[Editor: In order to free yourself you need to adopt a certain mindset. Probably the biggest obstacle you will encounter when taking steps to liberate yourself is your own mind -- or rather, the programming inside your mind.

The following essay by David T. Smith is an excellent example of the mindset and attitude necessary to free yourself. In his own life, David has applied Freedom Technology to vastly increase his own personal freedom and wealth.

(Note: "Build Freedom" has superseded the original "Terra Libra" project mentioned below...)]

Although I've devoted considerable time in the last two years since first coming in contact with Terra Libra, to studying and applying what Frederick terms "Freedom Technology," in a very real sense, I still consider myself somewhat of a beginner. I'm indebted to Terra Libra for opening my eyes to the fact that true personal freedom even existed! I hope my story will help others realize that there is much attainable with some effort and -- "Where there is a will, there is a way!"

As a junior in high school back in the mid 60's, I was fortunate in having a libertarian civics teacher. He undermined/obliterated almost everything I'd been taught about our society and supposedly free and just political system! From that point forward I've been a passionate libertarian. About 7 years ago, I found out there was actually a formal Libertarian Party. I felt this must be the "cutting edge" of freedom ideas. But over the course of a year or two, I became quite pessimistic and discouraged about any serious chance of bringing about much freedom during my lifetime, as most of their efforts are aimed at trying to change someone else (a negative), vs. working on changing yourself (a positive). I remember gradually coming to the conclusion that the thing that bothered/angered me most about government, politicians, bureaucrats, society, (my neighbors?) whoever, is that they believe (and ACT as if) they OWN me. For me that was and is UNACCEPTABLE!! I had read Harry Browne's classic How I Found Freedom in an Unfree World and although I loved it and applied much of its philosophy to my personal thinking and social life, I really didn't know there was much that could be done in a practical sense to free myself from the (apparent) bonds of government/society.

Then about 2 years ago, I was casually flipping through a copy of The Libertarian Party News, which I find personally significant since I'd basically given up reading any of their material (what was the use?), when I came across a full-page advertisement for Terra Libra. That ad really "grabbed" me. I'm going to quote some of the ad because for me it sums up so well what Terra Libra is all about and why I like it!

"HOW TO LIVE FREE ALMOST ANYWHERE

"My name is Frederick Mann. In 1977 I became a Free Sovereign Individual. Since then I've lived largely free from government coercion in many parts of the world. I've learned what I call Freedom Technology: the practical knowledge, methods, and skills for living free -- the street-smart know-how to outwit freedom-violators at every turn. Freedom Technology makes it possible for us to legally, elegantly, and safely exit coercive government systems and to live free. Freedom Technology includes the practical means to protect yourself, your income and your assets against attacks from freedom-violators. Ultimately, Freedom Technology also includes the means to blow away the bogus power of the freedom-violating elite.

"We apply Freedom Technology to increase our personal power, wealth and health. We engineer a massive shift of resources from the freedom-violating elite to the Free Sovereign Citizens of Terra Libra.

"TERRA LIBRA STRATEGY

"When you oppose something or try to reform it, you encounter opposition. Your effort elicits an almost automatic counter-effort. Terra Libra does not attempt to change, oppose, reform or overthrow any political or economic systems. WE SIMPLY CREATE OUR OWN VOLUNTARY ALTERNATIVES. [emphasis added] "Terra Libra is the free-enterprise sector of the world. Terra Librans create voluntary institutions in areas such as education, currencies and banking, justice, communications, energy, etc. As the coercive institutions of the freedom violators worsen and collapse, people naturally shift their economic activities into Terra Libra -- the "Terra Libra Shift."

"Freedom Technology enables you to legally, elegantly, and safely shift some or all of your economic activities into the free-enterprise sector. The Terra Libran entrepreneurs who facilitate this shift will become the millionaires and billionaires of the next century.

"I [Frederick Mann] believe that we maximize our prospects for freedom by applying a wide range of strategies -- circumvent, ignore, criticize, ridicule, weaken, reform, and replace the enemy on many fronts. Terra Libra should be viewed as an adjunct to other strategies."

