Hello Steemers! My name is Vick, and I call my blog The Real Deal. 

My Story: Escaping the Rat Race and Living the Life of My Dreams

Three years ago I was sitting in cubicle #347 in an enormous office building. My job was to scan insurance claims for errors. (Doesn’t that sound EXCITING!?) I made $10 an hour and felt fortunate, since I was living at the time in a west Texas town with a declining population and failing economy.

Today, I own my home. I’m debt free. I save more money each month than I have at any other time in my life. If my plan goes as planned, I should be able to retire comfortably by the age of 45… even though I only work about five hours a day.  I control my schedule completely.  I wake up when I’m ready and I get to take breaks whenever the mood strikes me. I’m able to meet my basic needs in ways that fulfill me deeply and enhance my life. 

My Modus Operandi: Empowering and Inspiring Others

What changed? My mindset. I stopped running the rat race and paying my dues to Babylon. I stopped fantasizing. I started pursuing my goals. I started living in alignment with my own values. I took steps to make my dreams a reality.   And that is what my blog is all about. I want to use this social media platform to inspire and empower others to take their first steps on a journey toward the lifestyle freedom they’ve always dreamed of. I want to call attention to the most important matters impacting humanity today, like climate change and global socio-economic injustice.

My Blog: Lifestyle Freedom; Environmental Stewardship; Social Justice

* Self-empowerment

* Goal attainment

* Extreme early retirement

* Lifestyle freedom

* The tiny house movement

* Social justice

* Environmental sustainability

* Permaculture Feminism

* Anti-racism  

These are the kinds of things I’m going to talk about on my blog, and not in abstract way. I’m going to tell you the raw truth about my own experiences in life, including my biggest mistakes, so that you don’t have to repeat them for yourself. I’m going to offer clear, actionable steps you can take to improve your life while moving in a direction that makes our precious blue planet a little better for everyone. 

My Community:

Actually, the desire to reduce my negative impact on our global environment was the factor that got me started on my life changing journey. I now live in the nation’s premier sustainability focused intentional community, called Dancing Rabbit Eco-Village. If you’re interested in learning more about the amazing place where I live, check out the video below.

We have more than a dozen tiny sustainable houses within a few yards of each other, along with solar panels, wind turbines, organic gardens, a community dance hall, a fabulous swimming pond, and so much more.  In fact, I often write about Dancing Rabbit, in addition to many topics related to the tiny house movement, as a regular columnist for two major blogs: The Tiny House Blog, and Tiny House Listings.

Also, if you want to keep tabs on the awesome content that I will be offering going forward, make sure to click the follow button in the top right-hand corner of the screen.

Talk soon,

- Vick @therealdeal