To look at it, you would think it
cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. My point here is because they were
able to build debt-free, they have very little money going out each
month. Therefore, they need very little coming in and it doesn’t take
much for them to continue their self employment.
On their website, Thomas
mentions that in 1999 they made around twelve thousand dollars and they
felt rich. Why? They can spend as much time as they want to outside in the
woods with their kids floating on a river whenever they want to. Now that
is freedom! Thomas and his wife had a plan. They stuck to it and now reap
the benefits from it. If you go to his website,
http://www.hollowtop.com/, you
will see the books he has for sale to help people out by detailing many
success stories of people who escaped the job trap by living simply and
eliminating their debt.
I am in the process
of building a log home and I am trying to do it debt-free. It will
probably take me the next three or four years to complete the home, but
when I am done, it should be paid for. By that time, I will be
writing full time. If you are interested in building a home
debt-free to help you escape the job trap, go to Thomas’s website and find
out how it can be done. My log builder also preaches debt-free
building and helps people set up a five-year plan to achieve that goal.
Again he preaches that you need time, not lots of money to achieve your
dreams and be successful.
As I am finishing
this article, I am getting ready to eat my peanut-butter sandwich. I
eat one everyday for lunch. I have figured out that they cost less
then a $.25 each. I get sick of them about every other week, but
when that happens, I think about my log home on ten acres, my chickens
crowing in the background and getting up everyday to write about the
outdoors. When I do that, I slap a little more peanut butter on the
bread and dig in. Being self-employed doesn’t take lots of money; it
takes a plan and a person who is diligent to follow through. Sit
down and make a plan. Decide how much you really need to live on.
Focus on paying off your bills and chasing your dreams. What it
boils down to is this: how much are your dreams worth? How much is
that farm on a hill worth? How much is it worth to tell your boss “I
quit”? After answering those questions, decide if you have what it
takes to live on a shoestring for awhile to achieve your goals.
There
are many days that I get frustrated and don’t think my dream of being a
full-time writer will ever come true. When that happens, I call other
writers. I get online and read Thomas Elpel’s website and learn about
other people who have succeeded. It is possible and when you think it is
not, find someone you can trust that will inspire you to keep on keepin'
on… You owe it to yourself to be self-employed. Go out and get it. I am
currently writing every single night until midnight. There are days when
it gets old, but it will be worth it in the end. It is worth it for
anyone reading this to develop a plan and go follow your heart. If you
don’t think you can, go to the Thomas Elpel’s website. You will go away
convinced you can achieve self-employment. The feeling of knowing it
is just around the river bend makes me work twice as hard.
