February 1st, I cant believe how time fly’s.  Two years ago I began a journey into self sufficiency.  I decided to try and live off of one dollar per hour.

I had spent the better part of the last ten years living like a king.  I didnt respect money and quite frankly had so much of it that I often gave large portions away.  I was living in a manor most Americans will never experience.  One day it all came to an end.  I had choices, I could spend years fighting over money, or I could simply walk away, I choose the later.  This was my first experience in total freedom that I had lived in years, I had forgotten what it was like to be completed free.  I had sold my soul to the devil for a bunch or worthless green paper.

It was the middle of winter and I was living in my car, then a snow cave and eventually a tepee.  I lived off road kill deer, pine needle tea, and started dumpster diving.  Even when I was making a 6 figure income I had never been as healthy or happy.

I was living like Jesus, I was homeless, jobless, and possession-less.  It was the purest my soul had been in as long as I could remember.

Eventually a 9 ounce tarp become my home.

Nature provided for all of our needs.

Eventually I was sucked back in, first a job, then a car, then a house.  Not just one house, I was living in seven houses all luxury vacation rentals.  My life became a constant vacation living like the rich and famous.  Money came and my happy simple life faded away.  I had traded my freedom for a beautiful house and my Harley.  My thousand mile road trips never felt as free as when I had nothing and I always had to be back before I was ready.

I skied, surfed, mountain biked, and hiked, you name it, but the cost was always too high.  I wanted to be free, I wanted all of my life not just a few short hours here and there.

The best years of my life were slipping away and no amount of toys could shield me from the fact that my youth was coming to an and.  Time was running out.  Sure I could go back to work again but I’m human, I’m weak, I’m greedy.  I could easily be sucked into another ten years of toil which is how long it would take me to save a million dollars.  A million dollars that could go away overnight.

Today I have officially ended all personal tests, challenges, boycotts, and the like.  I have proven that not only can I survive but that I can live happily simple and free. There is no more need to challenge my self.  From here on out I will look to nature.  I have become the sailor and mountain man, the friend and lover, a natural born leader who will graciously follow.  My next journey is the sea, she will be my teacher and provider.  In return I will continue to protect her as best as I can.  I am free.

Change does not roll in on the wheels of inevitability, but comes through continuous struggle. And so we must straighten our backs and work for our freedom. A man can’t ride you unless your back is bent.  ~Martin Luther King, Jr.