A few years ago, I already started to log out of the 'system'. Why do most people live the same way. Work because they need to pay the bills, even though a lot of them don't like what they are doing. I thought and talked about this question many times. I decided to change my life and leave the system of work to pay the bills.
This picture will be part of a subject later on in this post
A bit of history
Believe me, I've experienced the darkest and poorest sides of life. My opinion is based on my own experiences. When I was young I also had dreams, I wanted to study and have a career. Already in the early year of life, I realized that this is not meant to be for everyone. I learned at a young age to survive, the funny thing is I am still in survival-mode. I moved a lot and because of that changed schools a lot. For my it was all easy to deal with. I had to quit my study (although I was quite smart), because there was no money. I was living on my own pretty young and worked my as off besides my study. There were no wealthy parents that funded me. The differences on school and with friends were always there. I couldn't join school trips or get my driver's license. Being an outsider was already there and this feeling just became stronger by the years.
My first jobs were simple things, but already showed my character: a smart ass with authority issues. I already experiences thing in life you should not be experiencing as a kid. Some of the bosses and managers tried to force me on the wrong way. People have different characters, so a good boss or manager knows how to work with different characters...right? No, most of them don't. With my first jobs a few things were important and are still important. Respect, service, aftersales and let people feel good and smile. I helped people when they came to me, even though I was not responsible for that area. For example, the shop managers had a personal sales target. But they were always smoking in their office, I was just helping people in the store and when you talk with a customer, you might find out they need more. I sold a lot and people came back because of the service. The managers got angry, I 'stole' their turnover. Well, they just have to be visible and talk to people. One of them got so frustrated, he started a fight and threatened me. I left this crazy shop.
I also worked for a famous ice cream shop when I was young. I didn't had the best looks that time, like the other young girls that worked there. But I had a smile, a small talk and I gave customers a slightly bigger scoop of ice cream. Also the whip cream was not a small dot on top. My boss told me to stop and only sell small scoops and portions. I was the smart ass and told him to look at the jars with tips...mine was full and the other ones almost empty. My line was full and people wanted to wait. If you look at the costs, my boss could have a point. If you look short term it means less profit. But, most people came back several times a week and also spread the word. In my opinion you have happy customers that return frequently and also free marketing. Higher turnover and good reviews. Maybe this is my long term commercial vision and service driven character. I was kicked out, because I doin't want to listen.
While my youth friends were having the time of their life, at some point I was already busy with the serious part of life. Earning money. And I took a lot of risks and went for the adventure. Some of the jobs were pretty cool though. Working in a record store with dj's and sell vinyl. At that point I knew everything about house music. At some point someone came in to ask if I knew someone that could be a dj in Spain for a few weeks. I didn't and told him I could do it. I bought loads of records, but never mixed. In the evening I bought 2 turntables and a mixer and started to practice. My girlfriend fro that time said I was crazy and was never going to make it. I started on radio stations and became resident dj in Lloret de Mar (Spain). First summer season was crazy. Living in a nice hotel across the biggest club where I also played a few times. It was rockstar life. Crazy parties, afters with dj's, afters on the beach and in hidden bars. Everything was possible. For years I did that and never regret to choices that I made to get there.
When I was 20 I started my own company. Organizing dance events in a very difficult period in the dance scene. On my own, besides my office job, with a loan and no paid staff. I had a dream and a vision how events should be organized. The artists on the events were amazed by the quality of everything. I did everything; bookings, contracts, design, marketing, administration, promotion, sponsors and even performing on the events. With a bit of help from old friends. As a perfectionist this was sucking energy. And competitors were not happy. People thought I was swimming in money, but I wasn't. Daily (death)treats, extortion, scams, FUD...it was all part of it. But with creativity everything is possible. Even the biggest dream. I wanted to bring back some energy on the yearly dance parade in Rotterdam (a huge parade of trucks with dance music). In the beginning the police and the municipality did not want me to join. After months of talking and with positive support from the organization of the parade, I was allowed to take part. It was crazy! So many bad forces tried to destroy the dream, but I didn't give up. The parade was a dream...unexpected we were the last truck. I took a risk to put more sounds and thing on the truck than officially allowed. A competitor tried to destroy our truck the night before, I did everything to fix it last minute. Real live performances, international upcoming artists, extra sound, sexy dances, fire, decorations, flags, smoke and most important; a huge crowd. Security already gave up during warming up, there were just too many people around the truck to protect it. The police gave more than 40 warnings to us during the parade, but could not take the risk to take us out. The truck behind us was taken out after 3 little warnings. I wanted to perform on the best part of the parade were the trucks passing each other in 2 directions. The most beautiful part was when dj Tiësto stopped the music and looked at our truck. The bow that was made to us, was a big compliment for the hard work. The day became crazier and crazier, mixing my favorite vinyl records on a truck in my favorite city with an endless enthusiastic crowd behind it on a sunny day. This felt like the best orgasm. I knew this could be my only participation in the parade. At the last part all 40+ trucks needed to stop the music. I saw the bored faces of the crowd. I looked at the others on the truck and said "FUCK IT, I might never have the opportunity again." I took the most pumping tracks and started to make the crowd crazy. It was not allowed, but those happy faces and jumping crowd...LOVED IT!
