away from the corporate rat race.
Three items:
One: Matt, nothing is too good for my HBSP.
Two: Ayn Rand taught me nothing is more valuable than time.
Three: For many years at my day job (which I keep to supplement my writing habit) I have had a little saying attached to one of my cubicle walls. It says: "The great irony is that the more money you earn, the more pressure you are under and the more frenzied your lives are." This is from Robert Reich, and so totally true.
Excellent article. Have you read Your Money or Your Life? It's all about the time/money relationship and how to escape from the rat race. It changed my life. Have you seen my Get Rich Slowly entry? It summarizes advice from all sorts of financial books. From this entry, it sounds as if you're doing much of what these books recommend. Keep it up!
Great post, J.D. I'm making a mental note to check that book out -- at the library, of course.
I just began another re-reading of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. It's been nearly a decade since I last read it. I'm shocked at how much more applicable it seems to my real life now, largely because it deals with concepts like Quality of life, and the sacrifices people make to the ratrace.
