Did Carla do BUFO in Mexico, and other stories from Anarchapulco… And, Tammy announces a great get in Tulsi Gabbard speaking at Liberty Forum on March 16th. GET YOUR TIX NOW.
Day One:
Welcome to Anarchapulco! Yesterday kicked off with speaker orientation, a shamanic blessing, and a circus! I also went exploring–Acapulco was hit by Otis, a devastating Category 5 hurricane last October and the damage is pretty bleak–followed by delicious roadside tacos ala Anthony Bourdain 
and then as I was heading home, I caught a beachy sunset. Looking forward to this week of discovering new things!
Day Two:
Today started with a 5.0 earthquake, a long walk on the beach, many fascinating talks, and connecting with interesting people. We are asking for the earth to remain still and rains to come at night when it least disturbs. I stared deep into the eyes of a stranger while holding hands for a whole song (I cried), had a meaningful talk with NJ gym owner Ian Smith, and I’m still 99.9% sure the earth’s round. I’m surprised by how few people have heard of what we’ve accomplished in New Hampshire, but I love hearing people say, “Oh another one from NH. I’ve been hearing about you guys!”
Day Three:
Day three of Anarchapulco is exactly what you would expect. It’s the day… You know the one. When everyone starts dragging ass, you realize why direct sunlight kills Vamps, and then the power goes out at the venue too (but luckily the Main Stage runs on generators).This morning, I enjoyed a long sunrise walk on the beach again and had a quick chat with Beth Martens.
If you’re seeking greater health, look into grounding/earthing… I first felt the benefits here in Acapulco in 2020, becoming aware of how good I felt after early morning beach walks and figuring out walking barefoot had something to do with it, and now I sleep with a grounding mat at home for the times I can’t get barefoot (I’m looking at you, NH Winters).
I connected with several speakers, yelled a correctly-timed, I-got-yer-back RON PAUL from the rear of the tent at the Gold Bug on stage (Wise Wolf Gold, pictured below), enjoyed a late lunch, and now I’m prepping for my emceeing (I get to introduce Free Stater, farmer, and father, Jay Noone, yay!) and my session on Sovereign Living tomorrow.
While the waiter at the hotel’s restaurant and I don’t speak the same language, we do, and he is in a battle to give me the hottest hot sauce. So far, I’m standing my ground, but real tears were shed this afternoon.
Taking an early night so that I can do a good job tomorrow continuing to raise the vibe of the tribe! Live free and thrive!
Day Four:
I’m officially pooped. I started the day sun-gazing while walking on the beach and ended it on a solo swim in the ocean in the dark. Top 10 scary thing!
In between, I did a 20 minute RAD talk, facilitated a feedback session, and introduced 8 fascinating speakers. I was on/off stage all day and my neck has never been more burned.
In South Africa, the Boers called the British “rooinekke” which literally translates to “rednecks” (because their necks burned as they lay in wait in the grass). This has nothing to do with anarchy per se but makes me realize
I’m punch-drunk with exhaustion (and hunger bc that banana I bought on the walk back to the hotel is a… plantain).
Until tomorrow.
Day Five:
Took kinda a slow one today and worked on myself.
A sunrise stroll, a dip in the ocean, cerviche, taking pleasure in the beauty around me, meeting Ian Smith, watching Jay Noone masterfully run the art auction, catching up with some of the incredible women I met this week, and listening to Jeff Berwick, where he gave me and the Free State Project and PorcFest a shout out, thanks!
The theme of this year’s event is REBORN and the logo is a Phoenix rising. And as he himself recognized in his closing remarks, Jeff truly seems like a different person since quitting alcohol and starting meditation.
Last time I attended, back in 2020, I gave one of my favorite talks to date. In that speech, I also spoke of quitting alcohol in 2017 and healing myself through diet (low carb/whole foods/avoid seed oils), meditation, exercise/yoga, and good social connections.
I’m reminded we are all fallible beings trying to be our best. Sometimes, we succeed.
Kudos to the entire Anarchapulco production team, and especially Catherine Bonandin who persuaded me to come. So glad I did! Love to you all! 
