Project Mojave Blog - Latest Comments in Project Liberation

Re: Project Liberation

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Re: Project Liberation

Steven Mohammed — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 21:44:59 -0000

Clay,

I have to tell you that this website is amazing. Wow, to think i'm not alone in this world. I like everyone else come with a story as well. I came into this world with clubfeet and borderline retardation. I overcame these through adversity, children calling me names and my pure brain to overcome the doctors. Getting two opinions from a psychiatrist calling me mentally retarded didn't quite sit with me. All my mother did was sit and watch me and at 5th grade I was finally ready to join the regular kids. She knew what I had known all along, I was misdiagnosed. Long story short I am graduated with a B.S. in Accounting and played every sport including football where I excelled as a quarterback. Today I write stories and tell funny stories of what happened to me as a child growing up in my family dealing with psychiatrists. Every day I am liberated. Every day I wake up wanting to soak up everything I can and staying awake until I pass out. Treat everyday as a gift because nothing is a given. Clay keep up the good work!

Re: Project Liberation

Izzzy — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 09:16:30 -0000

Clay, thanks for your superb writing. Your opinion struck me because I think you spoke the sentiments of our generation that entered "adulthood" and are expected to fulfill certain roles that are acceptable by society.

I found this blog because I googled the word "growth". I woke up at the wrong side of the bed this morning. Felt so sluggish to go to work. I felt like a zombie or robot. In reading this blog, I realized that I am not alone. Maybe its really human nature to feel free and alive, and not cooped up in an office building working for someone else.

I'm a very REAL person, in all sense of the word. Believed in sending kids to the "best" schools. Lived a stepping stone life. Added letters of the alphabet after my name (it became a habit). I did what was expected of me by my parents and the society in general. Right now, I am feeling restless and dissastisfied.

I also loved your post about decluttering your life. So many of those things apply to me now (ie. committees, grad school, etc.). I can say that I am a very goal oriented person. I feel excited and proud of accomplishing something. But sometimes, I doubt myself of my motivation and think I may just be feeding my ego. In the process, I think I may have lost my identity by pursuing success in society's terms.

I have a read a couple of self help books to motivate myself. Some days it would work but some (like today) it just makes me think more that maybe some things have to change. Maybe I should figure out what truly makes me happy and excited to wake up every morning.

I wish you luck in your pursuit of liberation and to the rest of us here who simply want to lead an incredible and meaningful life.

Re: Project Liberation

Glad Doggett — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 15:27:59 -0000

I've always struggled with feeling restless and dissatified with the conventional life. It's like a ichy rash on the inside. I have been able to surpress my urge to flee corporate confinement because I have children to feed and clothe, and a life to maintain.

I admire your moxy and I plan to follow your pursuits.

Good luck!!!

Re: Project Liberation

Justin — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 13:19:25 -0000

Wow, just found this blog, amazing. I am in a similar place right now. Just out of college (at 25, so you can see i didn't exactly follow the normal path already) and I am an intern working for a major corporation and it only took me about half way through my internship to realize this was not for me. My last day is tomorrow because i turned my two weeks in at the half way point. (I'm writing this post at work)

Now after reading this blog and many others, all seeming to be people who have notice this lifestyle design trend between the 4 hour work week and productivity blogs and personal developement, I feel like there is a whole world out there that belogs in a city or country town together to pursue all these interest (maybe something like burning man with less substance abuse).

Anyhow, I'm glad to know there are a thousands upon thousands of others who believe in a life less ordinary and are willing to pursue and have a place to come share ideas.

Finally a question, Clay Collins are you from VA? I saw in a couple post you mention the Blue ridge Mountains and the Appalachin trail and was just wondering.

Re: Project Liberation

Victory Darwin — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 00:39:27 -0000

woohoo!

glad to be part of your next step to project Liberation!

am I your biggest donor so far?

Re: Project Liberation

Farthest Star — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 13:20:50 -0000

Daniel, I have several scientifically oriented friends and (started college as a physics major myself before going economics), and I can tell many of them love their jobs. One of my friends works on the Space Station at NASA and I can tell from his emails he likes the challenges his work presents. I doubt you'd have a much of a chance to work on something like that without in some way becoming part of a system than is larger than yourself. You _can_ (and many do) use the system to get what you want out of life.

That said, the financial choices we make can greatly influence our ability to change our path should we not like the corporate job we sign up for. "Standard of Living" creep is a real thing, and before you know it it's easy to have mortgage payments and car payments and it's easy to be working just to pay the bills. I think keeping your financial requirements low (and flexible) while trying for longer term financial security is achievable if approached from that cautious viewpoint.