Practical Action

Now here was a person claiming to have some practical ideas about what I could DO NOW to increase my freedom as opposed to sitting around with other libertarians and just TALKING about what we thought should be true about freedom in our society and HOPING we could convince enough of our fellow citizens to see it our way (and then vote appropriately). Have you ever read or heard a more positive statement of what is relatively quickly possible to achieve in the realm of personal practical freedom than that ad?

A statement about not only how to help ourselves but all people of goodwill in our society at the same time? I immediately sent for the introductory Terra Libra materials offered in the ad, "and haven't looked back since!" After reading the material in the Introductory Package (which included a couple of books by Frederick which I highly recommend, The Economic Rape of America: What You Can Do About It and Wake up America! The Dynamics of Human Power.) I sent for everything else they publish, and spent the next few months reading and studying. That was an enlightening and exciting time! My interests focused particularly on tax abatement strategies and the use of trusts to protect one's assets. I wanted freedom and I wanted it as soon as possible, so these two areas dominated my thoughts for some months to come! I mention this specifically because I've noticed a certain process in myself where I'll study something, and it won't immediately be apparent how to best use the information. But if I'll let it "simmer and percolate" for a while, the revelations start coming in as to its real (practical) meaning and how best to apply it to my own situation. As an example, although I studied extensively the material on trusts (there's more and clearer information available now), I never could quite grasp how to best use them. But simultaneously Terra Libra sent me some material on World Network Holdings (WNH), a pure contract trust already started by one of their associates. That proved the solution for me: I simply liquidated my assets and exchanged them into that trust, at an outstanding rate of return I might add!

Which brings up another very important point. Besides the greater knowledge and understanding you gain on a subject, study and meditation on the material bring about a subtle (and usually at first unnoticeable) increase in one's faith and confidence in one's ability to ACT effectively (what Frederick terms "personal power"). Frankly, it took much confidence on my part to exchange most of everything I owned in the world into someone ELSE'S trust whom I had never even met! I simply studied and thought about it long enough (taking Frederick's recommendation and the trustee's writing into consideration) until this "became" the CLEAR answer for me. That confidence is a difficult thing to quantify. You simply "deal with" (study, meditate, think, talk, whatever) an issue/problem until a solution/answer THAT MAKES SENSE TO YOU "presents" itself. In the case of me totally liquidating my assets and going into the trust, I had been reading and studying Frederick's writings for 7 or 8 months by then, and here's the point: I had developed enough faith in him as a person (it takes some time and effort), to trust what he had to say about WNH, to BUILD that crucial feeling of trust/faith/confidence. Additionally, association can be very important. Meeting and talking with individuals that have actually done (and therefore have experience with) what you're trying to accomplish can be invaluable! By attending two of the Terra Libra Conferences (Irvine '94 and Houston '95), I got to meet talk and "rub shoulders" with, people like FM, EK, DS, HP, CG, and DH, just to name a few. I can't forget, that after spending all of the necessary time, money and effort to get to the Houston Conference, the very first morning there, I happened to see Eddie Kahn out in the hallway (I only knew who he was because he had on his name badge and the ad material for the Conference had said he was speaking on the "Reliance Offense" method of tax abatement); and after literally talking with him one-on-one for over an hour, I felt (and still do feel) that I'd gotten at least double my money's worth out of the trip already (and the Conference had just begun!).

This points out the great importance that Terra Libra has been to me. Through Terra Libra, along with a significant amount of effort on my part (although mostly a "labor of love"), I gained the confidence that I too could live free. Through Terra Libra I was able to meet and talk with "strong" individuals who had already accomplished some or all of what I hoped to, and that association had a heavy influence on my confidence (and therefore subsequent actions). Through Terra Libra I found out about the tremendously inspiring writings of W.G. Hill ("revealing a coherent plan for a stress-free, healthy and prosperous life without government interference, taxes or coercion"), which have added significantly to my self-confidence in being able to both prosper financially, and largely avoid government coercion. Through Terra Libra I found out where and how to bank with privacy (away from the prying eyes of you know who). Terra Libra has been so significant because they were the source, either directly or indirectly, of so much of what has come about in my life. My partner (more about her later) and I no longer have to "work" for a living. We have the financial means to travel anywhere in the world at will (and stay as long as we like). I've stopped filing "government confessionals" (IRS 1040 forms, etc.) and paying "government extortion" (income taxes, etc.), and feel I've got a very good chance to continue that way AND REMAIN FREE! I feel as if I'm in a dream and have fallen into the proverbial "vat of milk and honey" (please, nobody pinch me!)

