That Homeless Guy Is Better Off Than Me

I've been to several third world countries where people are far better off than we are financially. The poor in those countries are free. Most of us create a situation where we are slaves to the various credit agencies of the developed world.

Now that I've said something that doesn't fit your world view, most of you will probably click off of this blog post and go read something entertaining. You'll go watch another youtube video celebrating stupidity but having a million plus hits. People really don't want to learn, that is why Porter Stansberry+ says there is no teaching, only learning. Open mind my ass, only open to someone stroking your own sense of well being and making you comfortable.

Rant over.

Think about the implications of owning nothing, of having no bills, of not needing expensive walls and roofs to house expensive items. Of not needing an expensive car that takes you to a job that barely covers all the expenses of your expensive life style. Such is the plight of the poor in third world countries. Such is the plight of the homeless guy on the street. The people mentioned above are working for food. You are working for things.

For most of history people followed food, followed work, followed weather cycles. Not only where people not slaves to houses, cars, motorcycles, televisions, Visa, MasterCard, and designer clothes, but people were also in shape with far less stress and far fewer health problems. Some of you think that coming home at night and planting your ass firmly on that leather couch and watching 4.5 hours of television everyday is living, I do not. You wouldn't either if you started living.

When I have a conversation with someone in a third world country they all think they want to be “rich” like me. I ask them what their house payment is, what their car payment is, what their credit card payment is. The answer is always nothing, they don't have access to credit. I ask them if they have ever been unemployed, they say yes and sometimes for years at a time. I ask them if they were able to eat, they tell me yes. I ask them how and they tell me sometimes only one person in an entire extended family will have a job but that they can afford to live like that. I tell them that they are free, that the things they want, that the richness they see are all lies.

In Ecuador everyone works. Ecuador has very few beggars. I saw one old man who opened the door for people at a local restaurant. He got tips for this, but he provided a service. Kids and mom's sell gum, cigarettes and candy on the street. Some people provide entertainment in parks or parking lights, some people sell toilet paper at restrooms. Everyone finds a niche and works, everyone eats. Most people smile and are happy.

Thomas Jefferson was adamant that banks were evil, that banks enslaved people. Jefferson was right. In the United States and in much of the developed world we have enslaved ourselves. We think that things will make us happy. I was there too a few short years ago. What changed my mind?

I'm a slave to two ex-wives and child support. The ability for me to see my kids has been taken away, what else can you take away from me? Nothing! After you lose everything that matters to you you can no longer threaten a man. He is free.

With all the uncertainty in the environment I work in people ask me what happens if I lose my job. I say the courts can no longer throw me in jail if I don't pay child support. I'll be truly free then. It is isn't that I don't want to pay, it is just that my kids would be fine and the two women can work and support them. I'm not able to afford to see my kids anyway, so I'd be free from giving half my pay away, I'd be free from taxes and I own nothing anyway. I could work for food. I'd have everything I have now but would not be a slave to two women nor to my job. Right now I have to have my job, I can't take a job that is more fulfilling but pays less money. I have to keep up a standard of living that allows me to keep this job. It sounds weird but it is true.

I have a hippy brother and he and his wife live in an RV. It isn't even a new RV, it is an old one that he does maintenance on. They stay in state parks in exchange for work. My sister in law works at Starbucks a job she loves and she gets free coffee. Hello world! They don't own much, they have a jeep and some mountain bikes, they can do these jobs anywhere in the country so right now they are in beautiful Tampa, FL. They are saving money, have zero debt and are able to enjoy life and enjoy each other.

I think some people get it. Some people understand that freedom is not owing anyone anything. It took some hard life lessons for me to understand that. I hope that many of you can learn to get to zero. Owing zero to any credit institution in the world.

What would it mean for my kids? Did you realize our education system was created to produce factory workers? Do you want kids that take orders well? I know the answer by some of you is yes. I don't, I want kids that question everything. I want kids that think for themselves that don't just hear and do. I want kids that take a path less followed, that blaze new paths, that create.

What would it mean for your kids? It would mean that they could experience and learn through doing. Do you really think that everyone needs the education system created by the government? If your child has an interest in advanced math, but him or her a copy of, “Advanced Math For Dummies.” If your child has a talent for math they will be able to teach themselves. If your child has a talent for writing they can learn to write through books and the same goes for any subject.

You can't teach. Why? People learn when they want to learn. You can not force someone to learn. How much do you remember from 6^th grade History, 6^th grade English, 6^th grade Math? Your answer will depend on your interests.

Parents have it wrong when they say they can't homeschool. By the time a child is ready to go beyond your ability to teach they can teach themselves anything they want to learn. You could live a nomadic lifestyle following work, traveling the country or the world with your kids learning along the way. Your child would learn history, language, your child would encounter times that they needed to use their imagination. Imagination btw was Einstein's highest priority. Einstein went as far as saying after a certain point in life you should stop reading other people's work so as not to interfere with your own imagination.

Hopefully I've made you think. I may have created enemies, I may have pissed you off, I may have made you think I'm an idiot, but hopefully I've activated brain cells in your head.

Live Passionately, Live Aggressively

Matt Dragon