Myself, I'm slow to move to a new lifestyle, but it's building on me. Part of my issue now is "what do I do with all this stuff I have if I change?" What decisions can I make now to facilitate a transition to something better? To me building up savings and staying out of debt is a big part of that

Re: Project Liberation

Dana Seilhan — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 12:12:08 -0000

I was not unschooled, but when I read Gatto and Holt and other homeschooling/unschooling advocates and Gatto's statements in particular about the ultimate purpose of public schooling, I find myself nodding along because *I was there.* I experienced those things for myself and those were the things I hated about school. And I'm sorry because I think the idea of making educational resources available to all is a fantastic one, but hey, that's why we have libraries. Imagine what this country could become if we took all that public school funding and pumped it into our library systems AND offered free classes for more complex stuff that kids wanted to learn about, like advanced math. Wow.

Anyway...

I have also been fortunate to have worked for a mom 'n' pop business as my first job. I went back to retail years later for a corporate employer and was astonished at the differences. In a mom 'n' pop, unless you work for a control freak, you have some power to make decisions to make your customer happy. In a corporate environment you take all the blame for corporate decisions but can do absolutely nothing to improve the situation yourself other than kiss a lot of butt (and even that doesn't always cut it). I had a customer once who was mad at me because I couldn't refund his gift certificate--store policy. Had it been the mom 'n' pop I could have done it and not worried about my job security. Instead I had to direct him to a toll-free number and hope he didn't say something that got me fired anyway.

Don't even get me started about Wal-Mart. I've worked there too.

And in the end, that kind of crap is why I don't work now. I can't *stand* not having any autonomy. I can't *stand* being blamed for policies I didn't set. How is that in any way fair? And "that's just the way it is" isn't an excuse that cuts it with me. I would rather the buck stopped with me or as close to me as possible so that I can take care of problems that arise. I can't have that in most employment opportunities for which I qualify today. I'm sick of making excuses for the shortcomings of other people that I've never met and who see me as a nameless, faceless number which they can just as easily replace with another nameless, faceless number.

On top of that I'm a mom now, since 2004. And I can't see putting my daughter in an institution, either. They would not respect her for the individual she is. They might even want to drug her. Sorry, I'm not going there.

So... I get by on the child support, her dad and I are friends now, and I look for ways to make extra money from home. It's not the most secure existence, but it's one that allows me to look at myself in the mirror and not cringe.

Re: Project Liberation

Crystal — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 17:07:46 -0000

Hi Daniel,

You don't ask me, but I'm putting my 2c in anyway :) Almost at 40 and looking back at when I just graduated from college, I think there's a big (vast, huge) difference between choosing a corporate life as a break from insecurity and thoughtlessly carrying your cog from one institution to another.

You know what it's like to fend for yourself, to live with insecurity, to travel widely, and to live an altogether independent life. Really, you probably should try on the corporate life, just to see how it feels to you.

You may love it, you may hate it, or it may be the Big Meh...but however it plays out, taking that job is a conscious choice for you, not the default option like for other people. Big difference IMO.

Have fun :)

Re: Project Liberation

Daniel — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 16:07:38 -0000

I just finished college 4 days ago... I'm an Engineer, finally. All these years I've been studying I had to work as a freelancer to support myself. And I succeeded. But with the same problems of not knowing if the next month I'll have enough money to pay the rent or pay the bills. But, somehow, I've managed to survive like this for the past 5 years. Beside just surviving I've managed to travel a lot (seen almost all of Europe and the US) and provide myself with an enjoyable way of living (nice car, decent house, all the amenities and so on) things I didn't had before and things I couldn't have done working for a company - like being a tourist for months :)

But... I'm somehow tired of uncertainty. I want a break. I want people thinking for me, people telling me what to do, when to do, how to do and people paying me monthly. It sounds funny, I know, but all these years I've waited for this "break".... Is this really a break? Or am I fooling myself?

I'm really thinking about sending my resume to Engineering companies (that I'm sure will hire me with a good pay) and leave behind my IT/Programming skills. Most of my friends are working for large companies and they seem to have everything planned out, they seem not to know what insecurity is.

