Project Liberation

P.S. I was suddenly struck by the idea that we could start a shared blog on what it’s like living this way!

Interested?

Clay, I subscribed to your blog last month and it has become one of my favorites. You have a unique voice and come across as authentic. My life change story is not as risky, but here it is: In 2003, I was laid off from a large, well-known brand company. (I secretly cheered inside while maintaining a somber expression) As a result, my long-time boyfriend and I married and I did not work for 1-1/2 years. A well-deserved break. I went back to work, but in retail, then public service. The retail job was an eye-opener that showed me how this country’s lowest paid workers actually work the hardest. I now work for a public library at my dream job – shelving books part time. My blog about that is http://shelverscratches.wordpress.com and I am so fortunate to be able to have a job that so accurately fits with my love of books and my desire for low stress. I applied to grad school to become a librarian recently, but did not receive a full scholarship, so did not start. I believe that was actually a good thing – keeping my life simple and happy. Other than blogging, I have taken up painting and scuba diving, joined a writer’s group and enjoy travelling with my husband. We are soon to be empty-nesters and our goal is to align our interests with our retirement careers. Keeping options open and being flexible, my husband is a Certified Financial Planner, has an Advanced Scuba diving card, volunteers for the Red Cross and is taking training in emergency trauma treatment. One thing that is possible is to travel to different disaster areas to volunteer. There are a lot of people who do this! Good luck to you! I wish I had been brave enough to home school my teenage son. He graduates next year and his real education will begin!
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Response:
I really like your story. Liberation (or whatever we want to call it) doesn’t have to be risky. And our dream jobs don’t have to be glamorous. There’s this cultural myth that says smart people are somehow obligated to work 70+ hour weeks for the rest of their lives in order to “not waste their intelligence.”

I’m glad you’re keeping it real.

–Clay

I really admire your pioneering spirit. My own situation of liberation was kinda forced on me when I had to retire from the world of 9-5 work because of ill-health. But rather than getting down or negative about it, the experience has given me a whole new lease of life!

I’m taking the opportunity to explore the things in life that being confined by an office prevented me from doing. Being a keen writer, I’m experimenting with expressing myself and letting my creativity go places I’d never tried before. Somehow, I don’t honestly think wearing a shirt and tie would have opened my mind to so much possibilities of doing what I want to do.

I am especially inspired by your point about creating “a context within which you can thrive (by creating your own job, business, etc.). This is exactly where I’m at just now. Of course, it is a little scary not having the safety net of institutionalized work behind you, but therein lies the potential for great satisfaction. I’m positive your pioneering spirit will bring you much success.
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Response

Your journey sounds like an interesting one, Scott. Do you have a website or URL? I’d enjoy seeing what you’ve been working on.

As one who literally did change jobs every 18 months for years, I can say that you are dead on, man. Liberation is hard but it is necessary for people with free minds. Minds that are free from conformity, complacency, and free from society’s influence. We think from within. We do not let our thoughts come from the outside. The leap is hard. I know. I’m living it now. Month to month, day to day, it is a struggle at times, but with passion, creativity, and a willingness to accept that this is what you must do, then in the end, Clay, you will be just fine. The path of a Craftsman is sometimes difficult and lonely, but it is a path I cannot deviate from simply because of what is inside me; my convictions, my ideals, my reality. I believe the same applies to you. This is what you must do, so you are living your reality. Take comfort in the knowledge that you are truly not alone in this pursuit. Whether a person is an artist, a craftsman, a writer, there are thousands of us living our own Liberation Projects. Keep moving forward because you have so many of us truly behind you to help hold you up, Clay.
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Response:

You are one wise man. I’m sending you an email right now.

I’m just not that worried about you, Clay. You pain over this stuff, but it really does work out. And not so much because you have the heart, but because you have the talent and passion for it. Whether or not we all come along for the journey, yours will be an adventurous one…and probably more stable than you think.
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Response:
You’re a good friend, Jared. Thanks for the vote of confidence.

By the way, you’re blog is great, but I also think you deserve some kind of internet-wide/blogosphere-wide award for your commenting. Maybe I can get a group of people together to collect all your comments and put them together as a downloadable e-book. (I’m only half kidding).

