Living the Perfect Life

Finding peace and satisfaction in a stress-free quality of life. Sounds great doesn't it? Too good to be true? It's all in how you look at it.

This morning I was reading the latest blog post on Copyblogger by Johnny B Truant (here).

There was a paragraph about a guy who gave up his big city job, moved to the country, and actually made more money by working less.

It reminded me of one of the many detours I have taken off the traditional path.  I arrived in a small blue collar town full of hard working folk, still recovering from the last recession.  

I came from the big city.  I had a Liberal Arts degree with a background in art and photography, and a dream of opening an art gallery. 

While I did make an effort to fulfill that dream, after 18 months of struggling I realized I was just in the wrong place for this. 

 

I needed income and a friend suggested the cleaning business.  While not so glamorous, it was a job where I could stay self employed.  This friend became my mentor who taught me tricks and tips that wouldn't make house cleaning seem like housekeeping.  (Never underestimate the value of a mentor by the way!)

In 2 years I built my clientele up to a full time income and was able to move to a lovely rural area in lush natural surroundings.

I commuted to all my jobs but it was a different drive every day - through the countryside, or even to the next town.

I know my attention to detail, my integrity, and reliability were some of my keys to success.  I treated it like a business, and not just a job.

Even when the economy bombed I still had work, but more importantly I had the quality of life I had always dreamed of;  no stress, enough income, low overhead, because rural living is more affordable, not to mention more peaceful.  I have enough free time to continue with my art and photography as well as gardening and being outdoors in nature.

Now, 20 years later I am still supporting myself this way.  More commercial work has replaced the residential, but even the residential has evolved into cabin care-taking and landscape maintenance.  Not to say that I haven't tried replacing some income with other pursuits, I even ran a small art collective while still doing the cleaning business.

My point is that you can create your own life - whatever it is you need to feel fulfilled.

It's about being at peace, finding joy, because you live a slower lifestyle.  Enjoying better health, better relationships, more hobbies, whatever.

I own an older mobile home which I got for a steal.  My expenses are ridiculously cheap and my business overhead is low.  It really takes the pressure off my earning commitment.

I did have a plan, and I followed it.  I lived in rentals, took on extra side jobs, and even lived in a travel trailer for 9 months just so I could get into another part of the county.  It still took 2 more rentals after that before I could buy my first house on a lease option.

I'm not done yet.  I still want another house and a less physically laborious business, but I have the formula and the desire, which is all I need to get there.

You can have any lifestyle you want - but you may have to break free from traditional methods and societal expectations.

Only you know what you really want, and at the bottom of the list - or the bare-bones desire - is peace.  Isn't that the real goal?  To feel good about yourself, living the life you choose?

I look forward to your comments about this.  If you have a similar story I would love to do a guest interview about you!!

More Space!

Anybody ever read that book, "My Petition for More Space"?  This is how I was feeling as I methodically planned for a larger garden area. 

So I expanded the fenced yard in an effort to increase the food production for next year.
I give you ~ the new entrance!

 Basically this is the same funky structure I was using before, but now adorned with the bamboo.  Behind this area is the new garden space, previously the parking space.  I opted to walk farther to the house in order to grow more food!

In the beginning it looked like this.

Your basic driveway.
The next step was to set the boundary and put in some posts.

After removing the old fencing and moving it in to the new space I was quite pleased with the added space!

Here's a view from the house (below).

Of course there is much work to be done between now and next years growing season.  I will install raised beds and possibly a small greenhouse.  That border bed of flowers will be moved to open up the space.

So, once again, here is the main entrance.