Conformity is the Prison that keeps us from living life on our own terms. My buddy Ralph is the one who came up with “Conformity is the Prison”. It just stuck in my brain. It perfectly describes what has caused people we know who are sadly trapped to continue slogging it out at a job they complain about. All because they have debt and not enough saved to ever retire, let alone retire early. Some even have a pension benefit. Their need to live a life following the social norms of a consumerist society have left them with no control over their lives.

Fear of change in career or their spending. Keeping up with the Jones’.

Over-sized houses with over-sized mortgages.

New cars every few years, $100 jeans, $200 sneakers, $5000 bicycles, and weekly $100 bar tabs. Wow! This list of crap people will follow the Pack to blow their money on could be a mile long.

Enslaved Through Conformist Spending

The social norms and conformity of live-for-today consumerism literally enslaves. No longer is the question, how much does it cost but how much are the payments. All without regard to this fact. The list of payments that everyone owes for everything is bankrupting any chance of their financial freedom or any freedom for that matter.

That’s where I have really benefited by being a Leisure Freak, with freak being the operative word. A freak where I question the norms and redefine things with outside of the box thinking. My buddy Ralph and I are tail-end baby boomers. We could be considered freaks with our early retirement through smart frugal and balanced lifestyles. Especially when compared to the boomer nation at large. But we freaks are living a passion-driven life now and on our own terms. Being a freak doesn’t seem like such a bad thing to be. I proudly call myself a Leisure Freak.

Frugality and Minimalism is Becoming a Movement

If you care to look around a bit you can see that there is a small but growing movement of people who are questioning the way things have been done. What was considered the norm by the American-Consumerist nation is starting to look less and less attractive as a lifestyle choice. Call this shift a minimalist movement, frugal movement, financial independence movement, retire early movement, or non-conformist movement but recognize its merits. Reassess your lifestyle choices to see if you can improve your own financial freedom position and envision a passion-driven lifestyle.

It goes beyond people who want early retirement as it’s more about freedom and flexibility. It encompasses everything, including career choices and the way work is looked at.

Corporate America decided to reward boomer employee loyalty with breaking pension promises and layoffs. They outsource and in-source multitudes of good jobs that Americans used to do to foreign contractors.

Guess what? Now many in Employee-America are looking at work as just a means to an end. No longer is their employer looked at as a loyal career partner.

They are following their passions instead of believing in corporate promises as the new work-mindset.

Instead of company’s worrying about letting go long-time employees they will have to worry about how to keep the employees who are the ones who know what they are doing from moving on.

Depending on ourselves. Not our employer

People are realizing that they can’t and won’t rely on their employer anymore. They are loyal to their company and projects only as long as they are there. But always with an eye on the next opportunity to pursue their passions and interest. Many will have side hustles doing what their true passions are. Making money on the side until they can turn it into a full-time passion-driven career.

As I see it some of the smartest and hardest working people will prefer having multiple income streams and freedom instead of a long-time corporate employment arrangement.

Leisure Freak Tommy has lived this very lifestyle since retiring the first time. The “retire early and often” lifestyle could be looked at as my having side hustles to my retirement. It doesn’t matter what anyone calls it.

I can tell you after living the loyal corporate employee engineer career-driven lifestyle and then the retire early and often passion driven lifestyle, the passion-driven life has been much more rewarding, healthy, fun, and enjoyable. I would never go back and I am happy there are many people who are starting to also question the way work and retirement has always been done.

Conformity is the Prison that keeps us from living life on our own terms. The path to financial independence and freedom starts with understanding what you value. Not what the consumerist ran world says you should value.

Buck your lifelong conditioning to conform at all costs. Question why you are doing what you are doing if it doesn’t bring real happiness or value to your life or the lives of those you care about.

What about you? Do have dreams or plans to one day free yourself from the enslavement of conformity?