Thanks Jared,
Clay

High five Clay. Cos’ I know you can make it. :)

I know what you’re asking yourself, Clay…”why didn’t I take the blue pill?” :) In a way, I wish I was like everyone else, that I could just be happy to do whatever I’m told. But I’m not like that, just like you and many of your readers. Best of luck to you and everyone else in creating your own reality.
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Response:
Damn it! Where’d that blue pill go?! Bring it back.

The “ideas” need to come from you only; therefore, I can not provide any. I can say, however, that “following your own path” is never wrong. I started my own investment advisory business a few years ago and will never “work for the man” again. My life is my own…

Here’s what I’ve learned:

1. As you age, you understand more of who you are by eliminating who you are not.
2. If you tread your own path, there is never any “step back…” only different directions.
3. As you already know, social convention is a primary inhibitor of self-awareness. Other inhibitors include media noise, social pressures, language, and inertia.
4. Define words for yourself, such as wealth, success, strength and weakness.
5. If you have good health, food, shelter and clothing, then any material objects beyond those basic needs will not bring well-being.
6. Study yourself.
7. Remember that you will die and you do not know when your dying day will come…

“You are led through your lifetime by the inner learning creature, the playful spiritual being that is your real self. Don’t turn away from possible futures before you’re certain you don’t have anything to learn from them.” ~ Richard Bach

“No one saves us but ourselves. No one can and no one may. We ourselves must walk the path.” ~ Buddha

“The unexamined life is not worth living.” ~ Socrates

“We say that the hour of death cannot be forecast, but when we say this we imagine that hour as placed in an obscure and distant future. It never occurs to us that it has any connection with the day already begun or that death could arrive this same afternoon, this afternoon which is so certain and which has every hour filled in advance.” ~ Marcel Proust
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Response:
This is excellent advice. I wish I could plagiarize it and use it as a blog post :-). Thanks.

Hi Clay,

Your voice as a writer is too valuable not to be recognized and rewarded sooner or later. The rest is just one long learning curve. It took me years to figure out how to stop doing other people’s work, and though I’m still paying the Rabbit Hole Tax for it every day, blogging is making it easier to build a community of questioning minds equally interested in extricating themselves from the establishment.

Like Vered, I was curious to see what your “Going for broke” tweet meant. Don’t let it manifest itself literally.

This line really struck me: there are many people with odd and/or unique combinations of gifts and talents that may never obtain a well-fitting job.Unless they create it.

This is how I’ve pretty much always felt about my life, and I find comfort in this proclamation. I’ve only been reading for less than a month, but I’ve gone ahead and made a modest donation to your cause. I am hoping that in your own Project Liberation I can see the way home.

I have always been against group think and for the independent thinker.

I’m a sporadic reader of your blog but whenever I do stop by I’m always thrilled with what I read. You have a different outlook that I find very refreshing.

I have donated to your worthy cause and, quite frankly, don’t mind if you do spend some of it on strippers and booze. Sometimes different people and situations give us invaluable perspectives.

Best of luck.

Awesome post Clay.

As someone still stuck in the corporate grindhouse, I really feel awed by your spirit and the authenticity with which your pursuing your goals. Take heart that in today’s world, it’s unlikely that a smart, go getter like yourself will ever really hit rock bottom. Anything life throws at you, you will be able to handle. So keep up your spirits, stay in touch with your network and I’m sure your dream of independent living will work out for you.

I’m truly excited to see what your going to do next! :-)

All the best

Steve

I wish I had the guts to do what you are doing right now, when I was much younger. I only started being authentic a fews ago. I’ve been chasing other people’s dreams for the longest time.

But I sure wish you all the best. Let me know when your new site or project is launched…you have my support!

To your online success,
Evelyn

Clay – You really struck a note with me on this post. The whole institutional working thing. I really got how unmindful the “normal” working environment truly can be. Thanks for the wake up call! All the best on your Project Liberation.

Hi Clay,

Having followed your blog from nearly the beginning, (and having read each and every post), I have no doubt you’ll be able to achieve anything you put your mind to. You have the ability, tenacity and courage to do it all.

Remember, the blood that runs through your grandparents veins, also runs through yours. They had the perseverance, dedication, and love for each other to make something out of nothing, and so can you. (For anyone who hasn’t read it, read Clay’s “Dedication” post).