After this day, bad forces became worse. I got bankrupt and had to live on the streets at some point. Losing everything and most of my friends. A big contrast, but a realized an impossible dream :)
The years that followed
I won't bother you with details of all my jobs. I worked hard. I always proved myself and couldn't sit still. Most managers and bosses were very happy. But still there was this thing of respect and authority. Besides the fulltime office jobs, I did extra jobs in the evenings and weekends (Festivals, Bartender, Brand Activation). I always looked at processes and tried to improve them. Make thing work more efficient. Packaging, Sustainability and Data Management were my main industries. I joined all kind of projects within the companies I worked work and tried to lithe different departments with each other. I like islands, but not the the 'island-culture' in business terms. Working 60 - 80 hours a week was normal. You might guess what happened? Like with everything I do, I keep on going until I drop. I've been diagnosed with a burn-out for at least 5 times. At some point I realized that this was not how I should live. Asking myself why I always wanted to prove myself and being a perfectionist. The reasons why I will keep for a different post. But yeah, I decided not to be part of the system anymore. Work should not be a the way to live. Work should be fun and not having a large impact on your life. Work should not make you unhappy and exhausted. I had to make important choices and accept a different lifestyle to change this.
FIRO
For the last couple of years I lived different. Rented out my tiny house a few months a year as a stylish AirBnB and finally sold it. Not owning a house and paying mortgage anymore. Quit the fulltime jobs. And started with crypto. A lot was possible all of a sudden and I felt more relaxed. At some point I was reading about the FIRE- and FIRO-movement. I realized that for half of my life I was living like the FIRO-concept. Financially Independence Retire Often. I had a sabbatical in my 30's and also in my 40's. We all know what happened with crypto the last 8 months. So I need to work a bit on new ways of income.
The current situation
In my last posts you can read about my unexpected return to my former country of residence. And believe me, the things I need to fix here cost a lot of money and time. Why not earn some money while I am here? Good idea. In Portugal average hourly wage is about 10 euro's. The funny thing in the Netherlands is, there is lack of staff in many sectors. You should think jobs in these sectors would pay well now... NOT AT ALL! Minimum wage paid, about 11 euro's per hour. These jobs got paid a lot better before the 'pandemic'. I do understand why people in this country are not willing to work for this hourly wage, while costs of living is sky high. And then there is the issue of starting as a freelancer. For a nomad without an official home address this is not possible. There is an option for a 'virtual office' that is accepted for the KvK (a company that registers all businesses). But the tax-company doesn't accept this. The freelancer needs an actual address where you live. A postal address is not accepted. There are quite some people experiencing this issue. For example truck drivers that don't have an actual address, they live on the road. And digital nomads (although some are lucky they could register at a friend or family). So, there is lack of staff and I would like to work and even pay taxes. But I am not allowed. Getting a house is also impossible without a job. I knew the system was fucked up, but these things make me realize more how crazy it actually is.
I applied for a few jobs, but the company's din't want to have staff for just a few months. Seasonal work then? I tried to work a few shifts for minimum wage. Bartending at a few festivals last week. First shot: Red Hot Chili Peppers. One of my favorite bands in the past and this time all the old band members were back together again. Loved the show, with mostly old songs. The bar was in front of the main stage, good sound. Hard working, singing loud and becoming sticky after some beer showers. If the police would stop me in my car, it would be funny with the smell of beer all over me. The 2nd festival was a hardstyle festival. They worked with a way to complex system of recycling. And working fast with a sticky handheld that is not working properly and 3 different coins, is not easy with a huge crowd completely wasted and alcohol and drugs. Do I still like this kind of work? Easy answer...NO. Every festival I worked at last week, around 15-20% of the staff didn't show up. There was no party atmosphere behind the bar. Staff was constantly moved to different bars. And explaining customers how this recycling system works while it is so busy, is not easy. Selling people little Heineken beers for about 5,25 euro's each is way too much. I liked bartending before, because of the service I could offer. The small talk and creating smiles. Also the party behind the bar. This all was not there and together with the lack of staff created an unhappy vibe. I do realize that working at festivals these days is not fun anymore. On the way back, I had to drive back for at least 2 hours. The positive thing? I was focussed. The first night I felt weird, there was a huge strong moon in front of me all the time. At some point it felt like a horror movie...there was a tall woman walking in a black dress on the middle of the highway. Together with that huge moon, it was a weird vibe. Luckily I saw her on time and did not hit this woman. Another car stopped to take her off the highway. The other night I was pretty tired and it was difficult to stay awake. A little stop at McDonald's maybe? Karma hits in and the employee stopped just in front of me to tell me I could not order anymore. Good, no fast food :) But hey, I was sharp again. Further on the road I experienced something I never seen in this country. We have so many roadsigns with a deer on it and you never see it on the road. Out of nowhere a young deer jumped in front of my car. I tested my brakes and was lucky I didn't hit it. It makes me realize to focus on the right things. Maybe my Ford Focus caused part of this realization 😅
Focus
The focus will not be full on work anymore. I will do the thing I really have to do, to be back on the road again and follow my dreams. Fix the necessary issues and don't spend energy on thing that are less important. I chose to get out of the system, so don't try to partly return. It's a good lesson for me to see that I made the right choice. Live to work and pay the bills? NO!
WE LIVE TO EXPLORE AND ENJOY LIFE