Last Day (not counting tomorrow when I leave):
Last day in Acapulco before heading home to the Free State tomorrow (long day of travel on my 52nd birthday).
Today I had coconut for breakfast with a fantastic fellow traveler, took a walk on the beach towards Acapulco where the devastation of Hurricane Otis is even more noticeable, and I felt another small earthquake just now, so, just so you know, I *did* feel the earth move! 
I turn 52 today! As I sit in the Acapulco Airport waiting for my flight back to the Free State, I’m thinking about, well, the screaming brat yelling I WANT TO GO PEE-PEE, but as I channel my inner calm here lol, I’m thinking about how fortunate I am.
I have an amazing, loving husband, Louis Calitz. I have incredible friends who adore me. I have a high-energy dog, Obi, who keeps me fit, and my imaginary backyard dinosaurs have started laying again. I cherish the house we bought that we’re slowly renovating, the place that gave me the roots I needed to heal.
I choose to live in the world’s only libertarian homeland, in a community thousands and thousands strong, who have my back and I have theirs. Live free and thrive!
I am grateful for my life and everything I have accomplished to date. But I also yearn for more… More travel, more adventure, more discovery of myself and the world at this unique time in history.
I seek more success as a writer, artist, and teacher.
This Anarchapulco reminded me I need to keep pushing myself to new heights, in uncomfortable directions, and never give up on becoming my true self.
This starts with integrity to self, making sure your thoughts and actions are aligned. It means having hard conversations. Acknowledging faults and figuring out how to do better next time. Celebrating successes and striving for more!
I am proud of the woman I have become. I can’t wait to see what I do in the next 52 years!
Thank you for all the birthday wishes. I love you all! 
I turn 52 today! As I sit in the Acapulco Airport waiting for my flight back to the Free State, I’m thinking about, well, the screaming brat yelling I WANT TO GO PEE-PEE, but as I channel my inner calm here lol, I’m thinking about how fortunate I am.
I have an amazing, loving husband, Louis Calitz. I have incredible friends who adore me. I have a high-energy dog Obi who keeps me fit and my imaginary backyard dinosaurs have started laying again. I live in the world’s only libertarian homeland, in a community thousands and thousands strong, who have my back and I have theirs. I cherish the house we bought that we’re slowly renovating, the place that gave me the roots I needed to heal.
I am grateful for my life and everything I have accomplished to date. But I also yearn for more… More travel, more adventure, more discovery of myself and the world at this unique time in history. I seek more success as a writer, artist, and teacher.
This Anarchapulco reminded me I need to keep pushing myself to new heights, in uncomfortable directions, and never give up on becoming my true self.
This starts with integrity to self, making sure your thoughts and actions are aligned. It means having hard conversations. Acknowledging faults and figuring out how to do better next time. Celebrating successes and striving for more!
I am proud of the woman I have become. I can’t wait to see what I do in the next 52 years!
Thank you for all the birthday wishes. I love you all!
“No one can lose either the past or the future – how could anyone be deprived of what he does not possess? It is only the present moment of which either stands to be deprived: and if this is all he has, he cannot lose what he does not have.”
~ Marcus Aurelius
NOW.
So if you want a satisfying life, you should ask yourself how you spend your time and change the time-sucks that don’t serve you.
What are some activities that you can re-imagine or retool in 2024 to bring you closer to your dreams?
Do you even know what you want for 2024? <— Start here!
Spending too much time playing video games? Make sure you take a 30 minute walk outside beforehand.
Tired of having to attend the same monthly meetings? Decide if these are still supporting your goals & streamline accordingly.
Take stock of your current habits and see how they align with your identified desires.
Want to be healthier? Invest time in your diet, exercise, and lifestyle choices. Eliminate seed oils. Avoid carbs. Make sure you’re hydrating. Sleep.
Want to be wealthier? Invest time in dis-investing from the fiat world and build physical and digital wealth with hard metals and crypto.
Want to be happier? Decide what gives you purpose and pursue it with verve!