No one ever promised life would be easy, but if you’re doing what you love, what you reap can be priceless.

I wish you the best life has to offer. Spread your wings. You make us proud. Proud that you doing it your way, by following your heart, following your dreams, and encouraging and helping others along the way.

P.S. I do hope you are documenting this “journey”, as it will undoubtedly be a read worth publishing.

Best wishes, my friend.
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Response:
This is one of the coolest things anyone’s ever written in the comments:

“Remember, the blood that runs through your grandparents veins, also runs through yours. They had the perseverance, dedication, and love for each other to make something out of nothing, and so can you.”

Thanks for this amazing reminder.

I hear you, Clay.

Have you considered creating a non-fiction book proposal out of the themes and insights in your blog? Being a freelance author has been my path. I’m not yet able to make a living at it full-time, however. Getting there, though.

I used to be a lot more radical about not playing other people’s meaningless games. Now I’m more playful about participating as much as I find useful, as long I don’t compromise my ultimate mission and core ideals.

I think this kind of attitude shift happens after forty. It’s not exactly selling out. It’s more like saying to oneself, okay, the world is the way it is, 90-99% of the people have values other than mine–how can I work with the world anyway, faulted and lost as it is? How can I help these people grow? How can I communicate with them in a way they understand, in a way that’s fun and engaging, but also meaningful (and I think you do that already). How can I do all this with my conscience at night?

My solution has been to entertain people and to let the stories carry the messages. But humorous non-fiction has a potential to be equally moving and effective. So, I say, go for it! Write the book. Your message has value. It will receive symbolic tokens of value in return. The value tokens may be processed through a corporation for a time, but as your truths become more widely recognized, you’ll gain negotiating power and will be able to better your freelance working conditions vis-a-vis any corporation that wants a piece of your shinging pie. The truth will out.

Best,
Deanna

Just a note to let you know I am a new subscriber (last 2-3 weeks) and really enjoy your posts. I, too, am working on my own Project Liberation. My husband was forced into an early retirement for health reasons (Multiple Sclerosis) and I closed my business in order to “supervise” him. We are both much happier now that I am not away from home 70-80 hours a week. I kept the best parts of my business to work from home doing the things I like. I deejay on occasion, do freelance graphic design, install custom graphics on all sorts of vehicles, work with a couple of authors on their projects and am writing a novel. The freelance work keeps most of the wolves from the door, but it definitely is not a “sure thing” like a steady paycheck. We live simply, and happily, on way less money than we spent while both of us were working full-time (and overtime) jobs. I am working on a blogish project about living better while spending less and how you can enrich your life by LIVING it. Kudos to you, Clay, and best wishes! I will keep tuning in to check on your progress and will send $$ when I can.

Good for you, Clay! Some of us are never going to “fit in”. I’ve never managed to. :-)

I actually started out with business training, but soon got out of that. Spent most of my twenties temping and travelling, sometimes picking up a job here or there. I had my first child when I was 28 and took on a part-time job for a couple of years. At the same time, I trained as a massage therapist and foot reflexologist, quit the job and worked out of home doing massages and reading Tarot cards. When my daughter was 4, I decided to move to the Seychelles. (I had been on vacation for three weeks, got back on the Sunday, went to the travel agent on the Wednesday and flew out the next day. I gave all my stuff to the janitor who was more than happy to distribute it amongst his friends. This was very liberating.) I found work as a tour guide, had another child, opened my own translation agency which lead to freelance writing for a magazine and ended up publishing my own women’s magazine. I went back to Switzerland and did a couple of years in a corporation, which nearly killed me. I’ve been back on the island for 2 years now, in this incarnation I’m an artisan; I make jewellery, paint glass amongst other things. I also tutor high school kids in English. And write a blog.

My kids are happy with the unconventional lifestyle they’ve had and certainly are very open to other ways of living :-). We’ve had our ups and downs financially (try rice and onions fried in turmeric!) and I’m still living hand to mouth, but my business is growing as I’m getting better known locally and things are looking up.

My point is also that you can do many things in life. Things and interests may change and risks have to be taken. I certainly still have a few things to do …

And I’m a very happy person.

I wasn’t unschooled myself, but after reading The Teenage Liberation Handbook ten years ago, I’ve tried to live my life as an unschooler. I’ve often wondered what I can do to support the cause, as a single adult woman without any children. This summer, I’m going to be counseling at Not Back to School Camp, which is about the coolest job I can possibly imagine.