Terra Libra can be instrumental in pointing you in the right direction, but in the final analysis, (and since you've read this far, please pay close attention to the next 6 words); NOBODY CAN DO IT FOR YOU. As I said before, it's difficult to quantify, subtle. For me the key was study and then thinking intensely about what I'd read and HOW to apply it (also secondarily, the people I met, talked with, and in some cases developed relationships with.) The confidence (personal power) gradually came. Without it, the knowledge is virtually useless, and eventually won't mean a thing to you. As an example, I'll relate a true (and somewhat sad to me) story. Coming back from the Irvine Terra Libra conference, I met a man who had gone to the Conference and had the plane seat right next to mine (in fact he turned out to live only a few miles from me). On the plane we had much to talk about, and were both very excited about what we were learning and how best to apply it in our lives (he also had read the same Terra Libra ad and bought the same introductory material.) He had obviously been interested (and impressed) enough with what he read to spend the time and money to come to the conference, and in sum, I felt we were very near the same level of growth toward freedom, i.e., near the beginning but on our way, at least in knowledge! Over the coming months we met for lunch periodically. At first he was going full steam ahead (we both became members of the same organization offering private banking services and were both actively pursuing different tax abatement approaches), but gradually, I noticed a subtle lessening in his enthusiasm. I, for instance, was EXCITED about WNH I was going into and how it was not only going to allow me to "retire," but also, be a significant pillar in my tax abatement approach. He looked at the ad material for it and couldn't believe I was willing to risk most of everything that I had in the world with someone I'd never met (and yet he owned real estate and stocks, obviously IN the system and didn't perceive what I feel to be the even greater risk involved in that, i.e., any bureaucrat or clever lawyer would know just how much you've got and where to find it!) I was surprised to find out he had never purchased any of the other Terra Libra materials, nor did he even take a subscription to the Terra Libra News. In short, I feel he simply didn't take the necessary time and energy to build up enough "steam" to overcome the obvious fears and obstacles that are always going to confront anyone in this world who desires to truly increase their personal freedom. Mind you, we're still friends, and I try to "help" him all I can (I finally convinced him to at least open a minimal position in WNH before it closed to new members.) And, I absolutely believe that neither he nor anyone else should ever make a serious step that they're not reasonably comfortable with (that would simply be inviting disaster.) But that's my whole point -- just HOW, i.e., by what process, does one become comfortable? As an epilogue to his story, he called me not more than two weeks ago and said this was one of the happiest days of his life. I naturally wanted to know why. His response was: Steve Forbes had just passed Bob Dole in delegate votes for the Republican Party presidential nomination... I remember feeling (somewhat sadly and soberly) after we hung up that he's come almost full circle back to where he started from!

I think there is also something else that might be learned from looking at our two situations. He tells me he has had problems from the start with the fears of his wife, and that this has stymied much of his intended action. Whether he could have helped her or not, I don't know. But, instructively, I also have had to face and deal with those same fears from my mate. I can assure you, I've given a fair amount of time and attention to talking with her, explaining to her (sometimes again and again), and generally encouraging her to read certain articles that I feel are important to her understanding of, and attitude toward, the whole personal freedom quest. I can only say that so far it has produced satisfying and worthwhile results, i.e., at least she's still hanging in there [with me and my decisions]! It definitely takes time and effort (on everybody's part).

