Best advice of 2007

Whether you make New Year’s resolutions or not, there can’t be many people out there who don’t use the start of a new year as an opportunity to start a new project, kick an old habit or re-evaluate their goals. I’ve trawled through Drop Out Diaries and picked out the best tips since my adventure […]

The Facebook status update

Down here in the wilds of Cornwall (well, Newquay…) where I hardly know anyone - not well enough to suggest going to the pub on a Tuesday evening for no particular reason - I rely on social networks such as Facebook and forum sites to keep me in touch with friends and family. My mum’s […]

What dropping out means today

I began writing this article with the aim of explaining what I mean by dropping out. In essence, I am talking about dropping out of the rat race, out of the nine-to-five wage slavery toil. But there’s much more to it than just giving up a high-flying city job in favour of a place in […]

Drop out music - my top ten

This is my selection of ‘drop out’ music - clever, funky, chilled-out, off-beat sounds. These ten artists are superb musicians, first and foremost. But they also have a real grip on the fundamentals of life, what’s important, what’s really worth thinking about. Below is a link to my favourite albums and if you scroll down […]

Get more out of life by saying “yes”

I have just read an absorbing article over at GetRichSlowly which talks about the power of saying “yes” instead of “no”.
It really struck a chord with me. Despite my bullish nature and willingness to throw myself into dramatic situations such as giving up my job, too often I feel fear about doing the simplest things, […]

What dropping out means to me

I’ve just come across a very thoughtful essay about “dropping out” by a chap called Ran Prieur. It chimes with a lot of things I have been thinking about in recent days. I don’t always agree with or entirely understand everything in the essay but it is so good (and all too rare) to be […]

A portfolio life

I found an interesting piece on the web that expresses where things seem to be heading at the moment:
“Having a career isn’t mandatory in order to be a success. Instead, you could opt for a “portfolio life” (see Charles Handy’s book, The Age of Unreason, 1989). That option recognizes the importance of adequate income, but […]

How to give up the rat race

I am finding that there is a lot of information out there for people who want to leave the rat race, live a simple life or take time out. For example:

unconventionalideas.com/possaddi.html - Three ways to get over possession addiction
mythbreakers.com/pci/eison03.htm - How to live economically
whywork.org - Exploring the intriguing question…why work?