We Free Staters who moved to live free in New Hampshire are fortunate in this sense because our purpose is clear:
Live free or die.
Live free and thrive!
Join us: fsp.org
“Who is your master? Whoever has authority over anything that you’re anxious to gain or avoid.” ~ Epictetus
Read that again.
Your master is anything YOU ARE ANXIOUS to blah-blah…
In other words, if you want mastery of your life, true command of yourself, it is up to YOU.
It’s a mindset.
Break down that word: mind and set.
You have to understand what you want (mind) and then drive your intention there (set).
Knowing what you want to gain or avoid starts with knowing yourself.
To know your mind, develop a note-taking or journaling habit.
Mine? “Dear Diary…”
Learn to write down your stated goals and identify your known triggers… Or, perhaps you’re not there yet, maybe you’re still unpacking something… And that’s OK.
Remember: WHAT you are writing down is less important than THAT you are writing things down.
Over time, your journaling habit will enable you to better set your mind because the more you write, the more adept you become at knowing your mind.
Getting clarity on your thoughts will likely surprise you.
To master a good life, you need to do less time traveling in your noggin’ and more living in the now. Anxiety stems from not living in the present.
Writing things down is the bridge. You can take your time traveling past worry or future anxiety, and by putting pen to paper, you make it now, you are creating that thought in the present.
Now you can examine it in this timeline and decide how much true weight to give it, because IN THE NOW, whatever is on the page, is probably not happening or is not nearly as bad as you IMAGINED.
This should help you understand our thoughts are figments of our own imaginations, and we have control over this. Negative thoughts (ones that induce anxiety, stress, worry) should be relegated and released, and positive ones (your dreams, goals, aspirations) should be captured and created.
Journaling lets you see where you are time traveling to, and then helps you decide if these thoughts serve you or not.
The more you become adept at dispelling negative thoughts, the more you gain mastery of your timeline.
And this, your timeline, your time, how you spend your time and where your mind travels–whether to far away galaxies or the gutter–is your life, and the beauty of life is you are free to choose the landscape of your mind.
Choose wisely. Choose the galaxies. Choose to shine.
I did something this morning I haven’t done in about 5 years…
And in doing so… I got a jump on one of my 2024 goals…
Which is…
BEING STRONG! 
Yep, that’s the face of a woman who just finished a session at Planet Fitness.
Now don’t get me wrong, I have a decent home gym where I do yoga/stretching/hanging (current time: 48 seconds!) and I have been lifting weights every week or so (maybe a little too “so”) but I have a shoulder that’s niggly and I want to keep trying different things as I build up to free hanging for 90 seconds (that’s another 2024 goal) so back to Planet Fitness “to Lunk” we go! 
I’m grateful to Louis for pushing me, AND spoiling me with the upgrade so I can use the massage table and red light therapy station as a reward if I want.
For most of my adult life, I chose to “reward” myself with things that made me unwell–alcohol, hard drugs, no sleep–but now that I have come to my senses (literally), I choose to reward myself with things that make me feel good and enhance my wellbeing: exercise, quality time with people I love, nourishing food and sleep, and concentrating on how to be my best.
Are you thinking about your life? Do you have an inkling of where you want to be in 5 years? How can your goals for 2024 help you get there?
Meeting small incremental goals day by day eventually accumulate into a new version of you over time, as those who know me and have watched me change over the past 5 years can attest.
This week, write down whenever you hear yourself talking or thinking about the future. See if there’s a pattern that might serve as a guide to where you’re heading.
Where am I heading?
I’m identifying my word of 2024. I like to pick a word and center intentions around them as an integrated, holistic way to goal set.
Over the past few years, my words have been:
2019: Vibrance
2020: Evolve
2021: Effort & Ease
2022: I don’t remember rn & I find that hilarious
2023: Create
If this type of aspirational framing–finding one overarching word or “vibe”–resonates with you, let me know. I’d love to explore this more with you!
Coming up soon…
Stay tuned for more reflections on life, goal setting, and how to optimize your time for happiness.
New to me?
