Dirtbags and ERE:
A few of us have discussed the concept of dirtbagging in relation to ERE. I read Yvon Chouinard's memoir a while back and have been consuming a lot of video content from Patagonia, Yeti, and filmmakers who are in that social circle (Jeff Johnson, Dan Malloy, Jimmy Chin, etc.). I've wanted to write up a post on this, but hadn't really collected my thoughts. I'm not sure I'm quite there yet, but wanted to put something down so I can move on to other things or hear from others.
Here's a quick definition that popped up first on google for those that aren't familiar with the term: Dirtbags are people that forsake the comforts of home and material belongings to pursue their passion. The classic example is the dirtbag climber that lives out of their van and thinks tortillas with peanut butter is an acceptable dinner.
I saw this post on the front page a couple days ago and it seemed to relate, which is why I'm finally writing this up:
https://earlyretirementextreme.com/what ... lists.html
I didn't participate much in all of the recent Wheaton Level discussions, but I followed along pretty closely and some of the discussion and responses from @Jacob clarified my own understanding of the table and the process of progressing. The WL table is a particularly common path, but not necessarily the only one according to the dialogue. As a meta rule, one can apparently not jump levels (though I'm not sure I completely agree with this). I look at examples like Yvon Chouinard, Doug Tompkins, Alex Honnold, Jimmy Chin, the Malloy brothers, and others in the outdoor adventure world, and think they may have found a better way. Rob Greenfield might be another example in a different context. It's like they found the secret warps to advance to a higher level. The magic flute that lets them skip the whole consumer, salaryman, BS mindset. They just refused to buy into it and became successful through simple living and pursuing their passions or interests. Got to a place where people were paying them to do what they would do for fun.
Let My People Go Surfing - The Education of a Reluctant Businessman:
I've been really interested in Yvon Chouinard for the last five years. It started when I watched 180 degrees south, and then grew as I learned about Patagonia's environmental work. He is an OG dirtbag who tried to navigate capitalism and the business world with a strong environmental ethic.
You can just check out a couple of his talks on YouTube to get an idea of his message, but I particularly like the film Mountain of Storms. It is a lesson about stepping out of your comfort zone, and how that has the potential to change your life:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YxM2cOvq6s8
Doug Tompkins story is possibly more fascinating:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2QDnhjkULdM
As I read the book, it reminded me of ERE on many levels. I think that is the result of a shared environmental ethic, and the fact that a lot of the values are/were basic common sense for generations. He places a large emphasis on working with your hands. He said his kids could do whatever they wanted, as long as they chose a path that allowed them to work with their hands and honed it over the years. Here is a quick review and some quotes that I thought apply here:
The first half of the book is a memoir. It explains how Chouinard transitioned from an aimless wanderer, adventurer, and dirtbag climber to the owner of a small boutique gear company, and then on to a much larger, international business. The second half of the book describes the philosophy of the company - product design, production, distribution, image, financial, human resource, management, and environmental philosophies.
Chouinard has serious concerns about peak oil and climate change. He attempts to structure the business to function in a locally based economy. Cheap transportation that fuels the global economy is unsustainable.
I really started to pay attention to Patagonia as a result of their campaign to protect Bears Ears national monument, which is a scared place for indigenous communities. The more I learned about the company, the more I liked. Yvon Chouinard and Doug Tompkins serve as examples of success based on my values. They lived life on their own terms, prioritized adventure and time outdoors, and built an environmental legacy after understanding the harm caused by contemporary society.
This is their environmental philosophy:
Lead an examined life.
Clean up our own act.
Do our penance.
Support civil democracy.
Influence other companies.
“When Malinda and I made the decision to stay in business, we faced a personal challenge. Could we run a company that does much good and very little harm? Could we turn the company into a model, capable of effecting reform that we as individuals would be unable to accomplish? Could we actually change the way others treat the natural world? The environmental crisis is too big for one company, or ten companies, or one hundred companies.”
“Diversity and sustainability are vital to natural systems of living things, but it’s not always clear how these traits translate into good business practice. We bing with the assumption that our business relies on natural resources to stay alive, and we are therefore a part of the system and obligated to maintain it. We embrace diversity and sustainability in all aspects of business.”
“No matter how diligent we are at Patagonia in trying to cause less harm to the environment with our business, everything we make causes some waste and pollution. So the next step in our responsibility is to pay for our sins until such a time that we hope we can stop sinning.”
“Not many of us believe that our politicians or corporate moguls are going to lead us away from this apocalyptic environmental slide. It’s going to take a revolution, and revolutions don’t start from the top…The Zen master would say if you want to change government, you have to aim at changing corporations, and if you want to change corporations, you first have to change the consumers.”
“Our current landscape is filled with complacency, be it in the corporate world or on the environmental front. Only on the fringes of an ecosystem, those outer rings, do evolution and adaptation occur at a furious pace; the inner center of the system is where the entrenched, non adapting species die off, doomed to failure by maintaining the status quo. Businesses go through the same cycles. Conventional corporations are at the center of the ring, and eventually they will die off, through either their own misdeeds or catastrophic events, such as dismal economic climates or unforeseen competition. Only those businesses operating with a sense of urgency, dancing on the fringe, constantly evolving, open to diversity and new ways of doing things, are going to be here one hundred years from now.”
“I have a different definition of evil from most people. Evil doesn’t have to be an overt act; it can be merely the absence of good. If you have the ability, the resources, and the opportunity to do good and you do nothing, that can be evil.”
“If the world won’t listen to me as an individual, perhaps they’ll listen to the voice of a company of a thousand individuals. I can’t reform the entire conventional farming industry, but I can ensure Patagonia only buys organic cotton, and I can persuade other companies to buy it…If the demand for sustainably grown products ere to become great enough, the markets would change, corporations would have to respond, and then governments would follow.”
“Every time we’ve elected to do the right thing, even when it costs twice as much to do it that way, it’s turned out to be more profitable. This strengthens my confidence that we’re headed in the right direction…When we act positively on solving problems instead of trying to find a way around them, we’re farther along on the path toward sustainability. Plus we are constantly discovering more things we can do.”
“Patagonia’s environmental efforts began in the 1970s simply trying to prevent physical damage to the rock walls of Yosemite. It was about clean climbing and making high-quality products that weren’t disposable. Later we started looking at minimizing the environmental harm associated with manufacturing our products. As we became more aware of the current crisis, we broadened our efforts to include correcting and cleaning up the potentially fatal environmental damage we as a society are inflicting on our planet and ourselves.”
“Climbing mountains is another process that serves as an example for both business and life. Many people don’t understand that how you climb a mountain is more important than reaching the top.”