By now, I hope you've noticed that I've added the word
Working back into the title of this blog. While I still refer to the blog
as Living Free, I felt that there are few of us who can actually live free
without doing something that will generate some revenue to support our
lifestyles, how ever we have designed them.
Recently I did a couple posts on a couple of my recent
"revenue generating" road trips to illustrate one of the ways I
generate some of my supplemental revenue. I also know that there are numerous
part-time and full-time RVers, vandwellers and other nomads who tune in and
read the Living Free blog. Most of the RVers and probably a good many of the
vandwellers know what "workcamping" is and participate in that revenue
generating activity. Many of the nomads are "location independent"
folks who choose to travel the U.S. and the world as nomads and earn income to
support their travels from whatever location they happen to be, whether for a
short period or for a longer duration.
Some of us are, by some good fortune and usually involving
some years of focused and concentrated efforts toward a decent paying career or
one or more businesses, financially independent. Financially independent can be
defined as having enough money set aside in some solid investments or savings
that yield decent dividends to support a frugal nomadic lifestyle. It can also
mean that someone has accumulated a sizeable fortune from the sale of a very
successful business or, perhaps, a huge inheritance or very healthy trust fund.
And, of course, there are those who may be retired and have their Social
Security stipend every month and possibly supplemental income from a regular
pension or 401K, IRA and annuity plans they faithfully funded for years.
The reality is, though, that most of us want and need to
supplement our incomes to some degree. The exception is a very small percentage
of folks who are truly financially independent and can enjoy their RVing,
vandwelling or nomading with no concern or need for additional income. So, with
that in mind, I'm going to begin creating a series of regular posts
illustrating the numerous and probably countless ways that any of us can adopt
and adapt to our lifestyles to generate whatever amount of additional revenue
we feel we require to live our dreams and enjoy our living free lifestyles.
And, it's important to remember that most of us already have
skills, talent and experience we can exploit to our own benefit. As a matter of
fact, most of us have the ability to select two or three or maybe more ways to
generate multiple streams of income, including some that may be passive or may
involve bartering. I'll explore and discuss all the possibilities I can think
of. Additionally, I know there are many of you who each have created some
unique revenue generating ideas and techniques of your own. So, if you won't
mind sharing them with others, please let me know what you're up to and allow
me to interview you so I can share what is working with you.
A Bit of My Story
As a bit of an introduction, I'm going to list all the
things I have skills, talents and experience in doing. I may be a bit of an
anomaly. I have often said to friends and colleagues that having as much
knowledge, skill, talent and experience as I have accumulated in so many areas
can be a curse as much as it can be blessing. I began my revenue generating and
entrepreneurial pursuits at age 12. Yes! Like many folks, I was a "Paper
Boy" delivering my hometown evening newspaper (we didn't have a morning
paper). I had one of the largest paper routes in the Herald News home delivery
distribution system with about 110 customers. I delivered six days a week and
had to do all my own door to door collections each week. We were all
independent contractors and worked for ourselves. I learned a lot from my paper
route at a young age about dependability, customer service and commitment. I
also learned a lot about the value of money.
I will also say that I gained vitally important knowledge
and skills from every small business and every part-time job that I've ever
had. But, most assuredly, the foundation was laid during my junior and senior
high school years and my college and graduate school years.
I am fortunate enough to have had the opportunity of earning
both a bachelors and a masters degree before the age of 24. My bachelors degree
is in Education, more specifically, Industrial Arts. There has never been a day
of my life that I have regretted majoring in Industrial Arts. I was certified
to teach Kindergarten through 12th grade in some 14 areas of industrial
technology. While I've never taught in a public school environment, I've
applieid all of that knowledge throughout my lifetime and I've been teaching,
primarily adults, for that same period.
I earned my masters degree in television and radio. Again,
while I have never officially held a job in a TV or radio station, the
knowledge has served me well all my life and I've used it in more ways then I
can describe. I do not have an MBA, or at least not one with a piece of paper
sporting a gold seal from some accredited institution of higher education.
However, I dare say, I had already earned an MBA in multiple areas of business
through the school of "on the job training" and real world experience
by the time I completed my masters degree in TV and radio.
My college and graduate school years were during the
volatile Vietnam era. All U.S. male citizens were required to register with the
Selective Service System (aka the "Draft Board) at 18 and carry our
"Draft Card" with us at all times. Unlike today and for the past 40
years or so, that little card in our wallet was basically like a ticking time
bomb back then for men between the ages of 18 and about 25. One of the major
discussion topics of that era was draft deferral or how to obtain and maintain
any draft status other then 1A. As long as I was a full-time student, I
maintained a 2S student deferral. But, as soon as I completed graduate school
at the end of the summer of 1968, I immediately reverted to "draft bait"
or 1A status. Very few of us wanted to be drafted into the military during the
time of a very unpopular war.
I did my best to avoid being drafted and going into the
military and I managed to put off the inevitable until the late spring of 1969.
But, alas, my number was up and I chose to enlist in the U.S. Air Force
voluntarily. Prior to actually enlisting, I went to the trouble of finding the
precise job/duty assignment and location where I wanted to serve my country.
Most people didn't believe one could do this, but I did whatever I had to and
locked in my own assignment before I signed the enlistment papers. Obviously,
it was in a location where I could serve my country well, do a job that served
the Air Force mission . . . AND served my future objectives well also. And,
just to be clear, no, I didn't "know" people in high places. I made
my own connections.
