Project Mojave Blog - Latest Comments in Alternative Lifestyle Designing (The Rabbit Hole Tax and Baselining)

Re: Alternative Lifestyle Designing (The Rabbit Hole Tax and Baselining)

Motorhomes — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 18:43:30 -0000

hmm its somehow like a lover's pledge...

Re: Alternative Lifestyle Designing (The Rabbit Hole Tax and Baselining)

Canvas Stretching Machine — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 02:57:11 -0000

wow its like a child's paradise...

Re: Alternative Lifestyle Designing (The Rabbit Hole Tax and Baselining)

John Wolfe — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 11:34:25 -0000

Yesss ! Now that opens up whole new vistas of INSPIRATION ! Remarkable...Eye opening...Heart opening ! Thank you...Great perspective. Excuse me...Down the rabbit hole I go. Again Thank You !

Re: Alternative Lifestyle Designing (The Rabbit Hole Tax and Baselining)

William Mize — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 11:14:45 -0000

This post has been haunting me for weeks now. Just a quick note between writing and thinking about it to say thank you.

Re: Alternative Lifestyle Designing (The Rabbit Hole Tax and Baselining)

Ron — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 16:38:22 -0000

I'll look forward to working with you on coaching calls Clay

Re: Alternative Lifestyle Designing (The Rabbit Hole Tax and Baselining)

Ron — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 16:34:06 -0000

great material

Re: Alternative Lifestyle Designing (The Rabbit Hole Tax and Baselining)

freelearner — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 16:36:18 -0000

I have just found your blog and am very much enjoying reading through your articles. As someone who has chosen unschooling for her family and consulting instead of my long-trained-for career, I suppose I fit the bill of someone who has designed an Alternative Lifestyle. I've never thought of it in quite as much detail as you have, and I haven't waxed as eloquently about it, but it feels very good to look at what we're doing in this context. I'll keep reading!

Re: Alternative Lifestyle Designing (The Rabbit Hole Tax and Baselining)

Sara — Fri, 30 May 2008 07:48:23 -0000

There's not much to say here that hasn't been said. I think it's important to recognize that lifestyle design isn't just about your dream lifestyle. It's something you do every day, whether you recognize it or not. With baselining, at least we can do it with full awareness of what we're choosing.

Re: Alternative Lifestyle Designing (The Rabbit Hole Tax and Baselining)

Travis — Tue, 20 May 2008 15:43:12 -0000

Well done, Clay. Well done.

If you ever stop writing this blog, I'll kill you.

What?

Do I look like I'm joking?

Re: Alternative Lifestyle Designing (The Rabbit Hole Tax and Baselining)

Melissa N. — Tue, 20 May 2008 11:55:17 -0000

I recently found your web-site through Zenhabits. I am loving reading your writings and your style.
Such a great article and it couldn't have come at a more opportune time in my life. Thank you!

Re: Alternative Lifestyle Designing (The Rabbit Hole Tax and Baselining)

Daisy — Tue, 20 May 2008 08:18:42 -0000

Isn't it weird that I have found out more about Kelly She Power (who I am just getting to know) on your site than I have on about 4 visits to her own? I just wrote about you on HER post because I wasn't that impressed with your interview with her to be honest. The apostle like praise you were getting on her site was from folks who already knew you - I didn't know you and wanted to - and didn't get much out of it as a newbie.
Then I came to you via Jonathan Mead's site after 'cyber-complaining' about you to him - (are y'all just one big clique?). Anyhoo this was a nice post...I shall most likely investigate further (for what it's worth).

Re: Alternative Lifestyle Designing (The Rabbit Hole Tax and Baselining)

Brad — Mon, 19 May 2008 16:55:41 -0000

Well done. Thanks. I needed to read this. Hope this finds you well!

Re: Alternative Lifestyle Designing (The Rabbit Hole Tax and Baselining)

Robin — Mon, 19 May 2008 06:55:43 -0000

Hi Clay - I really like your article.

Regarding lifestyle design, I think it's interesting how many people are creating occupations for themselves that have not existed before (blogging, for example), and people will keep inventing new careers that don't exist now.

- Robin

Re: Alternative Lifestyle Designing (The Rabbit Hole Tax and Baselining)

Jonathan Mead — Mon, 19 May 2008 02:13:57 -0000

This one was especially relevant for me right now. I think LD design means different things to everyone. It's really about what brings you bliss. It's funny how we have the power to do the same things with less money as we do with abundance of it. We just need to overcome our fear.

