What I believe in
I.
Freedom is the most intoxicating feeling in the world.
It's:
leaving a job that you hate.
setting your own hours.
traveling the world.
spending time on the activities and people you love.
having sexual and romantic options.
answering to no one but yourself.
II.
To feel truly alive, we need to break free first.
III.
There are at least 8 different types of freedom:
Financial freedom: You don't have to work for money.
Geographical freedom: You're not tied to one place.
Sexual freedom: You're not bound by monogamy or marriage.
Freedom of time: You spend your day exactly as you choose.
Freedom of passion: You only follow your interests.
Emotional freedom: Nothing can shake you.
Intellectual freedom: You look beyond ideological limits.
Spiritual freedom: You can temporarily exit your beehive-like mind.
IV.
Freedom looks different for everyone.
Some people feel most inhibited by their 9-to-5. Others want to escape a bad marriage. Yet another person wants to ditch consumerism and live in a hut in the woods, Walden-style.
There is no right or wrong here — you need to find the right "freedom mix" for you.
V.
You cannot maximize every form of freedom at once. If you try to chase financial freedom, location independence, and relationship freedom all at the same time, you will paralyze yourself.
You must prioritize.
VI.
Nobody can make you free but yourself.
No government, no system, no social reform.
It is on you.
VII.
Most people think freedom should feel liberating right out of the gate. It will not. Freedom is an engineering question. To break out of societal defaults, you need systems and habits that will carry you.
Ironically, to become free, you must first become more structured.
VIII.
Freedom is the question — lifestyle design is the answer.
We must architect our way to freedom.
1.
I was born in Germany, close to Frankfurt.
2.
As a child, my dad took me to the US several times, which started my ongoing love-hate relationship with the States. I also studied there.
3.
I am an utter nerd. Fantasy novels. Model airplanes. Juggling. LARPs. I have done it all.
4.
Being bullied as a kid led to my interest in combat sports. I am a black belt in both Brazilian jiu-jitsu and judo.
5.
I have broken my left collarbone three times, had surgery on my right knee, ripped the LCL in my left knee, separated my shoulder, and broke my nose — all while training.
6.
OCD is my middle name. I make lists for everything, like to place stuff symmetrically, and must check that the oven is turned off multiple times.
7.
My favorite places in the world are New York City, Rome, and all of Southeast Asia.
8.
For the last 16 years, I have only been in open relationships of some kind.
9.
To this day, I have not met a person who can eat more than me. Same thing with drinking alcohol (even though I rarely drink).
10.
Speaking of food, I have been eating a paleo diet since 2013. It cured my lifelong chronic sinus infections.
11.