The Plan
The first thing to know right up front is I am NOT just jumping into this plan head-first, and the end goal of renouncing my citizenship to the U.S.
These are end-goals as in, to be completed a few years down the road.
The only way to make this plan viable is to take the realities into consideration, and have back-up plans in order.
1.) Fir
st step is to do the necessary research, set the correct framework, make the correct contacts, and have dialogue with important people in my life. Creating this website and related networks is a huge part of the process. I am NOT saying I plan on living in a cave or holding a sign for a living. I do NOT plan on dropping completely out of society. I do NOT plan on abandoning anyone, but rather coming closer to those I care for. To make this all happen there must be careful planning, research, and much framework needs to be put in place.
2.) Diversifying income sources. Some of you may be familiar with this notion, no matter if you are a CEO or crunchy granola earth loving type. To “work for yourself” the trick is to use your talents and interests to your best advantage and make a trickling stream of value from them. Corporations such as Disney do this by running a theme park, movie studio, making stuffed animals, and even creating record labels. The hippy will do this by publishing an E-book, doing accounting for friends, growing an organic garden, and starting a restaurant. My intention is to do the same thing, and make “income” through various streams which I choose. The only person that can be held accountable for my success or failure is me. It is not like having a 9-5 job with a boss that works for a company that may sink or swim in this economy. There is a huge reliance on the capabilities, competency, and compassion of those above, whom you rely on to feed your family. Hell, I made damn good money for a damn good company in the medical field (which is supposed to be recession-proof), and here I am laid off collecting unemployment as one of my streams of income. The current dominant currency simply does not have much value in my eyes, thus local exchange systems, barter networks, work-trades, buying clubs, and cooperative ventures will be a large portion of my “income” as well.
3.) Opening myself for more opportunities, and finding value in places least expected. Often human creativity and ingenuity is truly all it takes to get things done and carve a niche in life. People often forget that it is often small coincidences, or conversations, or sparks of inspiration which truly brings about the right thing at the right time. The universe provides as they say. With this said it would be counterproductive to my end-goal to lock myself off from the world and live off of berries and deer shit. I plan on shining brightly, dancing, and enjoying life just as any sane individual would. Sure I will have a “harder” time making that happen without paying my way to joyful opportunities, but where there is a will there is a way. Those that know me well understand very clearly that creative ideas are something I will never run short on. While going on this great journey towards self-exploration I also intend on charting it as much as possible and engaging others into my everyday life every step of the way.
4.) Live sustainably and within my means while giving back more than I receive. One of the many ways I do this is by working only for individuals I value, and small businesses or entities I value. At this point inevitably a question must be going off in your mind. “So if you plan on working for others still to get what you need, how are you avoiding money and the global economic system?”. To answer this question realize there are many more ways to receive compensation other then receiving a green piece of paper. Direct trade for services, bartering, local exchange systems, gift certificates which can also be used as a currency of sort. The great thing about using these options for compensation is they generally are not taxable (or are much less likely and harder to make taxable). Thus there is one less person giving money to our government to deposit on other countries in the form of carpet-bombs and foot-soldiers. To put it in simple terms, if you need something done and you want to contribute to this project let me know. Don’t bother checking your bank account to see if you can compensate me adequately, think instead of the other forms of value I would rather have. Of course if you can’t think of anything presently worry not, I have included this “wish-list” handy for just such circumstances. Recently I have been “paid” for my services and expertise with shampoo, socks, lotion, gas cards, meals, fresh eggs, companionship, and many other true forms of value.
5.) Grow wings, learn, and explore. I am not sure what the time-line for this step will look like however, but as I take this journey things will align as they should. The universe conspires. Again I am opening my arms to experiences and opportunities that a 9-5 job could never offer an individual. I could see myself traveling the U.S. in an R.V., helping to establish local exchange systems in other cities, house-sitting all over the world, or even living in an intentional community. If I continue to live with love, I know I will get back what is deserving of my actions.
6.) Once I know the time is right, I will feel it in my heart. My desire is to become a Sovereign Citizen [2], but I will only take that step when I feel I have thoroughly earned such a status. Once again I do not see this happening anytime soon, rather in a few years at least.
7.) As a back-up plan I know the option is always there to visit an independent Republic up near the Dakotas. There is a thriving community close to the earth and perfectly aligned with my intentions and life aspirations. I truly feel I have a lot to contribute to such a place, but I will only do so if I must and know it will benefit not harm the community.
I am sure this explanation is far more esoteric and generic then you are hoping for.