As for me, life has never been this good. It's not only that I have more cash flow than I ever seriously dreamed possible (and my financial prospects for the future are nothing short of ASTRONOMICAL!), but just as importantly, I find more and more of my day taken up with the most satisfying "work" of helping others "to see the light." What a wonderful way to live life! Over this past year, I've been able to help most of my mate's and my family members to understand and take advantage of the tremendous financial opportunities that are being offered (and certainly adequate, if not abundant, financial resources are one pillar in a free life). Through their interest and participation in some of these programs, I've also noticed a rather rapid changing of their political views toward the freedom/libertarian viewpoint (something that before, I could never seem to make any headway with at all!) Also, after several phone and e-mail discussions with a pretty well-known libertarian author and professor, I've had the satisfaction of seeing him get involved with one of the programs, and start to understand that there is a much more direct approach to gaining personal freedom than hoping we can bring the electorate around. Not only is this contributing to happier and more affluent people around me, but it is also contributing to the, what I believe to be absolutely essential process, (if the system is to have any chance of ever really being free), of diverting a significant amount of resources away from the immoral, unjust, extortionistic, (fill in your adjective(s) of choice), and parasitic social/political system we have in this country (and worldwide). All of this "work" I've found very interesting, satisfying, exciting, enjoyable and fulfilling in my life. It's even had the unexpected effect of bringing me back into much closer contact with my family. All of a sudden we're on the phone all the time talking strategies, planning trips, and generally discussing our much brighter future prospects

Here are a few final thoughts. In my opinion, personal sovereignty is first and foremost a state of mind (YOUR mind -- not others'), i.e., DO YOU OWN YOURSELF OR NOT? There is little use in starting into the various freedom strategies if you haven't fully resolved that one within yourself! I also view personal sovereignty as a dynamic rather than a static goal. That is, one's knowledge, ability, and faith/confidence (personal power) must be constantly improved (not just maintained), for at least two reasons: 1) there are a lot of people out there who don't believe in personal sovereignty (and they're not only constantly developing new strategies to keep as many slaves in the "fold" as possible, but have also proven time and again that they're "ready willing and able" to use violence on anyone to do so), and 2) we are all under constant negative "bombardment" from the ruling system's media and educational systems (not to mention society's overwhelmingly submissive herd instinct) to just go along with "the system" and accept things as inevitable, e.g., "death and taxes." Please don't look at the challenge of personal freedom as a burden. Each of us should strive for that level of personal sovereignty that works for us, and that we are content with. However, as a few parting "shots," here are three Terra Libra quotes that I've always found very motivating (and have turned to at times when my "faith" and/or resolve seemed to be wavering.)

"HOW TO OVERCOME YOUR WIMP "We humans are free and powerful by nature. Practically all "unfreedom" and powerlessness we suffer from, we have learned. Some of us may find the idea of being naturally free and powerful, frightening. There may be an overpowering psychological "wimp" in our mind that blinds us to our freedom and power... "The wimp within you makes it possible for people to manipulate you. The reason politicians, lawyers, bureaucrats, and IRS agents get away so easily with their unconstitutional activities is that practically all their victims are afflicted with virulent wimps that inhabit the core of their psyches. In general it is easy to dupe wimps and separate them from their consciousness and their money. "Once you begin to understand your own personal wimp... you can begin to overcome it. You do it little by little... "If you believe you can't escape the clutches of the IRS, then your wimp has got you -- there are probably at least ten million people in the USA who are largely free from the IRS and the government. You can join them whenever you want to."

SEIZE YOUR FREEDOM!

(This section is based on a flyer written by the mysterious author "J.E.T.")

So you want to be free? Then become free! All the freedom is yours which you are able to seize!

How do you seize freedom? By avoiding, evading, escaping, discouraging, overpowering, destroying, or otherwise frustrating anyone who initiates force or threat of force against you.

Do you beg for freedom? -- "But the oppressors ignore my pleas for freedom," you complain. Do you expect them to set you free? (Graffiti in a Las Vegas shopping mall: SLAVES NEED MASTERS.)...

As long as you obey their rules, no matter how onerous, and pay their taxes, no matter how burdensome -- why should they set you free? -- why should they relinquish the easy life of a parasite?

"And the oppressors dupe my neighbors who are confused, unaware, and apathetic," you protest. Do you expect them not to tame their flocks? The herdsman can milk only tame cows: the shearer can shear only tame sheep: the tyrant can drive only obedient slaves...

