Hello again! It's been a while!
Those of you who have been here to Anarchapulco know, and those who have stayed longer, know better. We have a breath of talented, wise, dutiful, principled, knowledgeable people here. We come from diverse backgrounds, from differing economic and social environments, yet we share a very simple straightforward philosophy. It makes for a very special and exciting time and place. I think we’re starting to see what we are capable of as we learn how to work and communicate with each other.
We have a community here in Acapulco. We have some of the best and brightest and if they’re not here yet, we’re talking to them! Those of you lucky enough to have found Steemit are exposed to quite a few of them. They speak for themselves. Please check them out.
I want to start a conversation with the best and the brightest within the Steemit community and the greater freedom community. I want to discuss how we move forward. The why seems obvious. I’m willing to discuss that, but I also want to get into the nitty gritty: what, where, when, and who.
I’m going to toot my own horn a bit, not to inflate my ego, but more as an opportunity to demonstrate that I know what I’m talking about. Here’s a resume of sorts for my reading audience.
Economically speaking, I’ve seen hard times. I was raised in an area hard hit by economic woes. Gary, Indiana in 1970 boasted well over 300,000 citizens employed in the Steel industry. Ten years later, it was one tenth that! That downturn in economic potential crushed the local community and, needless to say, one had to be very hungry to have the drive to find a decent job and keep it in those days.
Because of these factors and others, I developed a passion for useful knowledge. After exploring the military, I wanted to be in a useful profession. I got passionate about construction and I saw the light of opportunity there. I had a knack for understanding people and what motivates them, as well as a natural enthusiasm for teamwork. After working by day and going to school at night, I came out at the top of my class in Construction Management at Purdue University. Before even graduating, I chose the best of over 40 offers. I took the opportunity I wanted in residential construction, building homes. At the time, a good builder could produce about 10-12 economical homes a year, which equated to about $1 million in gross income. I wanted to do 12 times that! I proceeded to, starting with residential, then multi-family, then light commercial, then heavy commercial and industrial. I gained experience in numerous fields on the edges of construction from things like soils and geology, deep foundations and concrete hybrids to numerous industries, aviation, technology, and many of the other Fortune 500 areas.
When I started working in the “big-leagues”, I was usually traveling by air three or four times a week, usually in coach, to domestic destinations all over the country, as well as international. My main client had over 90 locations in all the major cities in the US and more than 50 international locations. I worked in some of the worst areas for getting things done, the biggest and most obtuse government organizations, with extensive licensing requirements and regulations with miles and miles of red tape. That was one area that would later force me to call into question everything I thought I knew.
I made my first million a month crossing from my 20’s to 30’s, going from my first full time monthly paycheck in the Army, which amounted to $248 after taxes and deductions. I went from literally being a slave to the state (and risking my life doing it) to having a nice percentage of a million plus a month as the man in charge in just under 13 years. I worked hard, but I wanted to work smarter. I was hungry to always know more and to know what was better. In my mind, I was a scientist, aggressively studying the application of knowledge and getting things done while finding efficiencies in cost, schedule and quality. That first million a month was accomplished with the aid of about 150 employees and contractors. I wanted to do better. Around six years later I was still in the $1-2 million a month range, but I was doing it with nine people. Not only that, but I did it working less than eight hours a week.Tim Ferriss’s four hour work week? Been there, done that, before he even wrote the book! My percentages more than doubled. My travel was three or four times a month. I flew almost exclusively first class and my destinations were simply Chicago, Dallas and Miami.
What was even more exciting was that my clients thought I was working my ass off (Shhhh… just between you and me). They saw me as the hardest of workers. I was nearly always available for their concerns and if they had a problem, I was nearly always ready with a solution. I had a crack team and they made my working life a breeze.
Unfortunately, I spent a great deal of my free time day-trading and trying to understand our economic system. At that time I had no clue about what I know today. I was still listening to CNBC. Who knew about the Federal Reserve and such? Certainly not me! Still, I made substantial returns on my investments (my ROIs were in the 30% range consistently). I knew something was wrong. I saw government in everything that was inefficient, everything that was stupid, everything that made my life difficult…government. Yuk!