I spent most of the four years I was in the Air Force in
Washington, DC working for the Secretary of the Air Force producing radio
(primarily) and TV programs and materials, writing, voicing and producing
recording sessions for the highest office in the Air Force. I received an award
for Meritorious Service and added much to my personal knowledge and experience
in my chosen fields of recording and broadcasting. I created industry contacts
and networks. And, needless to say, like everything prior to my short Air Force
career, I have used all of it for the rest of my life. Once again, I turned
what could have been a negative experience and four years of lost time into a
massive positive for myself. And, while I never saw combat, which was one of my
objectives, I'm still proud to be a veteran and have served my country when
called upon. I guess post people would describe it as a Win-Win situation.
The point is that whoever you are and no matter what level
of education you have achieved, you were born with certain talents and basic
abilities. Add to those a lifetime of gained knowledge and experience,
regardless of how long your lifetime is to this point in time. You are a
valuable commodity when you add a dash of ambition and self-motivation.
So, beginning at age 12 and progressing for a period of 55
years at this point in my life, I have accumulated a massive amount of saleable
knowledge, abilities, skills and experience. Everyone of them saleable or
barter-able. Everyone of them providing an unlimited assortment of revenue
generating opportunities. Going back to the 7th Step of my 12 Steps for Living
Free, Avocation, I don't choose to pursue revenue generating opportunities in
many of the areas I have knowledge and experience. So, I have selectively
chosen a number of areas that I enjoy, feel extremely competent in and
accordingly, while not necessarily marketing myself in all of these chosen
areas, keep my eyes and ears open for revenue generating opportunities. This
approach also avoids becoming stereotyped and bored. Variety is still the spice
of life.
My Personal List of Revenue Generating Skills
Here then is the list of fields in which I look for
opportunities to generate revenue for myself.
Audio Production (my knowledge, experience and skills are
extremely broad based in
this field)
Video Production (my primary skills and experience are in
training and industrial
production)
Voice-Over services (blessed with a rich deep voice, a
reasonable command of the
language
and well over 30 years of experience I can handle a broad variety
of
assignments)
Professional Audio Systems Design, Acquisition and
Integration (I am not only an
audio
producer, but also an audio engineer with nearly 50 years of experience)
Professional Speaker (I have spoken around the U.S. and
overseas and conducted
everything from
45 minute keynote addresses to multi-day seminars and
workshops
for diverse audiences on a variety of topics)
Business Consulting (I'm particularly well-versed in small
businesses and home-
based,
family businesses ranging from single employees to multiple
employees)
Book Publishing (I can even add small magazine publishing to
this category since
I have over
12 years of trade book publishing experience, started a small local
magazine
and also created and marketed an audio magazine internationally)
Audio-Visual Technician (I have years of experience
coordinating various facets of
audio &
visual presentations, equipment and staging for meetings from coast
to coast)
Meeting Planning & Production (This is another skill I
developed over the years of
working
with a number of meeting planners. There are so many skills involved
in pulling
all the elements together for a successful meeting with tens of
speakers
and hundreds of people attending the meeting. My interest is in
looking for
smaller meeting opportunities).
Writing (I've been writing all my life and have had articles
published numerous times,
but this blog,
the series of books I'm working on and I've recently been
contracted to
write a blog for someone else, means I've entered the realm of
paid
writers - a new field for me)
As you can probably tell there is an overlap between just
about all of these specialized fields. In addition, there are many facets to
each of these fields. It's impossible to get into each of the many
possibilities and opportunities each of these offers me here. Additionally,
there are many other areas in which I have knowledge, skills and abilities.
They are areas that I'm not as interested in pursuing as revenue generating
possibilities. However, I have and will provide some of these other skills and
abilities on a barter basis for various things or on a volunteer basis.
So, this is my list for generating revenue as a location
independent, vandwelling, professional nomad. What does your list look like?
Every single reader of this blog has talents, knowledge, skills and abilities
that you can put to work for yourself and love what you do. That's my
definition of an Avocation. Some of you, perhaps, most of you have full-time
jobs or professional careers. A small percentage of you love what you're doing.
Most of you are doing it because you are wage slaves and need the jobs or
careers to support your current lifestyle and debt load. To put that another
way, you are not living free or working free.
I could easily make a full-time living (and have) from
everything I've listed (except writing, which is my venture into expanding my
personal horizons). I neither want to or need to do any of these things
full-time to enjoy my living free lifestyle. That's what working free is all
about. I pick and choose the projects or assignments that motivate and
challenge me. If something doesn't look like it will be fun, I can choose not
to accept it. How about you?
Opportunities for You to Learn
Over the upcoming months I'm going to take each of these
fields on my list, one by one, and dissect them. I'm going to show you where
there may be new opportunities for you in some of my chosen fields and give you
pointers on how you can get involved yourself. But, I'm not only going to
discuss my own chosen fields. I'm also going to explore the myriad
opportunities that that exist in many diverse fields of endeavor. I'll
interview people who are generating revenue in these fields. I'll give you tips
and pointers on how you can explore these areas for yourself and provide
resources you can tap into.
Once again, I want to remind you that I've started this blog
to help others, anyone interested, in finding their own way to live their own
dream, living free lifestyle. That's my mission in life. I created the 12 Steps
for Living Free as part of this blog and very soon it will be an ebook and then
a print book. Those 12 steps are all right here in this blog. Just go back
several months and you'll find each of them. Utilize them to help you define
your own living free lifestyle and take the necessary steps to realize that
lifestyle.
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