Learn more about my health journey right here on The Art of Independence: I lost 50+ lbs adopting a low carb lifestyle; I reversed my anxiety; I quit alcohol and learned to kinda-sorta love myself.
Light at the end of the tunnel! A cliché, yes, but as we enter winter, always a good mindset to carry against the literal darkness.
Figuring out your winter coping strategies is vital to being a well-adjusted Free Stater.
Here are some of mine, AKA “An African in North-East America” 
:
Proper clothing! The Scandinavians say there’s no such thing as cold weather, only improper clothing. Woolen socks, silk undergarments, good gloves and hats all go a long way to making the cold days more toasty.
Get outside! I take almost daily 45+ minute walks. Yeah, you’re not going to feel like it some days, but go do it anyway. Even just around the block but hopefully farther. One of the best reasons to get a dog… built-in accountability partner! If you don’t have a pet, find someone to walk with you or who will check-in to see if you did.
Happy light! Yes, both the orange ball in the sky that you should be looking at intentionally at sunrise and sunset, but also, get an additional boost with a desktop light therapy lamp. Even 5 minutes a day will improve your mood.
Up or start taking Vitamin D. Just do it.
Meditation! A positive mindset in winter can make a massive difference. I used to get depressed when our Overlords decreed that the time change, resulting in it being dark at 4:20pm, but that was before I understood winter doesn’t get worse and worse, darker and darker, for longer and longer, but rather, instead, it starts getting lighter again before Christmas. Then it’s just the home-stretch to Spring!
If you just need a break… get away! Maybe you can’t afford to travel somewhere sunny and warm, but you can fake a summer-like experience at home. Pick your favorite beach movies, make some of your favorite summer foods, and throw a picnic on a blanket in front of the TV.
Socialize! Or nest! Remember, human contact is important, but also, for me, winter is a wonderful time to recharge my batteries, reflect on what I’ve accomplished, get projects that slipped under fresh eyeballs, catch up, cocoon, and contemplate next steps.
What do you want to accomplish in 2024?
What can you get done over the next 2 months to position yourself for success?
Is there something on the 2023 list you can still bang out? (I’m looking at you basement floor project! lol)
Is there one thing you can do for a friend that will make a remarkable difference in their lives?
Is there one lifestyle tweak you can introduce now, that if practiced routinely for the next 45 days will create a new sustainable lifetime habit? (I’m looking at you, HYDRATION.)
When winter comes, it can seem never-ending, but, as the Stoics and my Ma will say: This too shall pass.
How YOU choose to let Winter pass is, well, up to YOU!
Live mindfully free, use tricks to make life better, and thrive!
[Photo: Louis and Obi on Head Pond Trail last Sunday.]
Sign up today for our Investor Newsletter, where you can find various Porcupine Property Picks.
It’s been yonks since I made a FREEDOMNOMNOM post… but not because I haven’t been cooking!
Last 5 meals in my kitchen: low & slow Bardo Farm beef short rib stew on bed of arugula, which gave me the broth for soup after I batch cooked ground beef & pork meatballs, which gave me today’s leftover meatballs w/sheep/goat’s cheese salad with blackberries & pumpkin seeds, plus some roasted marrow bones w/cucumber, and lettuce wrapped burgers with garden salsa from earlier in the week.
Choosing to nourish yourself to improve and/or maintain your health doesn’t have to be hard or a huge time suck.
Meals in my kitchen either go long enough so I can forget about it for hours, or they take under 30 minutes.
Try this hack:
Make a healthy salad for lunch every day with this formula: prewashed leaves (arugula/mixed), some kind of berry (blue/straw/rasp/black), some kind of cheese (blue/feta/goat’s), some kind of protein (leftover steak, diced ham, canned tuna, boiled eggs, etc.), some kind of nut or seed (pumpkin, sesame, sliced almonds) add equal measures olive oil & vinegar to dress the leaves, and voila!: A healthy delicious meal in under 10 minutes!
Your life choices ARE your life, and what you choose to fuel yourself with matters.
Fuel well; feel well. Feel well? Live free and thrive!