Freedom Hacking [verb]: The art of using unconventional shortcuts to create unforgettable experiences, through travel, adventure and personal growth.
When Leanne and I quit our jobs in 2011 to travel the world and start our online business, we were on a mission to do something big, something unconventional, something paradigm-shifting.
We were bitten by much more than just the travel bug. We had full-on freedom fever. Can you relate? Let’s see…
5 Telltale Signs You’re A Freedom Hacker
1. You Value Experiences Over Things
You’re a full-blown sand-in-your-toes, wind-in-your-hair, sun-on-your-face experience junkie… and you love every single second of it. You’d rather spend your money on experiences like trips, extreme sports, concerts, movies or dinner with friends than on a new gadget or outfit. Your happiness is derived from the anticipation of something epic to come, or the indelible memory of a past experience. To you, a photograph is worth a million times more than a souvenir and you are easily stressed out by too much “stuff” in your home or personal space.
2. You’re An Adventurer, Not A Tourist
You look for unconventional experiences off the beaten path. Crowds, lineups or organized group tours give you a nervous tick. In your mind, the less people who speak English, the better. You’d much prefer to spend one night in a Costa Rican treehouse than 7 nights at an all-inclusive resort. When you travel, you like to eat, speak and live like local. You revel in booking one-way tickets and figuring the rest out when you get there, wherever “there” is. Your motto is “why the f*$& not?”. You’ve met friends in the unlikeliest of places and have found yourself in plenty of sticky situations that now make great fodder for dinnertime storytelling.
3. You View Freedom As A Lifestyle
For you, freedom isn’t something reserved only for the weekends. It’s one of your highest values and something you strive for every single day. You want to spend your time, money and energy doing what you want and where you want it, at least as much as humanly possible. Travel is in your blood but, even when you’re at home, you seek freedom in your everyday life and career. Creative freedom, financial freedom, emotional freedom, geographical freedom… NOM NOM NOM.
4. You Value Time As A Valuable Asset, Not A Restraint
Yes. Time is limited… but, rather than view it as a restraint and something that holds you back from doing what you truly want to do, you view it as the most valuable and high-return asset you have. You don’t spend your time doing unfulfilling busy work, you eat that shit up doing the best possible thing you can humanly dream of. As Tim Ferriss talks about in his bestselling book, The 4-Hour Workweek, you recognize that you should be spending the best, healthiest and strongest years of your life living your wildest dreams – not waiting till you retire and can no longer bungee jump in New Zealand, hike the Great Wall, or scuba dive the Great Barrier Reef. You live by the mantra “It’s not about the years in your life, but the life in your years”. You live for the moment and view “retirement” as a Plan B. You are always looking for shortcuts and hacks to save time, work less, have more fun and live your best life RIGHT NOW.
5. You’re Committed To Your Personal Growth
While you value fun, adventure and freedom, you also value connection, growth and contribution. You travel to enrich your life, not to escape it. You’re always looking for new ways to expand your mental capacity for what’s possible. How can I live better, love deeper, have more fun and help more people? These are the questions you ask yourself on the reg. You get uncomfortable when you’re too comfortable. You seek to challenge yourself and constantly push yourself outside your comfort zone. So, I want to know…
Are you a Freedom Hacker like me?
If so, comment below and share your favorite Freedom Hack. Do you know of an unconventional shortcut to creating unforgettable experiences? Maybe it’s a way to save time/money while traveling, an unlikely adventure or a mind-expanding book or productivity technique.
We are building a tribe of Freedom Hackers around the world, be among the first to join us. Follow us on Instagram @FreedomHacking and pop your name and email into the signup form to the right. We’ve got lots of amazing stuff coming your way soon, including the full story on how we were able to score 30 nights at a 5 star resort in the Philippines totally free. Oh yeah, baby.
Together, let’s fuel the freedom!
Alex