Really don't know what to do, tell me something. :)

Thanks

Re: Project Liberation

Chris F — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 15:15:03 -0000

I am really enjoying your blog, and the unusually intelligent responses. It can be a tricky balancing act, trying to live your dream without losing everything. My wife and I we inspired many years ago by the book "Your Money Or Your Life." We realized that we didn't have to wait until we were 65+ to try living without a paycheck. When our son graduated from HS we sold the house, used some of the money for his college expenses and used the rest to supplement several years on the road selling at arts and crafts fairs. We eventually settled down again and started new careers in our fifties, both working at jobs we enjoy. No regrets over lost income during those years. Keep taking chances, and good luck.

Re: Project Liberation

Abby — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 21:56:58 -0000

I have never commented on a blog post before, but here I am. I was totally struck by your comments about your feelings about public education and other institutionalizing forces in society. I actually studied education in college and was going to grad school to recieve my masters in teaching and decided to bail out half way through when I became less sure of the position and of having to always be told what to teach (by the government, none the less...). Perhaps I too realized that I wanted to live a more authentically. Huge student loans and a poor education program at the school I had been attending probably also helped influence my decision.

However, I truely enjoyed discussing various philosphies of education and like to think that while education can enforce passive attitudes, there are good teachers out there who emphazise creativity... Good teachers find a way to support socialization and individuation - but it is a diffiucult thing, and it is becoming increasingly difficult as standardized testing (which does not test or measure creative thought and other kinds of intelligence) becomes a growing force in education today.

Anyway, I really wanted to comment on this post because I find myself seeking a more authentic life and looking for my niche in the world. Since leaving grad school I find that the internet provides more cabailities for this kind of creative living, and I've been encouraged so far by all the great blogs I've found, such as this one. I'll be reading your blog regulary. Good luck!

Re: Project Liberation

Ellen Wilson — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 15:32:02 -0000

I used to work in the public school system and saw daily what group think does to people. Whole heartedly agree with you we need to think for ourselves.

Good luck to you and your new pursuits. You never really fail, I believe, it's just an illusion. You learn from everything you do.

Like you, I have my hands in a lot of pots. Stirring.

Great post.

Re: Project Liberation

Brad Gross — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 19:36:33 -0000

Great post. You're very real and honest with your posts and I appreciate that. I always feel like there is an agenda with "productivity" blogs and you never really get the point of view of the author. Thanks man, very appreciated!!

Re: Project Liberation

:::::::::::: wife mom maniac : — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 02:07:48 -0000

Well I'm a new unschooler to very little kids, so this post is both terrifying, and exhilerating for me ;)

If I had some to spare I'd donate, I'll send well wishes instead since I can afford lots of those right now. I wouldn't care if you did spend my non-money on a stripper if it was the really cool http://www.hobostripper.com... though, who lives a pretty interesting life too I must say.

Good luck manifesting these schemes of yours!

Re: Project Liberation

Jonathan Mead — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 11:10:44 -0000

I've always felt that Clay was a hippie at heart. =)

Steve,

I think the certainty of misery is far worse than the misery of uncertainty. At least with uncertainty there is hope. Maybe it's the hope that pains them, constantly toying with their emotions.

In the end, I feel like both of those attitudes are suboptimal and fatalistic. We create our lives, we're not simply subject to our environment.

Re: Project Liberation

Steve Palermo — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 03:24:17 -0000

Sorry dude,this thing you feel almost everyone goes through at least once in their lifetimes. You're standing in the crowd and you raise your elbows out to the side and say,"Give me some friggin' room, will YA?" In the fifties it was the beatniks. In the sixties the hippies. For some it seems to be a personal journey,for others until they have kids they are unfulfilled. I found myself in high school,looking at the classmates file from a play put on by the Senior class. As I watched the faces I had known most of my life pass by,staring straight ahead,eyes glazed,it hit me. An epiphany,it didn't really matter if I had never been born, if I died that day, or a hundred years from that day. There were no problems someone else hadn't had, or thoughts not derived from pleasure or pain. I found it liberating. I could now study to learn,because I could,not because I needed to. Kind of like the old Microsoft commercial,"Where do you want to go today?" I was then able to find the thing that I could do for a lifetime. A visual type thing,I can see myself getting old (as I have) and dying doing this job within the corporate institutional machine.
As for your journey,truly we never know what we can do until we have tried and succeeded or tried and failed. The only thing about what used to be called the school of "hard knocks" is you have to be brutally honest with yourself going in and sometimes falling out. The institution is not always the bad thing. What is bad is the seemingly comfortable position people fall into, that degrades and often destroys them. Summed eloquenty as,"The certainty of misery is better than the misery of uncertainty."

