face and the easiest way to escape a rat race you see him those ducks pretty
happy right now I've got them penned up right next to the garden they're doing
slug patrol these days
so ever since I quit my job in Washington DC and moved up to this farm
here in northern Vermont people have asked me a lot about how I quit the rat
race and in some ways I kind of feel like it's true I did quit the rat race I
quit chasing a paycheck I quit chasing a job title
I quit chasing things that weren't going to ultimately make me happy and I moved
up here to this farm to raise ducks and geese and trees and barn cats and just
all-around be a guy who's trying to learn how to start a farm but if I'm
being really honest with myself and if I'm being really honest with you guys I
didn't really you know like quit the rat race I mean for example it's around 6:45
at night I just got home back to the farm after working off farm all day I'm
scrambling around trying to get the chores with the animals done and get
this video shot for you guys and make dinner for Allyson and me I'm constantly
having way too many commitments and not enough time and I'm scrambling to meet
deadlines and do the things that I need to do and I'm working harder than I have
ever worked in my entire life and I probably don't get as much sleep as I
should beginning but I'm also probably happier than I ever have been in my
entire life
oh by the way I'm sure you guys are dying for an update on how many
ducklings we've hatched since the last video I'll give you an update at the end
of this video well yeah like I was saying well I don't feel like I've
escaped the rat race I do feel like I figured out a way to make my life feel a
bit better and be more enjoyable and there is admittedly a direct correlation
with that feeling and moving up here to the farm look at the Ducks see them off
they know what time it is they're getting ready for dinner and for all you
guys who are wondering and saw that video where I planted the grass seed
it's starting to sprout up you can see some grass you can see some clover
coming in the mix up there now it's really starting to pop here so in the
not-too-distant future there should be grass surrounding our future pond the
ducks know what time it is and the geese know the time it is look they are
getting ready they know it's time for food admittedly life here on the farm is
much easier and much simpler life here in Vermont has a lot less friction than
living in Washington DC at this stage of my life it better suits my needs and
interests but by no means do I feel like I've escaped the rat race I feel like
the change in geography and the change in lifestyle though has helped me get a
different perspective on the world and that perspective has made all the
difference and speaking of perspective you guys
notice these apples
I think they're almost ripe enough to pick this is a good apple tree very tart
I'm a very enjoyable and then a couple of days I'm going to move the geese in
here so they can pick up all the drops look as everybody describes it right the
rat race is pretty straightforward and simple you work hard and you make money
and you buy stuff and then you have to work harder to make more money to buy
more stuff and maintain the stuff that you have and then it's just constant
vicious cycle working hard buying stuff and working hard and buying stuff and
you get all caught up in thinking about what other people think about you and
how they perceive your actions and how they perceive your possessions and how
your possessions mark you as a person and the value that you have and I'm
going to assume that if you're even watching this video you've already
probably come to some sort of conclusion that that whole cycle is BS and it's not
for you or maybe at least you just have an
inkling that that's the case so I know that this is a little bit of preaching
to the choir but I think it's important to at least first be aware of when we
talk about the rat race what are we talking about
because if we're gonna have a plan to escape the rat race we've got to know
what we're trying to escape by the way as soon as I finish picking this apple
tree this Asian pear tree right next to it let's get in there
it's gonna be next you know funny story the first year we were here on the farm
I found this Asian pear tree and I harvested it way too early and they were
the worst-tasting apples I have ever had but last year because of a little bit of
experience and knowledge and research on my part I ended up picking it after the
first heavy frost and law they were amazing they were wonderful it was such
a good fruit harvest and so just keep that in mind as you're thinking about
that don't mistake an apple tree for an Asian pear now I've got more to explain
on this whole rat race thing but let's go take care of some ghee first
I actually wonder if geese even like apples so we're gonna try this out right
now
well yes that was a total bust all right let's put these guys to bed
Oh
ducks go to bed All ducks go to bed
and I promised you guys a dump in town before this video was over here we go so
in our last video we had only one guy up there is a third one yay we have three
baby ducklings everybody seems like they're doing pretty good yeah so we
have three baby ducklings in three upset moms that is our current
you know when I first moved up to the farm and it was about I don't know about
two three months into moving up here and starting a new job and trying to start
the farm and getting the ducks I had this one point where I sort of reached a
breaking point I was getting really bummed out and getting really depressed
I was overwhelmed with how much work we had to do here at the farm I was
overwhelmed with trying to balance social life and life with my wife and
managing things here on the farm and managing things with my job and it was
just it was driving me nuts and as I reached that breaking point I really
wondered like what the heck was I gonna do you know I've been working so long
and saving so much money and living so frugally all in the name of trying to
get up here and escape the rat race and here I was up here feeling like I was
living in the rat race so it took a conversation with a good
friend who ultimately told me something very important she said it was only a
rat race because I was seeing it that way and the only thing that makes it a
rat race is because you think it's a rat race and that's the attitude that you're
approaching it all and it doesn't matter if you're out on a farm in the middle of
nowhere raising ducks or working a nine-to-five job in a cubicle the only
reason you're running a rat race is because you think you're running a race
and the easiest way to escape a rat race is reframe what you're doing reframe why
you're doing it and then make changes and move towards the things that you
want to do and that doesn't mean you're gonna wake up and everything is gonna be
perfect in all rainbows and unicorns farts and beautiful it just means that
your life is gonna get better because you're seeing what you're doing and
you're seeing the story that you're living in a positive way and you're
letting that motivate you and be the thing that drives you not competition
with other people not the beliefs and perceptions of other people or not some
fantasy life that you've dreamed up in your mind that you hope one day to lead
you know by virtue of the fact that you're watching this video on YouTube
I'm sure several of the suggested videos that are gonna surround it are gonna be
all from get-rich-quick hucksters talking about here's how you need to
save four percent and spend four percent and live this financially frugal life
that will allow you to quit working and retire when you're 32 and
all of this nonsense and they're really stressed that it's nonsense
yes saving money is wise yes investing money is wise yes having a plan for your
future is wise but it's not magic and it's not science and any sort of course
or any sort of thing that somebody's going to try to sell you on the topic
it's just going to be a load of duct duty