My "No Turning Back" Goal

I'm a small town kind of guy living in downtown big city. I can't take it anymore. It's time for a change.

I'm also working in Corporate America. I've never been the type to do this and can't take it anymore. It's time for a change.

I love to write. I have for many years. I've never pursued publication or payment for it. This isn't fair to me or writer's anywhere. It's time for a change.

So, here's my plan. I'm going to live off of one paycheck a month and put the other one fully towards debt. I'll be debt-free in six months. At that point, I'll put that paycheck (plus about half of the first) into savings, hand-over-fist. When I've saved about $12,000, I intend to kiss "The Man" goodbye -- for good. No going back. I'm looking at about one year to accomplish all of this.

In the interim, I'll be jumping in with pens in both hands to becoming a freelance writer. I've researched it to the point of near-ridiculousness and all that's left to do is Query, Submit, Write and Repeat.

Within that year, I'll have time to build up regular clientel for my work and put that money in savings as well. I want to save a year's worth of living expenses and move to a nice small town. Being single and debt-free, that won't take long. I'm thinking in the Rocky Mountain area in northwest Montana, northern Idaho, northwest Wyoming or the very eastern part of Washington state.

Any thoughts on my plan? Suggestions? Advice? I'm open to your wisdom and experience. Know of a great small town? (15,000 is not small to me.) Any tax advice I should be sure to look into? Know any helpful websites, like www.findyourspot.com? Encouragement is always welcomed, too! HUGE steps to change the rest of my life and live my dream are being taken. I thought, why not ask perfect strangers what they think?!

zahra - Thanks for the well wishes! I'm pretty excited about what I'm doing. Writing while working full time won't be easy but it will be good training for working hard and long hours. At most, it will only be for a year. One more year. I can put up with anything for one year....

Stijn Hommes - Absolutely. By the time I quit, I'll have a nest egg for emergencies and my freelancing will have had a year to be built up. Not to mention that I'll be debt free. My living expenses will be minimal so that even a meager salary, at the start, will be doable. My goal is to aim high and work hard. I want this more than I've wanted anything in a very long time, and I've never not accomplished what I set out to do. But, in taking your words to heart, I agree. If, for whatever reason, this doesn't work out for me (or needs longer than a year), I'm prepared to stick with the ol' 9 to 5 awhile longer.

III said:

Simple Living - GOOD FOR YOU! I wish all the best for you as you re-seize control of your life. Sounds like you've got most of the practical details already in mind, so I'd just encourage you to not be too "heads down" over the next year. It's good to be focused on a goal, but don't lose sight of the people around you. Life is all about love, regardless of all the other complications and distractions.

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Thanks III,

Amazingly, I'm the exact opposite kind of person. This clarification and focus has oozed over into every area of my life. I put this in constant prayer. What other areas of my life were off-balance? What else needed junking or rejuvenating? What else needed to be surrendered or pursued? My career and attitude weren't the only areas that got a good 'spring cleaning.' It carried into the physical, spiritual and emotional areas of my life. I cleaned house, literally and figuratively.

I've never felt better or more sure of my path. I don't know what obstacles I'll face on that path, and I'm not deluded to believe it will be a breeze, but I know enough to keep my eye on the Prize and not to walk the path alone.

Nateskate said:

If you're asking for wisdom, the wise do not put all of their eggs in one basket simply because one basket is prettier than the others.

But then again, if you don't support a spouce and children, you're free to have fun and give it a go.

I had a wife and children, and lots of bills, so I worked to support my beloved writing. It really depends on your situation.

Hope it works either way,

Nate

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Nate,

Thanks for responding and for your thoughts. I appreciate you taking the time to do that. I'm never opposed to advice and opinions. Mainly, I posted what I did because it's new for me. I created a new goal and saw this forum and thought, "Why not post it? I may learn something or, worst case scenario, get some encouragement!

This won't be the first time I've made life-altering choices. Not having a wife/children, I've moved all over the US, and around the world, and started over many, many times.

When I was 20, I created three huge lists. One was all the things I wanted do and jobs I wanted to try. The second was all the places I wanted to live and visit. The third was of all the people I wanted to meet. I gave myself five years to fulfill as many of those things as possible. After five years, I was having so much fun, and accomplished so much, that I kept going. By the time I was 27, I accomplished more with my life than anyone I knew and kept on going. Now, at 41, I'd like to settle down a bit. I did that for the last six years and need to make my last big change, career-wise. Having not settled for whatever came along in the past, I'm not about to start now.

Of all the things I've ever done (and there have been many) I know one thing for sure. I'm not Corporate America. 9 to 5 is not for me. It's the most disheartening and life-sucking entity in existence today. It creates complacent zombies who are lulled into accepting whatever comes along and settling for less than what they want for themselves and their families. There are people who are wired for that life, but I'm not one of them. Not even money would keep me here.

storygirl said:

Wow, best of luck to you. I'm sure you'll do amazing. Please keep us posted so we can take this little journey with you.

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storygirl,

Thank you so much for your encouragement. I'm not sure how many people will be interested in my journey, but I'll surely post updates. I love times like this. New beginnings. And the beginning is always the best place to start.