12 Things to Get Your S*** Together

Simple Country Living

• In this post we going to consider what if the world worked differently from a personal idealistic standpoint (knowing that it won't happen)
• Based on the observations what can we do for ourselves. KISSI - Keep It Simple Stupid Ideas
• Followed by a list of useful websites

I Deny Myself A Simple Life

Are we programmed from birth to deny ourselves an easy happy life? Importantly, if we went down that route, where is the profit motive, drive and ambition that make us human. This may be one of the reasons that society is setup to guide us to "hard work".
We have to "work hard" as we have been programed in two important ways to make sure this happens

1. To buy stuff we do not NEED. By buying the stuff we do not NEED we become DEPENDENT on the banks for the life blood of LIQUIDITY. We sell our PRECIOUS TIME for LOANS to fund a place in the sun today at the expense of the future.
2. We are told the future is too far off and impossible to predict. Live for today! If you don't nuclear war is coming, environmental catastrophe will drown you, monsters from the deep are coming and aliens with ray guns are going to fry you. If you ever make it to the FuTuRe don't worry as each generation is better of than the last. "Inflation will erode the value of the loan". "Who knows what the future holds", everything will the s*** so why not LIVE FOR TODAY? Buy stuff it makes you happy and desirable!

IT is EASY to be sold down that road when you are young, your hormones are running wild and you have to prove yourself in the adult world.

My worst purchases were the designer shirts, aftershaves, expensive W I D E S C R E E N  TV new car, new PC (several times) and games console, what saved me was I lived within my means and was comitted to pay down debt but still spend what was left at the end of each month. It had to change and it did due to moving in with my wife to be. We started to think about what the world around us was all different - CoNTeNDer

Lets Turn Our World on its Head - What if

• On Media - what if it was biased towards real life and real entertainment
• Positive stories of achievement and real world lives are the headline news
• Documentaries and educational entertainment are prioritized in TV programming
• The average Joe was the star instead of being bombarded by "beautiful people"
• On Fashion - was personal from us and not dictated by the fashion house dreams
• What if the real answer is that someone will fancy you for who you are and not what you buy.
• Everyone looked different in the crowd and unique instead of being seen as an "odd ball"
• On Work
• What if you achieved in the job because you are spontaneous and talented instead of a great regurgitation of the company line and butt kisser?
• What if we did not waste so much human talent on mindless administration jobs and advertising a dream or an inadequacy and did something really useful?
• What if work was more financially fair with the difference in the high to low wages in society falling back to historical averages e.g. the guy at the top gets 40 times the guy at the bottom? Is this anti-capitalist or does it help to pull everyone's wages up? The guy at the bottom has more money to spend and invest and the wealth trickles back into the community, the community thrives and the business grows and the guy at the top makes more.....
• On Friendship
• You were happy because you had loads of positive balanced friends.
• You gave your time freely and cherished giving thanks in kind
• On Personal Development
• You worked out how to do things for yourself and were taught that failure is fine just learn a little from the experience.
• On Finance
• You were told to shun debt
• Taught to control your finances and invest
• Easily setup your own business
• On Health
• What if we were taught to grow our own food in School
• What if we were really taught to understand where our food comes from and its real cost to the body (see FOOD INC and The End Of The Line Documentaries)
  
• What if you exercised naturally and regularly - walking to work and the shops, maintaining a garden
• On Family
• You had supportive family nearby

This personal list of observations our Little TRiBe has made down the last few years have really focused our attention on how we avoid DEBT, INVEST and LIVE OUR LIVES today and with THE.FuTuRe in mind.

