A Paralyzed Life

I don't want to spend my life going to work.

I don't know why that is such a radical idea.

It's not that I'm lazy. It's that I'm not a hamster. I don't want to spend my life circling the same five square miles that I was born in.

This planet is amazing, and I want to see it.

There are interesting people, and I want to meet them. Different foods that I want to try.



Life is short, and full of surprises. No one plans on accidents, but they happen all the time. My cousin fell off a ladder a few years ago and broke his back. Paralyzed for life. The girl who grew up across the street from me developed a brain tumor several years ago. They weren't sure if she was going to make it. I could be one step away from a tragedy. One doctor visit away from a terminal diagnosis.

Life is short, and I decided early on that I would trade as little of my life for dollars as I could. I decided that when I made money, I would save as much as possible. I wouldn't let the expectations of our society spend my money for me.

If I were in America's top 1%, I'd work for one year, save as much as I could, then retire. Zoom out and consider that as an American, I am a member of the global 1%. So technically, the same theory applies.

I'm opposite of lazy, I have worked very, very hard over the last 7 years. I smiled and played the part. I bought a house, bought cars, bought stuff. And I was patted on the back by society. It was assumed that I was spending 115% or more of my take home pay (with a mortgage, car loans, and credit card debt) to buy the very most that we could afford.

Secretly, we were living well below our means. I was stashing away as much money as I could. Ready to eject from the rat race into a life of travel and adventure. But now it's harder to get out than I thought it would be.

There are so many worries. So many fears. But I tell myself: "Just go now. There will never be a perfect time."

Life wants to be dull.

It wants to be boring.

You have to fight against it.