You are a business.

This is some of the best advice I’ve ever received and I don’t even remember where first I heard it. But the sentiment has been a critical guide for me through my life post-adolescence and a deep keel in times of indecision. Rather than thinking of yourself as a cog in a greater system, helpless as the machine turns, shifting your perspective to that of an individual actor in a pool of other individual actors – no firm systems, no firm allegiances – is an invigorating perspective and an effective way to launch and maintain enthusiasm in your endeavors.

I’m as downtrodden as the next guy about the state of freedom in America and the trend is certainly no solace. However, there has never been a more exciting time to further your own freedom with tools like the internet and growing numbers of peer-to-peer economic models. Your ability to make money without formal training, without a license, even without a bank account or a formal identity is growing and will continue to grow. I’d like to formally invite all of my fellow An-Caps to rediscover the “Cap” side of the deal. The “An” is relatively easy; a book or two will convince you of the illegitimacy of the state and of aggression – a few more and you can cogently convince others. The “Cap” is a bit tougher because it requires more than just academic study. It requires you to provide value, it requires you to seek undervalued enterprise and re-package it, it requires you to overturn rocks and hunt and peck. But it is my opinion that this is the way to freedom. I don’t think government is going to come running up a hill at us to be vanquished with valiant rifle fire. I just don’t think that’s going to happen. I could be wrong. As facts on the ground change, my opinion may change. But for now, I believe that you will maximize your freedom by understanding the “An” and FLEXING the “Cap”. You got money, you got freedom. Simple as that. Will you still need to pay taxes? Yeah, probably. But if you understand how to make money, and it’s a faucet you can go back to… give the government back their filthy rotting bank notes at pennies on the dollar and go do whatever the hell you want with the rest. There’s a million ways to turn the faucet on and keep it running. I’m not the master of the dojo, but I’ve been around the block and I hope to extend any knowledge I can to the libertarian community. I don’t think we as a community become free without each of the individual components first becoming free. Let’s try to keep in mind that freedom from enslavement of your own mind is first and foremost. Drop some of the negativity, roll up your sleeves and engineer some freedom.

Cheers guys! Thanks for reading and thanks for dropping in on my appearance with Rollo and Slappy on the McFloogle podcast. It’s my intent to use this column to bring ways to gain a bit more freedom in your life because there is nothing so satisfying as taking action. You can buffer yourself to the state’s effects and provide a freer future for yourself, your family, and your posterity. Never allow anyone to box you in – you are sovereign.

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