Which brings me to what I wanted to discuss. Sorry for the long-winded introduction. I’m hoping it lends to my credibility and your respect. I wanted to be clear: I didn’t just talk the talk, I walked the walk.
What started with an absolute frustration with government within my profession, led to my introduction to Ron Paul, libertarian politics and then anarchism and the community I live in today. This community isn’t just a group of pissed off people who are tired of government. They want to change the world. In addition, this is a group that represents a cultural revolution. And they don’t just talk, they do. Consequently, I’ve found MY PEOPLE!!!
I want to see them succeed and I’m using everything I know to make sure they do. I have a plan and I have some exceptional help, but we could use more capable and willing people. We need smart and talented people who want to change the world for the better. Our only requirement is that everyone understands our simple philosophy and why it’s so important. So, in a nutshell, here’s the current plan.
First is Octapulco: Late October. An open source opportunity to explore our community and have a lot of fun. This isn’t Anarchapulco. This is about the people who live it every day. The current plan is that each day will be spent in one of our community’s neighborhoods. We’ll spend half a day on some sort of group adventure (it might be something like zip-lining, boating, a scooter tour, or something of that nature), half the day in some sort of rough representation of an educational gathering learning about the people and their interests, and then some nightlife. There will probably be at least one costume party, since we want to begin at the end of October. The current plan has some simple milestones and I’m hoping we can get enough done to make it a reality this fall.
Second, for those who’ve lived here for some time, it’s clear that people won’t completely understand the beauties and freedom of Acapulco by just spending a few days here. One needs to put in a bit more time. So, we’re inviting folks that may have some interest in uprooting from their current locale to move to a cutting edge anarchist stronghold and spend the winter with us. Put your toes in the water, starting with Octapulco and staying through Anarchapulco in February. It’s cheap, it’s very easy and it’s for practically everyone who dreams about being truly free.
Third, it’s a knowledge economy! How about a learning and educational experience that rivals the best schools in the world? We’d like to be that venue for those four months. Want to learn something we know? Ask! What to teach us something you know? Feel free to hang a shingle. If it’s valuable, you’ll have a willing audience. As I said earlier, we have a wealth of knowledge here already from health and diet, to peaceful parenting and unschooling, to organization and science, to crypto and blockchain technology and quite a few others. But we’d like to know more! In addition, for all those tech geeks, dreamers, entrepreneurs and idealists who get branded “unrealistic,” why not spend four or so months collaborating with others from around the world in Acapulco, taking the time to discuss the best ways to change the world and then start actually doing it? That’s the opportunity I’d like to offer.
For example, last year Kenny (
Fourth, Anarchapulco 2018 promises to be even better. Each year has raised the bar and I’m fairly certain next year isn’t going to be an exception. There have been some stellar reviews (and even a few not so great ones). But, the dedication to improvement continues. I’m very excited to see next year’s speaker’s list. There’s no better way to prepare for Anarchapulco than to get to know the local community. I promise.
Fifth, it's not that hard. Sure, there are hurdles, but it's worth it! For those who feel they’re lacking the means, living here can be a bargain. Many live comfortably for less than $500 USD per month. If you do have the means, then you can really live well for a fraction of the cost in most cities. I expect the cost of Octapulco itself to be very reasonable. It will probably be somewhere in the range of $30-$50 USD as a donation. The money will simply go to take care of expenses and anything left will be donated to a local orphanage in the form of food and supplies. As an added bonus, I’ll add any and all money collected here on Steemit to the cause.
Finally, there’s the discussion I mentioned initially. This isn’t just about knowing or talking. This is doing! This is the place we’ve chosen. There are many advantages here: so many I’d have a hard time listing them all. Just rest assured, there are many. We do have weak spots and we’re willing to dedicate time to working on those. It’s all part of a discussion and the resulting actions that will result in a model of a community and a method for developing it that can be duplicated just about everywhere in the world in some shape or form. Questions?