Re: Alternative Lifestyle Designing (The Rabbit Hole Tax and Baselining)

Liara Covert — Sun, 18 May 2008 22:49:51 -0000

Thanks for sharing these fabulous stories. People who inspire others need not have more, or have accomplished great, measurable feats. It is the courage to live differently that prompts us to re-evaluate who we are. Its not the situation that matters so much as how you react to it and waht you are encouraged to learn about your own values and character.

Re: Alternative Lifestyle Designing (The Rabbit Hole Tax and Baselining)

chris — Sun, 18 May 2008 20:02:20 -0000

Clay,

While I've dreamed of a life style such as this one, I found that it becomes more difficult when there are other people involved such as my wife and children.

Often times the conflict is not necessarily about material possession, status, or social obligation. For me at least, it's more about making concessions with my family on what type of a life we all want.

Like Kelly, my wife and I would rather be somewhere in front of the ocean chilling and writing, but our children, especially the older ones love their life in the big city. We could just leave them and take the little ones but this would mean that out family would be incomplete.

Re: Alternative Lifestyle Designing (The Rabbit Hole Tax and Baselining)

Kelly@SHE-POWER — Sun, 18 May 2008 04:28:17 -0000

I'm with Charlie, this is my absolute favorite post yet. As a daughter of ex-nomadic hippies (they both lead very conventional lives now) and a long term backpacker I have spent chunks of my life on the road with no home to call my own. Along this journey I have known many fascinating men and women who have chosen to live outside the usual boundaries of society. Some were professionals who worked half a year and travelled half a year, others were fruit pickers, aid workers, activists, musicians, ESL teachers, writers, chefs and hospitality workers, or self-confessed bums who picked up odd jobs here and there. All were inspiring because they stepped back from life and ignored the conventional dictates that say consumption and status will lead to success and happiness.

I have yet to read Tim Ferriss' book, though I do read his blog and when I first discovered it I found it fascinating that so many were excited by what he was saying even though these same people are a part of the world's wealthy minority and actually have the option of designing their own perfect lifestyle. The problem seems to be that many people can't accept that they don't want it enough to pay a price to have it.

When I was backpacking people would always ask me how I managed to do it, like I had some special secret or trust fund. I didn't. In fact, most of my travelling was done after I left the corporate world and was a temp contracter and ESL teacher. These jobs don't earn buckets of money but I still saved and bummed around for 6 months at a time. Anyone can do it if you want it enough.

It does get harder when you add spouses and kids into the equation and this is something I wrestle with. If I just pleased myself I would be in Mexico now, working on my novel, eating tacos, rice and beans, and volunteering. But my husband is very career driven and has a successful job in Australia and I do want my son to have a base to return to after he has his world adventures with me. It's hard to be outside society and your peers, to want things they don't understand or value. It can be a very lonely place to live and personally I'm not sure you ever stop asking yourself if you're doing the right thing.

For me, I know I've got to find that balance between me and my family and work out what price I'm willing to pay so we can all be happy. But then that's one of the endless questions of life, I think. What am I willing to compromise/sacrifice to be happy?

Great post. Clay. You're a legend.

Kelly

Re: Alternative Lifestyle Designing (The Rabbit Hole Tax and Baselining)

jrandom42 — Sun, 18 May 2008 02:32:25 -0000

While I wasn't taking this post as a signal for someone to go off to find their life at the expense of others, I was introducing a cautionary tale of one who did and the consequences.

The path of alternative lifestyle design can be incredibly liberating and rewarding, but my point is that PLANNING is the key. Being able to share your vision with your spouse is important. Taking small steps to show the validity of what you are aiming to achieve is crucial. And communication at all times is the key to making it happen.

Someone posted that they knew a family with a handicapped child made a radical change in their life. I bet, that if you talked to them, you will find that they had many discussions about it, agreement on the aim, and intense planning on how to handle the myriad details of making work.

Re: Alternative Lifestyle Designing (The Rabbit Hole Tax and Baselining)

ReddyK - The Atma Jyoti Blog — Sat, 17 May 2008 11:51:36 -0000

Clay,

I have had the good fortune to meet Leonard a number of times, and he is really a remarkable person: dedicated, unattached, tolerant (though others are not so tolerant of him), and overall an interesting person to talk to. If you see him again, ask him about the "God loves you" hot air balloon he tried to make that was so big it never got off the ground. I think it is in a museum somewhere.

Re: Alternative Lifestyle Designing (The Rabbit Hole Tax and Baselining)

Clay Collins — Sat, 17 May 2008 02:47:38 -0000

@Evelyn: Thanks for your comment, Evelyn. I always enjoy reading your thoughts.