It's not going to happen any time soon so it is up to you

Idealism is great. You are philosophising on what things could be like and what deep down you want for your own TRiBe. This is the point that Mr.ReALiSM arrives, pulls your head out of the clouds and douses you with a bucket of cold water.
There are too many interested parties to keep the status quo going. Maybe a butterfly flapping its wings in Connecticut does cause a Typhoon in the South China sea but the average Joe such as the CoNTeNDeR really has his work cut out to make any sort of noise.
Institutions and systems are built up over generations and interested parties have set them up to protect their interests regardless of the odd dissenter in their ranks. Things are not going to change any time soon.
For instance media will not change track any time soon due to its self interest in glamorising people and lifestyles, horror and tragedy - they sell.
Education is provided for the good of the state. It is not providing a full rounded curriculum only what is needed to keep the country running smoothly. They need obedient workers to pay ever increasing taxes. 
It is up to indviduals to use our gift to think for ourselves. It is a skill that needs to be mastered, some call it wisdom. (see the post on Positivity, Realism and Pessimism in relation to financial independence planning). So what can we do for ourselves to make our lives simpler, wealthy, challenging and rewarding:

What can one do for ones self?

1. Learn how to debate, question and think clearly from a young age
2. Find a mentor, a wise worldly person to talk to and learn from
3. Limit the amount of advertising and media you expose yourself to - as always question it - is it for your benefit?
4. Make goals that are what you really want and really need. 
1. If being the next Richard Branson is what you want, understand how he did it and work out how to get there. 
2. If you want to be financially independent, understand what type of lifestyle you are looking for and how much income will you need to fund it, then work out how you will obtain the income and how long it will take. 
5. Do not be one of the herd as you will always be average and risk-adverse. Being comfortable is not necessarily free or happy.
6. Cultivate relationships with a wide range of people - everyone has unique insights to the world around them you can learn from.
7. Life is a set of challenges for some reason 7 years is usually a good changing point. Get out of your comfort zone on a regular basis, make mistakes and learn from them you will be stronger for it in the future
8. Read. Books the internet etc. all of that world of knowledge as at our fingertips. There is too much so what do you need to learn at that point in time in your life. Get a book and have a go. Once the skill has been learnt file the skills away mentally (or in a library) for another day.
9. Accept nothing less than happiness! If you are un-happy move on and do something about it. You are the person in control of the majority of your happiness. You and only you can make a real change. Ditch the bad job if needs be, move, end the bad relationship, kick the bad habits. 
10. Do not accept perfection - it is not possible and will lead to un-needed stress follow the 80:20 rule 80% of the results come from 20% of the work - delegate the rest!
11. Ignore other people achievements and focus on your own. Who knows how other people  achieved theirs or how they are funded so don't go there, they are not you. I do not mean ignore the greats such as Aristotle, Socrates, Jefferson et al. just the people next door and in work.
12. KISSI - Keep it simple stupid ideas
1. Spend less than you earn
2. Do not accumulate complicated stuff - it is a mental and cost expense for you.
3. Avoid the need for administration - too many cars / houses etc...TV license and mobile phone contracts.
4. Keep organized - know where everything is and when it needs to be done (e.g. add your car test to your e-calendar with a reminder).
5. Stay under the radar - don't gossip or get into trouble.
6. Take stay-cations enjoy where you live - no cars, planes, passports, booking forms, hotels...
7. De-clutter / sell stuff on a regular basis and your email subscriptions / junk mail!

This list could be very long to capture every different angle that is available. It cannot cater for each person's own dreams all it does is point out some of the pitfalls our little TRiBe HAS fallen into in THE.PaST.
Our message is we had to learn to avoid the temptations and bull**** that are thrown at us in the modern world. We had to think long term and work backwards towards our goals. We have had to be adaptable and have changed directions and our aspirations. We have plans for the coming years and fully expect them to change albeit hopefully not as much as in out 20's and 30's!
10 Career Skills for Early Retirement,
6 Habits for Very Early Retirement .
So ask the question what do you really want. That end goal and that good set of goals. Aim for it. Get it.
Here are some useful websites and links:

1. BrianKim.net - great daily pick me up emails
2. Steve Plavlina - thoughtful personal development website
3. Steven Covey - 7 Habits and the 8th Habit- they are even teaching the methods in schools
4. Change your thoughts change your life
5. Mr Money Mustache - frugal living
6. Retire by 40 - Some great finacial models
7. Simple living in Suffolk - Sound financial and life advice from old blighty

A couple of new(ish) financial independence sites from the UK
Mr Squirrel
The Escape Artist
Peace, prosperity and happiness
CoNTeNDeR
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