To that I must apologize and state all things in due time. This website will feature the more in-depth details on my adventure. I have also created a facebook network for this project.
I invite everyone to participate by engaging me through said networks with questions, thought, and ideas. Better yet I invite everyone to welcome this concept into your life, and perhaps welcome me into your life. I have much to offer anyone that aids me on this journey, as once again I assert I am not doing this to become dependent on anyone or anything aside from my own potential, innovation, and self.
USeD and FED-up no more! 
While I understand the thought process, to determine sovereignty after exhausting welfare benefits seems unjust. Understand you cannot reside within the United States as a sovereign nation unto one’s self – even “Family Guy” showed the error on this theory with the “Petoria” episode (before you forego electrical options, it’s available on YouTube). Recently, I spoke with someone who did the “Occupy Phoenix” for the 100 days – only to have him tell me that he repeatedly left to go home, shower, do laundry, cook food, etc. – but felt sovereignty was the best option. I asked him why bother if you didn’t have the conviction to truly occupy. The social strata did not even take it’s stance seriously if people left due to inclement weather, etc. When confronted with the reality of sovereignty means no electricity, no business exchange (as it falls under illegal trade regulations), the barter system will only go so far in the dead of Winter without heat. You cannot cross borders as you would not have legal, binding documents to do so – you can be imprisoned in most countries for this action alone. You cannot seek medical attention in any country, if required. It’s a lot harder than one might think in regard to becoming a sovereign nation unto one’s self. Ex-patriate status, where you opt to live in another country allows you to essentially renounce your US citizenship without losing the ability to survive, not live, survive. I wish you all the best in your endeavours, and by all means, feel free to keep us posted.
Tortuga de las Marinas, I just want to say thank you very much for your comment! I deeply value your input.
>>While I understand the thought process, to determine sovereignty after exhausting welfare benefits seems unjust.
Thank you, and your observation is understandable. I wrestled with this notion myself, and came to my own conclusion which you may or may not agree with. First, my benefits are from unemployment, which is my social security account I have been paying into since I was 16 years old. I have paid my taxes since I could first hand a dollar bill to someone behind a cash-register, and since I wash my first dirty dish on my first job. Although some would argue it is not necessary for us to pay our income tax if you really research the topic and read between the lines, I have continually done so every tax season. Some could see me using this benefit money as me taking a “handout from the government”, but again in my perspective it was my money they were taking from me from the beginning. I loaned it to them for just such a “rainy day” when I might need the money. From my view the point you make about this being “unjust” is along the lines of what some “puristic” and frankly I feel fanciful people would make. We live in a deeply deeply deeply flawed system. This system governs every single other system in our daily lives. There would be no perfectly “just” way to make this transition other then perhaps to off myself. I present these points with no malice, so I hope I don’t come off too strong here. Taking another step back, after I was laid off from my seemingly recession=proof career in the Health Field, I could have decided to refuse the benefit funds, and say moved in with my folks, told my landlord, roommate, and wife at the time to deal with it once they asked where the rent money is, and sat under the desert sun to become scorpion food. The bottom line is the entire situation sucks, and no matter what direction I went I would have to use some sort of safety net and make my own internal compromise somehow. I choose not to burden or further harm those I love and whom depend on my own independence (or appearance of independence), and make the transition to true self-sufficiency. As I have stated multiple times throughout this website, this is a metamorphosis. This is a transition as we speak. There will be imperfection, mishaps, and perhaps even a few hypocritical facts presented here. I hope you can at least value that I am being honest, as I could easily falsify my current means of sustenance for my readers?
>>>I spoke with someone who did the “Occupy Phoenix” for the 100 days – only to have him tell me that he repeatedly left to go home, shower, do laundry, cook food, etc. – but felt sovereignty was the best option. I asked him why bother if you didn’t have the conviction to truly occupy.
Well you very well could have been speaking to me at the time, as that was the case for me. I was and still am active with Occupy Phoenix, and at the time I had full-employment (with several projects and businesses also under my belt), and did in fact shower. Once again I feel this puristic viewpoint is rather silly. Don’t get me wrong, I am a big idealist myself. However there is no perfect mode of being within a flawed system, or at least while making a transition. This criticism has also been given to pioneers of post-capitalistic systems and the Deep Green Resistance movement such as Derrick Jenson, Derek Wall and others. Anarcho-primitivists and others such as myself that are making a transition to “money-free” living get this criticism all the time from people whom themselves are likely to be leading very “unpure” and hypocritical lifestyles themselves. However I will say this entire website and project its self IS my attempt at pleasing (or making a poor example not to follow for) those such as yourself and even the creators of Family Guy. It is silly to make fun of or point out flaws in logic or mode of being to those that ARE taking proactive steps, while remaining dormant and not also taking your own personal steps and standing by your convictions as well. I am not saying that you are not making such changes in your life or that you don’t have such views, just making a general statement about the general populist that denounces the brave acts of others, which I am convinced is linked to their own lack of courage to do the same thing.