I'd like to state that I by no means advocated taking off "just like that." This post does not prescribe a timeline and it certainly does not advocate ignoring your loved ones. Also, this post does advocate planning and it certainly does not dis-encourage planning. Both baselining and dreamlining are mechanisms for planning. Additionally I would encourage people to use other tools to plan. Immediate implementation of our impulses is often a bad idea. It's also worth mentioning that sometimes the price of radical growth just isn't worth it.

Thank you for stopping by, Evelyn.

Re: Alternative Lifestyle Designing (The Rabbit Hole Tax and Baselining)

Clay Collins — Sat, 17 May 2008 02:44:45 -0000

@jrandom42: Thank you so much for your thoughtful comments.

This post by no means dictates a specific course of action for everyone. What this post is meant to convey is that "the logistics of living are much more flexible than most of us can imagine." Even if you have 15 children, etc. the logistics of living are probably more maliable than most of us can conceive (and exercising flexibility in the logistics of our lives doesn't have to ruing the lives of those who depend upon us; in fact, it can make their lives better).

As I said earlier, "lifestyle design also happens when a parent decides they want to stay home with their children."

I'm afraid you misunderstood what I wrote. I by no means am advocating a specific course of action for every individual. And as I've said in another article, sometimes the cost of radical growth just isn't worth it.

In short, if you read this message as advocating the abandonment of family, being an irresponsible child, parent, etc. then you are reading text that doesn't appear in the article and I suggest you read this post.

Re: Alternative Lifestyle Designing (The Rabbit Hole Tax and Baselining)

Tom Stine | Living from Consci — Fri, 16 May 2008 23:20:01 -0000

What's really cool to me, Clay, is that LIFE often makes these choices for us. No decision to be made, life just comes along and says, BAM, you are going to change your life. Amazing. You get fired, your dream falls through, you hit mid-life and have one of those crazy mid-life crises (they do happen, believe me!), you name it.

When I graduated from [insert name of Ivy League college] I was heading to med school. Life was grand. Big time medicine. And then I crashed and burned. Life intervened. After bumming around strange jobs here in Missouri, my father died. Then got married. Then mother got sick. Then had a kid. Then mom died. Then MID-LIFE hit. Then got divorced. AND THANK GOD ALL THAT SHIT HAPPENED!!!

Now, 21 years later, I live in on my grandmother's farm in rural Missouri and I love it. I feel at home. I write about spirituality. I see things really taking shape. I'm happier than I've ever thought possible. Peace is rising in me more and more. I have an amazing kid. Life is awesome. All because life intervened and said, "nope, different plans, kiddo."

Not sure where I'm going with this. Oh, well, still love the post, Clay. :-D

Re: Alternative Lifestyle Designing (The Rabbit Hole Tax and Baselining)

Evelyn Lim | Attraction Mind M — Fri, 16 May 2008 22:55:10 -0000

Hey Clay, awesome post! I like it for the fact that you also threw in the money aspect and proposing baselining as a solution.

I do agree with what jrandom42 said, however. While it would be nice to take off just like that, it is also important to consider the needs of your family. Even the Buddha said so and fulfilled his obligations first. In short, like what jrandom42 concluded, planning is key.
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Clay's Resposne

Thanks for your comment, Evelyn. I'd like to state that I by no means advocated taking off "just like that." This post does not prescribe a timeline and it certainly does not advocate ignoring your loved ones. Also, this post does advocate planning. Both baselining and dreamlining are mechanisms for planning, and I would encourage people to use other tools to plan. Immediately implementation of our impulses is often a bad idea. It's also worth mentioning that sometimes the price of radical growth just isn't worth it.

Re: Alternative Lifestyle Designing (The Rabbit Hole Tax and Baselining)

@Stephen — Fri, 16 May 2008 22:14:40 -0000

Beautiful post Clay. My hat is off to you. I have been paying that Rabbit Hole Tax for years, as I pursued a variety of careers and living arrangements.

I am happier now, in the howling wilderness of Maine, than I thought I could ever be. I feel much "richer" than I did several years ago when I had plenty of money, but no meaning.

Re: Alternative Lifestyle Designing (The Rabbit Hole Tax and Baselining)

Melissa — Fri, 16 May 2008 18:09:45 -0000

Clay, I recently found your blog (probably through zenhabits), and I have to say, you are awesome! Your thoughts are aligned with beliefs I've held for quite awhile, just better articulated. I've had the same discussions/disagreements for years with my more-status-driven friends and it's nice to send them something to read that better argues my opinions.

I just subscribed to you and look forward to reading more often. :)

Thanks,
melissa