Re: Project Liberation

Nathalie Lussier — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 13:12:13 -0000

Woderful post, at times we do see a distinct lack of courage amongst people to do something out of the way to reclaim their life...

Re: Project Liberation

Jonathan Mead — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 10:44:58 -0000

This is one of the most inspiring articles and series I've discussion I've read in a long time. I think the subject of liberation runs so deeply in all of us, because we've been institutionalized, domesticated and stripped of our authenticity.

As soon as we become teenagers and adults, people start telling us we need to make something of ourselves. We need to find security. But there is no security in working for something that doesn't align with your belief system, something you don't resonate with or have a passion for. That's enslavement.

We have to have the courage to let go of fear and stop trying to force things to happen. If we work hard and work smart, we'll find our liberation. And the journey there is beautiful.

Re: Project Liberation

Lynsey — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 05:19:03 -0000

Hi Clay - good luck on the first steps of your journey. More than a few years ago I, like you, stepped out - partly in faith, partly in hope, and partly in ignorance - on a path of exploration. Once you turn 18 potential counts for nothing. I didn't get to a doctor, dentist, or a vacation for a decade or so, and it wasn't all fun at all. I was, however, proud of being a skinny guy with dirt on my hands, and I learned far more than I would've ever learned at university. Later in life I did complete a masters degree, so, yes, I can compare.

Meanwhile I travelled widely, took as many jobs as I could get my hands on (at times four at once), took every course I could afford and interested me, and generally explored my world as much as I could. No positive opportunity was left unexplored. As a result I became rich (but didn't make much money) - it's the old story - a rolling stone gathers no moss, but it does attain a certain polish. I have had the opportunity to work with some of the most phenomenal people around the world - 'just' humble workers, but wise and wonderful nevertheless. I've worked with the poor and the super rich. I've learned everybody has to eat their pound of dirt.

Today, I have a very mainstream and conservative job - I'm completely ok with this - it's all part of the exploration - circumstances will change at some point and I'll move on to something else at some stage. I am not my job - employers rent me, they don't own me. The very strangest thing is, at the moment, for the first time in nearly 30 years, I'm earning a majority of my income from one source - unheard of :).

My advice to you is to give yourself a new badge (I'm an explorer - [difficult to fail at being an explorer]); promise yourself that you'll never ask for something you can get for yourself; patchwork economics (earning money from more than one source) is the name of the game; build a portfolio of experience and knowledge, with a quiver full of new skills; continually work to improve your skills and abilities; and finally, accept that although the ride is not always going to pleasurable, it is a ride you have chosen, enjoy it for what it is, and/or change it for something else. Trust yourself - it's all going to be ok if you play nicely with others. The key thing is, when your final report card issued, make sure it doesn't say: Potential unfulfilled.
Cheers
L

Re: Project Liberation

Brick Andrews — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 22:58:27 -0000

Mr. Flakey,

Is it people too afraid to accept themselves, or is it that people don't want to be responsible for themselves? As long as they are working for someone else, they get to blame someone else for everything that is wrong with their lives.

I admire your resolution to become liberated. Living month to month is fine when you don't have kids... the equation can be quite different when you are responsible for others. Of course, maybe that is just another excuse so I can abdicate personal responsibility to parenthood!

Re: Project Liberation

David — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 06:00:37 -0000

I never thought of Clay as an anarchist, but he totally is. Thanks, Happy Anarchist.

Anarchists are cool.

Re: Project Liberation

Momtothefifthpower — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 03:11:40 -0000

What you wrote struck a cord within. I have to say that you are spot on with the changing of religions, jobs, homes, etc. in a search for that perfect match that we think we will find pre-fabricated in the outside world.

For me, since I'm both married and a mom of five (in the SF Bay Area) I found a job that is enough hours to be financially lucrative but is not full-time. So I don't feel like it is consuming my life. And I can be free to blog, surf, be crafty/arty, etc. in my idle time (which is rare...but I hold out hope that one day the kids will look at me and decide to play quietly and peacefully with each other).

Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

Re: Project Liberation

The Happy Anarchist — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 02:41:22 -0000

Oh, and if you haven't read any stuff by the CrimethINC collective, you definitely should. A lot of similar thinking there, and in the contemporary anarchist scene in general. Inspiring stuff for those how seek to build ther own way. http://www.crimethinc.com/

Re: Project Liberation

The Happy Anarchist — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 02:33:50 -0000

I love this post, its anti-authoritarian vibe and your sincere enthusiasm for a life of self-goverment. I really think you are in the right path and wish you all the best. Keep it strong!