Frugality is my get rich quick scheme. By eliminating frivolous expenses I have the freedom to use money as I please. I’m making less money than I ever have, and feel richer than I’ve ever felt.
The first step is to halt the pursuit of cultural validation.
“It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society.” - Krishnamurti
We must do right by our own hearts, seeking validation from within. Don’t expect people to get behind you as you begin to brake the cycle. It’s uncomfortable to accept that we’ve been duped. People will cling to the cultural norms they’ve been indoctrinated to accept. Shutting down when they begin to realize they may be wrong, lashing out with backhanded remarks.
“How do you not kill each other? That thing is the size of a prison cell.”
“I wish I could just smoke pot in the mountains and draw pictures.”
“Uh, I have to shower every day.”
“Pulling the Scamp across Kansas with the Mini is a bad idea.”
“I couldn’t live without a bathroom.”
If I were reliant on external validation I’d still be building luxury watches, buying bullshit for the little dopamine hit, losing sleep over logo sizes, killing my soul. I had to embrace the fact that people thought I was crazy, smiling to their ignorance. It’s easy to reject naive influence, now that I’m more myself than I’ve ever been.
There’s an old story of a priest and a monk. The priest lives a luxurious life, beautiful robes, lavish meals, opulence. The monk lives in the mountains, eats rice and beans, living in rags. The priest says to the monk “If you spent your days serving the church you too could have all these things.” The monk retorts “If you’d learn to eat rice and beans you could do as you please.” I’m with the monk.