Escape artist and the brush strokes to freedom
First off keep your plan secret until it is big enough to have its own gravitational pull. Make yourself a vision board and really enjoy the process. Go to the library, one of the last free social systems left in the United States. Print and pin up pictures of that beautiful place you have always wanted to experience. Use your board to stay focused on your escape plan. Your brain needs to see the rewards. This will keep your drive high even when you are surrounded by fucking zombies. Learn your targeted culture through Youtube and Google and references to the customs on you board. Don't forget to honor your future neighbors.
This photo was actually in my vision board and ended up being the view from my first client in my destination country, Costa Rica. Make sure that the country suites your personality. I found Costa Rica kept coming up for me as it had plenty of interesting and creative projects going on. I was already into earthen building, community and alternative health and these things were common all over Costa Rica. Every other article about Costa Rica was grabbing my attention. Find out how much it would take to travel and have a month of expenses for food and a little extra in case.
Reactivate your true gifts, your spiritual lifeboat
Society has taken us and made us sterile office monkeys. This state of being is both suppressing for our spirit and for our connection to what will actually bring us happiness in life. In order to transition out of this cycle of broken dreams, or hedonic treadmill, you will need a torch of light which is your mission.
The hedonic treadmill keeps us in a space of perpetually reaching for well being. It is usually a constant movement towards promotions, payouts and "I'll be happy when" statements.
Ask yourself the one question. What do I truly enjoy doing? The answer is the key to your safety path. You will attract safe passage when you are in this state of vibrational alignment with your highest calling. Your cloak is the passion juices sliding you through the quantum river that will carry you through even the most abrasive terrains. Remember that in this escape plan many will be there to stop you and discourage your dreams. Try to keep them out of the planning period and only let loved ones know who will support untill the plan is really well formed. Others can slow you down. People do not like it when others leave the hypnosis of modern society. It makes them confront all of the reasons they have for staying in the cycle of mediocrity. How dare you make them look like obedient sheep who sold out their hopes and dreams. I created a resume to attract the a mentor through theWWOOF program in Costa Rica(organic farm volunteering program.)
Volunteer to establish a safe place and find your yoda
The act of service is the universal language of love and what will fuel your passionate journey. You will need to find someone with a high "worth a damn" factor to help you in your transition. Hopefully they will have a good feel for the country and introduce you to key contacts. So many others who have escaped before you need assistance in making their dreams come to fruition and they will be searching for a perfect helper. Remember the escape is just the beginning of this alchemical journey. Others are in different phases of the great escape and you will need these people as they need you. The heroes journey, an epic formula found in all great literature and movies, has a road map to greatness and will be a helpful tool. It requires you seek mentors, like yoda in star wars, that will help you in this very fragile part of your journey. You are an apprentice and there is much to learn in this new found journey.
My mentor, the bridge to my new home
My mentor was a retired pharmacist who came to Costa Rica after knowing too much the abuses of the medical industry. He came here to teach others about natural health and living sustainably. A perfect teacher for me. I found him searching the WOOF catalog. See a small sample below of what I saw in the catalog
My new mentor accepted my resume and invited me to Costa Rica! I had just enough for a plane ticket and maybe 500$. This was all I needed to get to the leap of faith which was to find my path to making a sustainable living.
Giving your best to the right people and establishing your value in the new community
My life at the farm was amazing. Fresh food, spring water and a mentor with amazing secret knowledge that opened me up learning what society keeps from us. I was learning more than I ever was able to take from my college education. I was learning why the culture in the states was keeping me sick and unhappy. The only thing left to do was establish a financial stream so I could sustain myself. That realization came when I had only a 100$ left. Thankfully there was a hotel near by and I had a service, 360 photography, that I believed they could benefit from. They also were a very high caliber business and I knew that they could be a stepping stone. Just to put into perspective how high caliber, they charged about 60$ for a meal at their restaurant. I knew that a risk was needed to be made. I had to spend the last bit of cash I had to eat at the restaurant and find an in. So I booked a reservation, shaved my beard and went with a bag of camera gear. While I was there I waited for the perfect moment. Do you have a virtual 360 tour on your website? I said to the owner who was having a drink at the bar. No, he said, as I started to take out my 360 camera rig. I would like to give you a sample I responded. When would you be free? I asked. He said to come the next morning and he would have the place made up for pictures. So I did and the results are still to this day my favorite 360 photos. I also became their marketing contractor for the following 3 years which allowed me to claim my place in this new and exciting community in southern Costa Rica. It was the best risk I have ever taken in my life. See one of the 360 photos I created below.
My new life and the fruit of my labor
After my first journey to Costa Rica I continued to go back and forth while I tied up loose ends. It took me almost 10 years to finally stay in the country of my dreams. Everytime I returned for a few months I relived the escape and heros journey over and over. Everytime I sharpened my skills and expanded my connections. The result when I finally moved was enough knowledge of the culture, the community and the remote job connections I needed to have enough money to make a life here. I just recently got married here to the women of my dreams whom I actually met here even though we were both from Connecticut. If I had stuck around my home town I would have never accomplished any of this. I am so happy I stuck with it as life got worse and worse in the states and now I can look back in gratitude. I believe the US is in a huge downward spiral and the health and wellness of it's people suffer more every year. Now that I am transitioned into a new place I can be sure that I will have clean air, water and fresh organic food. I also have a thriving business with my wife providing valuable video, photography and web support to some of the most inspirational companies I have ever known. To those in the struggle in the states - know there are alternatives and you do not have to stay. The US is fucked and your health is at risk. Keep searching and never settle. Most of all - follow your passion and never give up on your hopes and dreams
Below is the finest day of my life when I married the women of my dreams in the most beautiful place I could ever imagine.