>>>When confronted with the reality of sovereignty means no electricity….
First I want to say that sovereignty is about self-ownership and its definition and manifestation can only take the form of the individual whom perceives themselves to be sovereign or free. In my view it is all about NOT letting others dictate or have jurisdiction of your way of life, so long as you are not causing avoidable suffering onto other living creatures. There are many ways of generating your own power sources independent of the grid and this global infrastructure, which you will find plenty about as you continue to watch my journey.
>>>no business exchange (as it falls under illegal trade regulations)…
Again you can’t define for others how a free or natural person chooses to live their lives. In my view at least. The way you define “business”, “trade”, “value”, “exchange” and so in is not likely to fall in line completely with me and so on and so-forth. I would however like to ask for supporting details or resources of how you view all exchanges falling under illegal trade regulations.
>>> the barter system will only go so far in the dead of Winter without heat.
You are right about this, however luckily for me I presently live in Arizona and it is summer time. This dilemma will encourage me to be creative to make sure I do have other options other then simple barter in place before winter in what ever altitude I might be at that season. There are after all numerous other options, such as work exchanges, cooperative ventures, time-exchanges, local currencies and so on and so forth. All of which I intend on and/or am presently using, developing, and/or networking with.
>>>You cannot cross borders as you would not have legal, binding documents to do so – you can be imprisoned in most countries for this action alone. You cannot seek medical attention in any country, if required. It’s a lot harder than one might think in regard to becoming a sovereign nation unto one’s self.
You are correct about all of this. There are creative solutions to all of these situations I have read others utilizing. Some I may exercise, some I may not. For example presently I do not have any form of picture identification on me (interestingly enough through a series of extenuated circumstances. I intended on this eventually happening, but it happened sooner then anticipated). Again this forces me to be creative if I want to say hang with friends at a club that asks to see my ID (which I do still get if I don’t know the door person), try and buy cigars or alcohol (which I take as a sign I don’t need it THAT badly if they do restrict me), and only support those small businesses and entities that don’t care for such trivial things as seeing a persons papers. Again this is an ongoing journey which I intend on writing all about. I am excited to have you here!
>>>Ex-patriate status, where you opt to live in another country allows you to essentially renounce your US citizenship without losing the ability to survive, not live, survive.
This is a great point. I am not too familiar with Ex-patriation but I am glad you are bringing this up regardless. I am sure I am metaphorically beating a dead horse here, but such criticisms cast upon me and my situation now during this transition is like mocking a baker for making a poor cake before it reaches the oven. This is not a finished product, but a process. I have a location in mind where I am seriously considering becoming a patron of at some-point, and they do require others to renounce U.S. citizenship in order to become part of their Independent Republic. It is per-mature for me to discuss this matter much further, but as I get closer to this step I intend on writing about it at length. As far as “live” vs. “survive” once again this is a matter of perspective and it to me and my creator to define how it fits for me. I personally feel that all those years of me working for companies I loathed, scooting around in a social system I detest, and being untrue to my morals and ethics I was not truly living, just barely surviving. This feels MUCH more like true life to me. However once again I can not expect for my view and experience to be the absolute or ultimate standard which others need subscribe to. I never have been a fan of that mentality. I merely intend on making an example for others (either good, bad or a dynamic mix of both), and posing a possible option for others to follow should they feel it fits into their intention and purpose.
>>>I wish you all the best in your endeavours, and by all means, feel free to keep us posted.
Thank you very much! Once again it is a pleasure to have you hear and your comments are a delight. I need plenty of people such as yourself presenting their view and aiding me on this quest. You are more then welcome to comment and add input any time!
Respectfully yours,
XenitH
As an update, I am no longer on unemployment benefits!
As an update, with one business I mixed far too much friendship with business and ended with the rope I gave them around my neck. I felt used and stolen from multiple times, and after exhausting all options I strongly stood up for myself I was publicly ridiculed and shamed. I lost many close friends, and an unknown amount of acquaintances.
Lesson Learned.
Currently brainstorming my next step, as many options lay before me (all rocky/scary options), but a choice must be made.
Stay tuned.