"...We must educate -- teach increasing numbers our values and ideas," others shout. "And some day truth will prevail and evil will be banished from the earth." But, ...this will take time -- much time. So how shall you live the only life you will ever have? And how many followers can you attract and hold if you offer only visions of a paradise for their great grandchildren?

"I do want freedom," you cry. "But there is no way to get it now -- no chance to elect, no means to revolt, and no place to go."
I reply: If you want freedom, seize it!

"But my oppressors are organized into a powerful government, an omnipotent state..." you object... I reply: However... They are individuals. They cannot be everywhere. They cannot see everything. They cannot understand everything. They cannot do everything. You do not have to obey them... Discover ways to avoid their extortions... Convert your wealth into forms you can conceal.. Make yourself difficult to find.

"But that is too much trouble," you complain... "I would rather... do everything they demand -- and maybe, oh maybe, they will leave me alone just a little." Then tag along with the sheep to the slaughter, you who expect freedom on a silver platter. For how long can you appease the tyrant who will demand more and more, until he owns you completely?

"And what do we know of this libertarian utopia that some of you dream of? In every land of which we hear, there are some who covet the lives and creations of others -- predators who rob and enslave the weak, the foolish and the cowardly. And when have they failed to recruit millions to vote for them, finance them, and work for them as humble agents and police?"

Freepersons [sometimes] go about like tigers -- armed and ready for self defense... [and sometimes] go about like foxes -- inconspicuous and ready to hide....

However, in almost every land, those with the courage to assert their freedom seldom need to fight or hide -- for the predators live off the easy prey... ...all the freedom is yours which you are able to seize!

"Those who would trade freedom for security, deserve neither." (Benjamin Franklin)

You have all my best wishes for success in your quest for personal freedom and sovereignty. Much is available if you look for it. Don't sell yourself short. It's worth repeating; "WHERE THERE IS A WILL, THERE IS A WAY!"

Analysis (by Frederick Mann)

It's up to each of us to forge our personal path to Individual Sovereignty. David Smith's path included these elements:

1. Study the Build Freedom materials intensively (and extensively) and make them part of your self, i.e., integrate them.

2. Increase your personal power. David's phrase, "where there is a will, there is a way," is actually a profound, potent power formula. You can make the decision to do something. Then you can bolster your decision with the underlying assumption that your decision will also generate the means to its fulfillment.

3. Self-confidence is crucial to personal power. David's increase in confidence came from studying and integrating the Build Freedom materials, and implementing them. A general formula for increasing self-confidence is to take chances, to risk new kinds of actions. Observe the consequences of these actions. Learn from them. Apply your new knowledge to take more effective actions. (Note the contrast between David and his friend who remained "wimp-dominated.")

4. Achieve financial independence -- probably the most important element of Individual Sovereignty. If you have to work for someone else or you have to work for money, any claim to "individual sovereignty" remains hollow. Applying Freedom Technology enables practically anyone to become financially independent within a few years. David Smith utilized such means to re-organize his affairs so money works for him and he quickly became financially independent.

5. Take massive action. This is a little-known success principle. David liquidated all his assets and put them into World Network Holdings (WNH) -- which unfortunately has closed its doors to new participants, so this vehicle is no longer available to you. Fortunately it worked for David. In taking massive action, you have to be very careful that you don't "back the wrong horse" and lose everything. Be careful about putting "all your eggs in one basket." Before taking massive action you have to be very confident that it's the correct action. (Note the contrast between David Smith's massive action and the half-hearted actions of his "wimp-dominated" friend.)

6. David went to considerable lengths to ensure that his love partner understood and agreed with what he was doing. This is very important. (it looks like his "wimp-dominated" friend may have had insurmountable problems in this respect. Sometimes you have to ditch a loved one to liberate yourself.)

7. It's much easier for an individual to liberate himself or herself, than it is for a company or business.

8. As far as I know, David has done everything correctly in applying Freedom Technology, and has had absolutely no problems from any terrocrats (coercive government agents or terrorist bureaucrats).

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