I think what you’re doing is fantastic. I’m currently working a traditional job that’s teaching me a lot while also padding my bank account pretty well. It works for me for now, but I’ve been in your shoes, following my muse(s) for very little money, and I know I’ll be back there again. I donated a little to your blog just now. I’ll donate more anytime you ask and support you in any other way I can. You and other people trying to live a liberated life are about the best cause I can think of.

I’m really kind of speechless. I can’t thank everyone enough for your donations and for these amazing, thoughtful, and very encouraging comments. These things really mean a lot and I’m quite grateful for it all. Thank you.

We unschool our kids and believe in living your dream right now, not at some time in the future. I wish that I’d had that opportunity as a child and not taken 40 years to get back to trusting my own intuition and intelligence. Thanks for the post!

This is a very thought-provoking post, Clay

I too am a passionate blogger. It’s a wonderful feeling to find a niche as a writer where you can say, “Yes! That’s me!” But the reality is that it doesn’t really pay the bills – anyhow not for a long time.

And that’s the rub. It’s important to develop long-range plans. They take a lot of work to push along – and they don’t create income in the short term.

I wish you every success, Clay. You deserve it!
I’ve subscribed to your blog and have linked to it from mine.

cheers
Mary

Clay,
I’m a school teacher and have been in education for 18 years. I could discuss all day your beliefs in schooling but bottom line, I believe that the amount of freedom and differentiation in a class depends on the skill and tolerance of the teacher. Some teachers need to feel in control. Me? I enjoyed teaching folks like you because I am one of you. Give me that out there thinker that wants to get there a different way and I’ll show you a great day!

With that said, I took a job in our admin Stepford wife office. Needless to say I was…”not a match”. So I have created my own business that will match me, my talents, and my passion. It is all the things I am gifted at doing. My partner that is doing this is gifted in the business part that I am not interested in so it is perfect. Check out my website and you’ll see what is in the works. I will be ready to go in August with this.

I totally get feeling like there is more for you out there. It is a risk. But I just held my nose and jumped into the water. I am trusting God to keep me floating!

If you want to talk about my business or about education in general more, just email me.

Clay Collins, you ROCK! Here is my $5 donation. Sorry I can’t give more at the moment. Your blog and great posts are worth much more. They keep in this fight, you know… The fight for authentic life.

“there are many people with odd and/or unique combinations of gifts and talents that may never obtain a well-fitting job.Unless they create it.”

It is so true about me. I have just figured this out that I am an ideal employer for myself. Sometimes it is so hard to have a daily job that you have to pay the bills, take care of a family and work in the evenings. Sometimes I no longer believe I will be free someday. Free from doing what I don’t like only to feed my family. Free from hoping that the next employer will allow my creativity to grow and work for him.

I always thought it would be great to have a place where everyone like us can write their story and we can support one another…

Clay:

I just sent you an email with a vision I wanted to share with you. Please let me know if you do (or do not) receive it.

Cheers…

Kent

Hi Clay,

I’ve been reading along silently for a while now… and I just *had* to donate when you asked — nearly every post of yours has been more valuable to me than most books I’ve bought and paid for.

I’ve been a corporate-escapee freelance gypsy for over a decade now, creating roles and opportunities that happily balance my random creative impulses, various marketable skills, intuition, adrenalin/travel-bug, insatiable curiosity, a questioning/contrarian nature, and single-parenthood. It’s been so much fun, I wouldn’t want to live any other way. I’m also surrounded by friends around Australia and globally with fascinating workstyles they’ve created around themselves and their passions. It’s amazing what can happen when you dare for a year or 5 or 10.

For quite a while I’ve wanted to chronicle or interview my various mates (film producers, kite/snowboarders, youth workers, writers, paparazzi photographers, psychics, pantomime actors+++) and share their magic with other folk – I shouldn’t be the only one who knows beyond a shadow of a doubt that this fun kinda life is possible, should I???

Would love to share more about my story and their with you and spread the word — skype sometime?

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/

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

Anarchists are cool.

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

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…

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.

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!!

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!

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

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.

woohoo!

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

am I your biggest donor so far?

V!

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!!!

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!