7-Step Blueprint to Live Your Countryside Dream

No.015 — Read old posts on Tinyfarmlab.com
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In 2020, like everyone else, both our life plans went for a toss. But that period made us introspect our lifestyles. We asked ourselves some important questions.

Where does our food come from?

What is the impact of the construction industry on the planet?

Do we want to spend most of our time in cities with poor air quality?

In July 2020, we both realized we had a common dream.

A dream to move to the mountains and live a meaningful life. A life where we could not only be close but engage with nature. A place where we could be our authentic selves, explore, and celebrate our human potential.

We wanted to build a mud house and create art with our hands. Something pure and sacred. Grow our food, see the sun go down behind the mountains, and live an imperfect sustainable life. Create a positive impact on the local community.

Little did we know, we would be living our dream life in 6 months.

On the morning of 14th March 2021, we sipped coffee on the terrace overlooking the Great Ganges. It was surreal.

We had moved to a remote village in the forest near Rishikesh in India. You can watch the video of how we moved to the mountains on YouTube.

The journey has been a bumpy ride, full of emotions. We made several mistakes along the way and conquered various new challenges.

Was it worth it? Hell, yes!

The life experiences and the skills we learned along the way are invaluable.

If you are a dreamer like us who wants to live on a farm next to a creek, surrounded by a like-minded community. You want your children to grow up exploring the forests and chasing butterflies. You don't have to postpone your dream to a distant future.

Today, we want to share the seven-step process that helped us move to the rural pastures.

1) Deep Desire:

In life, you only get what you ask for. You should have a deep desire that arises from a combination of pain and dream outcome, more from the former.

Pain in the present situation - the job you hate, traffic in the city, etc.

Dream outcome - owning a farm and being surrounded by your tribe.

As Simon Sinek says "Start with why." You must have a strong "why" for choosing a new lifestyle. Write it down somewhere you can go back and read it.

When things don't go as per your plan, the path looks uncertain, and you feel like quitting. Motivation is not enough. You will have to fall back on your "why" and refuel to keep moving forward.

Your desire boils down to how bad do you want it? 

You can't stop obsessing about your desire. You bring it up at every party and you consume every possible content on people living your dream life. Live and breathe your desire.

2) Visualization

So, what's your desire? What do you really want?

Is it to shift to a mountain or a beach town or both?

How big a land do you imagine?

Who are you living with?

You have to be clear in your vision and know what exactly you want. For this, you can use tools like a vision board, or mind map, or simply write down your vision. Don’t set boundaries, let your imagination run wild.

3) Overcome your Fears and have Faith

" I am not ready, yet. "

" What if..."

As soon as you write your vision, all kinds of self-limiting fears start to pop up.

For example,

Fear of Loss - Loss of security of a comfortable salary, or other luxuries of the city.

Fear of Process - The hard work required to find the right place, grow food, build a house, etc.

Fear of the Outcome - What if... the business idea does not work out, or the countryside life is not for you?

You can do the fear-setting exercise by Tim Ferris to help you define and conquer your fears. Remember, courage is not the absence of fear but fear walking.

In your deepest core, you have to have faith that you can achieve your desire. You have to remove all doubts by taking action. Create a mental image of your dream.

4) Planning the Move

Moving to the countryside is not an overnight event but a process. Daily affirmations and vision boards are not enough. It requires elaborate planning.

Start by assessing your current situation - lifestyle, finances, and commitments. Based on your life audits, fix a date by which you want to move to the countryside.

Creating a deadline helps you divide your desire into workable goals. You can further break your goals into tiny actionable steps. Your plan could include things like setting parameters for the choice of location. Revenue streams you would want to create. Lifestyle transitions that are required.

5) Test the Waters and Refine your Plan

If you think life in the woods or the mountains or wherever you wish to be is for you. Go try it out. Rent a place or volunteer in the region for more than 14 days. Scout lands, explore the income streams, the infrastructure, and the community.

Reach out to people who have made the move to your desired location and elsewhere. Create your team of masterminds to guide you.

This will help you give a realistic picture and refine your initial plan with exact figures.

6) Start Where You Are and Gain Specialised Knowledge

You will never be completely ready. You have to begin immediately. Nobody is going to permit you to start. You already have the permission.

You don't need an acre of land to start growing food, you can start with a small pot. Focus on the knowledge that will help you live your countryside dream. Start learning about growing food, building a natural house, creating revenue streams, etc. Take online courses, attend physical workshops, and volunteer to apply your knowledge.

When you have a calling, you never stop learning!

Start aligning your behaviors with the person you see yourself in your dream.

7) Share your Dream with Friends and Family.

Having the support of your family and friends is invaluable. Start by showing them documentaries of people living your dream life.

Organize a dinner or a picnic and make a small presentation of your dream life. Ask them to spread the word for you and connect you with the right people in their network.

Sharing in public also creates accountability.

Surround yourself with other like-minded dreamers who are doers. People who energize and believe in you.

According to the author of the book "Top 5 Regrets of Dying," Bronnie Ware, no.1 on the list is “I wish I'd had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.”

Our current circumstances and competencies should not limit our vision for the future. That is why it is a process and not an event. We can develop our skills, and unlock our potential along the journey but we have to start somewhere.

So we urge you to start living your dream, now!

If you have a deep desire to live your countryside dream we're here to share what we've learned on our journey. So you can avoid the same mistakes and blind spots to make your countryside dream a reality.

Let's achieve our dreams together.

Love and courage,

Kumar "We got your back" brothers

Share your countryside dream with us. Reply to this mail.

PS: We’d also love to know what you thought of this newsletter, feel free to write feedback.

What you can watch - The Biggest Little Farm

The Biggest Little Farm is the eight-year quest of John and Molly Chester as they trade city living for 200 acres of barren farmland and a dream to harvest in harmony with nature.

This is the movie we showed to our parents, friends, and family to convince them of our dream ;)

What you can listen - TFF Podcast I Why Are Creatives Choosing Rural Life? with Karen Rosenkranz

Meet Karen Rosenkranz, a trend forecaster, ethnographer, and author behind 'City Quitters: Creative Pioneers Pursuing Post-Urban Life.' 📚 Join us on a journey as we explore the motivations behind creatives leaving cities for rural pastures. What's life like in the countryside, and what are the unique benefits and challenges? 🌿🏡

What you can read - City Quitters: An Exploration of Post-Urban Life

What does it mean to leave city life behind? Can the reality of living in the countryside fulfill our desire for a better, simpler, more creative life? This book by Karen Rosenkraanz is an attempt to shed light on what rural life can be like today, With all its joys and challenges, providing a fresh look at the people and scenes thriving outside urban spaces. from experimental co-habitation in a Renaissance castle to oversized artworks on a farm, city quitters offers a global perspective on creative post-urban life: 22 stories from 12 countries and five continents, all based in places with fewer than 10, 000 inhabitants.

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