Monday, April 04, 2005

Never To Work Again

by AJ/Skald

"But do you think you could find a way to never have to succumb to work ever again???"

Dan/Sunwalker posted that question to me in a previous comment. It is, in fact, the central question of my (economic) life. It is a vital question for all hobopoets to contemplate.

I would love to hear people's answers to this question. How do you intend to free yourself from wage slavery for good? Do you think you "could find a way to never have to succumb to work ever again??"

Is this possible? I think so. But if so, how? How, in nuts and bolts practical language, are we to achieve this goal?

My plan is freelancing. I now pull in a few bucks a month as a freelance writer. Im hoping to increase that amount. But writing is rarely a high paying gig.... so I plan to supplement with freelance English teaching. I hope to pick up a number of private students... build the number through word of mouth... until I am making "enough" from writing & teaching to quit my job.

I may do this in Japan... or it may be necessary to do it in a much cheaper country such as Thailand,....

So there's my plan. I have a way to go but I am much closer than I was three years ago-- when I decided to pursue the hobopoet path seriously. Then I was a total wage slave. Now Im a part-time hobopoet, part-time free agent. Im stuck in a full time job now, but its my first in three years. And if I can make it a year here... Ill have saved enough money for two to three years of work-free livin. Of course, by then I hope to be a freelancer and dispense with jobs for good.

So... what are your solutions?

Can we find a way to never succumb to work ever again?

......

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hey AJ. :)

What you're talking about here is something that I've been rolling around in my head for months now. Here in France, I spend a few hours a day taking care of kids to make money. It's a pretty calm routine that mainly involves playing and coloring pictures. But what happens when I get back to the states?

A friend of mine lent me a book by a woman named SARK. It's called A Creative Companion and is mainly about getting off your duff and doing what it is that you feel passionate about. For SARK, it's her art and her writing. But I think that the lessons in it could be applicable to anything, really. It's about finding what you love, and motivating yourself to do it.

Because of this book, I've decided to try showing and selling prints of some of my photos that I've taken here to get started... and after that, who knows?

AJ Hoge said...

Sark and Doing What You Love
Samantha, Im familiar with SARK... I gave a book of hers to a friend as a gift. Great stuff and lots of fun. However you phrase it, doing what you love is the name of the game! ("Follow your bliss", "Develop your genius", "Be in harmony with your nature", "Know thyself",.... its all about knowing what you love and doing it.)